2026 - April to May

2026

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"!

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.

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

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.