2026 - October to December

2026 - October to December

October 2026

2 - On their FB, FIF announce that Riverside will hold an encore screening of the two recovered episodes of The Daleks' Master Plan plus "Day of Armageddon" on 31 October 2026.

In attendance will be Toby Hadoke, Sue Malden and John Franklin. The official link is here.

In response to a comment about more Doctor Who being found, FIF reply that "there's always hope".

3 - Prior to the Riverside screening of The Underwater Menace and The Faceless Ones, one of the hosts Gavin Rymill posts that today's screening will feature the answer to an unsolved question posed in The Doctor Who Missing Episodes Podcast.

At 1pm UK time, the screening of the two existing episodes of both The Underwater Menace and The Faceless Ones takes place at Riverside Studios. No special reveals occur (Ed:- I later discovered that the "unsolved question" related to some overdubbed dialogue by Patrick Troughton in the former story).

4 - On their FB, Fantom Events post an intriguing reel, with still photos from missing Doctor Who stories and the captions "Withdrawn", "Deaccessioned", "Junked".

The reel's caption is "Coming soon...". The same is posted on their X.

Member The Firemaker on GB gives the stories the photos are from as being:

The Evil of the Daleks

Marco Polo

The Faceless Ones

The Tenth Planet

The Abominable Snowmen

Galaxy 4

The Daleks' Master Plan

The Crusade

The Moonbase

The Massacre

The Underwater Menace

The Ice Warriors

The Celestial Toymaker

The Wheel in Space

The Power of the Daleks

(Ed:- With thanks to hayleyjone86 on Gallifrey Base.)

5 - On GB, member absinthe_boy reports that FIF have stated they will not announce any other Doctor Who recoveries at their upcoming Riverside event on the 31st of this month.

6 - Fantom Events announce on their FB that the event their reel relates to (Ed:- see 4 October 2026) is "Missing Who", an event celebrating the recovery of missing episodes of Doctor Who. Peter Purves is slated to attend.

The event takes place on 24 April 2027.

7 - Fantom Events posts that Carole Ann Ford has also been booked to attend Missing Who.

8 - On their FB, FIF announce the person who will conduct the first phase of their London-based trial: Rebecca O'Connor Thompson will be cataloguing the collection belonging to the late Keith Wilton (Ed:- as surmised on this blog; see 30 September 2026).

Meanwhile on their FB, Fantom Events announce that John Franklin of FIF will be a guest at "Missing Who" in April next year.

10 - On their FB, Fantom Events announce that Sue Malden of FIF will be a guest at "Missing Who".

Meanwhile on their X, Fantom also announce Sally Faulkner - Isobel Watkins from The Invasion - as a guest at Pandorica 2026, being held on 1 November this year.

12 - On their FB, Fantom announce that Frazer Hines will be a guest at "Missing Who".

Meanwhile on their FB, FIF post a query to their followers as to what missing artefacts should be prioritised, and also in some of their comments hint at a shift in their strategy away from "at-risk" collections towards identifying collections with missing material.

13 - On their FB, Fantom post that Wendy Padbury will join the guest list for "Missing Who".

14 - On their X, FIF announce they will be holding a special live Q&A webinar for Director-tier Patreons. The event takes place on Monday, 19 October 2026 at 7:30pm GMT.

15 - A new forum - Planet Telos - goes live to replace the (sadly) defunct Planet Mondas Forum.

16 - And on Planet Telos - getting the new forum off to a flying start - member georgeagdgdgwngo posts some screen grabs of messages he was sent "years ago" - that The Tenth Planet:4 and - he clarifies - The Daleks' Master Plan:4 ("The Traitors") are known to be in a private collection, but the person concerned "won't hand them back".

These are the two episodes "supposedly" lost by Blue Peter. The cans are in the possession of "an ex-BBC employee", whose wife contacted the old Restoration Team about them.

Meanwhile, the Crime and Comedy Theater Company is putting a performance of 1965's The Crusade, starring Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant, Carole Ann Ford and Peter Purves.

The performance forms part of Happy Who Year, a convention being held in January 2027. The official link for the play is here.

17 - On Planet Telos, member georgeagdgdgwngo reports that "extras" for The Myth Makers and The Smugglers have been filmed, and that Frazer Hines and Wendy Padbury have filmed something together.

Forum owner Bowtiesarecool says these may be for releases in 2027/28.

19 - FIF hold their first Q&A webinar, giving the state of play on missing episodes in film collections.

On Planet Telos, member vikings reports that FIF state they still know of three separate collections that contain at least one episode. 

