As the sidebar of this release amusingly puts it, this is a side step into Virgin territory, more precisely that of the Virgin New Adventures.

The Doctor, Ace and Bernice have arrived at a hotel in Kent, where a number of separate events are taking places. And surely somebody on the staff had a sense of humour when they booked physic channelling, a time travel experiment and cross-stitchers on the same weekend.

But the joke wears thin quickly when the hotel is taken out of time and the alien Scourge arrive to claim the people inside from their representative on Earth... the Doctor!

Has the Doctor really betrayed humanity this time? Can Bernice probe the murky depths of his mind to discover the truth? And is there anybody left that can save the world?

If Jonathan Blum's The Fearmonger was like a Virgin New Adventures story, this is the real deal. Paul Cornell has shamelessly plunged us into the universe of Time's Champion, his sidekick Ace The Space Bitch and Professor Benny Summerfield, in all their dysfunctional glory.

Unfortunately, as with Blum's earlier effort, this one doesn't quite work as an audio play. Maybe these are too much like the novels of the 90's, but there is some quality within both scripts that doesn't transfer so well to this medium.

Not that the regulars don't try, they do. Sylvester gives us a subtly different Doctor to his other audio performances so far, while Sophie too manages to get her slightly altered character across. And it is a joy to hear Lisa Bowerman included in the team for the first time, she fits in so well it is hard to believe this is the first time the three principles have acted together in one of these plays.

Unfortunately, none of the guest cast stand out, which isn't a good sign for an audio story. No matter how good the regulars may be, they always need backup from their fellow actors. Sadly there is little forthcoming here.

On the whole, an interesting experiment in crossing one format with another, but ultimately it didn't work out. At least not this time. There is however enough promise here that it is worth trying again, maybe with a different author next time around.