Thursday, October 10th, 2013 Update: Nine episodes originally broadcast in the late 1960s have been recovered from a television station in Nigeria. Read more at the Doctor Who Magazine website.
Ending months of speculation in certain circles (chiefly Whovians and missing television enthusiasts), BBC News confirmed today that missing episodes of the long-running science-fiction series Doctor Who have been recovered. More than 100 episodes of the series, which originally aired from 1963-1989 before being revived in 2005, no longer exist due to the BBC’s policy of routinely erasing or wiping its videotapes for reuse.
Occasionally, however, copies are recovered from other countries or from former employees. The most recent recovery came in December 2011 when two episodes purchased by a retired TV engineer in the 1980s were returned to the BBC.
No details have been released about how many episodes have been recovered. According to BBC News, the recovery will be confirmed later this week during a press screening in London.