Further points are reported on GB: member MoDo says that "several" means three, as in episodes known besides the two episodes of The Daleks' Master Plan. Member Flashpoint additionally states that of the three collections with these three missing episodes, one collector is sadly terminally ill, and when the time comes the family will contact FIF. The other two collectors fear reprisals (specifically, the effect on their pensions). 

Member narich provides more information: the terminally-ill collector has the largest collection of the three, and negotiations with FIF are ongoing with the other two, due to their concerns about coming forward.

Finally, Steve Manfred reports that FIF's "pipeline" of incoming film is "overflowing", and the Doctor Who brand team are calling "weekly" for updates on finds.

20 - FIF release the first instalment of the Q&A webinar.

"The Culture of Film Collecting"

First, FIF state they we shouldn't underestimate not only the amount of film but of television “out there” (ie, both in collections and archives), especially considering the lack of archival policies of broadcasters as late as the 1980s. 

FIF are expanding their operations by adding administration and cataloguing roles. They aim to constantly expand and are open to feedback and suggestions. The best way to support FIF is via their Patreon to help them continue their work.

21 - FIF release the second instalment of the Q&A webinar.

"The Process of Preservation"

FIF say there is no typical method for acquiring collections, as each collector and their circumstances are unique, from geographical location to their physical condition to the number of films in their collection.

In a couple of instances FIF have had to move quickly to acquire collections, including the one containing 6 episodes of Doctor Who, two of which were the two missing episodes of The Daleks’ Master Plan. The collection went to court because the executors of the estate predeceased the collector, and the entire estate had been left to a high street charity. The court upheld the will, and FIF negotiated directly with the charity and acquired the film collection. 

In the case of the two Master Plan prints, the film itself had physically shrunk. The collector had never projected the films; if he had they would have been damaged due to the sprocket holes not aligning on the projector.

Research into cutting copies is ongoing and they’ve found a seam of interesting research, especially by way of former industry professionals (especially Simon Chambers and Robert Maynard). They have provided a lot of feedback on the two Master Plan episodes, advising they are the final iteration of cutting copies known as “answer copies”.

The BBC’s practice was to use one label type was put on all iterations of cutting copies. 

FIF have two groups they deal with in the film community, active living film collectors and film collectors’ estates. FIF’s profile in the community as a neutral party is facilitating returns of missing material.

FIF estimate the number of active film collectors across the UK and Europe to be 2,000. Older collectors are less inclined to be “active", which highlights the importance of FIF’s role in contacting these “inactive” collectors.

John knows of a collection that holds “very important material” including “television episodes that everyone would like to see”. (Ed:- This sounds like the terminally-ill collector who as reported elsewhere holds at least one missing episode of Doctor Who.) The collector’s wife has assured John that she will contact him "when something happens". 

Part of FIF’s role involves going into people’s homes and dealing directly with the bereaved, helping them work through their grieving. Regardless of length of time it takes, FIF supports the families and tries to preserve as much film as they can, respectfully and humanely.

--------

Meanwhile on their FB, FIF announce that they will hold another live Q&A in November this year. Further, the videos from this month's Q&A will be available on their YouTube channel "within in month".

2026 - July to September

2026 - July to September

July 2026

13 - On their X, FIF announce that two more film collections have been catalogued. Among the material discovered is a scene from a missing episode of a 1967 Petula Clark broadcast on the BBC, featuring The Dudley Moore Trio.

16 - On YouTube, FIF release a short video featuring Tim Burrows of the DWMEPC speaking on the topic of cutting copies - and how "loads" of copies of Doctor Who episodes could have been made.

17 - On their FB, FIF announce that at the screening of The Daleks' Master Plan at Phoenix Cinema, Leicester on 15 August 2026, two former BBC editors will join a discussion panel to further clarify the BBC's processes around cutting copies.

August 2026

4 - On their FB, FIF announce that at the Leicester screening of DMP 1-3 on 15 August, a discussion panel will feature former BBC editor Robert Maynard as a special guest. Robert will talk among other things about his knowledge of cutting copies, and the panel will be recorded and made available on the FIF Patreon and YouTube.

5 - In a reply to a comment, FIF state on their FB that "there is a chance" more missing Doctor Who will be returned to the BBC in the future.

6 - FIF announce that a second special guest, former BBC editor Simon Chambers, will feature on the discussion panel at Leicester.

7 - In an email to supporters, FIF advise that on 15 July, at BBC Archives, the prints of the following episodes of Doctor Who were handed over:

Doctor Who: The Web Planet

Doctor Who: The Executioners 

Doctor Who: The Nightmare Begins 

Doctor Who: Devil’s Planet 

Although two other episodes of Doctor Who were found at the same time as these, only those listed were of higher quality than what was already held.

