Power of 3
by Kenny Smith
A podcast discussing Doctor Who-related items, more often than not in threes, whether stories, guests, or anything else. Featuring a regular team of hosts, including Kenny Smith, and David Steel (not the former Liberal Party MP, MSP and leader). Our other regular conspirators are Dr John Bollan, Stephen Day and Matt Michael, with irregular appearances from the podcast's founding father, Tom Harris (the former Labour MP). We also welcome a host of great Doctor Who guests, using "Kenny's bottomless address book" (c) David Steel.
Episodes
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580: The Making of The Daleks' Master Plan
Ever since the recovery of episodes one and three of the Hartnell epic earlier this year, there's been a renewed interest in the 12-part adventure. We speak with three of the people involved in the new book from Magic Bullet, The Daleks' Master Plan - The Making of a Television Serial. We're…
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579: The Key To Time
The Key to Time - once a source of frustration for Target book fans, when they had five-sixths of the story novelised, and there was that annoying gap between The Ribos Operation and The Stones of Blood. But that gap has since been filled, and now, BBC Books has released a bumper volume featuring...
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578: BBC Audiobooks 2026 (part two)
The Power of 3 is a podcast that loves audio Doctor Who. Whether it's the BBC Radio productions, Big Finish, or BBC Audiobooks, we adore them all. Today, we're delighted to be joined by the marvellous Mr Michael Stevens, who talks us through the rest of this year's output from BBC Audiobooks, and...
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577: At Childhood's End
If you've got issue 635 of Doctor Who Magazine in physical form, then you'll have received a copy of At Childhood's End in the packaging. This new Target edition, under The Companions of Doctor Who banner, is an edited down version of Sophie Aldred's 2020 novel featuring Ace's encounter with the...
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576 : Excellent! The 80s Cybermen stories
In the 1980s, the Cyberleader played by David Banks, became Doctor Who's equivalent of Darth Vader (c) David Steel. Today, after seeing the 80s Cyberactors in Derby last month, Dave and Kenny are joined by Craig Brawley, to discuss a quartet of tales featuring the men from Mondas/terrors from…
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575: Shard of Life
BBC Audiobooks has just released its final original adventure of the year for download and CD. And the man who has written it is no stranger to Doctor Who fandom, as it's David J Howe, best known for his work in DWM and in writing essential Doctor Who reference works such as The Sixties…
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574: The Lost Stories - The Big Store
We're S... H... O... P... P... I... N... G... We're shopping! So sang Pet Shop Boys on their song Shopping, and today, we joined the Second Doctor, Ben and Polly as they end up in a department store. We look at the original outline for the story that would later become The Faceless Ones, as we...
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573: The Black Archive - Frontios
Earlier this year, our team discussed Frontios, after it was announced that Season 21 was coming to blu-ray. And now, Christopher H Bidmead's story with the Fifth Doctor, Tegan and Turlough facing the Tractators has been given the Black Archive treatment by Paul Driscoll. Paul discusses the…
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572: AI, AI Who
One of the hot topics in real life, not just in Doctor Who circles, is AI and its use in the world today. Artificial intelligence (we're not going with the rebrand from the orange buffoon) is changing the world in which we live, and we've seen numerous Doctor Who-related videos appearing in…
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571: Prime Time
The Seventh Doctor and Ace are in trouble... big trouble. Not only are they caught up in a world where executives will do anything to improve their TV ratings, but they have a couple of other foes to stop as well. The Master and the Fleshsmiths are working together for an ulterior motive... but...
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570: The Museum Guidebook - 1963-1981
If you're a Doctor Who fan wanting to see original props, costumes and models from the show - and a lot more - then there's only one place to go. The Museum of Classic Sci-Fi in the north of England hosts numerous original creations, including Broton, a Mandrel, the Garm, Mestor, and a host of...
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569: The Deaths of Doctor Who
As Doctor Who fans, we're used to the idea of regeneration, and that in order to get a new Doctor, the previous one has to go - and die. The Deaths of Doctor Who is a new range of books from Scottish writer Francis O'Dowd, who joins us in person to discuss the first five books in the series to...
