Doctor Who companion Sarah Jane Smith, has been recast for the new audio drama by Big Finish. Sadie Miller will step in to voice the character, which was originally played by her mother, Elisabeth Sladen.

As Sarah Jane, one of the Doctor’s most popular companions, Sladen starred in the TV show from 1973 to 1983. Once the show restarted in the mid-2000s, she returned to the character for a few episodes and then from 2007 to 2011, she starred in her own show, The Sarah Jane Adventures. Sladen died in 2011 at the age of 65.

Miller will voice Sarah Jane for Doctor Who: Return of the Cybermen, opposite Tom Baker. The new audio adventure is based on an unaired script that was originally written for the TV series in 1974. The Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane will be joined by companion Harry Sullivan, voiced by Christopher Naylor.

Regarding the recasting, Big Finish senior producer David Richardson questioned whether they should look for a new Sarah Jane and who could fill the role. “But then we realized that part of Lis lives on in Sadie, and Sadie has beautifully brought that to the role of Sarah – we all approached this carefully, and respectfully, and with love and I couldn’t be happier with Sadie’s performance. She’s done her mum proud,” Richardson said.

“When Big Finish asked me to play Sarah Jane for this story, I was very nervous. I didn’t want to create a performance from someone else’s,” Miller said. “So I tried to approach it as I would with any other role. I’ve tried to find my own piece of Sarah – the part of my mum that’s in me. But I have had a quick look on YouTube for Sarah Jane Smith screams, because I wasn’t quite sure how she would want me to do those. Other than that I just tried to keep it as separate in my mind as possible from the original.”

“The fans of Doctor Who have always been so kind and generous to me and to my family. It was always a part of my life growing up, I was never not aware of it. People have always been very kind in letting us come along for the ride really, through conventions and now things like Big Finish and, after mum passed away, the outpouring of love for her has been lovely,” Miller added.

Doctor Who: Return of the Cyberman will be released in January 2021. It is now available for preorder as a collector’s edition two-disc box set or download from bigfinish.com.