I can still learn lines... but it's great when I don't have to

As Peter Purves teams up with two former Time Lords for a new radio play-style production of A Christmas Carol, he tells KAREN ROCKETT why acting will always beat Blue Peter

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PUT two former Doctor Who stars and a companion together on stage and you'd be forgiven for assuming they had time-travelled there in their trusty Tardis. But no blue police box was required to unite Tom Baker and Colin Baker with Blue Peter veteran Peter Purves, who played the companion to the very first Doctor, William Hartnell, back in the 1960s, for their new venture - just a message from the beyond the veil (of sorts).

The trio are starring in a new touring stage adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, with Victorian London as their destination. Colin, 82, plays the iconic role of Ebenezer Scrooge, while Tom, 91, appears in a recording as the ghost of Scrooge's business partner Jacob Marley. Peter, meanwhile, narrates the much-loved spooky classic as author Dickens.

"The show is presented as an onstage radio drama, which is a lovely format," says the 86-year-old actor, who is in fine form as he chats to the Daily Express from his home in Suffolk. "I am dressed in Victorian costume to the side as Charles Dickens, and there are four microphones on stage.

"What I love about the staging of this production is it is set out like an old radio play, or like The Archers. There is just a table of equipment for the sound effects and four microphones.

"But there is still plenty of activity on stage with the cast members playing multiple parts. It's really very clever. There are just seven of us, including the stage manager who does all the music and sound effects on stage with the cast using different voices to play the different roles. The words are taken straight out of the novel."

So, something for real Dickens aficionados as well as Doctor Who fans then?