About the Author

Malcolm Hulke was a prolific and respected television writer from the 1950s until the 1970s. His writing credits included the early science fiction Pathfinders series, as well as The Avengers. Hulke was first approached to write for Doctor Who when the series first started, but his idea for The Hidden Planet was not pursued. In 1967 he wrote The Faceless Ones (with David Ellis) for the Second Doctor. By 1969, Hulke's friend and occasional writing partner Terrance Dicks was Script Editor for Doctor Who and needed a ten part story to replace other scripts and write out Patrick Troughton's Doctor. Together, they wrote The War Games, which for the first time explained the Doctor's origins and introduced his people, the Time Lords. Hulke continued to write for Doctor Who, providing a story for each of the Third Doctor's series. Malcolm Hulke died in 1979, soon after completing his novelisation of The War Games. David Whitaker was the first Story Editor for Doctor Who, and was responsible for finding and commissioning writers, and it was Whitaker as much as anyone who defined the narrative shape of Doctor Who. He wrote for the Doctor Who annuals, novelised the first Dalek story and worked with Terry Nation on various Dalek-related material including the hugely successful comic strip The Daleks. David Whitaker died in 1980.