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.

2021 - 2022

2021

January 2021

4 - On Twitter, Philip Morris replies to an accusation that he still has episode 3 of The Web of Fear, stating that it's "bullshit" and it was stolen by one of "the Fitzroy crowd". On GB, member grazey1 states the Fitzroy Crowd consists of a high level group of Who fans including Steven Moffatt, Chris Chibnall, Robert Shearman, Paul Cornell and others. However other Tweeters dispute whether Chibnall was an attendee at all.

Meanwhile on PMF, Ian Levine's name is bandied about but member DouglasWulf states he heard "another name" - but as he can't substantiate the claim, he won't reveal their identity.

14 - Richard Molesworth is interviewed on YouTube, and at around the 41:00 mark he weighs in on the debate over episode 3 of The Web of Fear. He contradicts Phil's account, posted on Facebook in 2015 (See 2015, October 11) that "no attention" was drawn to the film cans, but the station manager picked it up, curious as to why Morris was interested in it. In this, he concurs with Paul Vanezis's view, but he goes further and says he believes it has been destroyed.

23 - On PMF, member and moderator Black Orchid quotes a post from Richard Molesworth from 2016:

Just found this:

Richard Molesworth wrote 9/4/16:

These prints of 'Enemy' and 'Web' were sent to Nigeria in 1974 by TVS in Sigapore. TVS Singapore were sent the prints by RTV in Hong Kong in 1970. RTV in Hong Kong were sent the prints by BBC Enterprises in 1969.

I've gone over all 11 of the returned cans and spools with a fine tooth-comb. They contain notations and markings which are consistant with them being the tx prints for Hong Kong, Singapore and BPTV.

Member DouglasWulf then adds an excerpt of a conversation between Victoria actress Deborah Watling and Philip Morris, taken from a WhoTalk commentary for episode 6 of The Web of Fear:

Watling: They were in terrible condition, weren’t they?

Morris: To be honest with you, Debbie, they weren’t bad. You’ve got to realize that this is a set of films that been Hong Kong, Singapore, Gibraltar...

Watling: Yeah.

Morris: … and then, Zambia, and then Nigeria. So, everyone had played them.

And in a further post, Doug clarifies that the Enemy and Web prints that Morris found in Nigeria were in fact originally from Hong Kong. They were then 'bicycled' on to Singapore, to Gibraltar, to Zambia and then to Nigeria.

Doug also makes the point that in his excellent missing episodes documentary series, YouTuber and videographer Josh Snares shows how the fate of almost all prints sent to Singapore is unknown. 

30 - On PMF, member Mobius posts to call attention to a tweet by Matthew Purchase, who says that the DVD and Blu-Ray releases for The Web of Fear have been taken down from pre-order on Zoom. Only the steel book remains available for purchase.

When Twitter user Anthony Carroll joins the thread and questions whether this could be in relation to the return of Web 3, Philip Morris also joins in, dropping a series of cryptic hints.

This discussion is later taken up on MEF by member issacc. 

Speculation ensues as to whether the steel book will feature the missing episode 3.

February 2021

4 - Fantom Films host a Zoom event featuring Paul Vanezis and Peter Crocker. On PMF, Robert Mammone states that at the very end, Paul Vanezis says there are "definitely" episodes in the hands of private collectors.

5 - On GB, poster KyleRickards alludes to posts discussing the event apparently having been excised from the ME Megathread.

7 - Member Sarah Hadley states that the event featured Paul Vanezis and Peter Crocker, who in part discussed missing episodes:

• PV repeated his belief that episodes exist in private collections
• PV believes that of the 1960s era, seasons 1, 2 and 6 are the most likely to be added to the collection of season blu-ray boxsets 
• PC mentioned he is attempting additional restoration work on The Crusade episode 1, 'The Lion' - not because it is a planned release, but he is doing it on his own time because he knows it will be released "eventually". 
• PV put out a call for anyone who owns original film trims from the classic series to contact the Restoration Team: in particular, the fight scene from The Curse of Peladon.

Member RareWolf replies to say he already put the owner of the film trims in touch with PV before the Zoom session was over. RareWolf also said that the RT knows who now has the original film print of 'The Lion', but damage to the print means a rescan might not be worthwhile.

