WITH THE sad news last week of the passing of the late, great Bernard Cribbins, we wanted to celebrate his life at Pieces of Eighth.

In a change to the advertised programme (again!), we've done a special episode marking Bernard's return to Doctor Who after some 40 odd years, in Big Finish Eighth Doctor Adventure Horror of Glam Rock, the third story in the Lucie Miller series of adventures.

Kenny and Rebecca celebrate Bernard's life, and they're joined by writer Paul Magrs, who explains where the story came from, his memories of writing it, and his joy at having one of Big Finish's most stellar casts, ever.

This episode also contains Kenny telling a British tabloid newspaper to go away, in colourful language - for the second week in a row!

And stay tuned until the end, as we've got an added little treat, which will hopefully make you smile.

ONE of the wonders of Doctor Who is that it can be set anywhere - a space station, an army base, a service station or even a care home for the elderly.

And it's to the latter that we travel this week, as Kenny and Becca find out about another Short Trip from Big Finish, Curse of the Fugue, as they discuss the tale, written by Alice Cavender, and she joins us for a chat, along with producer Ian Atkins and sound designer/musician Steve Foxon.

We hear about the recording session that was up against the clock - and why narrator Sheridan Smith was a real star on the day, seeing the job through until the end. The tale was released in April 2016.

Also: Be warned! This episode contains Kenny dropping three F bombs at the mention a particular British daily 'newspaper', which is filled with hate and venom, and once turned its ire on our poor beloved Sheridan Smith when she was going through the traumatic loss of her father.

THE FIFTH, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Doctors are united in one story - except, well, they aren't really... in The Four Doctors.

This week, Becca and Kenny go behind the scenes of this Big Finish subscriber exclusive audio, released in 2010.

We're joined by writer Peter Anghelides, actor/cover artist Alex Mallinson and sound designer/composer Steve Foxon, in this first-ever look behind the scenes at this tale - as there's no official CD extras with the Big Finish release!

CAST your mind back to 2006/07, when BBC7 broadcast all-new Doctor Who, starring Paul McGann and Sheridan Smith.

Accompanying each release, from Blood of the Daleks to Human Resources was Beyond The Vortex, a making-of series going behind the scenes to reveal just what went into making the whole series.

This week, Kenny and the returning Becca (hurrah!) celebrate Beyond The Vortex, have a chat with its producer Martin Montague, and bring you all eight episodes of this insightful series. 

Beyond The Vortex is copyright BBC, and we bring you this series because it's unavailable everywhere else. 

Illustration: Si Hodges

IT'S OUR first dive into the world of Stranded, the most recent series of box sets from Big Finish, in which the Doctor, Helen and Liv are stranded (surprisingly enough!) in London, 2020, at the Time Lord's Baker Street residence.

Kenny and Matt (with poor Becca still recovering from COVID) chat about UNIT Dating, in which the Doctor dips into his past to help TARDIS repairs in the present, and Andy joins him on a trip to UNIT. In the 1970s, young soldier Ron Winters has just met lab assistant Tony Clare. But in 2020, they need Liv and Helen’s help when their memories start falling apart...

We're joined by writer Roy Gill, in a rare podcast appearance, as well as sound designer Benji Clifford, who tells about writing the song Wizards of the Universe.

WE'RE BACK in the thick of the Time War in this week's episode, as we find the Fifth Doctor's companion Nyssa caught up in the conflict, on her ship, the Traken.

Kenny and Matt discuss the story - as Becca recovers from COVID - and we're joined by writer Rob Nisbet and producer Ian Atkins to discuss A Heart on Both SIdes, a Big Finish Short Trip, released in 2017.

And it's only £2.99 - go on, you know you want to buy it, if you've not already heard it!

EARLIER this year, Charlotte Elspeth Pollard returned for four new adventures alongside Paul McGann's Eighth Doctor, in a box set set after Minuet in Hell.

This week, Kenny and Matt have a chat about the return of everyone's favourite Edwardian Adventuress, and we've got interviews with writer Lisa McMullan, sound designer Steve Foxon and musician Joe Kraemer.

We're also still sending out love to Becca and hope she'll be back very soon.

This week we look at Fear Itself by Nick Wallace - the BBC Eighth Doctor Adventure that isn't an Eighth Doctor Adventure, sort of...!  

Sadly, Becca's had COVID and can't join us this week, so Matt Michael steps into her shoes once more - although they are a little too small for him.

We chat with the author, and gain an insight into the Eighth Doctor PDA...

THIS week's episode of Pieces of Eighth brings you a first - we actually have a reading of a full, officially licensed BBC Doctor Who story (except we've done it unofficially!).

We bring you a full reading of Tara Samms' Totem, which originally appeared in the book More Short Trips. It's been performed by Becca, with Kenny on sound design.

And then, to top it all off, we've got an interview with Steve Cole, who was the editor of the collection and tells us more about Totem.

(And we've got to say thanks to our friends over at Fiction Paradox, the world's only Eighth Doctor BBC Books-dedicated podcast, that they know of) for reminding us of the story, and to those cheeky chappies at The Sirens of Audio podcast, who've previously brought Short Trips to life as readings, for the inspiration to do this)

THIS episode of Pieces of Eighth is released on June 2, 2022 - exactly 25 years to the day since BBC Books began publishing original Doctor Who fiction.

Sadly, Becca's still not able to join us due to the difficult news she was given last week, but with her blessing, we're carrying on and our good friend Matt Michael has stepped in - with just two hours' notice - to help bring this episode to you.

We discuss the launch of the Eighth Doctor Adventures range, featuring exclusive interviews with Steve Cole, his assistant Lesley Levene, and James Macey from Black Sheep, who were responsible for the cover designs, the latter two giving their first Doctor Who interviews.

Kenny also opens up his personal archive, as he and Matt bring you the original BBC press releases and publicity material which were given out to the media back in 1997 -isn't it a good job Kenny NEVER throws away anything?

It's our longest episode yet, at 132 minutes!