by Paul Hayes

Ten Acre Films, out now

The inside story of how the BBC created and launched Doctor Who.

When a book contains a foreword by Toby Hadoke, where said Doctor Who aficionado acknowledges being corrected by another author, you realise that the book in your hand contains a forensic level of accuracy and detail. Paul Hayes here follows up his excellent 2021 history of modern Doctor Who, The Long Game, with a look at the creation of the show in 1962-1963, and it’s a fascinating and deep dive… very deep. Mariana Trench deep.

Using the BBC Written Archives Centre in Caversham, and starting with the earliest dated piece of paper which the BBC holds, no memo is left unturned as Hayes ploughs through the paperwork, uncovering discussions and research about the programme that would ultimately become Doctor Who. Along the way, we learn about people who are not so familiar to the Doctor Who fan (including Eric Maschwitz and Alice Frick) as well as more recognisable names like Donald Wilson, Sydney Newman and Bunny Webber.

In addition to potted biographies of these characters, we learn about the environment that they worked within that would one day create the show that is celebrating its 60th anniversary year in 2023. Even if you thought you knew all there is to know about the origins of the show, I guarantee that regardless of your existing knowledge, you’ll walk away with plenty of new nuggets.

Verdict: The perfect time to go back even further than Doctor Who’s 60 years on screen and realise just what alchemy was required to get the show on the box. 9/10

Nick Joy

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