Andrew Smith has penned a story for acting legend John Hurt – and he’s been inspired by a novelist with Royal Burgh connections.

Andrew has enjoyed some success in recent years writing audio plays for Big Finish Productions , who feature tales from the likes of Doctor Who.

The latest adventure Andrew has written is called The Eternity Cage, focusing on Sir John Hurt’ s portrayal of the title character.

The legendary actor is reprising the role, referred to as the War Doctor, which he played in the TV’s 50th anniversary special, The Day of the Doctor, back in 2013.

Andrew said: “It’s brilliant having John Hurt and it was an amazing experience to be in the studio to hear that distinctive, gravelly voice.

“He was such good company as well – he was so funny.”

Andrew’s story features the villainous Sontarans, regulars on the TV show, who get involved in the galaxy-wide Time War.

The War Doctor finds himself involved in a top secret mission as a result, and Andrew looked to the work of famous novelist Alastair MacLean to craft the story.

Before MacLean became best known for writing novels like Where Eagles Dare and The Guns of Navarone, he worked as a teacher at Rutherglen Academy.

Andrew added: “I’ve now done three stories with the Sontarans – I really do like writing for them.

“I don’t actually think they are bad guys – they are just very militaristic in their own terms.”

“When I was asked to write this one, it was suggested that I could come up with a story that had a flavour of the movie Where Eagles Dare, a war film from the novel by Alistair MacLean.

“By a quite spooky coincidence, just the night before I had been watching The Guns of Navarone, another Alistair MacLean war movie, and halfway through I thought this would make a good template for a Doctor Who story, with a team sent on a near-impossible mission, facing one setback after another, with someone working against them – and everything that can go wrong, does go wrong!

“It’s a format that applies to several of Alistair MacLean’s stories, including Where Eagles Dare.

“So this one is a nod to Alistair MacLean. He’s one of my favourite writers, and was a teacher at my secondary school, although unfortunately not while I was there.”

Andrew has previously written for versions of the Doctor portrayed by Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker and Paul McGann.

He enjoyed getting to grips with a different take on the famous timelord.

“One of the great things about writing for the War Doctor is that there’s a lot of self-belief there.

“He’s invited to join a rescue mission and as soon as he comes in, he’s got no doubt in his mind about who’s leading it – despite what others think and say.

“I don’t think the War Doctor is really that different from the other incarnations of the Doctor, although there’s a bit of roughness to him.”

The Eternity Cage is released by Big Finish on September 20.