The Novel Adaptations: Nightshade

Professor Nightshade - tea time terror for all the family, and the most loved show in Britain. But Professor Nightshade's days are long over, and Edmund Trevithick is now just an unemployed actor in a retirement home, fondly remembering his past.It's the same through the entire village - people are falling prey to their memories. At first harmlessly, and then, the bodies begin to turn up. The Doctor and Ace arrive on the scene - but, with the Doctor planning his retirement, it may be time for Professor Nightshade to solve one last case. Nightshade is based on the novel by Mark Gatiss from the Virgin New Adventures series of Doctor Who books. Sylvester McCoy originally played the Doctor in 1987 - 1989, (then again in 1996) while his other work includes Radagast the Brown in Peter Jackson's epic The Hobbit films. Sophie Aldred's Ace companion is often viewed as Doctor Who's first contemporary young friend for the Doctor, setting out the template followed in later years by Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) and Clara Oswald (Jenna-Louise Coleman). In 2012 Sophie Aldred added another Doctor to those she's worked with when she and David Tennant starred in Tree Fu Tom. The original novel Doctor Who - Nightshade was written for Virgin Publishing in 1992 by Mark Gatiss - one of the stars of Sherlock and The League of Gentlemen, as well as a prolific writer for Doctor Who in a number of formats. CAST: Sylvester McCoy (The Doctor), Sophie Aldred (Ace), John Castle (Edmund Trevithick), Samuel Barnett (Robin), Katherine Jakeways (Jill), Edward Harrison (Dr. Hawthorne), Jonny Magnanti (Lawrence), Tom Price (Sgt Barclay) and Carole Ann Ford (Susan).