Also handed back were the finds of The Beatles at Top of the Pops, the episode of Once More with Felix, an episode of Morecambe & Wise and more.

8 - On PMF, Servorobot speculates on the role of BBC Sydney in producing cutting copies, given that the ABC censors made many cuts to episodes of Doctor Who.

15 - In a post reporting from the screening at HOME in Leicester, GB member steven.walton says FIF have reiterated that they are "aware of more episodes in other collections" - however, these collections are not as vulnerable as others, and FIF will get to them "when they can".

Also, FIF do not have any episodes currently.

17 - On their FB, the Radio Times posts a short piece featuring son of second Doctor, Michael Troughton, expressing his wish to have The Power of the Daleks found and returned.

24 - Peter Purves interviews FIF in the latest episode of his podcast. In it, the team describe the origin of FIF in 2023 and the background of the role of De Montfort University in the team.

John Franklin refers to the two DMP episodes, in that they formed part of an "inherited" collection from a deceased collector when they were obtained by the late gentleman who had them when FIF found them. John says this is common, and often accounts for why collectors don't know what they have.

John also says that many late film collectors' families were often happy to see the collections disposed of (i.e., thrown out), due to concerns over the films' provenance and any possible legal ramifications. John also says the very first collection they removed from a premises held missing episodes of The Likely Lads and Sykes.

Sue Malden talks about the role of Enid Mawson in preserving archive material, that it was a good relationship between the two ladies.

September 2026

4 - On their YT, FIF post a short video on their return of six episodes of Doctor Who to the BBC.

9 - On their YT, FIF post an excerpt from an interview with John Franklin, in which it's revealed that it was John himself who on examining the film collection first discovered the missing episodes of Doctor Who.

11 - On their FB, in a post about the find and return of missing segments from The Frost Report (featuring Ronnie Barker and John Cleese), FIF state that "a host of missing and rare items" will be returned to the BBC "at the end of September".

15 - On their X (Twitter), FIF state that there may be another Beatles film in another private collection - which, intriguingly for Whovians, belongs to a former studio engineer in Lime Grove (Studio E). This collector has approached FIF about the artefact.

17 - On PMF, Servorobot reports that in the latest DWM, Anneke Wills says she has heard "a hot whisper" regarding more returned missing episodes.

19 - The Radio Times publishes an article quoting Anneke Wills' comments from issue 634 of Doctor Who Magazine: 

"I'm so excited. There have been whispers. We've had whispers before, so I don't usually take any notice, but recently I've heard a really hot whisper. Wahey! We'll see. I keep saying, 'Do it before I leave my body!

"I know about the complications. But I'm only interested in the stories coming back. I want my stories back. Never mind anyone else's. I want mine."

20 - A commenter on this blog alerted me to an upcoming screening of the two extant episodes of both The Underwater Menace and The Faceless Ones. Hosted by Riverside Studios and presented by Gavin Rymill and James Goss, who will also conduct an information and Q&A session for each episode, the screening takes place on 3 October 2026.

30 - To see out September, FIF post on their X that they will soon take in several collections for cataloguing, belonging to former BBC staff - namely, those of David Jervis (Doctor Who, Red Dwarf), Ken Locke and notably that of the late Keith Wilton, a former BBC film editor said to have one of the largest film collections in the world.

And from their FB, FIF further state that 2 out of the 3 collections are to be catalogued at De Montfort University - the third will be handled by an expert at R3Store Studios in London (Ed:- this seems likely to be the large Wilton collection).

In the comments on FB, FIF confirm this intake represents "thousands of cans". They further state there are "more recoveries to be announced" and that they are beginning the London-based cataloguing "this week".

Furthermore, FIF state that if this London-based enterprise is successful, they will be able to take "several large collections" located in the capital city, in which are "culturally important items".

2026 - April to June

2026 - April to June

April 2026

2 - On their X, FIF post a short clip of Nicholas Briggs - voice of the Daleks in the modern series - speaking about his reaction to hearing the episodes had been found. At the end of the clip he makes the somewhat cryptic remark: "Let's see the episodes, and see what happens next"!

The Daleks' Master Plan episodes go LIVE!

3 - At 6am UK time on Good Friday, the two recovered episodes of The Daleks' Master Plan go live on the BBC's iPlayer service - to a rapturous reception by fans.

On the official Doctor Who X account, they confirm that US viewers can access the episodes on the official Classic Doctor Who YouTube channel.