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568: The Doctor Who Production Diary - The Troughton Years
If you're anything like the regulars on this podcast, then you will love all of the minutiae of the making of Doctor Who. And, to keep us sated, the second volume of The Doctor Who Production Diary from Telos Publishing has now been released, covering The Troughton Years. Author David Brunt sent…
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567: Horror of the Space Snakes
Snakes... on a moonbase? Yes, that's exactly what this book is about! Join us as we take a look at Gary Russell's Eleventh Doctor novel which took our favourite Time Lord to the moon (before it hatched into a space dragon), where he encountered some serpents. Find out how this book came to be…
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566: The Lost Stories - Circus of Destiny
When you think of the name of writer Ben Steed, the chances are, you'll think of the three episodes he wrote for Blake's 7. Maybe you know his work from 80s ferry-based soap Triangle. Or, perhaps, you might remember his ITV sci-fi kids show Kappatoo. But did you know he had a script for Doctor…
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565: Grave Matter
Every now and then, along comes a Doctor Who adventure that's just scary. Grave Matter, by the late, great Justin Richards, is very much one of those novels - mysterious goings on, on an island off the coast of Britain. We welcome Justin's son Julian to talk through some of the creative process…
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564: Divided Loyalties
The Toymaker has been given a lease of new life in the 21st century, after his return to TV Doctor Who in The Giggle. Brian Hayles's creation has always fascinated fans, leading to him appearing in comic strips, and, eventually, a BBC Past Doctor Adventure. We're joined by writer Gary Russell to...
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563: Who-ray for Whooverville! (Ft Jonathon Carley)
Kenny and Dave travelled down to Derby on 5 September 2026, to attend Whooverville 17. There, they met up with regular podcast contributor Craig Brawley, and had a fantastic time at the convention, with Cybermen, bikers vs Daleks, and lots more. Here, they share their highlights - and are joined…
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562: I'll Think Of A Title Honest - Remembering David A McIntee
One of the most prolific novelists for Doctor Who during wilderness years 1.0 was David A McIntee. A writer for Virgin's New and Missing Adventures, as well as the BBC Books Past Doctor and Eighth Doctor ranges, the Scotsman was a huge fan of the Master. Sadly, David, who spoke to us several…
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561: The Paradise of Death (Novelisation)
Power of 3 listeners with long memories will recall we previously looked at the Jon Pertwee radio episodes in our 121st episode. Three years and 440 episodes later, we're putting it back under the microscope again, as we look at Barry Letts's novelisation of his own work. We feature archive...
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560: Circuit Breaker - The Doctor and the Three Witches
Circuit Breaker continues, as we head into Penguin Books' contribution to the ongoing series. We speak to author Janelle McCurdy about her short story, The Doctor and the Three Witches, which is part of the new paperback reprint of Time Lord Fairy Tales. She explains how her love of the Tenth...
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559: Circuit Breaker - Dawn of the Daleks
We return to the Doctor Who multimedia event of 2026 today, as we look at the next chapter in Circuit Breaker. Starring Jo Martin as the Fugitive Doctor, we're meeting some of the team behind Dawn of the Daleks, the second comic book published by Titan to tie-in with the series. We're delighted…
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558: Brooks, Books and Bannerman Road
Scary thought for the day - on January 1 next year, The Sarah Jane Adventures will be 20 years old. To mark the occasion, our friends at Roundel Books are publishing an exclusive book on the series, with more than 300 unseen pictures, taken during the production of the show by Tommy Knight's mum,...
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557: The Black Archive - The Invasion
The Invasion was the Second Doctor story that laid down the format for the decade to come. And now, it's the subject of a Black Archive, from Obverse Books, which has been written by Stephen Hatcher. Steve joins us to discuss this book. Order your copy from...
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556: Borna Matosic - The Twelfth Doctor Adventures
The final part of the current box set of Twelfth Doctor Adventures from Big Finish is out this week. We meet musician Borna Matosic - the first Croatian/German to feature on our podcast - to discuss his work on the series. Plus, we review the first five episodes of this run, with guest...