PC had already said on Twitter subsequent to the Fantom Zoom, that he wasn't teasing missing episodes and has no insider knowledge. Clarifying his Zoom comments, PC said that if the missing episodes of The Crusade, 2 and 4 were ever to turn up, more than likely it would be the full set with 1 and 3 (already in the archives) accompanying them.

March 2021

1 - On MEF, when asked as to the progress of investigation into a possible screening of The Power of the Daleks at a Singapore school some 45 years ago, member A Barron replies that the lead no longer looks credible but he is still waiting to tie off every aspect of his investigation.

12 - Fantom Films posts an excerpt from the Zoom talk where Paul Vanezis speaks about episodes in the hands of private collectors.

November 2021

15 - The official animated release of Galaxy 4 on DVD features  fascinating interviews with both Terry Burnett and Ralph Montagu, going into more detail as to the recovery and return of both "Airlock" (episode 3 of the serial) and part 2 of The Underwater Menace.

2022

January 2022

27 - The year gets off to a flying start: on GB, Scot Ferre quotes a Facebook post by one Craig Cabell who claims to have been searching for missing episodes in the Middle East. Interested parties can check the full quote for themselves, but to this editor, it reads as absolute horse-shit.

28 - The Plymouth Herald reports on "a fan's" (Craig Cabell's) claim that 17 missing episodes of Doctor Who are being held to ransom "for political reasons" by a country in the Middle East:

"There are claims of a fan tracking down missing episodes in the Middle East for the past two years after finding evidence a country in the region had acquired the episodes from other nations.

They say evidence shows studios in Japan, New Zealand and Australia all had possession of classic era episodes before forwarding the stories on to the Middle East in 1967 and then again in the 1970s.

These episodes are likely to be from the first five seasons of Doctor Who. The fan claims to have confirmation that a broadcasting agency in the region 'accepted' dates of episodes provided to them, and that files exist corresponding with them."

July 2022

2 - In the second part of The Daleks’ Master Plan instalment of the DWMEPC, researcher Jon Preddle expresses the belief that having been rejected by the Australian censors, the film prints of DMP were sent back to the BBC in the UK sometime after March 1967. 

This would seem to contradict rumours that Philip Morris intended to check a "bond store" in Sydney that may have held the prints, once the ABC's Gore Hill facility had been closed down and sold. (Go to 55:00)

23 - On PMF, member GeostarOne almost offhandedly remarks that a "guy who lives outside of Boston" claims on the film and stock forums to be in possession of the missing presumed stolen episode 3 of The Web of Fear. Further, that this person is "the most miserable 60 year old man I have ever met" and he won't return the episode, ever.

When this is queried and evidence requested, GeostartOne adds that this person:

"...has bragged for 30 years on many of the 8mm and 16mm film stock collector's forums that he has the largest collection of BBC film stock outside of the BBC and put up pictures to prove it. Most of it looks like stuff that is already out there but he probably has a good deal that isn't. He was some kind of professor at UMASS or Amherst since retired. When Web 3 went missing he claimed responsibility for bribing the studio guy. I have never actually seen it but I'm sure he isn't lying about it. He loves to brag about the fact that he has all of these things we will never see."

GeostarOne goes on to say that this person has "a near complete run of the first two seasons" (but then to be fair, so do the rest of us! - Ed.).

August 2022

7 - In The Massacre instalment of The DWMEPC, Steven Schapansky of the Radio Free Skaro podcast states his belief that The Feast of Steven (The Daleks' Master Plan episode 7) was more than likely copied onto film in readiness for potential overseas sales. (Go to 1:42:28).

October 2022

4 - Ralph Montagu and the Radio Times launch a new campaign to find lost and missing television and radio. 

12 - As part of the RT's Treasure Hunt, a call is put out to anyone who might have episodes 1-3 of The Celestial Toymaker. Oddly, this is the only Doctor Who story mentioned as part of this campaign.

16 - Aron Challinger, owner of a Melbourne sci fi merchandise retail store, posts on Twitter that he is processing the deceased estate of someone who by all appearances was quite a hoarder - and a Doctor Who fan! - and among the hoarded items is "the biggest collection of domestically recorded video tapes that has ever been found in Australia".