4 - The screening of the first three episodes of The Daleks' Master Plan together with panel discussions takes place at Riverside Studios in London. In attendance is Peter Purves who starred in the episodes.

On GB, member ElectroBoy, who attended the event, states that Joggs Camfield, Jessica Carney and members of the late Adrienne Hill's family were also present.

ElectroBoy also states that Paul Vanezis believes that episodes 5 and 10 (returned in the mid 1980s) are likely to be returned Australian audition prints, judging by the cans. Previously, these were believed to still be held in the infamous Australian "bonded warehouse" - it now appears that Master Plan's audition prints somehow made their way back to the UK!

On Roobarbs, member DoctorWhoDVDs adds to this: Paul discovered that one of the cans has an original 1960s label hidden beneath a later, 1980s one. The newly-discovered label bore a handwritten date which matches with the dates on which the episodes were being reviewed and rejected by the Australian censors.

Furthermore, episode 2 (recovered in 2004) may also be an Australian  ex-audition print, but as yet there is no conclusive evidence.

10 - The quotes from Paul Vanezis above can now be heard on the FIF YouTube release of the second discussion panel on the screening day. Paul also delves into more details about what a cutting copy is.

13 - On their website, FIF announce that the two recovered episodes (together with "Day of Armageddon") will be screened at HOME Manchester on 23 May 2026.

24 - On their website, the BBC announce the recovery of a missing (albeit black and white) 1968 Morecambe & Wise by FIF. Like the episodes of The Daleks' Master Plan, the episode was also found in the collection of a deceased industry professional, but it's not clear if the M&W was found in the same collection.

On their FB, in response to such enquiries, FIF state that details of the find will be announced next week. (However - they later state that this is NOT from the same collection.)

Replying to a comment, FIF also state that they are currently working on FIVE film collections - and have a number of recoveries to announce in the weeks ahead!

25 - On the DWMEPC X account, Tim Burrows reveals that the found M&W episode was also a cutting copy.

30 - On their FB, FIF state that the estate of the late collector in whose collection the episode of M&W was found wishes him to remain anonymous. They confirm however that this was another cutting copy.

May 2026

1 - On doctorwho.tv, an informative article by James Goss on Doctor Who's missing episodes is published.

3 - On their FB, FIF reveal they currently have 70 items of film that are being returned to BBC Archives - including negatives - and that many of these are "cutting copies", some of which have had editorial cuts made to them.

In a reply, FIF confirm that they hold a mix of missing, rare and better quality episodes together with "clips, scenes, etc" and they will publish a list shortly. 

However they then DO provide something of a list - the "seventy" include missing comedy shows and clips, drama, horror, and a large number of regional features of 8-12 mins from programmes like London This Week (1960s and 70s). (Ed: - so potentially, "drama" could include Doctor Who.)

They also confirm they will be holding "another event later in the year" - presumably to show some of this material.

4 - In a further reply to their FB post, FIF confirm that all the missing material including full episodes have been returned to the BBC archives.

On the Sense Sphere podcast, Brendan says one of his contacts "thinks they may be onto something Doctor Who related" in a film collection (2:45).

Then at 19:36, Brendan says he "received an email live" from an individual with "some positive news"! Brendan needs to talk to this person first and then may release another update. 

In a reply to a comment from @watcherviewer-o4i, Brendan insists this is "not a hoax", and replying to a comment by @mb19821, Brendan says "it's 100% good news".

7 - On their X, FIF announce the first item to come from the "seventy" - a short film from the BBC's internal director's course, "Tell Mummy" (c. 1964) directed by Tina Wakerell.

(Ed:- this short was already announced and screened by FIF in November 2025; presumably this latest announcement is because the item has now been officially returned to the BBC.)

8 - On GB, member Aggedor_09 quotes an article from the latest issue of the Radio Times, in which John Franklin of FIF is interviewed. Apparently John promises "further announcements from [FIF] in the months ahead. So stay tuned...]

Meanwhile on their X, FIF reveal a second found item: a short silent movie entitled "The Actress" (1913). The film was found in "a dank haven" in the north of England. More details are given in a FB post.

14 - In an article by the Telegraph, it's mentioned that the M&W episode was found "in the attic of a former television executive".

June 2026

2 - FIF report that at the British Film Collectors’ Convention, held in Surrey on 30 May 2026, a 35mm negative of the debut Top of the Pops appearance of The Beatles was handed over. This was one of several items from the estate of a deceased film collector. 

