A selection of missing Doctor Who episodes from the classic era will be brought back to life on BBC Sounds as part of the show's 60th anniversary celebrations.

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The BBC has announced that three adventures starring the First and Second Doctors – played by William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton respectively – will be available to revisit soon.

A number of episodes from the first six seasons of the sci-fi drama have been missing for decades, due to the BBC's since-retired practice of periodically deleting material from their archives for logistical reasons.

Some of these episodes have already been resurrected through fan recordings or animated adaptations, but others remain lost to time for now.

As BBC iPlayer prepares to welcome all the surviving classic episodes of Doctor Who for the first time, it has been confirmed that more missing episodes will return in podcast form.

A notice on the BBC Sounds website reads: "Sadly, not all of Doctor Who’s earliest years survive in the BBC archive. Many episodes have been lost, seemingly forever.

"But thanks to the ingenuity of the fans, sound recordings of these missing episodes survived and were returned to the BBC.

"Combined with narration from the stars of Doctor Who, here’s a chance to listen to three adventures starring the first two Doctors."

The episodes, which have not been specified, are expected to launch on Wednesday 1st November, along with the Doctor Who archive on BBC iPlayer.

RadioTimes.com has reached out to the BBC for clarification.

Later that same month, the much-anticipated 60th anniversary specials will begin to be rolled out, with David Tennant and Catherine Tate reprising their roles of The Doctor and Donna Noble for the occasion.

Then, Ncuti Gatwa (Sex Education) will take over the Time Lord role for a bold new era, with season 14 already filmed and season 15 currently in production.

Doctor Who is available to stream on BBC iPlayer. Check out more of our Sci-Fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.

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Authors

David Craig
David CraigSenior Drama Writer

David Craig is the Senior Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest and greatest scripted drama and comedy across television and streaming. Previously, he worked at Starburst Magazine, presented The Winter King Podcast for ITVX and studied Journalism at the University of Sheffield.

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