LONG LOST EPISODES FINALLY COME HOME!

© BBC 2013

With much speculation surrounding the specificity of lost episodes, the BBC have finally announced the number and titles of those recovered after almost 50 years.

Of all the places in the world, the rare tapes that featured the Doctor’s second incarnation, Patrick Troughton, were found in Nigeria.

Having been tracked down by Director of Television International Enterprises Archives Phillip Morris and remastered to its original quality, fans are now thrilled to have the chance to watch episodes that until now have been unavailable.

Morris says: “My heart missed a beat as I wiped the dust off the cover and saw the words ‘Doctor Who’. And when I read the story code I realised I’d found something pretty special.”

Specifically, the stories within the found tapes include episodes 1,2,4,5 and 6 of the story ‘The Enemy of the World’ and episodes 2,4,5 and 6 of ‘The Web of Fear’. Much of the still-missing episodes will be restored using salvaged images and audio tapes.

The retrieved episodes had the Troughton incarnation face off against ‘Ramon Salamander’ with companions Jamie McGrimmon (Frazer Hines) and Victoria Waterfield (Deborah Watling), as well as the debut appearance of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (Nicholas Courtney).

They are now available to purchase from iTunes at £1.89 separately together for £9.99.

Click here to watch the BBC trailer.

MORE MISSING EPISODES!

In further celebration of the 50^th anniversary of Doctor Who, previously lost episodes of the William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton era have now been rediscovered.

© BBC 2013

Whilst the official number is unspecified, these episodes have now been returned back to the BBC after weeks of speculation.

A press conference is also expected to be held later on this week that will report in full on the findings and inform fans on how they can gain access to the episodes.

Some of the Patrick Troughton episodes, of which haven’t been seen since the 1960s, were originally planned to be available for download from iTunes today, but reports confirm that the mentioned press conference later on this week will announce the postponed dates for the episodes’ availability instead.

© BBC 2013

The total count for lost episodes of Doctor Who during the 1960s is officially 106 out of the 253 that were produced. Their ‘extermination’ came as a result of archive policies during the 1960s and 1970s, but due to further changes, have recently become available once again.

The Radio Times claims: “They are believed to originate from a haul discovered in Africa and have been digitally remastered for sale, although exact details remain sketchy.”

More updates available soon.

DWM CONFIRMS - NO PAST DOCTORS!

Artwork Copyright Paul Hanley

The latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine (issue #460 - on sale tomorrow) confirms that the only Doctor returning for the Fiftieth Anniversary episode is David Tennant. '...The other old Doctors will not be taking part,' the mag reports. It also confirms that, although Christopher Eccleston was approached to return, he turned the offer down. In conjunction with this from Steven Moffat, 'it is important you don't turn it into a fanfest. We can't make this all about looking backwards', it seems long-time fans of the show are in for a major disappointment.

So, is this to be a celebration of FIFTY years or just the last EIGHT? The latter is looking more and more likely...

DOCTOR WHO STAMPS AVAILABLE NOW

Today (March 26) sees the release of the special edition Doctor Who stamps.

All eleven Doctors feature on their own first class stamp with their relevant logo and a title graphic in the background.

The TARDIS is also on its own first class stamp and comes as part of a mini-sheet with four second class stamps, each one with their own Doctor Who monster; Weeping Angel, Dalek, Cyberman and Ood.

The stamps have been created to mark the 50th Anniversary of the show and, with pre-registration for the collection three times higher than any other commeroative set Royal Mail has released, they have already broken a record.

Royal Mail's Andrew Hammond said: "These stamps pay tribute to the brilliant actors that have played the Doctor over the years as well as the adversaries that helped make the show so popular."

See the full collection below: