Sci-Fi Bulletin: Exploring the Universes of SF, Fantasy, Horror and Spy-fi!

Think you know how Doctor Who came to the screen sixty years ago? Prepare to be surprised by a new book coming from Ten Acre Films in July.

Pull To Open: 1962–1963: The Inside Story of How the BBC Created and Launched Doctor Who, by Paul Hayes, explores the behind-the-scenes saga of Doctor Who in 1963, when a chain of events at the BBC brought together a disparate group to launch what would become one of British TV’s best-loved and most successful programmes. It’s the story of why these events happened; the BBC creative culture into which Doctor Who was born; how television drama was made in the early 1960s; and an insight into the people who started this epic journey.

Drawing from the BBC’s written archives and new interviews with some of those who were there, including Doctor Who’s first director Waris Hussein and original co-star Carole Ann Ford, Pull to Open is a detailed and comprehensive account of the programme’s path to the screen. Immerse yourself in the world of BBC Television in 1963 and discover how a series which was almost cancelled before a single episode was shown survived to cement its place in the popular culture of a nation.

Hayes told Sci-Fi Bulletin, “This is a story and a period in history by which I have long been fascinated, and it’s been wonderful to explore them in detail. It’s an in-depth telling of the tale, explaining what was happening in the BBC at the time and how it shaped these events. A book where the creation of the show isn’t just the start of the story, it is the story.

“So there’s the time and space to go into the lives of people who are normally just names on a list – people like Alice Frick, who not only had a hugely successful career in Canadian radio drama but who made a decision about a script in 1956 which ultimately meant we’re still here today discussing Doctor Who. It’s the chance to explore things like Sydney Newman admitting who actually named the show; why the date you’ll often see given as the first time anything new was shot for it is wrong; and what Rex Tucker’s sci-fi serial was which he kept trying to sell to his BBC bosses before they put him onto Doctor Who instead.”

Click here to pre-order