George White experienced exciting, sometimes dangerous escapades throughout his professional and personal life. Now he loves to arrange public talks to share memories and pictures from his adventures around the world. At an event in Hoxteth, he meets a colourful stranger for the very first time.
But if George can't recall ever meeting this man before, how can it be that the Sixth Doctor clearly appears in so many of the photographs that George took more than a decade ago?
Winner of the Paul Spragg Memorial Short Trip Opportunity 2023
Recorded on: 26-27 October 2023
Recorded at: Remote recording
About the winning entry
The judging panel:
- Nicholas Briggs, Creative Director for Big Finish
- Gabby De Matteis, former Doctor Who Brand Editorial Manager
- Peter Anghelides, Producer of the Doctor Who - Short Trips range
- Dominic Martin, Writer and Big Finish Assistant Producer
Nicholas Briggs said: “This is always a very important time of year for us. We not only remember Paul Spragg’s vital contribution to Big Finish, but also his legacy of encouraging new talent. This time, the winning story gives us a timely opportunity to feature the Sixth Doctor, and it’s really delightful that my old friend Colin Baker was available to record this one.”
Gabby De Matteis added: “We were all so taken with The Hoxteth Time Capsule – a bittersweet story about memory and adventure, with a good old-fashioned, alien-related mystery at its heart. Congratulations to Paul Davis for penning this wonderful tale! I’m so pleased to have been involved in adding it to Big Finish’s Doctor Who canon.”
Dominic Martin said: “It was amazing to be involved in judging this year. Helping new blood be discovered is the privilege of this competition, and it’s such a delight to see the concept reach its potential as a full audio piece by such magnificent talent! Paul Davis’s piece feels like Doctor Who in its most natural form, with a wonderfully creative plot driven by the incredibly charismatic Sixth Doctor, who is written perfectly. Magnificent work by Paul!”
Peter Anghelides concluded: “I realised that our previous seven winners had, by happy coincidence, each featured different Doctors as their protagonist. So this year, we asked people to propose stories for one of the other five. Paul’s story captures the Sixth Doctor wonderfully, and it was an additional pleasure to have the authentic voice of the Sixth Doctor to perform our 2023 winner.”
