Doctor Who legend Carole Ann Ford makes plea for return of missing classic story: “Let us have it back”

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Carole Ann Ford, the very first companion in Doctor Who, has spoken about the lost adventure ‘Marco Polo’ and is hoping it will be rediscovered.

The fourth Doctor Who story introduced the original TARDIS team – William Hartnell as the First Doctor, along with Susan, Ian Chesterton, and Barbara Wright – as they encountered the famous Italian explorer Marco Polo in a seven-part adventure that originally aired in 1964.

Unfortunately, the BBC erased the original episodes in 1967, and now the entire story is lost except for a few surviving audio recordings.

Although there’s no concrete evidence, many fans think a copy of the lost story still exists in a private collection. Harrison Ford has even jokingly asked anyone who has it to share it, saying, “If anyone has Marco Polo, please return it—we’re desperate to see it again and remember how wonderful it was.”

Nearly 40% of the original episodes from the first six years of the show are lost. A total of 97 out of 253 episodes are missing, resulting in 26 incomplete stories. This happened because the BBC wiped or recorded over these tapes in the 1960s and 70s to cut down on storage costs, before proper archiving procedures were established.

Thanks to surviving audio recordings, some of these lost programs have recently been brought back to life through animation. For years, fans have hoped complete episodes still exist in private hands, and the organization Film is Fabulous! has been actively searching for them, regularly updating fans on their progress – including a hopeful announcement late last year.

During the interview, I loved hearing Ford talk about when she first started on the BBC sci-fi show. She shared what it was like meeting William Hartnell, who played the very first Doctor, and her initial thoughts about him – it was fascinating!

She said she found him absolutely adorable. He was charming, kind, and thoughtful, and she especially appreciated how seriously he approached everything. She doesn’t have patience for people who don’t take their work seriously and just goof off.

She explained that the role meant the world to him, and he strived for perfection because of how much it mattered.

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Authors

Louise Griffin

Louise Griffin edits the Sci-Fi & Fantasy section at TopMob, writing about popular franchises like Doctor Who, Star Wars, Marvel, House of the Dragon, and Good Omens. Before joining TopMob, she was a Senior Entertainment Reporter at Metro and holds a degree in English Literature.

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2026-01-11 11:38