'Scratchman' by Tom Baker

What are you afraid of?

“We're really not here for a picnic, are we Doctor?” asked Sarah.

“No,” I agreed. “Something’s brought the TARDIS here.”

“Something good? Something evil?” She paused and sighed. “It’s going to be something evil, isn’t it?”

The Doctor, Harry and Sarah Jane Smith arrive at a remote Scottish island, when their holiday is cut short by the appearance of strange creatures – hideous scarecrows, preying on the local population. The islanders are living in fear, and the Doctor vows to save them all. But it doesn’t go to plan – the time travellers have fallen into a trap, and Scratchman is coming for them.

With the fate of the universe hanging in the balance, the Doctor must battle an ancient force from another dimension, one who claims to be the Devil.

Scratchman wants to know what the Doctor is most afraid of. And the Doctor’s worst nightmares are coming out to play...

A story so epic it was originally intended for the big screen, Scratchman is a gripping, white-knuckle thriller almost forty years in the making.


Publication Date:
January 2019

Notes:
*Featuring the Fourth Doctor, Sarah and Harry, and the Thirteenth Doctor

*A BBC Books publication

*This novel was based on an unproduced movie script called 'Doctor Who Meets Scratchman', written by Tom Baker and Ian Marter (who played Harry Sullivan) during breaks in filming 'Doctor Who' in 1974

*Time-placing: the Doctor is travelling in the TARDIS with Sarah and Harry, so this would logically fit between 'Revenge of the Cybermen' and 'Terror of the Zygons'; however, the Doctor refers to the events of 'Terror of the Zygons' and ‘The Android Invasion’, implying that Harry rejoined the TARDIS crew at a later date (alternatively, given the Doctor is recounting the story to the Time Lords, it is entirely possible that he is just embellishing his tale retrospectively!)

*Whilst in Hell, the Doctor sees versions of the First, Second, Third and Tenth Doctors, and meets the Thirteenth Doctor