Cineworld Shaftesbury Avenue are offering readers of Doctor Who News two tickets to the screening of The Day of the Doctor.

The screening takes place on the evening of 23rd November at the cinema in London's West End. Winners would need to make their own way to the location. To enter just tell us the name of the two previous feature films, based on Doctor Who. Send entries to comp-cineworld@doctorwhonews.net. Competition closes on 15 November 2013.

The twenty-eighth episode in our series telling the story of the creation of Doctor Who, from conception to broadcast.

By early November, the production of Doctor Who was well under way. The programme's début was locked in for Saturday 23rd November, and most of the first serial was now complete - the third episode, "The Forest of Fear", had been recorded on Friday the 1st, and the fourth and final epsiode was now being rehearsed ahead of its recording on Friday the 8th. Pre-production had begun for the second serial, by Terry Nation, with some pre-filming for the story already having taken place at Ealing. With the lengthy and at times troubled gestation period for the show coming to an end, thoughts could at last turn towards giving Doctor Who the strongest possible launch in terms of press and publicity.

One of the best ways for the BBC to promote its programmes in the 1960s was through its own weekly listings magazine, the Radio Times. The magazine was almost as old as the BBC itself, having been launched in 1923, just one year after the BBC began transmissions. In 1963 it turned forty, and was already something of a national institution. Until the deregulation of the TV and radio listings industry in the early 1990s, it was the only place where readers could find detailed information about all of the BBC's programmes for the full week ahead. It was therefore one of the UK's best-selling magazines, most of the population had at least a passing familiarity with it, and it was both a valuable source of revenue for the corporation (unlike on television or radio, the BBC could sell advertising in the pages of the Radio Times) and a tremendous source of publicity, of immense value in promoting programmes.

Gaining a Radio Times cover feature was a particularly prestigious event for any programme, and it was very much hoped by the Doctor Who production team that the new show would be on the front cover for the edition covering 23-29 November, which would hit newsstands on Thursday 21st. Indeed, the Radio Times had for a while actively planned to mark the first episode of Doctor Who with a front cover feature, but by early November these plans had changed. One of the reasons for this was that Douglas Williams, the magazine's editor at the time, believed that the man ultimately in charge of all BBC Television, Kenneth Adam, had a lack of faith in the show's prospects for success.

On Tuesday 5 November 1963, exactly fifty years ago today, word of the Radio Times's change of heart regarding a cover feature for Doctor Who had reached one of those most closely involved in the creation of the series - the drama department's Head of Serials, Donald Wilson. Wilson had been one of the staunchest supporters of Doctor Who all through its development, and had been intimately involved in the creation of the series right from the beginning - it was in his previous capacity as Head of the Script Department that he had been asked, back in the spring of 1962, for a report into the possibility of the BBC producing a new science-fiction series, a report to which the very start of what would become Doctor Who can be traced.

Wilson had defended the still-to-be-broadcast show against attacks and criticism from various levels and departments of the BBC, and exactly fifty years ago today he wrote a memo to Williams at the Radio Times, telling him in no uncertain terms that he was wrong to perceive a lack of faith in Doctor Who, and that in his opinion something rather special was about to be unleashed upon the audience. Wilson's words to the editor contained great prescience:


Unfortunately however, Williams would not be swayed, and Doctor Who did not eventually feature as the cover story of the 23-29 November edition of the Radio Times. As the name of the magazine implies, when it was originally launched it carried only radio listings, and even by 1963 it was still not at all uncommon for the magazine to feature a popular radio programme on the cover in preference to a TV show. In this case, the magazine chose to focus on the return of the popular radio comedy series Beyond Our Ken on the BBC Light Programme (now BBC Radio 2) on Sunday 24th November, with a cover photograph of the show's star, the comedian Kenneth Horne.

However, Doctor Who did not entirely miss out. The previous week's edition, covering 16-22 November, would contain a tease ahead to Doctor Who, and the 23-29 November edition did at least mention the series on the cover, with a feature on the new programme inside. It would not be until the start of Marco Polo in February 1964, though, that Doctor Who gained its first cover feature on the magazine - and even this caused some controversy, as it only featured William Hartnell and some of the guest cast, rather than all four of the series regulars.

