After years apart, the Doctor and Rose are returning to the Tardis for new intergalactic adventures – but with a bit of a twist.

You see, this time the pair (played by David Tennant and Billie Piper) are back in the Doctor Who world thanks to the efforts of long-running audio drama producer Big Finish, who previously brought Tennant back with co-star Catherine Tate (companion Donna Noble) for a series of untold adventures last year and are now doing the same for the Tenth Doctor and his earlier companion.

And while this isn’t the first time the actors have reunited in the Whoniverse since Rose and the Doctor parted ways in 2006 (Rose came back for a few episodes in the 2008 series and in Tennant’s final regular episode in 2010, and Piper starred as The Moment in the 50^th anniversary special alongside Tennant’s returning Doctor), it’s still the first time we’ve seen the pair in action for a while – and now they’ve explained what tempted them back into the weird and wonderful world of Who.

“It just feels like another opportunity to keep the flame alive,” Piper (making her Big Finish debut) said in the latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine.

“You know, I felt as through because everyone’s doing [Big Finish] was I missing out? Also, it’s all the people who ask me at conventions. It was getting awkward.”

“It never quite goes away, does it?” Tennant agreed. “There’s no escaping it, nor would I want to, really.

“Because Doctor Who sort of runs through my life like a stick of rock. It’s sort of always bubbling under, and you know it always will.”

He added: “I always feel fond towards it. I always feel like it’s a happy place to be.

“Obviously a day like this brings it all back a little more keenly, but it’s always a very fond thing to return to, the world of Doctor Who. It’s always very welcoming, and friendly, and familiar. I suppose I don’t feel detached enough from it to feel sentimental, really. Maybe if I’d been completely banished from it for ten years…?”

Well, fingers crossed we’ll never have to wait that long to find out. For now, at least, the Doctor and Rose are off on their travels once more.

Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor Adventures – Volume 2 will be released next month