Two episodes of the British science fiction television program Doctor Who, missing since their original broadcast in 1965, have been discovered and restored, the BBC announced Friday. The episodes, “The Nightmare Begins” and “Devil’s Planet,” were found among the possessions of a deceased collector by the film charity Film is Fabulous!
The discovery, confirmed by multiple sources including the Associated Press and The Guardian, represents a significant find for fans of the long-running series. The episodes feature the First Doctor, played by William Hartnell, and depict a Dalek plot to dominate Earth, the solar system, and the galaxy. Both episodes originally aired in November 1965 as part of the show’s third series.
Justin Smith, chair of trustees of Film is Fabulous! and a professor of cinema and television history at De Montfort University, explained the rarity of such finds. “The main broadcasters in the UK in the 1960s, 70s, up to the 80s really, junked quite a lot of content,” he told the Associated Press. “In some ways finding missing Doctor Whos is the holy grail of classic TV discoveries.”
The film canisters containing the episodes were reportedly wrapped in plastic bags. BBC archivists have since “regenerated” the film, a term referencing the show’s central concept of the Doctor changing bodies, according to The Guardian. The restored episodes will be available next month on the BBC’s iPlayer streaming service.
Peter Purves, who played the Doctor’s assistant Steven Taylor in 46 episodes of the show, was present for a viewing of the recovered episodes. “My flabber has never been so gasted,” Purves, 87, told the BBC. He noted that 27 of his own appearances on the show remain missing.
The find follows a recent announcement earlier this month regarding the recovery of other lost 1960s episodes of Doctor Who, as reported by the Associated Press. The BBC has not yet announced any further plans for the recovery of additional missing episodes.
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