The Radio Times would go on to be a strong supporter of Doctor Who, featuring the show regularly on the cover over the following fifty years and also producing special editions dedicated to the programme and, latterly, a section of its own website devoted to the show. In July 2013, the magazine at last made amends for the decision taken back in 1963, by producing a specially mocked-up version of what a Doctor Who-focused cover of the 23-29 November 1963 edition might have looked like, with Hartnell on the front page.

As for Donald Wilson, Doctor Who remained in his charge as Head of Serials until 1965, when he stood down from the role to concentrate on a long-held ambition to adapt The Forsyte Saga for television - an adaptation that was to garner both him and the BBC huge acclaim. He lived until 2002, not seeing the return of Doctor Who to prominence, but more than long enough to have known that he had been entirely justified in his words of fifty years ago today - the show was an absolute knock-out, and it had been destined to run and run.

Part twenty-seven in our series telling the story of the creation of Doctor Who, and the people who made it happen.

After the travails of recent weeks, with the abandonment of the original pilot and the cold feet of the Controller of BBC1, as October began to draw to a close Doctor Who was looking a little safer. It was guaranteed a run of at least 13 episodes, and the second of those had now been recorded, with rehearsals due to begin on the third. Work was also continuing on pre-production and scripting for other serials, most immediately the seven-episode adventure by writer Terry Nation, which was to come second in the running order.

This would include creatures called the Daleks - Doctor Who's first race of alien monsters. On Sunday 27th October 1963, exactly fifty years ago today, draughtsman A. Webb drew up the earliest surviving formal designs for the Daleks, from the plans of designer Raymond Cusick. These would be sent to Shawcraft Models, to be constructed ready for use by 20th November. Nobody at the time knew it, but a legend was being born.

Nation's serial was to be an important one for the young series. Neither producer Verity Lambert nor story editor David Whitaker had been entirely keen on the opening story, An Unearthly Child by Anthony Coburn, but by the time they both joined the series it was too late to change it. Nation's scripts would therefore be the first serial they had entirely sought out and commissioned themselves, with Whitaker having selected Nation after being impressed by his work on the ITV science-fiction anthology series Out of this World. Nation had initially been unwilling to work on the programme, but after parting with his previous employer, comedian Tony Hancock, had taken up the offer. Nation had been able to deliver his scripts quickly and write efficiently within the format of the programme, and Lambert and Whitaker had been impressed with his work. With no other serial in as ready a state as Nation's, his tale of post-apocalyptic struggle on a distant alien world was promoted to second in the young programme's running order.

At seven episodes, Nation's scripts would take up a sizeable chunk of the 13-episode run that Doctor Who had been given in which to prove itself by a somewhat reluctant BBC1. The Head of Serials, Donald Wilson, disliked Nation's scripts and did not want Lambert to use them, but she successfully argued that nothing else was ready. Wilson's superior, the Head of Drama Sydney Newman, did not see the scripts or any designs for the serial, as by this stage he was taking a less hands-on role in the production of the programme that he himself has initiated - he did not see the Daleks until the viewers themselves did, in December.

Cusick had not been the designer originally allocated to the story. Future Hollywood film director Ridley Scott, then also working for the design department of the BBC, had orignally been given the task, but problems with his availability meant that it was Cusick who had to come up with a design to match the description in Nation's script:


Nation was keen to get away from traditional science-fiction film images of monsters being obviously men dressed up in suits, but when Cusick sought advice on how to realise this concept from Doctor Who's veteran associate producer Mervyn Pinfield, he was dismayed to hear Pinfield suggest just that. Pinfield had been assigned to Doctor Who particularly for his ability to advise on technical matters, and his suggestion for the Daleks was a budget-conscious one. He told Cusick to design a costume of a large cardboard tube around the actor's torso, with other tubes around the arms and legs, and for the whole ensemble to be painted silver.

Cusick found greater inspiration when he spoke directly to Nation. The scriptwriter had been enthused by seeing a performance by the Georgian State Dancers, in which the female members of the Soviet group wore long dresses entirely concealing their legs and feet, and thus seemed to glide across the floor without any visible method of movement. Cusick, inspired by this, experimented with various designs all based around the idea of a seated operator entirely enclosed by the outline of the design, with no visible arms or legs.

