Gallifrey has sent a summons to all its children. Every Time Lord, every renegade and prodigal, has been called up for the Time War.

Susan has lost so much to the Daleks, she is willing to do her duty. And while the Grandfather she knew refuses to fight, Susan is about to meet the warrior he will become…

Carole Ann Ford, much loved for her performance as Susan, the Doctor’s granddaughter – and first ever companion – in Doctor Who from 1963 to 1964, returns as the iconic character for two brand-new audio adventures, released today from Big Finish Productions.

As the Time War escalates, Susan is carrying out diplomatic missions for Gallifrey (following on from 2020 box set Susan’s War). Her two latest assignments bring her face to face with relatives from her past – but not necessarily as she knew them.

In the first story, The Lost Son, she encounters what seems to be her son Alex (Sonny McGann). But Alex was killed by the Daleks, so how can she be talking to him?

And, in The Golden Child, Susan is reunited with her grandfather (Jonathon Carley). Now, though, he’s renounced the name of the Doctor, and is a very different man to the mischievous adventurer who first took Susan on his travels across time and space.

The Worlds of Doctor Who – Susan’s War: Family Ties is now available to own as a collector’s edition double CD plus slipcase (+ download for just £15.99) or as a digital download only (for just £12.99), exclusively here.

Susan’s two new adventures are:
 
The Lost Son by Sarah Cassidy
 
Still reeling from meeting her Grandfather back on Earth, Susan is assigned to assist a mother in search of her son. Priestess Vesselina is the new ruler of her world, and someone Gallifrey is keen to recruit as an ally.
 
But strange forces are at work on Materos, and Susan’s empathy becomes a weapon to be used against her...
 
The Golden Child by Peter Anghelides
 
A key ally to Gallifrey has winked out of existence. When Susan investigates the disappearance of this gifted politician and strategist, she finds someone else is also interested in the changed timeline. 
 
The interloper is her grandfather. But this version of the Doctor is from the future of the Time War, and he’s not the man Susan remembers…

Carole Ann Ford said: “The usual image of Susan is as a fifteen-year-old, and one of my biggest gripes is that I was never allowed to grow older. I was stuck in a time warp! But now I’m proceeding to play her as a more mature woman, with a great sense of duty to the planet that she’s on, the people around her, and indeed the rest of the universe. So, she’s a very important person, a VIP now, not just a tagger-along. I love being the lead character!”

Sonny McGann added: “One of the first things I said to Carole was ‘Do you remember me?’ The first one we recorded together, An Earthly Child, must have been 2007 or 2008 – such a long time ago, and I was a skinny little teenager. That was the first acting job I’d ever done and I was terrified, but everyone was so lovely. As with the Time War stories, it’s lovely to have Alex back in any shape or form. He’s an interesting character and quietly very relatable as well.”

And, Jonathon Carley said: “As soon as I found out the War Doctor was meeting Susan, I was giddy with excitement. Carole Ann Ford is the First Lady of Doctor Who! The War Doctor is such a remote figure, and to thrust him into a conflict situation with his own granddaughter – from the very beginning, when he became the Doctor for the first time, and he has since renounced that – it brings up a real mix of emotions.”

Family Ties will be followed by Susan’s War: Grandfather Time (due for release in March 2025), which will comprise two further stories following Susan and the War Doctor’s missions together.
 
Big Finish listeners can save money by pre-ordering Family Ties and Grandfather Time together as a multi-buy bundle for just £30 (collector’s edition double CDs + download) or £25 (download only), exclusively here.

All the above prices include the special pre-order discount and are subject to change after general release.

Please note that Big Finish is currently operating a digital-first release schedule. The mail-out of collector’s edition CDs may be delayed due to factors beyond our control, but all purchases of this release unlock a digital copy that can be immediately downloaded or played on the Big Finish app from the release date.