The Quest For Pedler: The Life and Ideas of Dr Kit Pedler
By Michael Seely  pre-order

For many people, Kit Pedler is best remembered as the man who created the Cybermen for Doctor Who, a real-life scientist who was brought in to act as an advisor and bring some science to the fiction. The Cybermen were his ultimate scientific nightmare – Man’s very nature corrupted into a monster by his own genius for survival. Pedler had a gift for imagining the horrors of tomorrow.

With two doctorates to his name as well as being Head of Anatomy at the Institute of Ophthalmology, Dr Kit Pedler began to share the suspicions being voiced in the 1960s towards the role of the scientist in society who saw research as an end in itself, leaving the moral dilemmas to politicians in a world where the people were conditioned to accept an intolerable environment. He was at the beginnings of the 'soft' or 'alternative’ technology movement, which wanted to develop a sustainable science that would not deplete the world of its natural resources or poison the environment with its pollution.

Together with his friend and writing partner Gerry Davis, he created the hugely successful and controversial BBC1 drama series Doomwatch, which captured this fear and frightened the adults as much as the Cybermen scared the children.

The series changed his life and launched him as a prophet of doom whose stories uncannily predicted real-life ecological accidents and disasters, making him a much sought-after pundit in the press and on television.

Resigning from the institute, Pedler turned his back on the world he had spent his adult life working in and spent the rest of it campaigning for a real Doomwatch to stop the unnecessary and cruel practices on laboratory animals which he himself had performed in his earlier academic days, experiment in what we would now call eco-friendly housing and alternative technology, and began to change his own relationship to the world. This lead to his book The Quest For Gaia, published in 1979, where he envisaged how a Gaian lifestyle would work in the post-industrial age. He also designed and built a nuclear bomb in rural Kent.

Before his premature death in 1981 he had just finished a documentary series for ITV called Mind Over Matter, which was the first serious look at the world of the paranormal through the eyes of his enquiring and rational, but imaginative, mind.

With contributions from his family, friends, colleagues and critics, this book tells the story behind a fascinating, charismatic, complicated and demanding man – a natural teacher who didn't just pontificate about the problems facing the world in a television or radio studio, but actually wanted to do something practical about them.

When Elisabeth Sladen first appeared as plucky journalist Sarah Jane Smith in 1973 Doctor Who story The Time Warrior, little did she know the character would become one of the most enduring and fondly remembered of the series’ long history.

The years that followed saw Elisabeth traverse time and space alongside classic Doctors Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker, whilst a generation of children crouched behind the sofa, terrified but transfixed as their tea-time heroine found herself menaced by Daleks, dinosaurs, Cybermen, Egyptian mummies, extras in Bubble Wrap and even the Loch Ness Monster. By the time she quit the TARDIS in 1976, making front-page news, Elisabeth had become one of the most familiar faces of a TV golden age.

But you don’t just walk away from Doctor Who. Elisabeth was asked to reprise the role many times, appearing in anniversary specials; an ill-fated 1981 spin-off with robotic sidekick K-9; radio plays; and for the BBC’s Children in Need. She toured the weird, wide and wonderful world of Doctor Who fandom and became one of the series’ all-time favourite companions. So when TV wunderkind Russell T Davies approached her to come back again, this time to a Doctor Who backed by multi-million-pound budgets and garlanded with critical plaudits, how could she refuse?

This warm and witty autobiography, completed only months before Elisabeth died in April 2011, tells her remarkable story, from humble beginnings in post-war Liverpool, through an acclaimed theatrical career working alongside stage luminaries such as Alan Ayckbourn, to Coronation Street, Some Mothers Do ’Ave ’Em and the furthest reaches of the Universe.

A unique, insider’s view of the world’s longest running science fiction series, and of British television yesterday and today, Elisabeth’s memoir is funny, ridiculous, insightful and entertaining and a fitting tribute to a woman who will be sadly missed by millions.

Elisabeth Sladen played Sarah Jane Smith in Doctor Who and The Sarah Jane Adventures. She also appeared in Coronation Street, Z-Cars and Some Mothers Do ’Ave ’Em among others, and enjoyed a long, successful and very happy career in the theatre. She died in April 2011.

When Elisabeth Sladen first appeared as plucky journalist Sarah Jane Smith in 1973 Doctor Who story The Time Warrior, little did she know the character would become one of the most enduring and fondly remembered in the series' history. The coming years would see her traverse time and space alongside classic Doctors Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker, whilst a generation of children crouched behind the sofa, terrified but transfixed as their tea time heroine found herself menaced by Daleks, dinosaurs, Cybermen, man-eating alien flora, Egyptian mummies, extras in Bubble Wrap and even the Loch Ness Monster.

By the time she quit the TARDIS in 1976, making front page news, Elisabeth had become one of the most familiar faces of a TV golden age. But that wasn't the end of Sarah Jane. Since then Elisabeth has reprised the role many times appearing in anniversary specials; a 1981 spin-off with robotic sidekick K-9; radio plays; and for the BBC's Children in Need. She's toured the weird, wide and wonderful world of Doctor Who fandom and regularly tops polls of fans' all time favourite companions. So when TV wunderkind Russell T. Davies approached her to come back again, this time to a Doctor Who backed by multi-million pound budgets and garlanded with critical plaudits, how could she possibly say no?

