For Jemma, triply bereft, the losses are of her cousin Natasha Richardson – Vanessa's daughter – who died in a skiing accident in March 2009 her father, Corin Redgrave, who died in April and her aunt Lynn, who died of cancer in May. I was also aware, as anyone even half-attending to the news could hardly fail to be, of the death-toll the Redgrave family has suffered recently. I have not seen Jemma off-stage since then and was not sure whether she would remember our last meeting. She has since said how 'terrified' she was of the production – there was so much to prove: as a Redgrave, she had to act with the best of them. Jemma was, at the time, friendly, embarrassed and helpless. The day after this debacle, I received a charming, unexpected letter from Lynn apologising for her sister.

The interview ground to a mortifying standstill (her derision made me weep in private). There is no actor I admire more but that did not help. My questions, although harmless, necessarily involved family and were met with outright hostility and scorn by Vanessa. Vanessa does not suffer journalists gladly (she has devised a contract that must be signed, in advance, agreeing nothing personal or political be asked). I was interviewing all three actresses about what it was like to be in the Redgrave dynasty and the same production. It was a Redgrave extravaganza, a landmark production and the most difficult interview of my life. She was 25 and at the start of her career, playing Irina in Chekhov's Three Sisters opposite her aunts, Vanessa and Lynn. Three additional box sets will be available at six monthly intervals.I first met Jemma Redgrave 20 years ago. The first UNIT: Extinction box set – comprising four hours of audio drama – will be released in November and will feature classic Doctor Who villains, the Autons. “ UNIT: Extinction will showcase all the excitement, drama and wit that viewers of Doctor Who love.” “We’re thrilled that Jemma is on board for our brand new UNIT adventures – and we feel privileged to work within the universe of new series Doctor Who for the first time,” said series producer David Richardson. This new audio series is licensed by BBC Worldwide and marks Big Finish’s first major release featuring characters from the revived Doctor Who series, post-2005. Regrave is to reprise her role of Kate Stewart the daughter of the legendary Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart in a new Unit Series, which is titled ‘ UNIT: Extinction’. Jemma Redgrave is making the transition from playing Kate Stewart in the regular ‘Doctor Who’ series to heading up a series of her own via Big Finish Audio.

UNIT by Jemma Redgrave