Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor Adventures: The Last Days of the Powell Estate from Big Finish Review

We’re back at Rose Tyler’s iconic home of the Powell Estate for episode two of her and the Ninth Doctor’s audio adventures. The year is 2036, and the place is unrecognisable. But unfortunately, this ain’t no glow up…

South London, 2036. The Doctor and Rose team up with an urban explorer to investigate the case of Mr Fingers, an invisible killer haunting an abandoned corner of the city. If you feel a hand on your shoulder: don’t look around…

Don’t let the goofy name ‘Mr Fingers’ fool you; this instalment is a terrifying turn by writer Timothy X Atack. Like Snare – the last audio in this series – the main threat here is mysterious, yet somehow complex and layered at the same time. This is a truly wretched beast that bears the hatred of the Daleks and the fear factor of the Vashta Nerada.

For those who haven’t listened to this, I will be vague, but I must say that the sound design around this antagonist is absolutely epic. The mixing, the distortion, the occasional bone-chilling vocalisation from a certain Dan Starkey… this is a villain that is superbly realised and uses the audio medium to the max. I would recommend The Last Days of the Powell Estate for Mr Fingers alone (it’s a shame about the name though).

But the praise doesn’t stop there for this one. Billie Piper once again is just like Rose, straight out of 2005 and she delivers as great a performance as she ever has. I don’t quite believe Christopher Eccleston as much, I’ve got to be honest – I don’t feel that same level of magic from him as I did from his original TV performance. But he is still great, and I am super grateful he is doing Big Finish, so I won’t push my luck!

Shout out to Camille Coduri for being great in this again, and to Mandi Symonds, who is delightful as Brainy Betty. The two have great chemistry that provides much-needed levity to some of the more intense scenes, and I like how they are woven into the narrative from a different time before the Powell Estate has become desolate.

More praise about the script: I enjoy that, with 20 years of hindsight, we can include modern references to things such as the lingo of the 2020’s and developments in technology. These are obviously things the writers weren’t certain of in 2005, and I think it is clever of Atack, as a writer in 2025, to have the Ninth Doctor do stuff like utter the phrase “glow up”. As a time traveller, he knows all sorts about the future of the human race, so it makes total sense if his speech doesn’t feel very ‘noughties’ all the time.

And how can we not mention the Doctor’s speech towards the episode’s thrilling showdown? Sure, he is expounding about his survivor’s guilt again, but it feels fresh, and is acted with great intensity by Eccleston. Again, I will let you hear it for yourself, but man, goosebumps.

In Closing…

A scary yet fun story to continue the shenanigans on the Powell Estate. I don’t dare look behind me… but don’t let that put you off.

Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor Adventures: The Last Days of the Powell Estate is available to buy now from the Big Finish Website; for £9.99 on digital download.