BBC Books have announced that seven of the original Doctor Who Target novelisations are to be re-issued on 28th April, reflecting each of the seven Doctors from the range:

• Doctor Who and the Zarbi by Bill Strutton
• Doctor Who and the Web of Fear by Terrance Dicks
• Doctor Who and the Dinosaur Invasion by Malcolm Hulke
• Doctor Who and the Genesis of the Daleks by Terrance Dicks
• Doctor Who: The Visitation by Eric Saward
• Doctor Who: Vengeance on Varos by Philip Martin
• Doctor Who: Battlefield by Marc Platt

All of the books feature cover illustrations by Chris Achilleos, who was commissioned to create new covers for the latter books in the range. He said:

Albert DePetrillo, senior editorial director at BBC Books, said


The three original novels that launched the range back in 1972, Doctor Who and The Daleks and Doctor Who and The Crusaders by David Whitaker, and Doctor Who and the Zarbi by Bill Strutton, are also set to be re-released as hardback facsimile editions on 3rd November.

As darkness descends across the United Kingdom, the country's viewers will settle down to recover from afternoon excesses in front of the television to watch what has become a traditional festive line-up on the box: Eastenders, Call The Midwife, Strictly Come Dancing, Mrs Browns Boys, and of course Doctor Who - which reaches its tenth anniversary of Christmas adventures at 5:15pm.

However, to misquote another anniversary's line of dialogue, that isn't how it all started. And, to steal a phrase from another franchise enjoying a successful return this year, there is another ... as fifty years ago today the Doctor, Steven and their latest waif in time Sara were to discover Christmas Day themselves!

Doctor Who around the world on Christmas Day

Unlike 1965, in 2015 Doctor Who can be enjoyed around the world 24x7. However, there is still a nostalgic feeling to watching 'live' on television, and there is plenty of episodes to be caught around the world today!

In the United Kingdom, morning-risers can enjoy the tenth Doctor's last adventures as Watch broadcasts the specials from The Next Doctor onwards. Meanwhile, in the lead-up to The Husbands of River Song on BBC One during the afternoon viewers can then immerse themselves in a classic "base-under-siege" type adventure as Horror Channel show the appropriately named Horror of Fang Rock at 3:00pm (and/or at 8:00pm if they prefer to avoid the traditional enemy, Coronation Street!).

In Northern America, both BBC America and SPACE have turned their channels over to Doctor Who, with today seing a re-run of Series Nine in preparation for their own premiere of Husbands at 9:00pm. More locally in the United States, viewers could then switch over to catch The Hand of Fear on Retro TV at 10:00pm, and those in Oklahoma could then watch Robot of Sherwood at 11:00pm. Earlier in the day, UNC in North Carolina show the final two episodes of The Time Monster from 5:00pm, whilst EBRU finish off the ninth Doctor with Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways, also from 5:00pm. The final episode for Christmas Day is The Brink of Disaster, a first Doctor outing courtesy of KMOS in Missouri.

In Europe, BBC First in the Benelux countries will show Before The Flood just after midday with The Girl Who Died later this afternoon; BBC Entertainment in Europe and the Middle East had an early morning adventure with The Time of the Doctor; and BBC HD in Poland and the Nordic countries stay festive with The Snowmen, The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe and The Best of the Christmas Specials. German viewers can catch Before the Flood, The Girl Who Died and The Woman Who Lived on FOX from 4:15pm, or the continuing adventures of the Torchwood team in Children of Earth on SyFy. And in Denmark DR3 will "Face The Raven" as that episode premieres in the country at 8:10pm.

For the rest of the world, FX in India goes festive with A Christmas Carol, The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe, The Time of the Doctor and Last Christmas, whilst PRIME in New Zealands catches up with The Girl Who Died and The Woman Who Lived. TV Cultura in Brazil have Vincent and the Doctor in Portuguese, and for the Doctor's friends, Jeem in the Middle East provides an Arabic outing for Sarah Jane Smith with Mona Lisa's Revenge in the evening.

The continuing adventures of the Doctor can be followed around the world via This Week in Doctor Who!

Today sees the launch of Big Finish's latest series of tie-in adventures, this time focussing on the Doctor Who spin-off, Torchwood; the first in the series, The Conspiracy, features John Barrowman, reprising his role as Captain Jack Harkness. Meanwhile, the three earliest Doctors all have an outing this month, with the First and Vicki's perceptions tested in Short Trips: Etheria, the Second, Ben, Polly and Jamie encounter The Yes Men, and the Third returns (in the form of Tim Treloar) alongside Jo and Mike Yates in the Third Doctor Adventures (Vol 1). Finally, the Seventh Doctor and Mel are caught up in diminutive shenanigans in Terror of the Sontarans ...

This month's audio books from BBC Audio feature the adaptation of Target novel The Massacre by John Lucarotti, and a boxed set release of the three original audio series to feature Tom Baker's return as the Doctor.



Novelisation adaptions for the rest of the year are currently scheduled as: Doctor Who and The Ark in Space (16th July), The Two Doctors (3rd September), The Curse of Fenric (5th November), and K9 and Company (3rd December).

As the series progressed the relationship between the kidnapper and the kidnapped changed. Circumstances had thrown them together, into danger, into life threatening situations. Over the months, respect, trust and friendship had developed. The two teachers had educated the Doctor, taught him to care and to have responsibility, and in return they had learned to trust the old man. But underneath the narrative was always the premise that Ian and Barbara longed to return home. Back to the world they knew and to friends and family. Instead they had been flung around the universe, visited alien planets such as Skaro, Vortis and Marinus, and times far distant from their own, meeting Aztecs, Romans and Crusaders. There had been hopeful moments, when they thought they might be back, but moments dashed when realisation set in and the couple resigned themselves to more adventures..

It is ironic that the travellers final return, the solution to their predicament, came not from the Doctor, but from his greatest enemy. It was the Daleks time ship that finally allowed the couple to return home. Returning to London in the 1960's. The Doctor was left with his companion Vicki. No more would the series be the constant endeavour to get the pair home. Doctor Who would now become the Doctor, travelling with his companions in Space and Time.

The loss of Ian and Barbara came about with the decision of William Russell and Jacqueline Hill to leave the series at the end of their second year contract. The series had by now run to 77 episodes, produced on a weekly basis in an almost continuous production run. It was a gruelling schedule that left the actors totally tied to the series. It was William Russell who decided to leave first, telling producer Verity Lambert in Feburary that he wouldn't be continuing for a third year. As a result Terry Nation was asked to write in an new character into the final episode of The Chase. An astronaut who would become the new male companion to the Doctor. Jacqueline Hill was more unsure about leaving, but by May has also taken the decision to go. On May 6th the couple travelled around London with a photographer taking pictures for the montage of their arrival back in London. The couple recorded their final episode on 4th June 1965 in Riverside Studio 1.

The departure of the two actors was deeply felt by William Hartnell. For an actor who like having people around whom he knew and who knew him, the loss of the two stalwarts of the series would be difficult to handle. It came after Carole Ann Ford had departed from the series and amid changes in the production team, with producer Verity Lambert planning to move on. William Russell takes up the story. On her departure from the series Jacqueline Hill took a break from acting to raise a family. She had been married to director Alvin Rakoff since 1958, a year after appearing in his BBC adaptation of Rod Serling's American TV play Requiem For A Heavyweight. Together they had two children, Sasha and John. She returned to acting the 1970's, appearing as Lady Capulet in her husbands production of Romeo & Juliet for the BBC. Other roles included appearances in Angels, Tales of the Unexpected and Paradise Postponed. In 1980 she became to first Doctor Who companion to return to the series playing a different role, when she appeared as Lexa in the 1980 Fourth Doctor story Meglos. In 1993 she died of breast cancer at the tragically young age of 63.

