Doctor Who audio drama producers Big Finish have landed another huge star for its latest series: Sheridan Smith.

Smith is reprising her role as Lucie Miller in four new Doctor Who adventures with Paul McGann – the Eighth Doctor – in a new audio series.

The actress first joined the world of Doctor Who as Lucie in 2007 as part of a Big Finish radio series broadcast on the BBC alongside McGann. She featured in four series until her time-travelling journey came to and end in 2011, when Smith’s character died saving Earth from a Dalek invasion.

Producer Nick Briggs explained however that he was keen to return to the much-loved character, even though he didn’t want to re-write her fate.

“I have always been clear that I wouldn’t reverse the finality of Lucie’s departure,” Briggs said. “That would somehow seem like cheating and would lessen the emotional impact of what we did. So my plan was always to revisit Lucie earlier on in her adventures with the Eighth Doctor. It’s pretty much what we do with every classic companion-and-Doctor pairing, so why not do it with Lucie?”

Briggs also spoke of how natural Smith and McGann’s reunion felt in the studio: “The dynamic between Sheridan and Paul was always brilliant so it was genuinely moving to see the two of them working together again. Sheridan walked straight into her old recording booth without any hesitation and without anyone guiding her to it. It was like she and Paul had been recording together only the day before.

“There was a brief moment, when I observed them through the control room window, having their reunion. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but I just saw them hold each other’s faces in each other’s hands. Big smiles, heartfelt emotions, and then they were straight into their first scene. A truly magical moment.”

The Further Adventures of Lucie Miller box set, arriving in July 2019, is just one part of a celebration of 20 years of Doctor Who on audio from Big Finish Productions. More adventures for each incarnation of the Time Lord will be revealed next year.

The series can be pre-ordered now on the Big Finish website