He later states that the collection stretches right back to the mid 1970s and includes the earliest known home video recording of a Star Trek episode in Australia.

The collection includes a massive haul of old VHS, Betamax, Umatic and vintage reel to reel audio tapes. Speculation on forums is whether any missing Who could be present in the haul.

November 2022

18 - Aron appears on the 42 to Doomsday podcast to discuss his progress. Unfortunately, around 27 tonnes of material had already been disposed of before Aron could begin the work.

December 2022

20 - Aron's final update for 2022 is that he is checking "thousands" of items including Doctor Who DVDs that the collector burned himself. Aron states downthread that the earliest items appear to date from 1972 and that there is a "slim" chance missing Who could be among the collection.

2019 - 2020

2019

February 2019 

6 - On MEF, in response to a question from Charles Daniels about the possible existence of Marco Polo in Tehran, Paul Vanezis reiterates that "an engineer" personally witnessed Doctor Who film cans on the shelves of the State broadcaster. Paul says that the films "could" be Marco Polo, as the first two episodes were sent there, but the chances of a repatriation are "slim" due to the state of relations with the country.

October 2019

10 - On the 6th anniversary of the reveal of missing episodes in 2013, the official Doctor Who YouTube posts the University of Central Lancashire's full-length recreation of Mission to the Unknown.

Also the channel posts a 10-minute video by Australian YouTuber Josh Snares, on the making of the recreation.

2020 is mostly taken up with discussion of statements by both Paul Vanezis and Philip Morris that a smattering of episodes (2 according to Paul, 6 according to Phil) still sit with private collectors.

2020

February 2020

14 - On AZ, member Theodore J Flicker alludes to speculation that the two episodes in private collections are Hartnells: Galaxy 4, episode 4, "The Exploding Planet" and The Celestial Toymaker episode 3, "The Dancing Floor".

April 2020

5 - On MEF, member Luke Sherlaw posts that Fantom Films has posted to YouTube a four-hour interview with Philip Morris. 

At 3:11:07, Morris reiterates his claim that in response to Morris' query about the missing Web 3, the NTV station manager at Jos, Nigeria merely replied "I don't know anything about missing episodes" - leading Morris to believe that his recovery efforts had been "infiltrated". Morris further claims to know precisely who has the episode and says he hopes that person will return it. In fact, Morris is emphatic that "every missing episode" will work its way back to the BBC in due course. Hmm.

Furthermore, at 3:14:49, Morris explicitly states that "at least six" missing episodes sit with private collectors. The reason these individuals are hesitant to return the episodes are they are uncertain how they will be treated by the BBC. And Morris thinks there "probably" are episodes in private collections in Australia.

Finally, Morris says he is "not done" on the Doctor Who front - and that he wants any future returns to be "a surprise".

11 - Tim Burrows and Paul Morris kick off The Doctor Who Missing Episodes Podcast, discussing in depth each serial that currently lacks episodes, the production of each, the bicycling chains and the relevant rumours.

18 - Fantom publishes to YouTube a video interview (recorded in 2017) with the members of the Restoration Team, a fascinating and wide-ranging discussion on the process of restoration and the issues the team face.

During the course of the interview, Paul Vanezis states that it took only a week from Galaxy 4: Airlock being returned to film collector Terry Burnett, before he came forward with The Underwater Menace: 2. Paul says that despite Burnett's claim that it was "a fluke" that he'd found it, it seems clear that Burnett already knew he had it in his collection. The implication is that Burnett was waiting to see if the BBC could be trusted in the first place: an interesting insight into the difficulties in establishing trust with collectors and ensuring all such dealings run smoothly.

August 2020

1 - On the The Myth Makers edition of The Doctor Who Missing Episodes Podcast, guest Toby Hadoke relays what Paul Vanezis has recently said about Sierra Leone: that the stories purchased by the country - which are Galaxy 4, The Myth Makers, The Massacre, The Ark, The Celestial Toymaker, The Savages, The War Machines and The Smugglers - were no longer there by the 1980s. The most likely outcome for these stories is that they made their way firstly back to BBC Enterprises and from there into the hands of private collectors.

This comment would now seem to corroborate what Philip Morris - who was there in 2011 - has previously said: that all the episodes held in Sierra Leone were sent back the the UK in 1974. And it would seem to be a backtrack on Paul's previous comments about everything having been destroyed in the civil war.

