The BBC has reported that it found nine missing episodes of the1960s Doctor Who at a TV station in Jos Nigeria, including most of the classic story, The Web of Fear. It is thought to be the largest haul of missing episodes recovered in the last three decades.

The BBC decided to look for these missing episodes after it destroyed many of the sci-fi drama’s original transmission tapes in the 1960s and 1970s. However, many episodes were transferred on to film for sale to foreign broadcasters. It is often these prints found in other countries that are the source of retrieved episodes. In this case, 11 Doctor Who episodes were discovered, nine of which were missing, in the Nigerian city of Jos.

Mr. Philip Morris, director of a company called Television International Enterprises Archive made the find in Jos. He said “The tapes had been left gathering dust in a storeroom at a television relay station in Nigeria. I remember wiping the dust off the masking tape on the canisters and my heart missed a beat as I saw the words, Doctor Who. When I read the story code I realized I’d found something pretty special.”

He said it was a surprising to find them in such optimum condition given the high temperatures in the African country. The Jos discovery of episodes one, two, four, five and six complete the story. The latest find means that the number of missing episodes of Doctor Who has dropped from 106 to 97.

This is an important find for the British public who always cherish their classics, it is even more exciting for the young people of the 1960’s who are now in their 50’s and 60’s and watched these episodes decades ago. 

At the time of writing this report VPN had not confirmed which TV station the BBC found these missing episodes but we reckon it is either the PRTVC or the JOS NTA. 

The BBC has reported that it found nine missing episodes of the1960s Doctor Who at a TV station in Jos Nigeria, including most of the classic story, The Web of Fear. It is thought to be the largest haul of missing episodes recovered in the last three decades.

The BBC decided to look for these missing episodes after it destroyed many of the sci-fi drama’s original transmission tapes in the 1960s and 1970s. However, many episodes were transferred on to film for sale to foreign broadcasters. It is often these prints found in other countries that are the source of retrieved episodes. In this case, 11 Doctor Who episodes were discovered, nine of which were missing, in the Nigerian city of Jos.

Mr. Philip Morris, director of a company called Television International Enterprises Archive made the find in Jos. He said “The tapes had been left gathering dust in a storeroom at a television relay station in Nigeria. I remember wiping the dust off the masking tape on the canisters and my heart missed a beat as I saw the words, Doctor Who. When I read the story code I realized I’d found something pretty special.”

He said it was a surprising to find them in such optimum condition given the high temperatures in the African country. The Jos discovery of episodes one, two, four, five and six complete the story. The latest find means that the number of missing episodes of Doctor Who has dropped from 106 to 97.

This is an important find for the British public who always cherish their classics, it is even more exciting for the young people of the 1960’s who are now in their 50’s and 60’s and watched these episodes decades ago. 

At the time of writing this report VPN had not confirmed which TV station the BBC found these missing episodes but we reckon it is either the PRTVC or the JOS NTA. 

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DR WHO: BBC Recovers missing 1960’s episodes from a Jos TV station.