Cusick worked throughout October on refining the design, consulting with other experts in the field such as Bernard Wilkie and Jack Kine of the BBC Visual Effects Department. By 27th October, fifty years ago today, he had completed his design, to be constructed by the outside company Shawcraft Models. This was still not quite the final design - after the designs had been delivered to Shawcraft, the company's boss Bill Roberts made his own refinements to make the props easier, cheaper, and more efficient to construct within the time and budget available. Changes Roberts made included having the gun and sucker arms mounted on the same level, rather than at different levels as in Cusick's design. But beyond such comparatively minor changes, the design of the Dalek, the iconic image familiar to millions even fifty years later, all stems from the designs of October 27th.

Shawcraft would have £750 to construct the four Dalek props which would be needed for the making of Nation's serial, but the appearance of the creatures was not the only element that was being developed through October. The Dalek serial had been assigned two directors - the more experienced Christopher Barry would handle the majority of the serial, while newcomer Richard Martin would also direct some episodes, to help learn his trade. Barry had initially approached the Post Office's Joint Speech Research Unit to investigate providing voices for the Dalek creatures, but wasn't quite able to obtain what was wanted. Martin then approached a body which had already worked on Doctor Who, providing the theme tune - the BBC's own Radiophonic Workshop, based at Maida Vale.

The workshop's Brian Hodgson met with Martin, who explained the type of grating, metallic voice that was wanted. Hodgson, inspired by a robot voice he had previously created for a radio serial called Sword From the Stars, came up with the idea of using a ring modulator to process an actor's voice and create the kind of effect that was desired. Hodgson and Martin experimented with using the modulation process on the voice of actor Peter Hawkins, concentrating on the vowel sounds where the modulation was most effective. The trial session took place in Studio G at Lime Grove Studios on 24th October 1963, when Cusick's designs for the creatures they were coming up with a voice for had still not been completed. The two elements would come together to create a sensation - although nobody, of course, knew that at the time.

Doctor Who had still to prove itself - but with less than a month to go until the transmission of its first episode, there was not long to wait to see what the general public would make of this programme that had been enduring such a struggle to reach the screen. Meanwhile, production continued both on the first serial and on the Dalek adventure - from Monday 28th October, Waris Hussein and his cast would begin rehearsing the third episode of the programme, The Forest of Fear, while on the same day at the BBC Television Film Studios at Ealing pre-filming work began on The Daleks, using 35mm film for stunts, model work and other complicated sequences.

The twenty-sixth episode in our series telling the story of the creation of Doctor Who and the people who made it happen, fifty years to the day after the major events.

Doctor Who had finally entered regular production, with the new version of the opening episode having been completed, and a new episode being rehearsed. But the Controller of Programmes for BBC1, Donald Baverstock, worried by the financial demands of the series and particularly of the TARDIS interior set, had ordered that production be halted after the opening four-part serial. With Baverstock now on leave, Doctor Who's creators and production team rallied to reverse his decision and prevent the programme from being killed-off before transmission had even begun.

Before Baverstock had departed on three weeks' leave, in his memo to Donald Wilson asking that Doctor Who be stopped after four episodes, he added that he had asked Joanna Spicer and John Mair, from the planning staff, to look into the costs of the series and whether there might be any possibility of continuing. Mair subsequently sent Spicer a memo outlining the story of Doctor Who's production so far, and the costs that had been incurred and might be further incurred in the future. On Tuesday 22 October 1963, exactly fifty years ago today, Spicer held a meeting with some of the key figures involved in Doctor Who and from various BBC production departments, to discuss whether the series could be saved.

Among those present at the meeting along with Spicer were Mair, Wilson (the Head of Serials in the drama department, and thus directly responsible for Doctor Who), the show's producer Verity Lambert, James Bould (the Design Manager for BBC Television) and Jack Kine (the co-founder of the BBC Visual Effects Department). Between them, they were able to thrash out a plan whereby Doctor Who could be allowed to continue - at least for a time. Spicer indicated that Baverstock would be prepared to accept an initial 13-episode run of Doctor Who - returning to a decision he had previously made a week earlier, before his sudden cold feet about the show before going on leave. However, this would only happen if the series could be made within strict limitations on budget and man-hours, with per-episode budgets strictly limited at £2500 each. £75 per episode will go towards the cost of "the ship," £200 on using an outside firm to provide scenic effects, and £500 per episode as the design department's budget. The man-hours allocation is to be 500 per episode.

