All of them from the Troughton era.
Earlier this week rumor had it that the BBC had uncovered a lost trove of Doctor Who episodes, and now the BBC has confirmed that eleven episodes have been found in Nigeria, including nine thought to have been lost forever. The episodes include almost all of The Web of Fear – only episode three is still missing – as well as the first ever appearance of Nicholas Courtney as Brigadier Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart of UNIT, a fan favourite character who would go on to appear in the series again and again over the next 40 years.
The discovery was made by the Indiana Jones of the film world, Philip Morris, executive director at Television International Enterprise Archive. In the spirit of his namesake, he found the treasure hidden away in a long-forgotten hiding place at a small TV facility in Jos, Nigeria. The episodes were “sitting on a shelf with a piece of masking tape that said ‘Doctor Who’,” said Jones, who also discovered the remaining lost episodes from 1967’s six-parter The Enemy of the World in the Jos stash. BBC Worldwide has made the episodes available on iTunes, and the shows are also available for pre-order on DVD.
“It is extraordinary after all these years,” said Deborah Watling, the actress who portrayed one of Troughton’s two companions. She got to see the episodes at a BBC screening in London, as part of the press event. After a few moments, she began remembering all her old lines, and those of her fellow actors. “My God, I’m back on the screen again all these years later and I can see some of the work I did as a young 19-year-old.”
This is the 50th anniversary year of Doctor Who, and to celebrate, next month will see an extended 75 minute episode, starring Matt Smith and David Tennant.
Source: Guardian