The appearance is from 19 March 1964. The segment previously existed, but the donated film is of higher quality (it was still in the original BBC film can).

In addition to The Beatles negative, other items, including four recordings of BBC Radio show ‘Hancock’s Half Hour’, on reel-to-reel tape, were also donated by the family of the deceased collector. Full details will be provided in due course.

8 - The DWMEPC releases a fascinating and in-depth interview with Neil Lambess, co-finder of missing episode "The Lion" (episode one of The Crusade). As well as giving more detail about finding the episode, Neil reveals that the school screening of two episodes of The Macra Terror is now supported by anecdotal and documentary evidence.

Neil also states that two episodes of Marco Polo, plus one of The Highlanders, are known to have existed in the archives of TVNZ at one point. Investigations into missing episodes in NZ are ongoing.

As an aside, Tim mentions that as at the time of the interview (approx. 6 months prior to publication), FIF are still engaged in cataloguing the collection of the late film collector, Terry Burnett.

Meanwhile on FB, FIF post that they will present at Utopia 2026 - the annual Fantom Events for Doctor Who fandom - on 13 June. John Franklin will give an update on the latest recoveries including The Daleks' Master Plan. 

Also appearing at the event will be Carole Ann Ford, Peter Purves, Wendy Padbury, and Paul Vanezis.

13 - On GB, member Flashpoint reports a few snippets from the FIF panel at Utopia 2026: John Franklin says that prospects for dealing with collectors are positive, with logistics being the main roadblock. 

In October 2025, when John made his comments about the collection having gone to probate, the episode known to be in the collection was "Devil's Planet" (episode 3, The Daleks' Master Plan).

And when Peter Purves stated he believes more will come back but not in his lifetime, John apparently made a face - "a knowing smirk" - giving the impression that Peter may well be incorrect.

15 - On GB, when asked whether the three Doctor Who prints mentioned in the Neil Lambess podcast could have survived, Tim B replies that they may have been junked, but there is enough anecdotal evidence to be "hopeful" that they could have escaped.

22 - On their FB, FIF announce a return of missing BBC variety show, "Once More With Felix" from 30 March 1968, featuring Julie Felix and Peter Cook. Originally shown in colour, the print is black and white and again, was found in the collection of a deceased former industry professional.

And while it's not Doctor Who, in a reply to Anthony Clark FIF state that they "have a host of b&w comedy items to announce".

In a reply to Rob Rosenbrock, FIF say they are constantly busy dealing with "many private collections." And in a reply to George Seaton, FIF state they recently retrieved a collection of 500 films from a loft, and include a picture of the find.

25 - On their FB, FIF post a round-up of their recent finds, including The Daleks' Master Plan, the recent Beatles/Top of the Pops find and additional comedy finds such as That Was The Week That Was. These finds have come from the collections (plural) of former industry professionals.

And under a reply to GR Roberston that there is more comedy to be announced in the coming weeks, FIF also state that it's "fingers crossed" for an update on Doctor Who in the future.

26 - On the Type 40 podcast, Dallas Jones - founder of the Doctor Who Club of Australia who played a role in the return of the censor clips by unearthing the records of the Film and Censorship Board - says he believes there could be missing episodes of Doctor Who in Australia (1:20:58). Jones believes that the ABC could still have some in a warehouse somewhere, but it would require time and money to catalogue their entire stock of film.

It's MASTERPLAN MARCH! - 2026 - January to March

MASTERPLAN MARCH! 2026 - January to March

January 2026

1 - Getting things off to a light start, on MEF member John Wall looks at the prospects for finds in 2026. Given FIF's success in recent years, John feels that 2026 could be "the best year in a very long time". The consensus in the thread is generally positive.

Downthread John doubles down with a prediction of The Myth Makers, episode 2 and The Smugglers, episode 3.

5 - On PMF, Scot Ferre says that there are "missing items" with Australian collectors.

7 - On PMF, discussion on the chances of films being with Australian collectors leads to Servorobot re-posting the two quotes from Paul Vanezis, regarding his dealings with the alleged "timewaster" from Australia who supposedly held Marco Polo, The Power of the Daleks and The Evil of the Daleks.

19 - In Hobart, Tasmania, a cache of BBC films is found offered for sale in a tip shop. The find was posted on the Missing Believed Wiped Facebook page. 

Several items are identified, all existing BBC material (non-Doctor Who), but many items were not able to be identified.

On PMF, Servorobot says the haul was acquired by the National Australian Archives.

22 - On their YouTube, FIF release part of an interview with Prof. Justin Smith in which he says they are looking at "half a dozen collections" belonging to "former industry professionals" coming on stream soon.

