Steve Lyons’ short story ‘Agent of the Daleks’ pits the First Doctor against his oldest and most fearsome adversaries. The new audiobook takes its inspiration from the classic era of 1960s ‘Doctor Who’. For those purists amongst us who cherish or much prefer the original series, this adventure is a real treat. It has the feel of a Target novelisation, and Lyons’ characterisations of the Doctor, Vicki and Steven ring true at every moment.
Bringing this audio adventure to life is Maureen O’Brien, who played the companion Vicki. Although she now sounds different to her younger self, her characterisations are splendid, and she can stretch her vocals to a decent impression of William Hartnell’s gruff and irascible Doctor. She is joined by Nicholas Briggs, a familiar name to ‘Doctor Who’ fans thanks to his many documentary interview films. In more recent times he has provided the voice of the Daleks and he is a natural choice to bring them to life in this recording.
Author Steve Lyons will be a familiar name to ‘Doctor Who’ fans. He wrote many novels during the doldrum years of the 1990s, as well as reference books that are a mine of essential information for fans. A good writer steeped in the history of the show and reverential of its traditions seems to almost effortlessly create this First Doctor story. Close your eyes and imagine its a missing episode.
‘Agent of the Daleks’ plays on many of the traditions of ‘Doctor Who’. It is a classic ‘base under siege’ adventure, with human inhabitants of a moon colony bracing themselves for an invasion by the Daleks. When Steven determines exactly how the Daleks intend to penetrate the base’s defences, suspicion falls upon him that he is secretly a Dalek agent – a robotic clone planted among the humans to betray them. This element of the story recalls the villainous Stein of ‘Resurrection of the Daleks’, but Lyons’ ingenuity is to suggest that the robot Doctor from ‘The Chase’ was also a Dalek agent. The Doctor even protests that it only possessed a passing resemblance (an in-joke based on the fact that they couldn’t have found an actor who looked very much less like William Hartnell than his supposed doppelgänger in ‘The Chase’, which renders the episode unintentionally hilarious).
We all know that Steven is a solid, dependable type. And besides, he’s already faced the terrible Daleks and survived. That means that there’s a mystery at the heart of the story as to the identity of the real Dalek agent – as suggested by the title. With a limited cast of new characters, the big reveal comes as no great surprise, but it’s all in-keeping with the spirit of the show.
‘Agent of the Daleks’ has a lot going for it. Running to an hour and a quarter, it can be digested in a single sitting, and it is probably best-enjoyed in this way as the story rips along at a fair old pace. Lyons’ original contribution is to delve deeper into the implications of time travel and how the TARDIS crew’s knowledge of future and past events shapes their present actions. In that respect, it's arguably more philosophical than the black and white episodes had the time or inclination to be. Perhaps that's no bad thing.
If you enjoy 1960s ‘Doctor Who’ stories, then ‘Agent of the Daleks’ is a good choice to add to your audio library.
Author: Steve Lyons Narrators: Maureen O'Brien, Nicholas Briggs Duration: 75 minutes Published by: Penguin Random House Audio for BBC Audio Publication date: 6th March 2025 Buy ‘Doctor Who: Agent of the Daleks'