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555: Circuit Breaker - The Deadliest Weapon
The Circuit Breaker series reaches its fourth instalment - and the Cybermen are here! Not just any Cybermen, but 80s Cybermen, voiced by David Banks! GET IN! We find out about the making of this release from BBC Audiobooks, as we speak with editor Michael Stevens, plus writer Steve Lyons. We also...
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554: Circuit Breaker - The Honourable Society
The BBC's multi-platform event for 2026 continues, as the Fugitive Doctor stars in Circuit Breaker. We feature the third part of this ongoing storyline, The Honourable Society, which takes Jo Martin's incarnation of the Doctor back to Italy, to face Don Patata. This comic strip comes with the...
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553: Circuit Breaker - Adversary of the Daleks
This year's big Doctor Who multimedia event has arrived - Circuit Breaker. The Fugitive Doctor is summoned by UNIT after mysterious items begin to appear in the Black Archive. Only the Fugitive Doctor can solve the mystery, with no knowledge of her future. We kick off with Titan Comics' first...
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552: Optional Extras 25 - Tegan, Cybermen, Ncuti and Dugga Doo
It's been a while since the Nestene Consciousness himself, Al Dewar, joined us on the Power of 3. So, to make up for lost time, Al discusses the releases of Tegan, the Dark Water Cybermen, plus the Fifteenth Doctor, Dugga Doo and Mr Ring-A-Ding. Don't make me laugh!
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551: The Black Archive - The Web Planet
The Web Planet - one of the great Doctor Who experiments, which still divides opinion to this day. Bill Strutton's 1965 serial was hugely ambitious, with a non-human selection of guest characters, on an alien world - all realised on a BBC budget in a small studio. Dr Brigid Cherry has written a...
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550: Jon Culshaw - Becoming Capaldi
For our 550th episode, we're absolutely delighted to welcome the one and only Jon Culshaw back to the Power of 3. We're pleased to have Jon - Britain's leading impressionist - with us, as he explains how he came to be cast as the Twelfth Doctor for Big Finish. Expect impressions throughout…
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549: The Black Archive - An Adventure in Space and Time
We're highlighting a special release from the Black Archive series today - An Adventure in Space and Time. We speak to write David Rolinson about the work, featuring the special programme made for Doctor Who's 50th anniversary. You can order a copy of the book at...
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548: Sanctuary (New Adventures #37)
David A McIntee's third New Adventures novel is the subject of our latest episode. We feature some extensive archival interviews with the author, read by Dr John Bollan, as Kenny is joined by James Hadwen-Bennett to discuss the novel. Plus, David Steel provides a reading of the DWM Prelude, and...
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547: The Twelfth Doctor Adventures
The Twelfth Doctor is back! Hurrah! We may not have Peter Capaldi playing him, but we have the amazing Jon Culshaw slipping into those polish leather Doc Martins, and he's not alone. We're delighted to be joined by producer and head writer on the new Big Finish series, Alfie Shaw, director Lisa...
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546: Island of Death
Barry Letts - a name that is rightly revered in Doctor Who circles for his work in producing the majority of the Third Doctor's era on television, as well as casting Tom Baker as the Doctor. Today, we take a look at a novel which was written by Letts in 2005, just as the TV show returned to our...
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545: Freaks - the 'lost' Eighth Doctor Adventure
Remember the lost BBC Books novel, Freaks, by Rebecca Levene? No, neither did we, for a long time! We bring this novel to life with readings of the chapter outlines from a talented team, and discuss how this novel would have fitted into the Eighth Doctor Adventures range. We speak to editor Steve...
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544: The Island of Fear
We've featured a lot of Doctor Who books that have been released by the BBC and Virgin books over the past three years. But today, we're doing something a little different - we're looking at the book pitch that became something else entirely. We're delighted to share a conversation with Gary...
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543: Remembering Justin Richards
Last week, we learned of the very sad news of the passing of Justin Richards. Justin is best known to Doctor Who fans as a novel writer, book editor, script writer and script editor with Big Finish, but he was also an accomplished children's novelist too. To pay tribute to Justin, we speak to…
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542: Plague of the Cybermen
Last week, we learned that sad news that Justin Richards, former Doctor Who books editor, and prolific novelist, had died. Justin was a powerhouse in the worlds of Doctor Who literature, writing for the majority of the Doctors, for the BBC, Virgin and Penguin, as well as crafting a number of...