23 - On GB, member The Evil Dalek speculates that the two missing Hartnell episodes in private collections may be from The Reign of Terror, The Crusade, The Celestial Toymaker or The Savages.  Evil Dalek also quotes an old post showing the reasoning behind this.

30 - On their FB, FIF reveal they are working with R3store Studios to clean, repair and restore found films.

February 2026

2 - On their FB, under a post about inspecting found film, FIF answer a comment about Doctor Who, stating they expect to provide an update on this subject "very soon".

6 - On their FB, FIF post that they are "currently in discussions with the families of two deceased former industry professionals about the acquisition of their collections, and the preservation of the rare films." There are up to 8,000 films in the collections.

According to FIF, one gentleman was "a prominent BBC editor" - they further state that he directed a seminal series in the early 1979's [sic?]. The other was an editor at Thames Television. However "...[s]adly, both of the households have been left in ‘distressed’ circumstances" and FIF are appealing for donations to assist in the acquisition of the collections.

They will provide a further update on these two collections "next week".

7 - On whether there is any Doctor Who in the collections, FIF respond that there are not currently aware of any Doctor Who episodes in either of the collections. However they continue to liaise with "other former industry professionals about cataloguing their entire collections, and several missing episodes of Doctor Who".

11 - Not necessarily Who related but as an item of curiosity - The Revival House Cinema in Perth, Western Australia posts on their Facebook that they have uncovered a cache of 16 and 35mm films.

27 - On GB, member C. Jordan states baldly that the "one" missing episode known to exist (which based on past information is in the (probate) private collection) is NOT an historical episode. In a further post, C. Jordan apologises but he knows nothing more and cannot reveal his source.

28 - On FB, FIF state they will announce "a number of lost items" in the next few weeks.

March 2026

2 - On FB, FIF confirm they have now acquired the deceased estate collection - which FIF previously advised held one known missing episode of Doctor Who.

3 - On X, Richard Latto posts a picture of a BBC film can and says you're going to love what's coming later this year!

9 - On YouTube, Tim Burrows drops the latest edition of the Doctor Who Missing Episodes Podcast, discussing The Underwater Menace. From 2:25:30, he ponders the origin of the existing prints and the whereabouts/chances of finding any others.

10 - FIF publish an article by Oliver Crocker on their website, covering an exclusive interview with Sue Malden conducted by Tim Burrows (also posted on YouTube). In it, Sue reveals that there was "a loan system for film in the very early days" of her time at the BBC archive. 

Further, "somebody had to go and physically check the shelves to make sure [films] hadn’t come back. Anybody who had to work on overdues hated it, which means I seriously doubt how well they stayed on top of loans. I now realise that quite a lot went out in certain directions and never came back…”

Sue also mentions one Enid Mawson, who back when Sue started at the BBC was the person at BBC Enterprises responsible for receiving and junking bicycle prints returned from overseas. Sue arranged with Enid for missing episodes to be returned to BBC archives. Sue subsequently met Ian Levine, continuing the effort to recover missing episodes.

Elsewhere in the text article, Richard Latto of the National Motor Museum states he is working with FIF and has catalogued the late Terry Burnett's entire collection.

NEW/OLD EPISODES....AT LAST!

TWO EPISODES OF THE DALEKS' MASTER PLAN FOUND!!

13 - Completely unexpectedly and with no preamble, official word comes via the BBC news website that Film Is Fabulous! have returned TWO episodes of 1965/66 serial The Daleks' Master Plan to the archives!

The episodes are the first and third instalments of the 12-part serial: "The Nightmare Begins" and "Devil's Planet". The story is now 5/12ths complete, with fans able to watch the first three episodes consecutively come this Easter.

This marks the first official announcement of missing episodes of Doctor Who returned by FIF to the BBC, with dozens of other film and television episodes already having been found and safely returned to respective rights holders. This is also the first return of missing episodes of Doctor Who since 2013 - and the first return of a William Hartnell/First Doctor episode since 2011.

Episode one is also Nicholas Courtney's Doctor Who debut (as Bret Vyon), as well as the earliest footage we have of Adrienne Hill as companion, Katarina.

The episodes were reportedly found in a cardboard box and in plastic bags, as part of the private collection of a late former industry professional.

The episodes will be available to view this Easter (Saturday, 4 April) on BBC iPlayer. In addition, a special screening organised by FIF is being held in London on the same day with Peter Purves (Steven Taylor) as guest of honour.

The total of missing episodes of Doctor Who now stands at 95.

