Review: Doctor Who: BBC Audio: The Memory of Winter

The Doctor and Clara are summoned to 15th century France – and discover the secret of the Winter family card…

Jemma Redgrave performs George Mann’s final story in this quartet of tales about the centuries-spanning Winter family who have a card that allows them to pull the Doctor and Clara from wherever they are to come to their aid. We find out who it is who gives the family the card in the first place (and there’s no real surprise about it – but the way in which it happens is nicely handled), and there’s plenty of scope for future stories if BBC Audio so wish.

To non-Scottish ears, Redgrave seems to come closest of all the readers to Peter Capaldi’s accent (I’m sure those north of the border will be quick to correct me!), but also gets his inflections and tonal shifts spot on. Mann’s script feels like one of Big Finish’s Companion Chronicles in format, very much from Clara’s perspective, and weaving in a historical figure in a way you might not expect but which works surprisingly well by not focusing on the main reason for which the character is remembered. There are links back to Mann’s War Doctor novel Engines of War, as well as references to a “Her” that I presume is Ashildr, and some other incarnations of the Doctor.

With a new companion on the horizon, this may be the last story to feature Clara Oswald for a bit outside of the DWM comic strip, and between them Mann and Redgrave give her a fitting final adventure.

Verdict: A solid historical tale, related well by Jemma Redgrave. 8/10

Paul Simpson

Click here to order Doctor Who: The Memory of Winter from Amazon.co.uk