Amy Pond looks for her Raggedy Man, Jo Grant remembers her childhood, the Master hunts the past...a young girl discovers a love for explosives. Eleven incredible stories from the world of Doctor Who—the early lives of friends and foes that have never been told before.

For two decades, from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s, every fan of the Doctor hoped to find The Doctor Who Annual in their Christmas stocking. Larger than life and twice as colourful, the stories within were exuberant - and often charmingly naive - in their take on 'the children's own programme which adults adore'. Here, for the first time on audio, Peter Purves (Steven), Anneke Wills (Polly), Geoffrey Beevers (the Master), Matthew Waterhouse (Adric) and Nicola Bryant (Peri) read a selection of these tales.

Fabulous tales from the vintage pages of Doctor Who Annual, brought to life by a host of Doctor Who voices. Dan Starkey, Geoffrey Beevers, Anneke Wills, Jon Culshaw, Louise Jameson and Colin Baker are our guides through these weird and wacky stories.

The TARDIS crewmembers have taken a break from their adventures and are enjoying a rest in a luxury villa. But, in the gory grandeur that is Imperial Rome, things don't stay quiet. If the time travellers can save themselves from being sold as slaves, assassinated by classical hit-men, poisoned by the evil Locusta, thrown to the lions, maimed in the arena and drowned in a shipwreck, they still have to face the diabolical might of the mad Emperor Nero. As if that wasn't enough, they also discover that, although Rome wasn't built in a day, it burnt down in considerably less time.

On the planet Tigella, the Savants and the Deons are irrevocably opposed on one crucial issue: the Dodecahedron, mysterious source of all their power. To the Savants, it's a miracle of science to be studied and used to benefit all. To the Deons, it's a god, and not to be tampered with. When the power source begins to fluctuate, the whole planet is threatened. Zastor, Tigella's leader, welcomes the Doctor and invites him to arbitrate; yet the Time Lord may not be all he seems.

The world is increasingly unthinkable, a world of planetary disasters, emerging pandemics, and the looming threat of extinction. In this book, Eugene Thacker suggests that we look to the genre of horror as offering a way of thinking about the unthinkable world. To confront this idea is to confront the limit of our ability to understand the world in which we live - a central motif of the horror genre. In the Dust of This Planet explores these relationships between philosophy and horror.

Maureen O'Brien reads this thrilling novelisation of a classic Doctor Who adventure. From his one previous visit the Doctor remembers the inhabitants of the planet Dido as a gentle, peace-loving people. But when he returns, things have changed dramatically. It seems that the Didoi have brutally massacred the crew of the crashed spaceliner Astra.

The waters of the Pacific Ocean form the backdrop of this foray into Eighteenth Century seafaring for the Doctor and Martha, when the TARDIS materialises on board the Blue Groper sailing ship. Grudgingly accepted as stowaways by Captain Sadler's crew, the travellers learn that the ship is on a mission to Luna Puesta, 'the land where the moon has set'. There, just off the coast of New Zealand, Professor James Tomlinson hopes to locate a missing archaeological link between dinosaurs and man.

Following an encounter with the Cybermen, the Doctor's life appears to hang in the balance—until, before the eyes of his companions Ben and Polly, his physical appearance is transformed! Disoriented after his regeneration, the Doctor takes the TARDIS to the Earth colony planet Vulcan. Ben and Polly are disturbed—the Doctor isn't the man he used to be. The Doctor is also worried; the colonists have found the remains of two Daleks, which they plan to revive!

The TARDIS lands in a primeval forest, and the Doctor meets Leela, a warrior banished from her tribe. He learns that an ongoing war between the Sevateem and the Tesh was instigated by Xoanon, the god they both worship. In reality, an all-powerful computer, Xoanon, is possessed by a desperate madness directly related to the Doctor - one which only the Time Lord can rectify! In order to do battle with Xoanon, the Doctor must escape, not only from the savage practices of the Sevateem but also from the mind-controlling impulses of the Tesh.

An unabridged reading of the brand-new novel based on a storyline by Douglas Adams. The Doctor promised Romana the end of the universe, so she's less than impressed when what she gets is a cricket match. But then the award ceremony is interrupted by 11 figures in white uniforms and peaked skull helmets wielding bat-shaped weapons that fire lethal bolts of light into the screaming crowd. The Krikkitmen are back.

Richard Franklin reads an original novel by Mark Gatiss, featuring the Third Doctor as played on TV by Jon Pertwee. The aerodrome in Culverton has new owners, and they promise an era of prosperity for the idyllic village. But former Spitfire pilot Alex Whistler is suspicious, and when black-shirted troops appear on the streets, he contacts his old friend, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart at UNIT. The Doctor investigates – and soon uncovers a sinister plot to colonise the Earth. The Gaderene are on their way….

The TARDIS materialises on a remote island, set in a sea of acid, on the planet Marinus. The Doctor, Susan, Ian and Barbara meet Arbitan, keeper of a vast computer which rules and balances the gentle life of Marinus. Yet peace on the planet is threatened by the sub-human Voord, who wish to take control of the Conscience. Arbitan enlists the travellers to find the five crucial Keys of Marinus in various locations across the planet. Thus begins a series of terrifying adventures for the Doctor and his friends, who must find the Keys if they wish to ever to see the TARDIS again.

An unabridged reading of this original novel featuring the Seventh Doctor, as played on TV by Sylvester McCoy, and Ace in an encounter with the Cybermen. The Blitz is at its height. As the Luftwaffe bomb London, Cody McBridge, expat American private eye, sees a sinister silver sphere crash-land. He glimpses something emerging from within.

The military dismiss his account of events - the sphere must be a new German secret weapon that has malfunctioned. What else could it be?

Christmas can mean anything.... For Missy, it's solving murders in 1909. For a little girl in Dublin, it's Plasmavores knocking at the door. For Davros, it's a summons from the Doctor, who needs the mad inventor's help.