Bret Vyon Lives!: The Man Inside

"I take it I'm destined to die."

Writer: Simon Guerrier

Format: Audio

Released: July 2026

Series: Space Security Service 2.01

Featuring: Anya, Mark Seven

Synopsis

Anya Kingdom is a prisoner of the Daleks on a very peculiar space station orbiting a very peculiar star. The Daleks don't want to kill Anya; they want to break her down psychologically. 

One way to do that is to lock her in a cell with someone Anya knows is a fake. Whoever, whatever, this man really is, he cannot be her beloved uncle. Bret Vyon is dead, end of story.

But if Anya is to survive, she will need his help...

Verdict

The Man Inside was a great start to the Bret Vyon Lives! second series of Space Security Service! It doesn't really feel like it's been a year since The Voord in London opening series but I was very happy to get back into the swing of things here after the series was delayed four months. That was quite frustrating after pre-ordering the download but it's better late than never! I do think there may have been some early rumours that reached Big Finish regarding the finding of The Nightmare Begins and Devil's Planet as part of The Daleks' Master Plan missing episodes because this obviously ties into that with Bret Vyon featuring! The concept of his return seems almost impossible but where Big Finish are concerned I think just about anything is on the table. If there's even a chance of it being plausible then they might just find a way to do it! The way Bret was reunited with his niece Anya here was pretty simple in the end with the pair being taken out of time. I liked that and it feels right within the world and futuristic setting of the Space Security Service. The form of narration was intriguing here as we heard differing perspectives of both Anya and Mark Seven which did become quite emotional. Hearing Anya as a child on the phone to her uncle Bret was rather sombre knowing his fate and at whose hands that was done. Anya was practically begging to tell Bret even when she wasn't convinced that he was the true article. It was just easier to accept that he was a Dalek duplicate and I mean I could see that given their track record. Especially at this point in Dalek chronology going alongside the First Doctor era. Anya mistaking her memories of her uncle from when she was a child was really done well as she claimed he was the wrong height and just wasn't quite the man she remembered. But now she was an adult, how could he be? I enjoyed that and the emotional tug really was quite strong. I liked how Anya was only providing her name and rank when she was being subjected to the psychological trauma. She dealt with it well and understood that Bret was part of that, or so she thought. Mark Seven played an interesting role in this story and he was primarily concerned with protecting Anya and history itself. It was obvious from the way Anya looked at Bret that as far as she was concerned, he was dead. That must be something difficult to accept and recognise. Mark being challenged by Sola regarding what he told Bret and how history might be changed was good stuff but I liked how he stood firm. The history books weren't altered but it was emotional to think that Bret knew he was destined for something bad and went back to his own time willingly despite it. All to defeat the Daleks. Anya bemoaning the chance to save him was understandable but imagine history changed and the Daleks utilising the Time Destructor how they intended? The concept behind the Kraken or Omni-Dalek was really intriguing and painted quite the picture! An amalgamation of Daleks out of their shells with the tendrils literally being a route to a different point in time. That was certainly something unique and I rather liked it! It was also fun for Anya to utilise how it must answer when questioned. I thought Mark covering the truth and explaining to Anya how the Bret they encountered was actually a Dalek duplicate despite him being the real article was poignant and I can understand him looking out for her, but I don't think we're done on that story element. I think she's going to find out and I can't imagine she'll be all that happy! Overall though, a really strong start to the series! A great listen.

Rating: 8/10