Doctor Who archive expert shares positive update on missing episode – and teases announcement

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A specialist working with the Doctor Who archives has given a promising update on the hunt for lost episodes, hinting that fans will be pleased with upcoming news.

Nearly 40% of the show’s earliest episodes – 97 out of 253 from its first six years – are lost. This means 26 stories are incomplete because the BBC wiped or recorded over the tapes in the 1960s and 70s to cut costs and free up space, before proper archiving procedures were established.

Recently, many of these lost programs have been brought back to life through animation, using surviving audio recordings. For years, people suspected copies of the original broadcasts existed in private hands, and that belief has now been confirmed.

John Franklin, representing the charity Film is Fabulous! which works to save at-risk film collections in the UK, released a statement to address recent reports about missing episodes.

As a lifelong Doctor Who fan, I was really interested to hear Franklin talk about the missing episodes. He confirmed what many of us suspect: there aren’t just one or two lost installments, but multiple episodes out there, held by private collectors and people who used to work in the television industry. It’s frustrating to think these pieces of TV history are hidden away, but at least we know they likely still *exist* somewhere!

We’re looking at acquiring their entire collections, not just individual items like Doctor Who or other rare pieces. We plan to fully catalogue and manage these collections just as we do with everything else. Hopefully, listeners will see this as a good thing.

Franklin explained on the Doctor Who: The Missing Episodes podcast that a comment on the Film is Fabulous! Facebook page concerned a specific situation involving a particular film collector, and he was about to share details.

Since 2023, a few of us on the Film is Fabulous! team have known about a large collection of films – thousands in total – that are at risk of being lost. This collection includes significant material, like a missing episode of Doctor Who. While we currently only know of one missing episode, there’s a chance others are also part of this collection.

He explained that the collector recently passed away after falling ill. Although Film is Fabulous had already been authorized to document the collection and move the items to their secure location, the legal circumstances have shifted due to the death. Film is Fabulous will now ask the court to allow them to proceed with the original plan.

Franklin also noted that Film is Fabulous handles complete collections, and stressed that taking away a single print or rare item would be both unlawful and unethical. He made it clear that the organization is committed to operating legally and with respect for all materials.

He assured me they were handling everything correctly and by the book to recover the collection, including the lost Doctor Who episode, and return all the items to their rightful owner.

Franklin asked fans for a little patience, promising exciting announcements are on the way. He explained they just need some time to finish up their work before sharing the news, and assured fans they’ll be pleased with the results.

Franklin’s statement follows a recent update from Malden regarding the ongoing search for lost episodes.

Regarding Doctor Who, we currently have no official announcement. However, we’re aware that some episodes are known to exist in private hands, and the Film is Fabulous! team may be able to assist in locating them.

I’m really hoping that, when the time is right, Film is Fabulous! will be the ones to bring back some of those lost Doctor Who episodes to the BBC – even just one or two would be amazing! We’re planning a special event with Claire Coss from the BBC to officially hand them over, which I think will be fantastic.

This relies on the idea that every instance was documented somehow. I used to be asked, when I was less familiar with things, if I thought we’d discovered the final Doctor Who story. I’d usually just give an uncertain answer like, ‘I’m not sure.’

Now that I’ve had a chance to consider it, all of those recordings must still exist somewhere. We believe we’ve identified a few possible locations where they might be stored.

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2025-10-14 19:07