Doctor Who - Audio Details

The TARDIS takes the Doctor and Turlough to the London of 1702 where a mysterious highwayman roams the streets, a local occultist has made contact with the dead and gentleman of fashion are disappearing, only to find themselves in a chamber whose walls weep blood...

The time-travellers become enmeshed in the hideous plans of Sir Nikolas Valentine, a gambler at the mysterious Diabola Club who always seems to have a winning hand...

The idea for this story came from a League of Gentlemen sketch in our 1997 Edinburgh show about an 18th century saloneer who may or mat not be playing cards with the Devil…

I'm a great fan of Restoration comedy and I've always wanted to do something that used the atmosphere of decadent gentlemen's clubs, coffee houses and foppery.  Pseudo-historicals are my favourite Doctor Whos and I wrote this adventure with something approaching glee.  The setting is pretty underused and I thought it would be ideal for a spooky mystery that also allowed Peter Davison's Doctor to have a bit more fun.

We certainly enjoyed the recording and a really committed cast gobbled up their parts with obvious relish.  It's been great to be in at the start of an exciting new beginning for the show.

Long may it continue…

Mark Gatiss, July 1999