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541: Infinite Requiem (New Adventure #36)
We've now featured around half of the New Adventures novels on the Power of 3, as we speak to the writers (where possible) about their books which were too broad and too deep for television. In today's episode, we look at the 36th New Adventure, which was written by Daniel Blythe. He discusses…
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540: Destiny of the Doctors
Who remembers Destiny of the Doctors? No, not Destiny of the Doctor (singular), the joint BBC AudioGo/Big Finish series of productions for the 50th anniversary. Doctor Who and computer games have never been an easy mix, from The First Adventure and Warlord on the BBC Micro, through to Doctor Who...
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539: Keith Barnfather and Other Myths
The founder and Reeltime Pictures joins us again, and this time he's front and centre to discuss the company's history. From in-depth interviews, to full-cast dramatic productions, Reeltime has done them all over the years. Keith shares some fascinating insight into some of the earliest…
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538: Set Piece (New Adventures #35)
It's time to say so long, farewell, to Ace, for the third time, after Survival and Love and War. We're delighted to be joined by Kate Orman, as she talks her way through the writing process, and shares her thoughts on the cover. As ever, we feature readings from the novel, plus the Doctor Who...
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537: Circle of Memory
We've got a tripled BAFTA Award winner as our guest this week! We're delighted to welcome writer Bob Ayres to the Power of 3, as we mark the release of his first work for BBC Audiobooks. Bob - the younger brother of sound genius Mark Ayres - discusses writing for the Eleventh Doctor, in Circle of...
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536: Parasite (New Adventures #33)
We know that the word "parasite" is an insult used by the Chelonians in the New Adventures, but this has nothing to do with our favourite cybernetic tortoises. We're looking at Jim Mortimore's third book for the New Adventures range, following Lucifer Rising (with Andy Lane) and Blood Heat. We...
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535: RTD 2 Go
"As part of securing the next phase of the show for future generations, and in line with the BBC's Charter and Agreement requirements, the BBC will put Doctor Who out to competitive tender this year." And with those words, the era of RTD2 is officially over. The triumphant return, heralded in…
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534: Falls the Shadow (New Adventures #32)
Falls the Shadow is undoubtedly one of the most controversial of all New Adventures. Known as the longest novel in the series, and also for its violence, Daniel O'Mahony has re-read his novel, and joins us to discuss it. We make no apologies for the fact this is one of our longest-ever episodes -...
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533: The Black Archive - The Daleks
‘After the neutronic war, our Dalek forefathers retired into the city, protected by our machines.’ The Black Archive returns, as it delves into the facts of The Daleks (aka Serial B/The Mutants/Beyond the Sun/The Dead Planet). We speak to writer Oliver Wake to discuss his first entry in the Black...
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532: St Anthony's Fire (New Adventures #31)
We return to our look at the New Adventures range as we put Mark Gatiss's second Doctor Who adventure, St Anthony's Fire, in focus. Featuring archive interviews with the writer (we did try and get a new conversation with him, but he's just been so busy!), we find out what happens when the Seventh...
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531: The Masks of Makassar
We take a look at another 'lost' story featuring Richard E Grant's Doctor from Scream of the Shalka. Paul Cornell's story for Christopher Eccleston's Ninth Doctor in the 2006 Doctor Who Annual, The Masks of Makassar, started life as his proposed sequel to the animated adventure. We take a look at...
Topics in this show
About this show
A podcast discussing Doctor Who-related items, more often than not in threes, whether stories, guests, or anything else. Featuring a regular team of hosts, including Kenny Smith, and David Steel (not the former Liberal Party MP, MSP and leader). Our other regular conspirators are Dr John Bollan, Stephen Day and Matt Michael, with irregular appearances from the podcast's founding father, Tom Harris (the former Labour MP). We also welcome a host of great Doctor Who guests, using "Kenny's bottomless address book" (c) David Steel.
Hosted by
Kenny Smith