It was fifty years ago today, on Saturday 29th October 1966, that we bid farewell to the First Doctor.

At exactly 50 minutes and 47 seconds past five, 7.5 million viewers tuned into BBC 1 to hear the theme music ring out and the last William Hartnell episode begin. 24 minutes later it was all over. We had a new Doctor.

William Hartnell had appeared in 127 episodes of Doctor Who, appearing in 29 stories. He would return to the series in 1972, in four episodes of The Three Doctors. To date only one actor, Tom Baker, has appeared in more Doctor Who episodes than Hartnell, whose episodes, if played sequentially, would last for 2 days. 8 hours and 1 minute.

Fifty years on, William Hartnell's influence is still felt in the series, and in the character he created. His final episode has been lost, but one sequence survives. It is perhaps the most important sequence in the series history. The regeneration. With that one scene, the programme's future was guaranteed. The series could outlive its creators. Its immortality was assured.

BBC Books are to re-publish the three original Doctor Who novelisations from the 1960s on 3rd November 2016, reproducing the hardback books with their original covers and content:

It was fifty years ago today, on Saturday 8th October 1966, that we were introduced to one of the all-time classic monsters of Doctor Who. The Cybermen had arrived.

The Cybermen were the invention of Kit Pedler and the current story editor Gerry Davis. Pedler had been brought into the series to add a bit of scientific rigor to the scripts. A scientist from the University of London, he had already come up with the idea of the War Machines, the story which ended Doctor Who's third series.

Pedler's concept of the Cybermen came after a conversation with his Doctor wife, discussing what would happen if a person had so many prostheses that they could no longer distinguish themselves between man and machine. The story was developed with Davis, with the original Cybermen hailing from Earth's long lost sister planet, Mondas. The first Cyberman costumes were designed by Sandra Reid, who used cloth, rubber diving suits, tubing, golf balls, cricketers' gloves, and silver-painted Doc Martens boots to create the look.

The Cybermen were an instant success and a sequel was commissioned for broadcast later in the season. They would return for three more stories during the second Doctor's era before taking a rest from the series. A one-off appearance with the Fourth Doctor was followed in 1982 by their return in the acclaimed story Earthshock. From that point on they would be a regular feature of the series with their most recent appearance being in the 2014 story Dark Water/Death in Heaven.

The costumes may have changed over the years, the voice refined and the back story enhanced, but the concept of the Cybermen remain unchanged. The ultimate evolution of the human form, where metal and steel replace flesh and blood and inconvenient emotions are consigned to history.

On that early October evening in 1966, as viewers around the UK were enjoying the arrival of the silver menace, in a small Television studio in west London another drama was playing out. The end of an era was occurring. A much-loved actor was recording his last scenes in a popular long-running television series. William Hartnell was leaving Doctor Who.

It had been debatable whether the actor would actually make it to his last contracted episode. In the summer, Hartnell had agreed he would leave the series in the autumn, his deteriorating health making the weekly pace of the series impossible to manage. He has spent much of August holidaying in Cornwall, fishing and relaxing. In September he would return to record just one more story.

Hartnell had maintained regular correspondence with the production team throughout his break. His last story would be directed by Derek Martinus, known to Hartnell from his previous work on the series, and he was keen to involve the actor as much as possible. He wrote to him in Cornwall with the latest news about The Tenth Planet, including changes in the production week, which would now run Tuesday to Saturday each week.
Hartnell was delighted with the casting of Robert Beaty, an actor he knew from working on the TV series Dial 999. He was pleased with the late Tuesday start, as he needed to travel up from his home at Mayfield in Sussex. However, he was keen to show he was still very much in charge and, in a letter to the Director, he pointed out worries about the rehearsal rooms being used. By the end of September, recording on the first two episodes of the story had been completed and the cast was assembling for the week-long rehearsal of episode three when it was clear someone was missing. William Hartnell was ill, too sick to attend. He had to be quickly written out of the episode, with story editor Gerry Davis rewriting the script to render the Doctor unconscious for the entire episode.

