Welsh publisher keeps Doctor Who adventures alive with new release

Nation.Cymru staff

While the future of Doctor Who on television remains uncertain, one Cardiff publisher is making sure the adventures continue with a new addition to the book series.

Candy Jar Books is bringing its fifteenth anniversary celebrations to a close with the release of The Three Lucys, the landmark thirtieth novel in its hugely popular Lucy Wilson Mysteries series.

Having marked its fifteenth birthday on 4th July last year, the award-winning publisher has spent the past twelve months celebrating the milestone with special events, releases and announcements.

Now, those celebrations conclude with a fitting finale as Lucy Wilson embarks on her biggest adventure yet.

The Lucy Wilson Mysteries follow the adventures of the granddaughter of Doctor Who legend Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, as she battles alien invaders alongside her best friend, Hobo.

Although The Three Lucys is the thirtieth book in the series, it has been written as a jumping-on-point for both new readers and long-time fans.

The title itself pays tribute to a classic Doctor Who story, The Three Doctors, with Easter eggs hidden throughout the book for readers.

In The Three Lucys, Lucy comes face to face with two very different versions of herself, a middle aged professor fleeing a mysterious force known only as “chaos”, and a young girl imprisoned inside a sinister military installation.

Together, the three Lucys must unravel a mystery that threatens time and space itself.

Author Philip Bates said: “Shaun [Russell, Head of Publishing] approached me to write a Lucy that pays homage to The Three Doctors – hugely exciting not just because it’s to celebrate a big anniversary but also as it’s my first full Lucy Wilson novel – so I mapped out my idea against the plot of that serial, taking inspiration from its villain and his antimatter world.

“I sprinkled references to Who throughout: most notably, the majority of the chapter titles come from the Target novelisation of The Three Doctors, albeit giving a few a uniquely ‘Lucy’ twist.

“I’m especially proud of refashioning ‘A Shock for the Brigadier’ – a character who doesn’t appear in The Three Lucys, but is certainly there in spirit.”

Philip has previously edited Lucy Wilson books and written short stories for the canon including ‘The Labours of Lucy Wilson’, published in Back in London (2025), and two recent ‘freebies’ that give fans a taste of what’s to come in The Three Lucys.

He continues: “Anyone who read ‘100 Things That Happened on Easter Island’ and ‘The Green Dog’ will already have met Professor Lucy Wilson; now, fans can find out more about Lucy-in-the-future and the ‘chaos’ she’s running from…”

Keren Williams, Head of Marketing at Candy Jar Books, said:“It’s hard to believe we’ve been celebrating fifteen years for a whole year already, but we wanted to make sure we marked the occasion properly.

“Reaching thirty Lucy Wilson books is a huge achievement in itself, so it felt like the perfect way to bring our anniversary celebrations to a close.

“Philip has written a wonderful adventure that’s full of heart, humour and surprises, and we can’t wait for readers, whether they’re discovering Lucy for the first time or have been with her from the beginning, to enjoy it.”

The Three Lucys features a cover by Steve Beckett and is available now from all good bookshops, thanks to the Books Council of Wales.