Doctor Who companion wants iconic lost story to get animation treatment

The entire serial is now missing, which has led some to hope that it will become the latest lost story to be restored with new animated visuals accompanying the surviving soundtracks.

But a recent post on Wills's official Facebook page explained that while it was "favourite story" she has "no idea" if there were currently plans for it to be animated.

The full post reads: "Anneke has heard on the grapevine that there are rumours that she said that Doctor Who – The Smugglers was being animated.

"Anneke says that is *not* what she said; The Smugglers is her favourite story and she hopes it will be animated but has no idea if it will be! So don't believe everything you read on the internet!"

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There have long been rumours that The Smugglers would be the next storyline in line for a restoration, but asked about the possibility in 2023, Paul Hembury – who has overseen the animations – wouldn't be drawn on the specifics of future storylines.

At the time he said: "I would love to be able to say yes – I can't at this stage. We don't have a five, 10-year plan to work through. We do them one at a time.

"In all truth, I don't know whether we'll ever get to a situation where we've done every one. [But] there is something coming."

Doctor Who is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

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