23 - ABC News publishes an article on their website featuring Darran Jordan, Vice-President of the Doctor Who Club of Australia, and Paul Vanezis. Paul alludes to The Daleks' Master Plan not passing the Australian censors and being stored away in their Gore Hill facility in the late 1960's. This facility was then sold in 2003, and the whereabouts of the film prints are unknown. However Jordan goes on to suggest they may be in the hands of private collectors.

December 2020

24 - The Type 40 Podcast publishes a lengthy interview with Richard Molesworth, author of "Wiped!". The topic of missing episodes is canvassed in a general way, but at 42 minutes Richard states his belief that episode 3 of The Web of Fear was stolen by the Jos station manager and destroyed. Richard also states that he is not sure whether the reports of episodes in private collections are true.

2018 - July to December

2018

July 2018

1 – The Grumpcasters release episode V, part 2 of their missing episode exposé focusing on the question of whether Philip Morris has more Doctor Who.

August 2018

2 – On MEF, member and BBC Radio producer Richard Latto reveals that earlier in the year (May) he found pristine 16mm original film negatives for all 30 episodes of Worzel Gummidge plus the double length Christmas special. The 40^th anniversary of the program is in 2019.

September 2018

23 – On GB, Mark Humphries posts a 2015 screengrab of eBay user philg128 – suspected to be Philip Morris – looking to pay “top prices” for any 16mm prints of British television programs.

October 2018

5 – After literally years of near radio-silence from Phillip Morris, he makes an unheralded appearance on BBC’s The One Show to announce the recovery of two episodes of The Morecambe and Wise Show, a better quality episode of Steptoe and Son, an episode of The Basil Brush Show featuring an appearance by The Kinks, and an edition of The Rag Trade.

In addition, Morris announces he has found the entire run of Steptoe in its original format.

Paul Vanezis confirms these details on MEF, and Morris tweets “…Morecambe and Wise 2 lost editions plus lots more to be revealed.”

Morris mentions that one of the M&W episodes was found in Sierra Leone, sparking forum discussion about previous denials from Paul implying that the archive facility was destroyed and there was nothing to be found there.

In response to a question on MEF, Paul cannot say whether the rest of the recovered material was also found in Sierra Leone.

On PMF ericthehalfabee points out that parts of the TIEA website have been updated.

Speculation ensues on the forums that this positive step forward may signify good things to come.

6 – Responding to a tweet from an unverified but seemingly official Basil Brush account, Philip Morris says there will be “lots more exciting news” for him!

7 – On GB, Steve Roberts replies to a post by The Space Pirate, explaining that the 50^th anniversary of Morecambe and Wise is being celebrated by the BBC at Christmas and this is the reason for Morris’ announcement. Strangely however, this was not mentioned on The One Show spot.

11 – On PMF, members camaro and Dr Scott quote from Philip Morris’ Facebook page that the latest batch returned to the BBC are non-Who finds (here and here).

12 – On GB, member Alan Matthews shares a screenshot of a tweet from Twitter user @farfromallover which appeared to show five seconds worth of monochrome footage. Posters downthread speculate it might have been from either Marco Polo or The Daleks’ Master Plan.

13 – In response to a query about the deleted tweet and whether it was missing Doctor Who material, @farfromallover simply replies with a “shushing” emoji.

14 – On PMF, anthonycarroll quotes a post from Philip Morris on the Missing Believed Wiped Facebook page:

“We are Delighted to announce we will be at the BFI in December. helping celebrate the wonderful Anniversary of Missing Believed Wiped with Dick Fiddy.We will be showing lost gems from British TV culled from the TIEA Archives.Hope to see you there.”

15 – On the MBW Facebook page, Philip Morris confirms that the event will be held on 15 December and that Doctor Who will not be a discussion topic.

On PMF, GollyGTFC puts forward a theory that a cinema in Sierra Leone was used to view the audition prints of Doctor Who stories sent there.

25 – On Roobarbs, member Alan says that the BFI programme mentions that a newly animated Doctor Who episode will be screened at Missing Believed Wiped on 15 December. 

Speculation breaks out across forums, pondering why an animation would be shown at an event that normally focuses on returned film and television.

