What happens when you take Doctor Who, turn off the picture, remove the sets and special effects—and leave the storytelling?
Something remarkable happens. The universe gets bigger.
In this edition of The Saturday Night Theatre Companion, we explore the fascinating world where classic Doctor Who and BBC radio drama meet.
This Saturday Night Theatre Companion episode includes Spoilers. We invite you to listen to the plays below and then join us for our in-depth discussions.
Eric Saward, Victor Pemberton, Brian Hayles and others moved through a remarkable BBC creative world in which writers, actors and ideas crossed freely between radio and television. We hear echoes of the TARDIS in their radio plays—and discover how radio could do things even Doctor Who couldn’t.
We look at Victor Pemberton’s The Slide and its extraordinary connection to Fury from the Deep, Eric Saward’s journey from BBC radio drama to the Doctor Who script editor’s chair, and the actors and writers whose careers connected these two great traditions of British imaginative storytelling.
Because on radio there is no expensive alien planet.
There isn’t even a quarry pretending to be an alien planet.
There is only a voice, a sound effect, a moment of silence—and your imagination.
That may be the greatest special effect of all.
🎙️ The Saturday Night Theatre Companion
Stories behind the stories, from Chesterton Radio.
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