Derek Martinus wrote to reassure the actor

Hartnell did return the following week and after the four-day rehearsal, the team assembled at Studio 1, Riverside studios on Saturday 8th October where he would record his final episode. By far the most complex challenge of the day was to record the transformation of the First Doctor into the Second, so this was taped first, and Doctor Who history was written between 6.30pm to 7.00pm when the first regeneration in the series history was recorded. Anneke Wills remembers the event The woman charged with achieving the transformation was Vision Mixer Shirley Coward After a supper break, the rest of the episode was recorded from 8.00pm to 10.15pm, incurring a slight overrun.

And with that, the Hartnell era was over. The last scenes had been recorded, a new Doctor was now installed. A small farewell party was held at producer Innes Lloyd's flat and then Lloyd drove him home to Sussex.

William Hartnell would live until 1975, but his progressive disease meant he would not work regularly again. He had a small run in a pantomime the following Christmas playing Buskin the Fairy Cobbler in Puss In Boots. He would briefly return to Doctor Who in the 1972 story The Three Doctors, but by then his health was so poor all his scenes were pre-filmed in one day.

Today the character he created is known and loved around the world. His legacy lives on.

It was on Saturday 18th June 1966, fifty years ago today, that we said goodbye to the Doctor's long-term companion, Steven Taylor.

Steven had been traveling with the Doctor since the departure of Ian and Barbara. He had traveled 3000 years into the past, and 100 million years into the future. He had battled The Monk and The Toymaker, met Doc Holiday and fought in the Trojan wars. He had become a steadfast companion to The Doctor, and together they had seen off The Dalek Masterplan. He had known tragedy, with the loss of two fellow companions. Now his skills were needed to rebuild a civilisation, and with much trepidation, he left the Doctor.


The actor Peter Purves had won the role of Steven following a small cameo role in The Chase, where he played the American tourist Morton Dill, encountering the Daleks at the top of the Empire State building.

The 26 year old actor's performance impressed the producers, and Verity Lambert invited him to join the regular cast just three weeks later. Purves had an instant bond with William Hartnell, who, with the departure of William Russell and Jacqueline Hill, found himself as the only remaining original member of the cast.
Hartnell was suffering from arteriosclerosis, a hardening of the arteries, which caused memory loss, and was finding the pace of the show difficult to manage. The weight of leading the series increasingly fell onto Purves's shoulders, with the production team relying on the actor to keep the episodes on track.

Former script editor Donald Tosh explains.




By the spring of 1966 changes were afoot as a new producer had new ideas for the direction of the series. Innes Lloyd had taken control in March and felt the series was becoming old fashioned, needing new, modern companions routed in the sixties. Both Purves and his colleague Jackie Lane were told their contracts would not be renewed, with auditions held for two new companions...

Following his departure from the series Purves found work difficult to come by. Being a leading figure in a highly visible drama had led to typecasting and acting jobs dried up. His high profile, however, led to him being considered for a presenting role with the children's magazine programme Blue Peter. He accepted a six-month contract on the show, to tide him over until the acting career picked up, and stayed for ten years. Purves, along with John Noakes and Valerie Singleton became the dream team, so much a part of so many childhoods.

Part of his duties on the series was to look after Petra, the Blue Peter dog, leading to a lifelong passion for the animals, presenting the Crufts Dog show for over 36 years. Other presenter roles included hosting Stopwatch and We're Going Places as well as Darts events and the long-running motorcycle series Kick Start.

He continues to act with many theatre appearances as well as roles in EastEnders and The Office. He has reprised the role of Steven for Big Finish Productions.

Steven's departure heralded a sea change for Doctor Who. Over the following 12 episodes, the entire TARDIS crew would change, the final links with the genesis of the programme would be broken. The changes could have marked the beginning of the end for the series. In hindsight, they only marked the end of the beginning.

Fantom Publishing have announced two new releases of Who Talk, a series of new independent commentaries for Doctor Who episodes.


The commentaries are available to pre-order individually and as a special combined offer, on CD or via download. Full details can be found at the Who Talk website.


Please note: these commentaries contain no BBC copyrighted elements and do not feature audio from the episodes themselves - these are designed to be played alongside the official DVD releases.

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?