While more meetings would be needed to work out the exact details, Wilson and Lambert agreed that Doctor Who could produce a 13-episode run within these limitations. Given that the opening serial was due to be followed by Terry Nation's seven-part serial featuring his Dalek creatures, later in the week Lambert and her story editor David Whitaker realised that they would need to add a two-part story after Nation's tale, to create the initial 13-episode run that had been agreed to. With the limited time available, and the fact that there will be no money for additional sets or guest characters, it is decided that Whitaker himself will write a two-part adventure featuring only the four regular cast members, and set entirely on the expensive TARDIS interior set.

During the week, Whitaker also began to establish what stories would follow if Doctor Who were allowed to continue beyond the 13 episodes tentatively agreed to. Being worked on are: a historical story by John Lucarotti in which the time travellers meet Marco Polo; the latest version of the much-desired "miniscules" storyline, now being worked on by Robert Gould; The Masters of Luxor by Anthony Coburn; a possible seven-part historical tale by Whitaker; The Hidden Planet by Malcolm Hulke; The Red Fort, set during the Indian Mutiny, by Nation; and another future-set story, to be four episodes long, with a writer yet to be assigned. This would bring Doctor Who up to the 52-week run originally envisaged by Head of Drama Sydney Newman, should the programme eventually be allowed to continue that far.

By this point, no directors had been assigned to any serials beyond Nation's, on which it has been decided that Christopher Barry will share duties with the less-experienced Richard Martin, a young director who has been attached to Doctor Who for some time. Martin has become very interested in the series, and around this time sends Barry, Whitaker, Lambert and associate producer Mervyn Pinfield a lengthy and detailed memo outlining his thoughts about the TARDIS and its effect on those who travel in it, which reads in part:


Meanwhile, away from meetings and memos and debates over the future, Doctor Who's regular production is now under way. Having completed the first episode, director Waris Hussein and the cast have moved onto rehearsing "The Cave of Skulls", the second instalment of the opening serial. This was then recorded on Friday 25 October, a week after the previous episode, with Doctor Who to be recorded every Friday until at least 13 episodes have been completed. What would happen after that would depend on whether the costs could be kept down, and how those 13 episodes were received.

The immediate crisis surrounding the future of Doctor Who was over, and it would at least have a chance to make it to the screen. What impact it would have with the audience remained to be seen - but, unknown to anybody, already on the drawing board and nearing completion was a design that would help to take Doctor Who from troubled children's serial to national institution.

The twenty-fifth instalment of our series marking the major events in the creation of Doctor Who, fifty years to the day since they occurred.

By the middle of October, Doctor Who's path to the screen was starting to seem a little more assured and stable. The Controller of Programmes for BBC1, Donald Baverstock, had agreed to the making of at least 13 episodes, and despite the pilot episode having been rejected by Head of Drama Sydney Newman, the production team were ready for their second attempt at creating a version of the programme's opening instalment. However, on the very day the second version of An Unearthly Child was to go before the cameras, budgetary concerns led Baverstock to have a change of heart about the show's future. On Friday 18 October 1963 - exactly fifty years ago today - the Welshman dropped a bombshell. Doctor Who, still over a month away from its on-screen debut, was ordered to be brought to a halt. Production was to cease as soon as the opening four-part serial was completed...

That Friday evening, the second ever episode of Doctor Who to be made - the new attempt at the first episode - was due to be recorded in Studio D at Lime Grove, the same studio as the first attempt and, much to the chagrin of many of those working on the programme, allotted as Doctor Who's main studio for the foreseeable future. The production had the same cast, same director and mostly the same sets, although (as noted in the previous episode) the junkyard and school classroom sets had needed to be recreated by designer Barry Newbery from Peter Brachacki's plans, as they had accidentally been junked after the pilot recording.

Fortunately for all concerned, the set of the TARDIS interior had not suffered this fate - had it done so, then it is highly possible that Doctor Who would have stopped for good at this point, and never made it to the screen. The high cost of the set was already controversial, and it was this element in particular that had led Baverstock to reconsider the expense involved in producing the series.

The 18th was Baverstock's last day at work before he embarked on three-weeks' leave. Despite having given the go-ahead to a 13-episode run of Doctor Who just four days previously, by Friday he had looked further into the costs involved and had sent a memo to Donald Wilson, the Head of Serials in the drama department. Wilson was one of those most closely involved in the creation of Doctor Who, and effectively the show's "executive producer" as we might now term it.