William Russell was the best known of the original companions, famous for his roles in series such as The Adventures of Sir Lancelot, long before he joined the TARDIS crew. As a result he quickly won a part in a new spy series Breaking Point following his departure from Doctor Who. Other roles followed including a long run in Harriet's Back in Town for Thames Television, and appearances in Van der Valk, Whodunnit?, Disraeli: Portrait of a Romantic, Shoestring, The Black Adder, Casualty and Heartbeat. In 1992 he played Ted Sullivan in ten episodes of Coronation Street. Russell has reprised the role of Ian Chesterton in various audio adventures. In 2013 he had a cameo in the drama detailing the origins of Doctor Who, playing Harry, the Security Guard, in An Adventure in Space and Time, the drama that saw Jamie Glover play a younger version of himself. In 1988 his second wife, Balbina Gutierrez, gave birth to a son. Alfred Enoch is now an actor, well known for playing Wes Gibbins in the ABC legal drama How to Get Away with Murder. Meanwhile William Russell himself celebrated his ninetieth birthday last year, and still regularly attends Doctor Who conventions.

And what of Ian and Barbara, what happened to them following their departure from the Doctor. The characters have flourished in various novels and fan fiction. In 2013 they met the eleventh Doctor in Hunters of the Burning Stone , a comic story in Doctor Who Magazine written to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the show. In the Television series itself the Chairman of the Governors of Coal Hill School, as shown in The Day of the Doctor, is one I Chesterton.

But the real clue to their future came in Russell T Davies's episode of The Sarah Jane Adventures, The Death of the Doctor. According to Sarah Jane The actors, and the characters they portrayed, left an indelible mark on the series. The Doctor was left clearly hurt and upset by their departure. At the end of the episode he spoke for us all. .

Ian and Barbara leave the Doctor:
Having come into possession of a Dalek time travel machine, Barbara and Ian sense an opportunity to go home, but the Doctor is hesitant to let them go. There are no guarantees that the machine will work, but maybe Vicki can change the Doctor's mind? 

This month's audio books from BBC Audio feature the adaptation of Target novel The Massacre by John Lucarotti, and a boxed set release of the three original audio series to feature Tom Baker's return as the Doctor.



Novelisation adaptions for the rest of the year are currently scheduled as: Doctor Who and The Ark in Space (16th July), The Two Doctors (3rd September), The Curse of Fenric (5th November), and K9 and Company (3rd December).

As the series progressed the relationship between the kidnapper and the kidnapped changed. Circumstances had thrown them together, into danger, into life threatening situations. Over the months, respect, trust and friendship had developed. The two teachers had educated the Doctor, taught him to care and to have responsibility, and in return they had learned to trust the old man. But underneath the narrative was always the premise that Ian and Barbara longed to return home. Back to the world they knew and to friends and family. Instead they had been flung around the universe, visited alien planets such as Skaro, Vortis and Marinus, and times far distant from their own, meeting Aztecs, Romans and Crusaders. There had been hopeful moments, when they thought they might be back, but moments dashed when realisation set in and the couple resigned themselves to more adventures..

It is ironic that the travellers final return, the solution to their predicament, came not from the Doctor, but from his greatest enemy. It was the Daleks time ship that finally allowed the couple to return home. Returning to London in the 1960's. The Doctor was left with his companion Vicki. No more would the series be the constant endeavour to get the pair home. Doctor Who would now become the Doctor, travelling with his companions in Space and Time.

The loss of Ian and Barbara came about with the decision of William Russell and Jacqueline Hill to leave the series at the end of their second year contract. The series had by now run to 77 episodes, produced on a weekly basis in an almost continuous production run. It was a gruelling schedule that left the actors totally tied to the series. It was William Russell who decided to leave first, telling producer Verity Lambert in Feburary that he wouldn't be continuing for a third year. As a result Terry Nation was asked to write in an new character into the final episode of The Chase. An astronaut who would become the new male companion to the Doctor. Jacqueline Hill was more unsure about leaving, but by May has also taken the decision to go. On May 6th the couple travelled around London with a photographer taking pictures for the montage of their arrival back in London. The couple recorded their final episode on 4th June 1965 in Riverside Studio 1.

