The Doctor and her companions arrive in 1612 Lancashire, having failed to arrive at Elizabeth I's coronation. On arrival, they witness a witch trial overseen by the local landowner, Becka Savage. After the Doctor poses as the Witch Finder General, she realises that there is possible alien interference in the village...

Doctor Who: The Witchfinders (178) pages is a novelisation of the television story, written by Joy Wilkinson, who wrote the original show.

The novel structure has allowed Wilkinson to expand on her original script, a script that was one of the better ones of season eleven. Small scenes which, passed unremarkably - like the silent flashback of Becka asking granny to find a cure - are expanded to the full, with dialogue and expanded description. We are also given more insight into the Morax, giving them more flesh than just the monster of the week.

Likewise, the novel form has allowed Wilkinson to structure the story differently expanding Willa’s role.

If you liked the script, you will like the superior telling of the tale in novel form as Wilkinson has produced something which has transcended her original tale.

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Charles Packer