The memo was a shock - Baverstock had decided that BBC1 simply couldn't afford Doctor Who:


Baverstock didn't entirely write-off the possibility of continuing to make Doctor Who, going on to state that he had asked the Assistant Controller of Planning, Joanna Spicer, and John Mair, the Planning Manager, to meet with all parties concerned and look into what costs might be involved in making further episodes. However, he did also tell Wilson that:


What effect this had on Doctor Who's production team on the very day they were preparing to remount their opening episode is unknown. However, Sydney Newman instantly leapt to the defence of the show he had done so much bring to life. Having been given a copy of Baverstock's memo, he immediately wrote a reply pointing out that it had never been intended for the cost of the TARDIS interior set to be spread across 13 episodes - Doctor Who had originally been conceived and planned as having a 52-week run, and the costs of the set were to be covered across 52 weeks rather than 13.

The fight for Doctor Who's future, if it had one at all, and the battle over the costs of the TARDIS set would have to continue the following week. In the mean-time, there was still a series to plan and produce, whether it would make it to the screen or not. In addition to director Waris Hussein and the regular cast going back into Lime Grove to record the first episode that evening, other work was being done on the production of future episodes. Also on Friday the 18th, director Christopher Barry was busy preparing for work on what was due to be the second Doctor Who serial, the futuristic script by Terry Nation. That day, Barry sent script editor David Whitaker a detailed note of comments on the first two episodes of the serial, and also received a reply to an enquiry he had previous made to the Post Office's Joint Speech Research Unit, about how he might realise the voices of the "Dalek" creatures featured in Nation's scripts.

The unit sent Barry a tape with examples of two different types of voice, one produced using a vocoder and the other generated entirely by computer. JN Shearne, the Post Office official who supplied the material to Barry, indicated that they would only be able to produce up to 30 seconds of computer-generated material for him, due to the amount of time and effort required to programme it. The vocoder material was of greater interest to Barry, who heard something of what he wanted for the Daleks in it, but he decided that it would need to be produced in-house at the BBC rather than sourced from the Post Office, as it could then be produced live in the studio during recordings, rather than pre-recorded on tape by the Post Office. So, Barry turned his attentions to what the BBC Radiophonic Workshop might be able to do for him.

Meanwhile, the design of the actual appearance of the Dalek creatures themselves was coming towards its realisation. Originally, BBC staff designer Ridley Scott had been assigned to handle the design work for Nation's serial, but a clash of schedules meant that he was replaced by fellow department member Raymond Cusick. Cusick had taken inspiration both from the description in Nation's script of the creatures "moving on a round base," and from his own determination that the Daleks should not appear in any way human. After discussions with BBC special effects experts Bernard Wilkie and Jack Kine in early October, Cusick was working towards the final plans for his design, which was to have a massive impact on the future of Doctor Who.

On October 18 1963, however, nobody knew that the element which would finally dispel any prospect of an early cancellation for Doctor Who was so close at hand. There was simply a television programme to produce, and the transmitted version of the very first episode was finally put onto tape that evening at Lime Grove Studios. A much smoother and more polished effort than the pilot version, with a more likeable characterisation from William Hartnell as the Doctor (as requested by Newman), there were also many other subtle differences. There was no opening thunderclap at the start of the opening titles, Susan reads a book on the French Revolution rather than drawing ink blots, and hers and the Doctor's costumes are also different.

Finally, the very first episode of Doctor Who that would be seen by viewers had been made, and the regular production of the programme was at last under way. From this point onwards, a new episode would be rehearsed and recorded every week. However, following Baverstock's memo, for how long that would be allowed to continue would be another matter.

A party is to be held at Buckingham Palace next month to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who, it has been revealed.

In what is arguably the biggest honour that could be bestowed on the show in its very special year, the Countess of Wessex - who is believed to be something of an admirer of the programme - will host the reception on Monday 18th November as the countdown to Doctor Who's golden milestone reaches its final few days. The guest list has been kept under wraps, but people involved with the show both in front of and behind the cameras over the years are expected to be on it.

The show enjoys a strong royal connection, with the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall visiting its studios in Roath Lock in the summer. Original producer Verity Lambert was awarded an OBE in the 2002 New Year Honours List for services to film and TV production, while Russell T Davies - the producer credited with Doctor Who's successful revival in the 21st century - was awarded an OBE in the 2008 Birthday Honours List for services to drama.

Buckingham Palace has featured and been referenced in the programme, with the Doctor averting its demolition by the starship Titanic in Voyage of the Damned, while in the later story Planet of the Dead the Doctor stated that he had parked the TARDIS in its grounds with the full approval of the Queen. (In alternate timelines, the starship Titanic did destroy the Palace [Turn Left], and it was the home of the Holy Roman Emperor Winston Churchill in The Wedding of River Song.) It is to be presumed that the current royals are either unaware of or were highly amused by the implication in Tooth And Claw that they are werewolves!

UPDATE - 20th OCTOBER: The event has now been published on the Royal Diary web page.

A Norfolk man who made more than £35,000 by selling fake autographs of celebrities including Doctor Who stars has been jailed.

Andrew Sullivan, of Heath Road, Lyng, exploited fans by selling pictures on eBay that he claimed had been signed by TV and film celebrities, including cast members of Doctor Who such as David Tennant, Billie Piper and Karen Gillan. He would supply a fake certificate of authenticity with each purchase.

The 51-year-old admitted forging 3,500 autographs between 2009 and 2011. He also pleaded guilty to selling pictures of stars without their permission. Sullivan was exposed after a tip-off to Norfolk County Council's Trading Standards team. Investigators found a container of ripped-up and discarded signed photographs, which were later pieced together to reveal what looked to be mistakes. His office computer was found to be storing many copyrighted images.

The investigation was supported by BBC Worldwide, which holds copyright on the images used. They gave evidence that the images used were owned by the BBC and they had not given permission to reproduce or generate an income from them.

Sullivan was sentenced to 21 months in prison.

The twenty-fourth in our series of features telling the story of the creation of Doctor Who, and the people who made it happen.

Production on the new series was progressing. The pilot had been recorded, and a revised episode one was being worked on. Meanwhile, the production team were anxiously awaiting news on whether they would be allowed to continue beyond the first story.

On Monday 14th October 1963 - exactly 50 years ago today - the TARDIS team reconvened to start a week of rehearsals leading up to the re-recording of the first episode. They had been given a second chance and this time they had to get it right.

The rehearsal venue was another drill hall, this time in Uxbridge Road, just a few hundred yards west of the Lime Grove Studios. Like the drill hall in Walmer Road, the building no longer exists and this site is now occupied by the London College of Professional Training. The cast had just four days to refine their characters and take on board all the changes requested by Head of Drama Sydney Newman before appearing in front of the cameras once more.

If they were successful, this would be the start of a long journey for the four main cast members. If the series were to continue beyond the initial four episodes, the actors' lives would be governed by a strict schedule. Rehearsals would be Monday to Thursday, followed by a long exhausting Friday in the studio, rehearsing with the cameras all day and then recording on the Friday evening. The weekend would be spent learning the scripts for the next week before the process began all over again on the Monday. The only respite would be when the actor was granted a week's holiday, in which case the character would be written out of that particular episode, or the role would be rewritten to a brief cameo, pre-recorded on film.

One person missing from the reassembled cast was Fred Rawlings, who had played the policeman in the opening shot in the pilot. He was unavailable for the remount and the role was taken by Reg Cranfield, who would therefore become the first actor to be seen in Doctor Who.

While the actors were rehearsing, they were largely unaware of the BBC politics surrounding the programme, and the memo sent by Head of Serials Donald Wilson, asking for some commitment for the series from the powers-that-be.

In response to Wilson's memo, on Wednesday 16th October Controller of Programmes Donald Baverstock decided, having now watched the pilot episode, that he would commit to funding 13 episodes of the new series. It was not an unconditional offer though, and Baverstock was worried about the spiralling costs of a series that required so much attention.

In a memo he asked John Mair, who was the Planning Manager, to state what "extra programme allowance will be required to finance the special effects requirements and the operating effort needed to work them in the studio." Baverstock intended to review the programme's budget by Friday 18th October, as he was due to take three weeks' leave and he wanted to decide on whether he could agree to an increase in budget before his break.