The departure of the two actors was deeply felt by William Hartnell. For an actor who like having people around whom he knew and who knew him, the loss of the two stalwarts of the series would be difficult to handle. It came after Carole Ann Ford had departed from the series and amid changes in the production team, with producer Verity Lambert planning to move on. William Russell takes up the story. On her departure from the series Jacqueline Hill took a break from acting to raise a family. She had been married to director Alvin Rakoff since 1958, a year after appearing in his BBC adaptation of Rod Serling's American TV play Requiem For A Heavyweight. Together they had two children, Sasha and John. She returned to acting the 1970's, appearing as Lady Capulet in her husbands production of Romeo & Juliet for the BBC. Other roles included appearances in Angels, Tales of the Unexpected and Paradise Postponed. In 1980 she became to first Doctor Who companion to return to the series playing a different role, when she appeared as Lexa in the 1980 Fourth Doctor story Meglos. In 1993 she died of breast cancer at the tragically young age of 63.

William Russell was the best known of the original companions, famous for his roles in series such as The Adventures of Sir Lancelot, long before he joined the TARDIS crew. As a result he quickly won a part in a new spy series Breaking Point following his departure from Doctor Who. Other roles followed including a long run in Harriet's Back in Town for Thames Television, and appearances in Van der Valk, Whodunnit?, Disraeli: Portrait of a Romantic, Shoestring, The Black Adder, Casualty and Heartbeat. In 1992 he played Ted Sullivan in ten episodes of Coronation Street. Russell has reprised the role of Ian Chesterton in various audio adventures. In 2013 he had a cameo in the drama detailing the origins of Doctor Who, playing Harry, the Security Guard, in An Adventure in Space and Time, the drama that saw Jamie Glover play a younger version of himself. In 1988 his second wife, Balbina Gutierrez, gave birth to a son. Alfred Enoch is now an actor, well known for playing Wes Gibbins in the ABC legal drama How to Get Away with Murder. Meanwhile William Russell himself celebrated his ninetieth birthday last year, and still regularly attends Doctor Who conventions.

And what of Ian and Barbara, what happened to them following their departure from the Doctor. The characters have flourished in various novels and fan fiction. In 2013 they met the eleventh Doctor in Hunters of the Burning Stone , a comic story in Doctor Who Magazine written to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the show. In the Television series itself the Chairman of the Governors of Coal Hill School, as shown in The Day of the Doctor, is one I Chesterton.

But the real clue to their future came in Russell T Davies's episode of The Sarah Jane Adventures, The Death of the Doctor. According to Sarah Jane The actors, and the characters they portrayed, left an indelible mark on the series. The Doctor was left clearly hurt and upset by their departure. At the end of the episode he spoke for us all. .

Ian and Barbara leave the Doctor:
Having come into possession of a Dalek time travel machine, Barbara and Ian sense an opportunity to go home, but the Doctor is hesitant to let them go. There are no guarantees that the machine will work, but maybe Vicki can change the Doctor's mind? 

This month sees the release of Space Helmet for a Cow: The Mad, True Story of Doctor Who (1963-1989), and Doctor Who News, in association with Mad Norwegian Press is pleased to offer our readers an exclusive preview of the first section of the book, dealing with the Hartnell era of the show.

In Space Helmet for a Cow, Paul Kirkley provides a sweeping, wry and warm look at the behind-the-scenes story of Doctor Who – not just the greatest TV show ever made, but frequently the most insane TV show ever made. Which other programme, for example, would attempt to sink Atlantis, wage inter-planetary war and crash Concorde – all in BBC Television Centre, on a budget that would barely cover a sitcom?

This is the story of how, over 50 years, a bunch of very clever, very dedicated and sometimes plain crazy people made Doctor Who happen, often against seemingly insuperable odds; a story of triumph and tragedy, tears and tantrums, and an awful lot of men called Donald.

