The Fifteenth Doctor, played on screen by Ncuti Gatwa, comes to audio with On Ghost Beach, one of two new titles from BBC Audio.
Written by Niel Bushnell and read by Susan Twist, the story sees the Doctor and Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson on screen) arriving on Seaham Chemical Beach on the north east coast in 1958. It’s the kind of British post-industrial setting that would perhaps have felt more familiar to the Doctors of the classic era than to Ncuti Gatwa’s incarnation, and one can easily imagine Jon Pertwee’s Third Doctor feeling very much at home in this tale of unsettling apparitions, false memories, and salt-of-the-earth characters with names like Reg.
A traditional setting, then, for a story that places more emphasis on atmosphere than incident. Bushnell hails from Hartlepool in the north east, and has mined his local knowledge effectively in his depiction of a windswept, isolated part of the country where an ethereal consciousness would be able to operate undisturbed — until a time traveller turns up, at least.
It would be unfair to give more of the plot away, but the story doesn’t exactly break new ground or deliver any major surprises as the Doctor and Ruby delve into what’s behind local residents’ nightmares. Coming in at 78 minutes running time, it’s a story that’s comparable to Big Finish’s Short Trips or Companion Chronicles series, rather than that company’s multi-volume box set epics.
I surely won’t be alone in feeling I could have done without the (presumably contractually-obligated) references to ‘mavity’, but I fear we’re stuck with those.
Susan Twist is now well-known to Doctor Who fans since her appearances throughout Series 14 and she’s an accomplished reader here, clear and unfussy. It’s noticeable that her portrayal of the Doctor places a strong emphasis on Ncuti Gatwa’s Scottish background, and at times feels more in keeping with the Twelfth Doctor than the Fifteenth.
On Ghost Beach is a perfectly agreeable story, somewhat low-key in tone, that’s unlikely to live long in the memory of listeners but will certainly pass the time on a cold afternoon in the long wait for the next series. Not exactly an essential release in this era of such extensive Doctor Who audio output, but nonetheless a welcome outing for a Doctor it still feels we’ve seen and heard comparatively little of.
On Ghost Beach is available to buy now.
