Posted in: BBC, Doctor Who, TV | Tagged: doctor who

Doctor Who: Jo Martin's Fugitive Doctor Returns for "Circuit Breaker"

Jo Martin's Fugitive Doctor returns in 2026 for the epic Doctor Who multimedia saga Circuit Breaker, including audio dramas, books, and more.

Think the next eighteen months will be quiet on the Doctor Who front, what with the series' future seasons uncertain? Well, think again. BBC Studios, in collaboration with BBC Audio, Big Finish Productions, Doctor Who Magazine, East Side Games (Oh God, please don't let this be another horrible mobile phone game…!), Penguin Random House and Titan Comics are excited to announce the upcoming launch of Circuit Breaker, a groundbreaking mixed-media Doctor Who story set to debut in 2026. Spanning audio dramas, comics, mobile games, novels, and digital storytelling, Circuit Breaker is a bold new chapter in the Whoniverse, offering an ambitious interconnected narrative that will unfold across multiple formats, inviting fans to experience the mystery from every angle. The overarching narrative is crafted by Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson, best-selling author and rising star in speculative fiction, and features Jo Martin as the Fugitive Doctor.

In Circuit Breaker, strange alien artifacts begin appearing inside UNIT's Black Archive. Each object is unmistakably linked to a different regeneration of the Doctor, but they've been tampered with. A corrupted energy signature of unknown origin pulses through them, and their sudden arrival has torn tiny ruptures across time and space.

UNIT is out of options. To repair the damage and restore the timeline, the objects must be returned to the exact moments they were taken from. If not, the Doctor's adventures – and the universe itself – could unravel. To solve the mystery, UNIT calls upon a little-known incarnation of the Time Lord: the Fugitive Doctor, played by Jo Martin, who returns in a central role. But how does UNIT know about her? And is she the Doctor they expect? Why is she the one who can solve this crisis? Could it be that she might be the true first Doctor?

Martin shared, "I'm thrilled to tell more stories about the Fugitive Doctor and cannot wait for fans to unlock all the twists and turns across the Circuit Breaker story. This character has always meant so much to me, and it is a joy to continue building her legacy and dive back into the Whoniverse." Stephen Davies, SVP Global Licensing, BBC Studios, added, "Circuit Breaker is an exciting evolution for the Whoniverse. By bringing together world-class partners across publishing, audio, comics, and gaming, we're creating a truly immersive, multi-platform experience for fans. This is a bold step in expanding the Doctor Who brand, deepening engagement, exploring new stories, and welcoming new audiences into the universe of the Doctor."

The last time the BBC attempted a multimedia event was in 2022 during the series' 60th Anniversary with "Doom's Day", but the flaw in that venture was the focus on a totally new, made-up character instead of having a Doctor at its centre. Circuit Breaker looks like they learned their lesson and put an actual Doctor in it, and a popular and underutilised one at that. Here's hoping it's good, because we all love Martin's Doctor. She might become this era's version of Paul McGann's Doctor in having a long post-TV afterlife.

Doctor Who: Circuit Breaker will debut in 2026.

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