Young Winston
Ian McNeice (Winston Churchill), Neve McIntosh (Madame Vastra), Iain Batchelor (Young Winston), Melody Grove (Carmen/Housekeeper), Owen Aaronovitch (Luis Ortega), Leighton Pugh (Reggie/Jorge/Clerk). Other parts played by members of the cast.
London, 1899. After spending time in warzones abroad, Winston Churchill considers a Parliamentary career. But a memento from his visit to Cuba, four years earlier, returns to haunt him. Across the city, the Great Detective has a mysterious caller, all the way from Havana. As ruthless mercenaries wield alien powers, young Winston and Madame Vastra learn they have a mutual friend – an eccentric young man, sporting a bowtie…
Young Winston was the first story in The Churchill Years: Volume Two. It featured Madame Vastra.
Carmen sought out Madame Vastra instead of a pathologist and an impresario or Sherlock Holmes of whom she had also heard.
The title of the story is a reference to the 1972 film Young Winston.
This is Vastra’s first appearance without Jenny Flint and one of only two appearances without Strax, the other being The Lost Dimension.
Churchill visited Havana, Cuba in 1895. (The Lost Diaries of Winston Spencer Churchill)
the Eleventh Doctor is described as wearing a purple frock coat. (The Bells of St John)
10/10″The fact that the main character was such a multifaceted man in real life gives the writers, producer David Richardson, director Ken Bentley, Ian McNeice and the whole cast so much to work with and none of them drop the ball in the delivery… You need this set in your life. It will make you feel proud to be British!” Indie Mac User
10/10″Historical characters deserve to be treated with the utmost respect. Director Ken Bentley has crafted a fitting tribute not only to Churchill but the indomitable spirit of the British people during the most dreadful of historical events.” Blogtor Who
“This is fantastic and walks the line of inspired lunacy that the best historical Doctor Who stories should.” SciFi Bulletin
“There’s something about McNeice’s voice that really captures and holds your attention, and McIntosh’s narration added to that too, the variety of the two made it much more engaging, it was like listening to two friends recount a story” Gallifrey Archive
“McNeice is clearly in great form, and Churchill’s life was long and studded with real incidents which lend themselves to a Doctor Who treatment. On the strength of this box set and its predecessor, a third set would be no hardship at all, and with the dramatic returns showing no signs of diminishing yet, there’s no reason why Churchill himself shouldn’t KBO for years to come at Big Finish.” MassMovement
5/5″Ian McNeice seems to have relished the dialogue and the whole piece sparkles.” Cultbox