Posted in: BBC, TV | Tagged: doctor who

Doctor Who: Lost "Daleks" Eps Discovered; BBC iPlayer Debut in April

Great news, Doctor Who fans! Two additional chapters in "The Daleks' Master Plan" have been found and are set for BBC iPlayer this April.

Published Fri, 13 Mar 2026 07:08:08 -0500

by Ray Flook

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Article Summary

Two lost episodes of Doctor Who's "The Daleks' Master Plan" arc have been discovered and restored.
The episodes, "The Nightmare Begins" and "Devil's Planet," will debut on BBC iPlayer in April.
Special London screening is planned with Peter Purves, who starred alongside William Hartnell in 1965.
The new find offers fans a rare glimpse of early Dalek creator Terry Nation's classic serials.

Having spent so much time over the past few months examining what the future holds for the BBC's Doctor Who, it feels nice to have some good news to share about the long-running show's past. Thanks to the anonymous donation of "hundreds of home videos," two additional chapters in "The Daleks' Master Plan" arc have been discovered: "The Nightmare Begins" and "Devil's Planet," both airing in 1965. With "Day of Armageddon" discovered in 2004, fans now have the first three installments of the overarching storyline, which starred William Hartnell as the First Doctor and Peter Purves as assistant Steven Taylor.

Written by Dalek creator Terry Nation, the serial also features an early appearance from Nicholas Courtney in his pre-Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart days. Film is Fabulous! (FIF) is sponsoring a special screening of the two episodes in London on April 4th, with Purves as the guest of honor (though no details for the event have been released so far). On the same day as the screening, the two restored Doctor Who episodes will also be available on BBC iPlayer (no word yet on if there will be any viewing options for those outside of BBC iPlayer's reach – possibly as a physical release, digital download, or something along those lines).

How Purves learned that two episodes had been found is a great story in itself, with the actor having been invited to the Phoenix Cinema in Leicester on Wednesday for a completely fabricated reason. After the screening, Purves shared, "My flabber has never been so gasted," adding, "I've never forgiven the BBC for losing those episodes; it would be really nice to get a few royalties." He continued, "I'm not sure I even saw those programmes go out originally – I remember the stories, but having seen them, the pictures are unfamiliar to me. I didn't remember the first one when I was still almost comatose following the injury I received fighting in Troy in the wonderful Mythmakers – which of course is missing."

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