Now Elisabeth Sladen tells the story of her remarkable career: a unique, insider's view of the world's longest running science fiction series; and of British television yesterday and today. Funny, ridiculous, insightful and entertaining hers is the story of another girl, another planet. Elisabeth Sladen plays companion Sarah Jane Smith in Doctor Who and The Sarah Jane Adventures. She has also appeared in Coronation Street, Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em and Z-Cars.

(available to pre-order from our Amazon Shop)

I remember my first meeting with Elisabeth – the hilarious and eye-opening stories she had to tell and my feeling of elation that she wanted to turn them into a book. Having grown up watching her as Sarah Jane Smith it was a personal dream come true. She was a fantastic person to work with – fun but utterly professional – and it’s incredibly sad that she’s no longer with us. I’m glad she had a chance to share some of her memories in this book. I hope it will make a fitting tribute to a great actress and a wonderful woman.

WHO’S THAT GIRL? - The Autobiography of Elisabeth Sladen

When Elisabeth Sladen debuted as journalist Sarah Jane Smith in the Doctor Who story ‘The Time Warrior’, she had no idea the character would become one of the most enduring and popular in the series’ history. The coming years would see Elisabeth traverse time and space alongside classic doctors Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker, whilst a generation of children crouched behind the sofa, terrified but transfixed as their tea-time heroine found herself menaced by Daleks, dinosaurs, Cybermen, Sontarans, Egyptian mummies and even the Loch Ness Monster.

Her decision to quit the TARDIS made front-page news, but it wasn’t the end of Sarah Jane. Elisabeth has reprised the role many times, toured the weird, wonderful world of Doctor Who fandom and regularly tops polls of fans’ favourite companions. Now Elisabeth Sladen tells the story of her remarkable career: a unique, insider’s view of the world’s longest-running science fiction series; and of British television yesterday and today.

Elisabeth Sladen plays companion Sarah Jane Smith in Doctor Who and The Sarah Jane Adventures. She has also appeared in Coronation Street, Some Mothers Do ’Ave ’Em and Z-Cars.

THE MAN WHO INVENTED THE DALEKS - The Strange Worlds of Terry Nation by Alwyn W. Turner

Terry Nation was one of the most successful and prolific writers for television and radio that Britain ever produced. His vision of a post-apocalyptic England, Survivors, has been re-made thirty years on, Blake’s 7 endures as a cult sci-fi classic, and his most famous creations, the Daleks, ensured, and at times eclipsed, the success of Doctor Who.

But while those alien ‘pepperpots’ remain at the core of his appeal, Nation also had a role to play in the early days of radio and television comedy – as part of the legendary Associated London Scripts, he wrote for Spike Milligan, Tony Hancock and Frankie Howerd – and he became a key figure in the internationally successful adventure series of the 1960s: The Avengers, The Saint and The Persuaders!

This is the first serious, mainstream account of Terry Nation’s life and contribution to British television and will shed light on a fascinating melting pot of ambitious young writers, producers and performers without whom British culture today would look very different.

Alwyn W. Turner is the author of Crisis? What Crisis?: Britain in the 1970s, Rejoice! Rejoice!: Britain in the 1980s, and The Biba Experience

London, 1963. Verity Lambert, the woman in charge of the BBC's new children's show, is facing somewhat of a struggle. Not only has she got to make a TV show with the entire scope of time and space (on a small budget), but she also has to face bitchy co-workers and arrogant male peers.

"Verity" shows how she fought for the Daleks right to exist on TV, battled against jealous co-workers and ended up triumphant with a national success on her hands. It will be broadcast on YouTube in early December.

In his acclaimed histories Crisis? What Crisis? and Rejoice! Rejoice! Alwyn has proven himself one of the most stylish and authoritative writers on British popular culture working today. By drawing together the various strands of Terry Nation's life and career, this book will offer a captivating window onto the creative melting pot without which British television today would look very different.

Barry Letts: Who and Me

Barry Letts began his screen career as an actor, starring in the Ealing film Scott of the Antarctic and TV dramas such as The Avengers, The Moonstone and Gunpowder Guy in which future Doctor Who actor Patrick Troughton took the lead role. In the 1960s he switched to directing, taking the helm of classic shows such as The Newcomers and Z Cars.

Barry got his first taste of Doctor Who in 1967 when he directed the six-part serial The Enemy of the World. In 1969, he took over as the show’s producer. This was an exciting time for Doctor Who – the show had a new lead actor, and was being broadcast in colour for the first time. Barry reveals his memories of this era, talking about his relationship with script editor Terrance Dicks and the show’s cast, Jon Pertwee, Katy Manning and Roger Delgado.

Packed with behind-the-scenes gossip, fascinating production detail and witty anecdotes, Who and Me recounts Barry Letts’ journey from struggling actor to successful producer, and the ups and downs of working on Doctor Who during the Jon Pertwee years.