Interrogation (audio story)

 was the fifth story in the first series of Doctor Who: Redacted podcast series, published by BBC Sounds and was written by Sasha Sienna.

It starred Charlie Craggs as Cleo Proctor, Lois Chimimba as Abby McPhail, Holly Quin-Ankrah as Shawna Thompson and Jemma Redgrave as Kate Stewart,

Publisher's summary
Cleo, Abby and Shawna are trapped in a safehouse being interrogated about someone called ‘the Doctor’. Unfortunately, only Cleo remembers who that is. And so far, their captors seem to be big on violence and short on patience…

Plot
Cleo, Abby, and Shawna are manhandled by a UNIT agent called Sergeant Roberts into a disused house while blindfolded and with their hands tied together. Despite their cries, the trio are pushed downstairs into an empty basement and the door slams shut.

A long time later, the three friends ponder their situation, wondering if they are going to be killed. As Abby fails to beat down the door, Cleo decides to try getting the cable ties off her hands, eventually manoeuvring her arms in front of her and slamming them down with enough force to snap the ties in two - a trick she learnt from TikTok. She then gets an idea and uses her earrings to saw through Shawna and Abby's ties, breaking them as well. Meanwhile, Abby claims that the UNIT agents are "obviously aliens" and starts to speculate on what they want.

With all three having been freed of their ties, the girls have a group hug and try to work out where they are. Cleo gets on Shawna's shoulders to look out of a high window but cannot see anything apart from a mostly-empty field and bars over the glass. The group discuss how they must have been captured due to discovering forbidden knowledge surrounding the blue box but are interrupted when Roberts returns and forces Shawna out of the basement and up the stairs. Cleo and Abby try to follow, but when the door slams, they realise they can just about hear her interrogation through the ceiling.

In the interrogation room, a UNIT agent called Miller starts questioning Shawna about The Blue Box Files, claiming that their reports are all false conspiracies, even producing a stack of newspapers with no mention of the disappearances as proof, even though the stories were all over the headlines the day before. Miller taunts her for not caring about others' world views and she wonders if his "shadowy government agency" may be behind the disappearances. However, he counters that his employers protect people like Shawna's grandmother, to who he threatens to leak information about the kidnapping. She interrupts him to ask why he keeps tapping his foot and looking at the mirror, realising that someone is giving him instructions. Miller ignores her and asks what she knows about the Doctor.

Later, Roberts shoves Shawna back into the basement and grabs Abby next. Shawna cries and Cleo comforts her, promising that they will get out alive. Despite appearing calm, Cleo admits that she had hoped to see her father again, wondering whether he had mysteriously disappeared like Jordan, as her mother always said. She adds that her mother does not care about her either way and would be better off if she did disappear, but Shawna strongly refutes this. To take their minds off things, they wonder how Abby is getting on.

Abby starts questioning Miller's intentions, both in supposedly protecting people and being on Earth, still convinced he is an alien. He laughs and plays her a podcast excerpt about star signs, but it quickly cuts off to a static noise, which intrigues both of them. He threatens the safety of Abby's mother if she does not own up about the Doctor, adding that Penny Carter, Oliver Morgenstern, and Rani Chandra have all now gone missing too and that the Doctor cannot possibly be behind it as Abby claims. He demands to know what she has done to the Doctor.

Abby re-enters the basement, admitting that she cannot remember who she was being asked about, and Cleo is summoned for interrogation next. While there, Miller asks her more about the podcast, wondering if she is being paid out for it. He adds that the Powell Estate, where she grew up, is linked to a lot of missing persons cases including Jordan and asks if she is somehow linked to it. However, he cannot give her any other information on Jordan's whereabouts and adds that she should be very scared of whatever is causing this. She replies forcefully that as a trans woman, she is scared all the time in public, and this causes Miller to drop his act. He admits he is worried about the Doctor, saying that she should be stopping mysterious events, not seemingly causing them. Miller and Cleo both realise that most people apart from them have forgotten the Doctor and if she has turned evil, then it could spell the end of humanity. However, as he talks, his speech starts looping and badly distorting, leading him to scream to Cleo for help through unbearably loud static before he suddenly disappears and the noise fades.

In response to the commotion and Cleo's cries for help, Kate Stewart enters the room, introducing herself and telling Cleo to calm down. Cleo demands answers over Miller's disappearance, but Kate replies that no man was with her, causing Cleo to panic further. Kate tells Roberts to summon Abby and Shawna in a bid to get Cleo to talk.

Upon their arrival, Cleo is shocked to hear that they have no recollection of Miller either, but Kate interrupts them to ask what the blue box is and who controls it. Roberts takes over, refusing to believe in the Doctor, and pulls a gun on the girls, deeming the situation a matter of national security. Kate is furious and demands he stand down, walking in front of the girls and promising he will not shoot, but Abby points out that they know nothing. Cleo then has an epiphany: UNIT have forgotten the Doctor and are scared, so they cannot kill anyone who knows. She walks confidently towards Roberts, gun still drawn, knowing she and her friends are their only hope for answers, and claims they are now in charge.

Cast

 * Cleo Proctor - Charlie Craggs
 * Abby McPhail - Lois Chimimba
 * Shawna Thompson - Holly Quin-Ankrah
 * Kate Stewart - Jemma Redgrave
 * Miller - Pip Gladwin
 * Roberts - Karim Kronfli

Crew

 * Written by Sasha Sienna
 * Produced and Directed by Ella Watts
 * Executive Producer: James Robinson
 * Sound Engineer: Paul Clark
 * Studio Assistant: Jacob Tombling
 * Sound Design: David Thomas
 * Additional Sound Design: Arlie Adlington
 * Original Composition: David Devereux
 * Production Co-ordinators: Sarah Sharpe and Sarah Nicholls
 * Script Editor: Tasha Dhanraj
 * Recorded at Sonica Studios, Clapham

A BBC Studios Production for BBC Sounds

Worldbuilding

 * Shawna threatens to refer UNIT to Amnesty.
 * Cleo compares moving her bound arms from behind to in front of her to being in the Cirque du Soleil and learnt how to do so on TikTok. Shawna only sees conspiracy theories and fruit loaf recipes on the platform.
 * When Shawna worries that UNIT are pumping nerve agents into the air, Cleo says she is watching too much YouTube.
 * Shawna claims to have gained "titanium thighs" from cycling up Sheffield's hills, which Cleo jokes sounds like the name of a drag queen.
 * Shawna likens her depressing situation to being in a song by The Smiths.
 * Miller asks Abby if she and her friends are playing at being the Men in Black.
 * Cleo's star signs are Scorpio sun, Aries moon, and Leo rising, which, according to Abby, "explains a lot".
 * Penny Carter, Oliver Morgenstern and Rani Chandra have gone missing.
 * Cleo grew up on the Powell Estate, which is supposedly mostly empty due to a social housing crisis.
 * Kate Stewart threatens to court martial Roberts for pulling a gun on the girls.

Continuity

 * Cleo mentions her brother Jordan being missing. (AUDIO: Lost)
 * Kate is leading "what's left" of UNIT. (TV: Survivors of the Flux)