Space Helmet for a Cow also answers the burning questions few have dared tackle before. Questions like: How does a talking cabbage get an Equity card? What would have been in William Hartnell’s Glastonbury set? And if you meet a Yeti coming out of a loo in Tooting Bec, how long should you give it?

Doctor Who News is able to offer a free download of the first 40 pages of the book, dealing with the creation of Doctor Who, from the first discussions led by Sydney Newman, through the production of the first three years, to the departure of the show's star William Hartnell.
The full version of Space Helmet for a Cow: The Mad, True Story of Doctor Who is published on March 24 by Mad Norwegian Press.

It was sixteen years ago that two fans in New Zealand were to discover that an episode of Doctor Who held by a local collector was to be an episode absent from the BBC Archives for over twenty years...

Originally recorded on the 5th March 1965 and broadcast on BBC1 a few weeks later on Saturday 27th, episode one of The Crusade, The Lion was wiped alongside a number of other first Doctor episodes as part of the standard videotape recycling practice by BBC Engineering on the 31st January 1969, as the story itself had been copied to film by BBC Enterprises for worldwide distribution and so was considered redundant. The story was to be seen in a number of countries over the course of a decade, but by the late 1970s it had been presumed that all copies distributed for broadcast had been returned and subsequently destroyed, though 'fortunately' a copy of episode three, The Wheel of Fortune, had survived in the BBC Film Library.

One of those copies had made its way to the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation during 1967, but the story wasn't broadcast in the end owing to it falling foul of censorship issues. As part of the agreement with BBC Enterprises once the rights to air had expired prints were either forwarded to another broadcaster or destroyed; however, The Lion slipped through the net, and when ultimately sent to a rubbish tip in 1974 as part of a clearance at NZBC it was amongst a number of films intercepted by a private collector.

Fast-forward to 1998 and the print caught the eye of film collector Bruce Grenville at a collectors convention - he was unaware that the episode had been "missing" for decades at that point, and decided to purchase it simply because he liked Doctor Who. It was shown by him on a number of occasions in the coming months to friends, eventually seen by Cornelius Stone who then mentioned it in conversation with fellow fan Neil Lambess - who realised that the episode in question might well be one missing from the BBC Archives, though it might well have simply been the existing The Wheel of Fortune instead.

Neil recollects the moment when he contacted Bruce for the first time:
Arrangements were made for him and fellow fan Paul Scoones to visit Bruce to see the episode in question, and on the 3rd January 1999 they sat down to watch ...


Paul successfully negotiated the loan of the film print, and it was formally returned to to Steve Roberts at the BBC on the 11th January 1999 for copying, whereupon a digital 'master' was taken. The recovery was celebrated on BBC1 in the United Kingdom on 10th February in the National Lottery show Amazing Luck Stories, and after restoration work was undertaken to clean the episode up it was released on VHS in October. In 2004 the episode saw further restoration work carried out for its release as part of the Lost in Time DVD collection of 'orphan' episodes in November 2004.

Bruce says:
Summing up their experience of confirming the discovery, Paul says:

You can read how The Crusade was distributed around the world via BroaDWCast, and the full story of The Lion's recovery via the New Zealand Doctor Who Fan Club.

On the 23rd November 2013 the world celebrated Doctor Who reaching its fiftieth anniversary, receiving a Guinness World Record as some 94 countries were officially recorded as having shown the anniversary episode. However, the 18th September 2014 sees another milestone celebrated as, fifty years ago, An Unearthly Child was to receive its first-ever international broadcast.

The country in question was New Zealand, with the Doctor's very first appearance outside the United Kingdom to be broadcast by Christchurch's CHTV-3. The episode was shown at 7:57pm, sandwiched between news programme NZBC Reports... and a documentary about Dr. Gordon Seagrave, The Burma Surgeon Today, and was introduced by the weekly magazine The New Zealand Listener as:


You can read the country's introduction to the Doctor from the Listener below.