Feature by JONATHAN MORRIS
The Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) fought monsters old and new in his first series of adventures.
Back in 1986, Robert Holmes was asked to contribute an account of his time as script editor of Doctor Who for Peter Haining’s book The Doctor Who File. The three pages Holmes wrote are full of his distinctive wit, and recount an exchange with producer Philip Hinchcliffe while he was busy hammering away to get a script in shape. “First the good news,” said Hinchcliffe. “Arnold Kingfisher’s script’s in.” “Oh, great!” said Holmes. “I knew good old Arnold wouldn’t let us down.” “Now for the bad news,” said Philip. “It’s useless.”