And now...back to the rumours/forum posts...

In a post on GB, Tim Burrows confirms these episodes came from the collector whose estate went to probate last year. He will release a podcast later today (7am UK time) on his YouTube channel.

In two posts on GB, Paul Vanezis firstly confirms that the two found episodes are "bonus" to the two he already knew to exist, and also that the episodes are not yet vidFIRED or restored.

And interestingly, the BBC news article states that although this story was never sold overseas, copies were made by "technicians" to fix any technical problems prior to being offered for overseas sale (Ed:- so these are hitherto unknown additional prints of stories).

FIF post the news on their X account and website. Accompanying it is a special press release, with screengrabs from the recovered episodes.

Meanwhile Tim Burrows dedicates an episode of The Doctor Who Missing Episodes Podcast to the find. Among the fascinating reactions of those present on the day of the screening (11 March), from 22:34 John Franklin of FIF alludes to "cutting copies" - film prints struck from negatives of films of the original broadcasts of television programmes like Doctor Who, which were then projected for BBC Enterprises and examined for technical faults prior to commercial copies being made for overseas sales. John states this is a whole new avenue of research that FIF is following up, in conjunction with the BBC.

And finally - John Franklin says the collection held four additional episodes of Doctor Who - existing episodes which may be of superior quality. Titles have not yet been advised.

On GB, Richard Bignell states that unfortunately, episode 7 of The Daleks' Master Plan, "The Feast of Steven", was not made into a cutting copy since the decision not to include the episode was made long before copies were struck.

In a further post, Richard states they have known about the "cutting copy" process for over a decade, but it was believed until now that "nine times out of ten, the cutting copy would then be disposed of".

Later, FIF share video of the BBC Breakfast piece, featuring Toby Hadoke who hosted the private screening event for Peter Purves at Phoenix Cinema in Leicester, and of course Purves himself.

On Caprona Forum, member markhev1966 says he is hearing "two full stories to follow"!

Toby Hadoke posts a video on YouTube, in which he waxes lyrical about the return. Towards the end, he metaphorically gives "97" the boot and welcomes "95" in. But, he says, "95" shouldn't get too comfortable!

Toby also states the late, anonymous collector was happy to return the episodes because he had never watched them himself.

On X, in an interesting non-sequitur, Philip Morris under a congratulatory post to FIF, enquires about a "Tenth Planet 4 doco arriving this weekend" and whether it is "pure coincidence?"

The official Doctor Who YouTube channel releases a full 3 minutes of marvellous clips from the two found episodes.

Meanwhile, in a Radio Times Interview, Sue Malden discloses that the other episodes of Doctor Who found within the probate collection were:

The Daleks - 2 ("The Survivors"), 3 ("The Escape")

The Web Planet - 1 ("The Web Planet") 

The Chase - 1 ("The Executioners")

However - on GB, member the consumer states that one of the returned episodes was actually The Daleks, 5 ("The Expedition"). (No source is provided for this comment, and is later self-corrected.)

14 - On Caprona, markhev1966 corrects his earlier post, saying it's "two episodes" to come not full stories. The member had been listening to a video on the subject and incorrectly understood.

On GB, member Paul Hayes says that on Norfolk BBC Local Radio, an announcer named Mark Stuckey said "there may be good news on the missing episode front for Doctor Who fans in the near future".

On X, when PV is asked to grade the chances of more ME's turning up within two years, from 1 (least likely) to 10 (most likely), Paul's reply is "10".

On YouTube, Greg Bakun posts a nostalgic look back at The Tenth Planet on VHS - could this be the "doco" that Phil Morris alluded to on X?

15 - On GB, when asked whether paperwork was kept for the cutting/technical copies, Richard Bignell replies that no such paperwork was retained.

16 - On GB, member the consumer corrects his earlier comment about the other prints found in the probate collection - Sue Malden's original list is correct.

On YouTube, Toby Hadoke posts his initial thoughts on "The Nightmare Begins".

However he also posts on Roobarbs, insisting that he is not hinting at more recovered episodes.

On YouTube, Radio Free Skaro releases an interview with Tim Burrows about the DMP find.

FIF release a "Statement on Doctor Who", in which they state they are not holding any further episodes of Doctor Who, and there is nothing additional to announce at the Easter release.

They further state that tickets for the screening of the two recovered episodes will go on sale Tuesday, 17 March 2026.

In more dousing of expectations, Tim Burrows posts that Mark Stuckey of BBC Local Radio Norfolk "got the wrong memo", and per the FIF statement "AFAIK there is nothing else on the horizon. Nothing is in the bag until it is in the bag".

