Is anyone else surprised that no Twelfth Doctor companions have joined Big Finish yet?
I get that Jenna Coleman and Matt Lucas are very busy, but whilst I don’t see Jenna Coleman joining anytime soon, I thought we might have been seeing a Nardole box set by now (or a Nardole appearance in The Diary Of River Song).
Pearl Mackie doesn’t appear to have had the best career after Doctor Who, so you would think joining Big Finish for an ‘Adventures Of Bill Potts’ box set with Bill’s puddle girlfriend Heather would be a no brainer.
I sometimes think it’s a bit reductive of fandom when they assume actors aren’t getting much work and therefore must be free to give their time to Big Finish.
And I’m as guilty of it as anyone. I still cringe at the memory of the time I met Maureen O’Brien at a signing. It was for one of her crime novels. This was long before she reprised the role of Vicki for Big Finish and before she embraced fandom as much as she does nowadays. I had recently seen her in an episode of Jonathan Creek and also read somewhere she had been teaching.
“Hello,” I said to Maureen as she signed my item. “I enjoyed you in that episode of Jonathan Creek.”
Now stop there I should have - but no…
“A brief return to acting?” I enquired…
Steely gaze. Pursed lips. “I’ve been acting for 35 years!” she curtly replied.
I’m still dying inside now.
Pearl Mackie is probably perfectly happy pursuing her career in theatre or film or whatever projects come her way.
Agree 100%. In fact I think it can be quite insulting to the actor to make that assumption. Doctor Who fandom can be strange sometimes, there are many reasons why an actor may not want to return to a role in another medium. But it seems unique to Doctor Who fandom that we want them back/assume they will return.
Honestly, as far as Pearl Mackie goes, given her wikipedia page lists from 2020-2024 six films, 6 tv shows, one radio appearance, one theatre role, narrating 5 books and playing a part in another audio, being in 5 commercials, and coming out as bisexual and marrying Kam Chhokar, I’d say she’s been very busy recently…
Not to mention that actively working inherently precludes Big Finish, there was an interview I read about Big Finish turning 25, where Peter Davison talks about how he is regularly in work, and Big Finish are very accomodative of that, building their own schedule around their actors’ other commitments. Given most releases are recorded over a handful of days (with each actor not necessarily being there for all of them), it seems much more doable.
I think we may see Pearl Mackie at Big Finish one of these days, and there was certainly an interview a year or two ago where she said she’d be up for it, but I can’t see the cogs turning on that until they have a secure Twelfth Doctor!
There is so much DW stuff to consume that I don’t worry about my favourites turning up. I’d love to hear Clara, Amy, and Rory in more DW, but until then there is so much other stuff. If they turn up, great, if not, life moves on.
In my cynical view, fans are gonna fan. I try to ignore them as much as possible.
