Arriving this week, the multi-platform event “Circuit Breaker” gives Doctor Who fans a fresh, character-driven story at a moment of behind-the-scenes upheaval — with the festive special shelved and the show’s future in flux. The crossover, which begins on June 25, promises to deepen the Fugitive Doctor’s arc while pitting her against some of the franchise’s most dangerous foes.
In an interview with Radio Times, actor Jo Martin said the project has allowed her to expand the Fugitive Doctor beyond the brisk, no-nonsense figure viewers have seen on television. She described uncovering emotional layers — vulnerability, doubt and personal history — that add texture to a character often presented as relentlessly decisive.
Playing against type
Martin explained that the Fugitive Doctor’s public face can be a deliberate shield. Off-screen formats such as audio dramas and comics have given the creative team room to explore how humour and sarcasm can mask deeper feelings, and to show the Doctor questioning past choices. The result, she suggested, is a more rounded protagonist whose moments of hesitation make her decisive actions more resonant.
Those nuances will be threaded through a story that is deliberately epic in scale: enemies from across the series’ rogues’ gallery reappear, while an unseen menace manipulates events from the shadows. The core conflict tests loyalties and raises doubts among those who have trusted the Time Lord the longest.
What Circuit Breaker sets up
At the heart of the crossover is a crisis inside UNIT’s most secure repository, the Black Archive. Objects have been yanked free of their timelines and are emitting a reality-tearing energy. With conventional approaches failing, newly promoted Black Archive head Osgood (played by Ingrid Oliver) and her assistant Andrew (Omari Douglas) make an extraordinary appeal: call the Doctor — the Fugitive Doctor — to help.
The stakes are both cosmic and personal. The Doctor will face old enemies such as the Daleks, Cybermen and Sontarans, as well as a rogue Weeping Angel, all while a hidden antagonist escalates the threat. As secrets surface, cracks form in UNIT’s trust, and some allies begin to wonder whether the Time Lord they brought in is what she appears to be.
| Date | Title | Format & Contributor(s) |
|---|---|---|
| June 25 | Calling the Doctor | UNIT website story by Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson |
| July 8 | Adversary of the Daleks | Titan Comics — Dulce M. Montoya & Dan Watters; art by Roberta Ingranata & Sami Kivelä |
| July 23 | The Honourable Society | Doctor Who Magazine #632 — Jason Quinn; art by Anthony Williams |
| July 30 | The Deadliest Weapon | BBC Audiobooks Original — Steve Lyons; narrated by Jo Martin (with David Banks) |
| Aug 4 | Dawn of the Daleks | Titan Comics — Dulce M. Montoya & Dan Watters; art by Ingranata & Kivelä |
| Aug 6 | Castling | East Side Games — Mario Mentasti |
| Aug 17 | Don’t Blink! | UNIT website — Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson |
| Aug 20 | The Doctor and the Three Witches | Puffin book — Janelle McCurdy |
| Aug 27 | Moment Mori | East Side Games — Mario Mentasti |
| Aug 31 | The Black Archive Files | Circuit Breaker DVD release |
| Sep 3 | The Kaleidoscope | Penguin Random House — Jo Martin (author) |
| Sep 22 | Full Circuit | Big Finish audio — Robert Valentine |
| Sep 24 | Short Circuits | Big Finish audio — Robert Valentine |
Releases span comics, audio dramas, fiction and in-universe website content, designed to be experienced independently or as part of the whole. The first chapter goes live on the UNIT website on June 25, with subsequent entries rolling out across summer and early autumn.
For fans, the appeal is twofold: a chance to see a less familiar side of a compelling incarnation of the Doctor, and a deliberately cross-format story that rewards engagement across platforms. Creators involved say the format gives them room to build character and atmosphere in ways a single TV episode often cannot.
Wherever you follow it — via the official Doctor Who channels or the Whoniverse Show — Circuit Breaker looks set to be a sustained narrative experiment that foregrounds character development as much as spectacle, with Jo Martin‘s performance positioned at its centre.
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Hello, I’m Jax. I guide you through the latest comics releases and enrich your geek universe.