Class: Secret Diary of a Rhodian Prince - Review

Although the Doctor Who spinoff centred around a gang of misfit teenagers trying to survive sixth form and repeated alien invasions only aired for one season in 2016, Class found a new home and life after cancellation at Big Finish.

After fulfilling their original contract of twelve audio dramas set within the timeline of season one, Big Finish have ventured back to Coal Hill Academy with a brand new drama. With the show's original composer and regular Big Finish creative, Blair Mowat returning to write, produce and — naturally — compose, his second Class script cleverly subverts expectations and is a great character piece. Alongside Mowat, Scott Handcock returned to direct and Greg Austen and Jordan Renzo reprised their roles as Charlie and Matteusz.

What's it like being an alien stranded on a strange planet in the aftermath of a genocide? What would you think of Earth's culture? What's it like falling in love with a human when you only met one just the other week? Who is the Doctor?

And what happens if your secret diary falls into the wrong hands…?

As the title and summary suggest, Mowat's Secret Diary of a Rhodian Prince naturally centres on the diary of Charlie Smith. Told primarily through a first-person perspective, listeners are given an intimate insight into Charlie’s inner musings, fears, memories and his emotional and mental health throughout the entire Class narrative across screen and audio.

As someone who hasn’t listened/watched Class in awhile, this audio provided a recap that was much appreciated as well as naturally weaving it into the plot.

Greg Austen slips back into the role of Charlie with ease and the tragic arc of the script really shows how far the character has come in terms of development. Alongside Austen, Jordan Renzo was superb as Matteusz, always finding the perfect balance of the light and darker sides to his character.

As these two were a fan favourite of the show, listeners will be very happy to know this centres on the origins of their relationships. From the original season, I personally found the two main romantic relationships to be rather rushed — as so much was already going on plot wise — and Big Finish’s continuation of Class has allowed for the character dynamics to breathe a bit and develop outside of the invasion, tears in space and time or an impending apocalypse.

Mowat and Handcock’s drama gives Matteusz and Charlie’s relationship that room to breathe. From their first encounter to their first date and eventually becoming boyfriends, their relationship feels much more fleshed out here.

As I mentioned earlier, Charlie’s mental health is explored in this audio. Given Charlie’s trauma and the overall arc of his character, his diary entries gradually become much darker as they head towards the show’s finale. Mowat tackles these character beats with nuance and sensitivity. He doesn’t shy away from the darker elements of Charlie’s character, but fans of the show or the general listener can understand Charlie’s development.

As Secret Diary of a Rhodian Prince dealt with some heavy themes, the romance between the two characters definitely balanced out the tone of the story. Personally, I found Charlie’s insecurities in regards to his relationships with his boyfriend, friends and even his reluctant guardian interesting to hear. They slowly shifted from natural teenage concerns to genuine anxieties that made him question every interaction, argument or missed call. As this drama was strictly Charlie’s perspective, it perfectly highlighted his own feelings of isolation as the story reached its climax.

The ending was so jarring, I had to listen to it TWICE. I can only recommend you hear it for yourself, because the groundwork is definitely there for more stories for Big Finish set within Coal Hill. It’s definitely a treat for longtime fans of Class, they won’t be disappointed.

I really enjoyed this return to the Class series. I was a bit apprehensive about whether it would go too much over familiar territory, but as always, Big Finish keeps their stories fresh and engaging.

My rating for Class: Secret Diary of a Rhodian Prince is ★★★★.

Want to read more? I had the pleasure of interviewing Blair Mowat about everything to do with Class and his upcoming projects. You can read it here!

Head over to Big Finish to grab a copy of Secret Diary of a Rhodian Prince to listen to the full drama!