The Brigadier is back – in all-new UNIT adventures from Big Finish

By John Freeman on January 6, 2022 • ( 1 )

Angela Bruce as Brigadier Winifred Bambera in Doctor Who - Battlefield | Image: BBC — *Angela Bruce as Brigadier Winifred Bambera in Doctor Who – Battlefield | Image: BBC*

The Brigadier is back! But not the one you might be thinking of. As revealed in Doctor Who Magazine issue 573, Angela Bruce, who made her Doctor Who debut in the 1989 TV adventure by Ben Aaronovitch, Battlefield, will don camo gear once more for a new series of audio adventures from Big Finish, due to begin in June 2022.

Expect heroics, high stakes and havoc across the globe – and beyond – as the ever-resourceful Brigadier Winifred Bambera assembles her new team, including sarcastic second-in-command, Sergeant Jean-Paul Savarin (Alex Jordan) and tough scientific advisor, Dr Louise Rix (Yemisi Oyinloye).

The three action-packed new stories are Rogue State by Robert Valentine, Time Flies by Alison Winter, and Dark Side of the Moon by Alfie Shaw.

The announcement comes ahead of a new release of Battlefield as part of the Doctor Who – The Collection – Season 26 Blu-Ray collection on 17th January, a release that includes an extended version of the story.

Acclaimed English actress Angela Bruce is known and revered for her work on British TV and is also known as a pioneer in the casting of black women on TV.

Born in Leeds in West Yorkshire to a West Indian father, she was adopted at a young age and then brought up in County Durham, all before making her debut on the screen in 1973, in the film Man at the Top. Since then, Angela has been in many high profile UK TV series including regular and recurring roles in Angels (where she played Sandra Ling), ITV’s Coronation Street (Janice Stubbs) and Press Gang as a reporter named Chrissie Stuart; and, most recently, in Doctors and Holby City.

She also appeared in the Charlie Boy episode of Hammer House of Horror and, of course Brigadier Winifred Bambera in the 1989 Doctor Who serial, Battlefield. She also appeared in Blake 7’s audio drama The Syndeton Experiment and has played many parts on stage shows in London. These include a role as Magenta in the original production of The Rocky Horror Show.

*Angela Bruce in the Hammer House of Horror episode Charlie Boy (1980)*

“If I wasn’t Brigadier Bambera as she is now in this wonderful box set, I’d marry her,” comments Angela Bruce. “I would. I’d marry her. I find her irresistible. Within one character, you get to have all the control and all the power that you have ever desired. I feel deep joy in bringing her back.

“It’s really nice being thought of. It’s really nice that Big Finish have thought, ‘Brigadier Bambera, we haven’t heard anything from her for a while.’ And you go, ‘Oh really, you’d like to hear from me? You’d like to write something for Brigadier Bambera?’ YES! Bring. Her. On.

“You’re meeting Bambera – and me – at a time when I’m full. Bambera’s happy in her own skin. And so am I. So this is the right time to meet her again. I think fans will love these new UNIT adventures. It’s brought that hunger back in me. Brigadier Bambera’s getting stronger every day.”

Big Finish - UNIT – Brave New World: Volume 1

Producer Emily Cook added: “Brigadier Bambera is back! A series of UNIT adventures led by Bambera is something I know many fans have been anticipating for a long time. (Rightly so – it’s an obviously brilliant thing to do.) And finally, here we go!

“This is a distinct new era for UNIT,” she continues. “Brave New World is set in the late 1990s. The Cold War is over, the geopolitical landscape is in flux and the Millennium is fast approaching. Brigadier Bambera is deemed the right candidate to lead UNIT into the 21st century. But in this brave new world, the stakes are higher than ever…

“It’s been incredible fun developing this series and exploring Bambera’s life beyond Battlefield. Like Bambera, Angela herself is a phenomenal character to work with. We’ve had the most wonderful, lively days in studios. It’s so thrilling to see Bambera in action again.

“And that’s the joy of Big Finish. These brilliant characters get the spotlight they deserve!”

• UNIT – Brave New World: Volume 1 is now available to pre-order as a collector’s edition box set (3CD + download) at £19.99 or on download only at £16.99, exclusively here

• Volume 2 (title TBA) is due for release in November 2022. Big Finish listeners can save money by pre-ordering both volumes together in a bundle for just £38 (on collector’s edition CD + download) or £33 (download only)

All the above prices include the special pre-order discount and are subject to change after general release | Big Finish is currently operating a digital-first release schedule. The mail-out of collector’s edition CDs may be delayed due to factors beyond the control of Big Finish, but all purchases of this release unlock a digital copy that can be immediately downloaded or played on the Big Finish app from the release date

• Sophie Aldred (Ace) and Angela Bruce (Brigadier Bambera) interviewed for the Fantom Events online convention Time Space Visualiser

• Doctor Who – The Collection – Season 26 – available from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link) on 17th January 2022

Starring SYLVESTER McCOY and SOPHIE ALDRED

BUILD YOUR OWN DOCTOR WHO ARCHIVE WITH THE ULTIMATE COLLECTORS’ SET!

• BATTLEFIELD
• GHOST LIGHT
• THE CURSE OF FENRIC
• SURVIVAL

A classic season featuring the Seventh Doctor – all 14 episodes newly restored for Blu-ray and packed with bonus material including:

• RARE EXTENDED VHS VERSIONS of Battlefield and The Curse Of Fenric

• GHOST LIGHT – EXTENDED WORKPRINT Brand new and exclusive to Blu-ray

• BURIED TREASURE: 30 YEARS OF FENRIC A brand new one-hour Making-Of documentary with Sylvester McCoy, Sophie Aldred, Tomek Bork, Nicholas Parsons, Cory Pulman, Ian Briggs, Andrew Cartmel, Mark Ayres, Marek Anton, Stephen Mansfield and Ian Collins

• IN CONVERSATION Matthew Sweet chats to Sophie Aldred

• SHOWMAN – THE LIFE OF JOHN NATHAN-TURNER A feature-length look at the life of Doctor Who’s longest-serving producer

• THE WRITERS’ ROOM Ben Aaronovitch, Marc Platt, Ian Briggs, Rona Munro and Andrew Cartmel discuss Season 26

• BEHIND THE SOFA New episodes with Sylvester McCoy & Sophie Aldred, companions Janet Fielding, Sarah Sutton & Anneke Wills, and Thirteenth Doctor writers Pete McTighe and Joy Wilkinson

• BECOMING THE DESTROYER Learn how cast and crew brought this fearsome monster to life

• RARE ARCHIVE DISCOVERIES Including previously unseen studio and location footage

• BLU-RAY TRAILER: THE PROMISE Ace returns! Sophie Aldred back in character for the first time since 1989

• IMMERSIVE 5.1 SURROUND SOUND On every version of every episode!

• PDF WRITTEN ARCHIVE Scripts & rare archival material

This set also features extensive Special Features previously released on DVD including: MAKING-OF DOCUMENTARIES, SPECIAL EDITIONS, FEATURETTES, DELETED SCENES, ISOLATED MUSIC SCORES, AUDIO COMMENTARIES, INFO TEXT AND MUCH MORE.

• SciFi Collector offers a limited edition ‘Art’ print ‘Battlefield’, signed in person by Angela Bruce – check it out here

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “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.