A Doctor Who archive expert has shared a major update on the long-running search for the show’s missing episodes, hinting that long-awaited news could soon delight fans.
According to film collector John Franklin, speaking on behalf of Film is Fabulous! a charitable trust dedicated to preserving vulnerable film collections across the UK several long-lost Doctor Who episodes have been confirmed to exist in private collections.
Currently, 97 of the show’s 253 episodes from its first six years are missing, leaving 26 incomplete stories. The BBC originally wiped or reused tapes during the 1960s and 1970s to save storage space and costs, before proper archiving procedures were introduced.
While audio recordings exist for every missing episode (allowing for animated recreations in recent years), long-time speculation has suggested that original film prints may still be in the hands of private collectors. Franklin’s comments now appear to verify this belief.
We are aware of several collectors – plural – with several episodes of Doctor Who that are missing from the archive – plural – that are in private collections and with former industry professionals. We are aware of those and we are actively discussing their whole collections. We’re not going to just take the Doctor Who, or the other rare bits they have, we’re talking about the whole collections, coming in, being catalogued, and being managed in the way that we manage everything. So I hope that is a positive that your listeners take out of this.
Franklin explained.
Speaking on the Doctor Who: The Missing Episodes Podcast, Franklin clarified earlier Facebook comments made through Film is Fabulous! and elaborated on one particularly significant discovery.
Since 2023, I and a couple of other key members of the Film is Fabulous! team have been aware of a large collection of films, thousands of films, that have become vulnerable. That collection contains some very important material including a missing episode of Doctor Who.
he said.
It is a large collection and there is a possibility that there are other episodes of Doctor Who in that collection but at this moment in time, we know of one.
Franklin revealed that the private collector who owned this archive recently passed away, changing the legal circumstances surrounding the collection. Film is Fabulous! had previously received permission to catalogue and relocate the films to their secure facility, but must now apply to the court to continue with that agreement.
He emphasized that Film is Fabulous! only operates through official channels:
Removing a single print or a rare item would be illegal and immoral,” he stressed, adding that the trust “will only work legally and respectfully.
Franklin continued,
We are doing everything legally, with propriety, to make sure we secure that collection and can return that missing episode of Doctor Who and other items to the rights holder.
Urging patience, Franklin reassured fans,
Give us the space to conclude the things that we’re doing. You will be very, very happy with the announcements when they come, but we just need the space to be able to do that now.
The comments follow a May update from Film is Fabulous! representative Malden, who confirmed that missing episodes do exist in private hands.
As far as Doctor Who goes, we do not have a statement or anything to make at the moment. We do know fairly certainly that there are episodes missing in private collections. Some members of the Film is Fabulous! team are in a considerably significant position to help on that.
Malden said.
Malden added that the team hopes to return “at least one or two” missing episodes to the BBC, in coordination with Claire Coss, head of Library and Curatorial Services at the corporation.
That works on the assumption every one of them had to be recorded somewhere. I’ve been asked in the past, when I knew less, whether I thought we’d found the last Doctor Who. And I’d sort of look a bit vague and say, ‘Oh, I don’t know.’
she continued.
But actually now I’ve stopped to think about it, every one has been recorded, they’ve got to be there somewhere. And we now think we know a few places where they might be.
At present, all seven episodes of the 1964 story Marco Polo remain missing, alongside dozens of other early serials. But with these new developments, fans of the classic era of Doctor Who may soon have reason to celebrate.
Source: Radio Times