Two missing Doctor Who episodes from six decades ago have been unearthed and are heading to BBC iPlayer.
Whovians will be rejoicing as the “Nightmare Begins” and “Devil’s Planet” episodes, thought to be lost forever, were found by the Film is Fabulous! charity and restored by the BBC.
The eps come from the third series of the sci-fi epic entitled “The Daleks’ Master Plan.” Written by iconic sci-fi writer Terry Nation, the series starred William Hartnell as the Doctor and Peter Purves as Steven Taylor. It also featured Nicholas Courtney as Bret Vyon, Adrienne Hill as Katarina, and Kevin Stoney as Mavic Chen.
Film is Fabulous!, a charitable trust run by film collectors and TV enthusiasts, approached the BBC archive team after finding the Doctor Who eps in a private collection and the BBC restored them from their original 16mm telerecordings.
They will be added at Easter to the iPlayer Whoniverse, which features Doctor Who from down the years including the most recent season starring Ncuti Gatwa. The next Doctor Who ep will be the Christmas special penned by Russell T. Davies but its longer-term future is in flux after Disney pulled out of its co-pro deal. The BBC’s head of drama recently told us Doctor Who “isn’t going anywhere,” however.
Noreen Adams, Director of BBC Archives, said: “We’re thrilled to have worked with the team at Film is Fabulous! to bring these lost Doctor Who episodes to viewers on BBC iPlayer this Easter. BBC Archives has been working to restore the original recordings and update these to broadcast quality, ensuring fans can enjoy a little extra treat with their Easter Eggs this April.”
Late last year, the BBC archives launched a project publishing 50,000 files including the time the corporation tried to persuade Laurence Olivier to make his first TV appearance and correspondence between the broadcaster and Vanessa Redgrave.