Lost episodes of Doctor Who to be shown as cartoons half a century after they vanished

Six long-lost episodes of Doctor Who are to be revived as cartoons – 50 years after they were aired.

BBC Worldwide has ­commissioned a company to animate the 1966 classic six-part story The Power of the Daleks, featuring the first ever Doctor Who regeneration.

Patrick Troughton’s first outing as the Time Lord – taking over from William Hartnell – is the holy grail for fans, as it was only shown once in the UK and only sold overseas to Australia and New Zealand.

The film prints of the black-and-white fourth series were junked from the BBC archives during the early 70s.

Only a handful of short clips and cine film footage shot by a fan survive.


In the story Patrick turns up instead of the old Doctor, telling his companions Ben and Polly that the Tardis helped him to renew himselff.

They remain sceptical but stand by him as he faces his most deadly foe – the Daleks – on the planet Vulcan.

The story has now been brought back to life, using state-of-the-art animation based on off-screen photos taken at the time.

One thing’s for certain – it’s a hell of a lot easier for cartoon Daleks to get up the stairs.

BBC Worldwide have yet to confirm that the cartoon revival is in the works.


Via The Mirror by Mark Jefferies and Nicola Methven