Following on from other mixed-media stories like 2020’s Time Lord Victorious, a new Doctor Who project has been announced for 2026, called Circuit Breaker.
The story, starring Jo Martin as the Fugitive Doctor, will be a collaboration between BBC Studios, BBC Audio, Big Finish Productions, Doctor Who Magazine, East Side Games, Penguin Random House and Titan Comics, and tell an “ambitious interconnected narrative that will unfold across multiple formats, inviting fans to experience the mystery from every angle”.
Spanning audio dramas, comics, mobile games, novels, and digital storytelling, Circuit Breaker is described as a bold new chapter in the Whoniverse, the overarching narrative crafted by Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson, best-selling author and rising star in speculative fiction – and centres on the Fugitive Doctor, played on screen and in various recent audio adventures by Jo Martin.
In Circuit Breaker, strange alien artifacts begin appearing inside UNIT’s Black Archive on Earth. Each object is unmistakably linked to a different regeneration of the Doctor, but they’ve been tampered with. A corrupted energy signature of unknown origin pulses through them, and their sudden arrival has torn tiny ruptures across time and space.
UNIT is out of options. To repair the damage and restore the timeline, the objects must be returned to the exact moments they were taken from. If not, the Doctor’s adventures – and the universe itself – could unravel.
To solve the mystery, UNIT calls upon a little-known incarnation of the Time Lord: the Fugitive Doctor, played by Jo Martin, who returns in a central role. But how does UNIT know about her? And is she the Doctor they expect?
Jo Martin commented: “I’m thrilled to tell more stories about the Fugitive Doctor and cannot wait for fans to unlock all the twists and turns across the Circuit Breaker story. This character has always meant so much to me, and it is a joy to continue building her legacy and dive back into the Whoniverse.”
Stephen Davies, SVP Global Licensing, BBC Studios added “Circuit Breaker is an exciting evolution for the Whoniverse. By bringing together world-class partners across publishing, audio, comics, and gaming, we’re creating a truly immersive, multi-platform experience for fans. This is a bold step in expanding the Doctor Who brand, deepening engagement, exploring new stories, and welcoming new audiences into the universe of the Doctor.”
The Fugitive Doctor has not only appeared on TV, but also in audio adventures from Big Finish, and the Titan Comics story, Doctor Who: Origins, collected in 2022, written by Jody Houser with art by Roberta Ingranata.
Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson is a Sunday Times Bestselling author of fantasy fiction, and the inaugural winner of the Future World’s Prize. Her forthcoming novel, Gutterwitch, sold to Random House Children’s (US) and Bloomsbury (UK) after a nine way auction.
Esmie’s first novel, The Principle of Moments, was nominated for Best British and Irish Book at the Tik Tok Book Awards.
She regularly interacts with her audience of 35,000+ fantasy readers and writers across social media, and sits on the Board of Trustees for a UNESCO City of Literature in the south of England. Raised between London and Sydney, Esmie is an author of Nigerian, Jamaican, and British-Australian heritage. Her work centres those living at the intersection of identities, in our world – or in others. She holds a BA in English Literature and Classical Studies from the University of Exeter.
Head downthetubes for…
Eisner-nominate writer Jody House (Supergirl, Stranger Things) and fan-favourite artist Roberta Ingranata (Witchblade) return for another spectacular time-traveling adventure which deepens the lore of the Doctor Who universe.
The clandestine Time Lord organisation called Division has sent the Doctor to eliminate a threat to Gallifrey. Joined by her new partner, Taslo, they soon discover something amiss. What secret are the Time Lords hiding? And how much danger does it put them in? Discover exactly why the Doctor became hunted by Division and branded a fugitive…
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.
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