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  "path": "/celebrity/doctor-who-lost-episodes-william-hartnell-dalek-bbc-easter",
  "publishedAt": "2026-03-13T15:55:34.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "Ricky Gervais says he ‘doesn’t want to go on telly again’ as partner shares cancer diagnosis",
    "BBC delights Traitors fans with future reveal but divides viewers over controversial format change",
    "Brenda Blethyn and co-star reveal 'romantic' moment they finally met on Channel 4 set",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
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  "textContent": "\n\n\nTwo lost episodes of Doctor Who from 1965 have been discovered.\n\nFilm is Fabulous!, an organisation made up of film collectors and vintage television enthusiasts, uncovered the black-and-white instalments among film cans belonging to a deceased collector whose estate wishes to remain anonymous.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe discovery marks the first confirmed recovery of missing Doctor Who material in more than a decade.\n\nThe previous find occurring in 2013 when nine episodes surfaced in a Nigerian television relay station storeroom.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nJustin Smith, a cinema professor at De Montfort University and chair of trustees at Film is Fabulous!, confirmed the discovery to the BBC today.\n\nThe recovered episodes, titled The Nightmare Begins and Devil's Planet, originally aired on November 13 and November 27, 1965.\n\nBoth instalments form part of The Daleks' Master Plan, a 12-episode serial described as \"dark and gritty\" that featured the iconic pepperpot-shaped villains whose catchphrase remains \"Exterminate!\"\n\nWilliam Hartnell stars as the first incarnation of the Doctor.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nHe portrayed the Time Lord from 1963 until 1966.\n\nPeter Purves appears alongside him as companion Steven Taylor, a role he played across 46 instalments of the programme.\n\nWith this recovery, the opening three chapters of the serial are now complete, after the intervening episode was located in 2004.\n\nBBC Archives has carried out restoration work on the original 16mm telerecordings to bring them up to broadcast standard.\n\n### LATEST DEVELOPMENTS\n\n\n\n\n  * Ricky Gervais says he ‘doesn’t want to go on telly again’ as partner shares cancer diagnosis\n  * BBC delights Traitors fans with future reveal but divides viewers over controversial format change\n  * Brenda Blethyn and co-star reveal 'romantic' moment they finally met on Channel 4 set\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nNoreen Adams, Director of BBC Archives, said: \"We're thrilled to have worked with the team at Film is Fabulous! to bring these lost Doctor Who episodes to viewers on BBC iPlayer this Easter.\n\n\"BBC Archives has been working to restore the original recordings and update these to broadcast quality, ensuring fans can enjoy a little extra treat with their Easter Eggs this April.\"\n\nFilm is Fabulous! has also arranged a special screening event on the same date.\n\nMr Purves, 87, is attending as a guest of honour.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nDuring the 1960s, the BBC routinely wiped tapes for reuse, a common archiving practice at the time.\n\nAs a result, scores of episodes were destroyed, leaving 95 instalments of the programme still missing.\n\nMr Purves, who is missing a number of his own episodes, expressed mixed emotions about the discovery.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\"Twenty-seven of mine still are missing, but I'm delighted that two have been found,\" he told the BBC.\n\n\"It's rather sad, but it's great when some turn up.\"\n\nDoctor Who originally ran from 1963 to 1989 before being revived by Russell T Davies in 2005.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards:The GB News Editorial Charter**",
  "title": "Doctor Who mystery solved as two missing 1965 episodes found in storage box"
}