For clarity, Alan states that he acquired this knowledge from the printed programme he received from the BFI.

Meanwhile on GB, member phil-mcgill states that once word gets out about which episode it is, “those who are up to speed with the omnirumour will go into melt down”.

26 – A tweet from Philip Morris featuring a large red number 7 causes some to speculate that it could be code for episode 7 of the The Daleks’ Master Plan, “The Feast of Steven”.

28 – In response to a question on Twitter, Paul Vanezis replies that the reveal of TIEA’s comedy show finds is a joint BFI/BBC Archive announcement. Interestingly, Paul refers to the event as a "press launch".

29 – Paul Vanezis tweets that the announcement of comedy show returns has been delayed, most likely by one day. But he comments that “comedy fans will not be disappointed”.

November 2018

1 – On the MBW Facebook group, Dick Fiddy says that the announcement of recovered comedy programmes has been postponed to Monday 5 November.

On GB, Tlotoxl makes two extraordinary posts. First, he claims that the “comedy reveal”, which is scheduled for Monday 5 November, is in fact “the big ‘Who’ announcement we’ve all been waiting for”. Second, he alleges that the BFI are helping with a campaign of “mis-direction” and the animation scheduled to be revealed at MBW on 15 December is “a compilation of clips from the returned haul” (that is, clips from actual returned episodes).

Further, Tlotoxl says that there will be a series of BFI events over the next year that will cover the best of the TIEA finds, starting with a two-day event in January celebrating the Doctor Who returns that will also serve as the announcement of the episodes’ public release.

Downthread, it transpires that on the MBW Facebook group Cliff Chapman had alluded to the animation release being a show reel of animations, but Tlotoxl’s speculation is based on his suspicions about the so-called comedy release necessitating a “press launch”, as quoted by Paul Vanezis (see 28 October).

4 – On PMF, member epalme01 posts a link to a newly listed Amazon DVD release page for currently missing second Doctor story, The Macra Terror. As with the previously listed title The Wheel in Space, other than the price and the region there is no other information given.

5 – The BFI announcement finally comes, but it’s not what was expected. The official press release refers to the MBW event on 15 December and details two sessions; the first will be actual screenings of newly recovered material, but also including a ten minute animated “mini-episode” of part of The Wheel in Space.

The second session will be 'Philip Morris Presents', and will feature such finds as the Morecambe and Wise episode, the Basil Brush episode featuring the Kinks, and an episode of Citizen James found at Monaco Television during a clear out of their premises.

Speculation and disappointment reign on the forums in equal measure. However, on PMF member Prof Travers posts a screenshot of a Facebook post by Philip Morris, saying that the program is what the BFI are choosing to show but the BBC may have more to announce in due course.

Meanwhile on MEF, Paul Vanezis posts that Philip Morris returned a total of 9 BBC comedy productions to the BBC archive a few weeks ago, including all those currently known plus three episodes of Harry Worth. Paul also confirms that Philip Morris will announce further recoveries in the new year.

And on Roobarbs, the producer of the 10 minute animation, Charles Norton, posts to say that there is no larger project afoot to animate the rest of the serial, and “we” haven’t found the lost episodes.

However on Twitter, the animator working on the project, Rob Ritchie, says that now that the cat’s out the bag, he better get back to finishing it!

7 – On MEF, Paul Vanezis claims not to know which additional editions of Basil Brush Philip Morris has in his possession.

21 – On Twitter, in reply to Greg Bakun of From the Archive, Philip Morris says he will also be attending the Chicago Tardis convention on 23 November and will be bringing “some surprises”.

December 2018

5 – On PMF, Scot Ferre posts a link to an announcement about the DVD release of The Macra Terror. The release will feature animations of the four currently missing episodes.

Then on GB, Sir Didymus posts that an article has appeared on Cultbox claiming Marco Polo has been recovered from a 16mm cine film shot by a fan during broadcast of the episodes. A source has apparently said that the BBC will unveil the find “next month”. The article notes there is no word as to whether Philip Morris or TIEA were involved with the find.

The article is later taken down, however member Jeflar posts two sets of screenshots here and here.

Simon Watkins provides a link to the original version of this story, a cached article from the Mirror in 2013.