One departure that had already occurred was that of designer Peter Brachacki. Although he had come up with some innovative work on the first episode of the series, the designer and his producer, Verity Lambert, had never really seen eye to eye. Brachacki did not want to work on the series and had no great enthusiasm for the show. In addition, some of his more ambitious designs had failed to pay off. Originally, Brachacki wanted the walls to be translucent and to pulse with light when the ship was in flight. The cost, however, was prohibitive, as was his plan that the ship's controls would be isomorphic, moulded to the Doctor's hands.

So when Brachacki fell ill and it was apparent that he would be out of action for a while, the production team asked for him to be replaced on a permanent basis. His work was split between two designers, Barry Newbery and Raymond P Cusick, who would alternate between stories. Newbery took over Brachacki's designs for the first episode. One of the first problems he had to solve, though, was that the junkyard set and classroom set, used in the pilot episode, had been broken up, despite Lambert asking that they should be kept, so both sets would need to be rebuilt. The TARDIS interior, however, did remain.

The twenty-third in our series of features telling the story of the creation of Doctor Who, and the people who made it happen.

Production on the new series was continuing, but the process was not without problems. A version of episode one had been recorded,  but was deemed unsuitable for broadcast by the senior managers in the drama department. Changes would have to be made, but the team would be given a second chance.

Any science-fiction series relies heavily on the production's ability to create realistic special effects. A series such as that envisaged by the creators of Doctor Who would need to be able to convince the audience that a whole new universe exists. A universe full of petrified forests and starliners, seas of acid and advanced robots, and all traversed by advanced space-and-time machines. The past would need to be re-created, such as the temples of Tenochtitlan and the prisons of La Conciergerie, as well as a world inhabited by miniature characters.

It would be a tricky task to pull off, even with the might of the BBC operation behind the series. But the feeling in the Doctor Who production office was that various departments were not giving the series the attention it demanded and deserved. One problem had been the work on the TARDIS set, built by Shawcraft rather than the internal BBC Scenic Department. The doors were very unreliable, causing major problems in the recording session the previous week.

The series had still not been commissioned beyond the first four episodes. This was making future planning very difficult, as it was entirely possible that the series would not continue beyond the first story, and so no long-term commitments could be made.

On Thursday 10th October - exactly 50 years ago today - the Head of the Serials Department, Donald Wilson, decided enough was enough. His production team needed some support and the BBC needed to show some confidence in its new sci-fi drama. With this in mind, he sent a lengthy memo to some of the most senior members of BBC management. Included were Controller of Programmes Donald Baverstock, Programme Planner Joanna Spicer, Head of Drama Sydney Newman, and Head of Design Richard Levin.

Wilson made a plea for some confirmation that the series would be allowed to continue beyond the initial four episodes, pointing out that if arrangements were not put in order for future stories then the team would be left with four actors on contract and nothing ready for them to perform.

While discussions were going on at the highest levels about the very future of Doctor Who following its first story, production was continuing on that first story, with three days of filming taking place at Ealing. Supervised by production assistant Douglas Camfield, sets had been rigged on the Tuesday, rather later than planned because of transportation difficulties from Television Centre.

Filming took place from Wednesday to Friday to prepare all the insets that would be needed for the final three episodes of The Tribe of Gum. Sequences involving the paoelthic landscape and the fight in episode four were recorded in this session.

Faber and Faber have announced a book by Neil Perryman, the author of the popular Wife In Space blog, based around his experiences growing up and living as a Doctor Who fan:


I.B.Tauris have also announced four new Doctor Who related books being released over Autumn:


As well as Doctor Who a new book is being released looking into the four series of Torchwood:


Finally, Pageturner Publishing are releasing a collection of reviews of each episode day-by-day by Will Brooks:

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Obverse Books have published an e-collection of short stories in memory of Doctor Who, Iris Wildthyme and Faction Paradox author Matt Kimpton, who died last year of Cystic Fibrosis. Writers include Stuart Douglas, Nick Campbell, Sarah Hadley, Cavan Scott, Simon Bucher-Jones and Jacqueline Rayner, with all proceeds to go to Cystic Fibrosis charities.

More details on the genesis of the book (which isn't itself Doctor Who-related), and the slightly unusual idea behind it, can be found via Cavan Scott's website, and the book itself can be bought from Obverse (initially as an ebook, with a Lulu paperback to follow).