17 - On their Facebook, FIF post details of the screening to take place at Riverside Studios in London on Saturday, 4 April. The event is entitled "Recovered", and the first three episodes of The Daleks' Master Plan will be shown. 

Full details are available on the Riverside Studios website. 

Details of hosting are:

Screening: The Nightmare Begins 

Hosted by: Toby Hadoke, with Sue Malden and Tim Burrows.

Screening: Day of Armageddon 

Hosted by: Toby Hadoke, with Gavin Rymill and Paul Vanezis.

Screening: Devil’s Planet 

Hosted by: Toby Hadoke, with Peter Purves and Nicholas Briggs.

Meanwhile, on the Missing Believed Wiped Facebook, Peter Purves advises that for his Patreon members, he has recorded an audio diary from the day he viewed the two recovered episodes at Leicester.

In a further FB post, FIF advise that the discussions on each episode will be filmed and available to view on their website and YouTube channel. (They will not be live-streamed.) As well, more details about the finds will be shared in the run-up to the event.

Meanwhile FIF share on their X account that demand for tickets to the Riverside Studios event caused the site to crash, due to the highest-ever demand for tickets to a cinema event at the venue.

On their YouTube, FIF share a radio interview with Prof. Justin Smith and Peter Purves about the finds.

Also on their YouTube, John Franklin gives more background into the collection that yielded the episodes.

Then on GB - member xj900uk claims that there are still "3 more ... Hartnell [episodes]" in private collections, "including another DMP one".

18 - On PMF, The Space Pirate posts that the William Hartnell section of the AppleTV store is down; the other Doctors' sections are working fine. Could this indicate Australian fans might indeed get to see the recovered DMP episodes this way?

On GB, member nfitz shares a CBC interview with Prof. Justin Smith, explaining more about he circumstances of the find. Prof Smith explains that despite the late gentleman's collection being stored in a garage and parts of it having water damage, the Doctor Who film cans and labels were "pristine" - having been wrapped in plastic bags. The collector did not have an immediate connection to the film or television industries.

Further downthread, member xj900uk restates his claim that he knows of "three more Hartnell eppys that are definitely out there".

19 - On their Facebook, FIF post describing the work being done by R3store Studios on the recovered episodes of Doctor Who.

20 - FIF release six short clips from the recovered episodes, showing the restoration work being carried out by R3store Studios.

Clip 1

Clip 2

Clip 3

Clip 4

Clip 5

Clip 6

And on their Facebook, FIF post additional stills from the episodes, along with the advice that it was they who, in accordance with their aims as a charitable trust, requested that BBC Archives make the episodes available on BBC iPlayer. Also, it was BBC Archives who commissioned R3store Studios to perform the restoration work.

Meanwhile FIF release six more short clips on their YouTube:

Clip 7

Clip 8

Clip 9

Clip 10

Clip 11

Clip 12

23 - On their X account, FIF post that R3Store Studios have delivered the two episodes of The Daleks' Master Plan to the BBC, for uploading to iPlayer.

24 - On their YouTube, FIF post another video on restoring the episodes of Doctor Who.

And on their FB, FIF post a companion piece to the video explaining more about the process.

30 - Radio Free Skaro release their interview with John Franklin on YouTube.

At 3:54, Steven Schepansky says the recovered episodes of The Daleks' Master Plan will be available on iPlayer "around" 6pm UK time.

John explains the origin of FIF - that when families of deceased collectors began contacting him, there was no organisation to assist with disposing of and preserving film collections. John put out a "call to arms" in the film community and also contacted  Prof. Justin Smith at the local university, De Montfort, Leicester. Sue Malden, Paul Vanezis and Steve Roberts also gave advice.

FIF prioritise any material that is known to be "lost" (ie, not retained in official archives).

John says that as many as six technical review aka cutting copies, both positive and negative prints, might exist of a given episode (27:53) - certainly, "many more" copies than were bicycled around the world as sales prints.

John also states that FIF continue to be aware of collections with missing episodes of Doctor Who (31:21) - however John can't say at this time which ones or how many. However, John is "hopeful" that "when the time is right", these collections can be catalogued, and missing material returned to rights holders and "made available for everyone to enjoy".

At 36:00, John says that future found episodes will also be made available on BBC iPlayer.

31 - The official Doctor Who Facebook account posts that the 2 recovered episodes will be available on BBC iPlayer at 6am on Friday, 3 April 2026 - earlier than reported elsewhere.

The official BBC website article is here.

On their X account, FIF confirm this is earlier than they expected.