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Tom Baker’s Fourth Doctor Meets Cleopatra and the Silence in Big Finish’s The Last Queen of the Nile

Tom Baker’s Fourth Doctor is set to meet Cleopatra in Big Finish’s The Last Queen of the Nile — which also sees him come up against Eleventh Doctor enemies, the Silence!

The Fourth Doctor returns alongside Leela (Louise Jameson) and K9 (John Leeson) for a boxset of two brand-new full-cast audio adventures, due out this September.

In the first story, the two-part Conspiracy of Silence, the TARDIS crew are joined by the Brigadier (Jon Culshaw) as they investigate mysterious disappearances on a remote oil rig. The rig turns out to be infested by a terrifying enemy – though no one can remember them for long – the Silence (Nicholas Briggs).

The second story in the box set is a four-part historical epic, The Last Queen of the Nile, in which the Doctor takes his companions on a trip to ancient Egypt. But this is no holiday, as they find Cleopatra’s realm on the brink of war.

Pippa Bennett-Warner (who played Saibra in Time Heist) guest stars as Queen Cleopatra, alongside Michael Lumsden (The Archers) as Mark Anthony and Blake Ritson (The Gilded Age) as Octavian Caesar.

Here’s what to expect:

Conspiracy of Silence by Jonathan Morris

  • Something happened to the oil rig. Something so swift and unexpected that the one hundred and fifty people aboard couldn’t summon help. Everyone who has tried to investigate has disappeared. So now the Brigadier is sending the Doctor and Leela. But is there anything to find there? Or is there nothing to be found there? No-one on board… but the Silence.

The Last Queen of the Nile by David K Barnes

  • The TARDIS lands a few miles from Alexandria in Egypt, where the Doctor, Leela and K9 encounter Mark Antony, returning from a military campaign. As he joins Cleopatra, they realise they are about to witness one of the most famous romances in history. But this romance threatens the power of Rome, where the ambitious Octavian Caesar is attempting to convince the Senate to declare war on the Queen of the Nile. A tragedy of Shakespearean proportions is about to unfold – and the time travellers are trapped in the middle.

Producer David Richardson said:

“It’s been a joy to bring the Brigadier back into the Doctor’s life this season, and in Conspiracy of Silence, he joins the Doctor, Leela, and K9 on an adventure that is unforgettable. Or, given that the Silence are involved, can that even be possible?

“And Last Queen of the Nile is a belting historical story by the genius writer David K Barnes, as the TARDIS crew encounter Cleopatra and Mark Antony in Egypt. It’s a story packed with peril, incident and drama, and a huge two-parter to end the season on.”

Writer David K Barnes added:

“I was always thrilled by those old Hollywood epics like Spartacus, Ben-Hur, and Cleopatra – those huge sets, all those costumes, lots of thesps strutting about with deliciously florid dialogue. I really loved all that and always wanted to see Doctor Who do that story.

“And, I really like putting Leela into historical periods. The Doctor is almost godlike, stands back, gets involved in chats and jokes, but still has that Time Lord detachment. Leela doesn’t understand our history, yet she’s very much a part of it. If you put Steven or Vicki or Harry into a historical like this, they’d be horrified by the bloodshed, but Leela just gets on with it and gets straight through to the heart of the story.”

The Fourth Doctor Adventures: The Last Queen of the Nile is now available to pre-order from £19.99 (download to own) or £24.99 (download to own and three-disc CD box set). All three of 2025’s Fourth Doctor Adventures box sets (including the previously announced The Hellwood Inheritance and The Ruins of Kaerula) can be pre-ordered together in a multibuy bundle from £57 (download to own) or £70.50 (download to own and collector’s edition CD).

Philip Bates

Editor and co-founder of the Doctor Who Companion. When he’s not watching television, reading books ‘n’ Marvel comics, listening to The Killers, and obsessing over script ideas, Philip Bates pretends to be a freelance writer. He enjoys collecting everything. Writer of The Black Archive: The Pandorica Opens/ The Big Bang, 100 Objects of Doctor Who, and Companions: More Than Sixty Years of Doctor Who Assistants.

Tom Baker’s Fourth Doctor Meets Cleopatra and the Silence in Big Finish’s The Last Queen of the Nile

by Philip Bates time to read: 3 min
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