Classic Doctor Who companion calls for return of her missing episodes - and hints more will be found

Doctor Who legend Anneke Wills has hinted that more missing Doctor Who episodes will be found while reflecting on how much she'd love to see many of her lost episodes.

The actress played Polly alongside Patrick Troughton's Second Doctor, from 1966 to 1967 - but sadly 27 of her episodes are missing, after several early instalments were wiped or junked as part of archive practices between 1967 and 1978, when broadcasters routinely cleared programmes because of storage issues, material costs and rights limitations.

Speaking to Doctor Who Magazine, Wills said of the missing episodes that are hopefully still out there: "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!'"

She added: "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."

Earlier this year, two episodes of The Daleks' Master Plan were recovered by Film is Fabulous!, a charitable trust run by film collectors, cinema lovers and vintage television enthusiasts which is dedicated to preserving vulnerable film collections across the UK, helping collectors, while educating about film as a medium. Incredibly, it was the first discovery of missing Doctor Who episodes since 2013.

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Sue Malden, who was the BBC's first archive selector, and has been working on the recovery of missing Doctor Who episodes and other vintage television for decades, told Radio Times at the time that she's optimistic that more episodes will be found.

She said: "It fills me with optimism that there is the possibility now of finding more, maybe not just Doctor Who, but other great television programmes that are missing."

Patrick Troughton's son Michael recently also reflected on the missing episodes, telling Radio Times: "No one's to blame. In those days, tape was so expensive.

"We all did it with VHS – we recorded over the top of it, and that's what happened. But I suppose I would like to see that first one [The Power of the Daleks], the first ever performance.

"I remember his feedback from that – he phoned up afterwards to tell us how it went and everything. He was really nervous about the first studio [record], with Michael and Anneke. I'd probably love if they found that one single episode, but the whole lot would be brilliant."

Doctor Who Magazine issue 634 is out now.

Dive into our Doctor Who story guide: reviews of every episode since 1963, plus cast & crew listings, production trivia, and exclusive material from the Radio Times archive.

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Authors

Louise Griffin is the Sci-Fi & Fantasy Editor for Radio Times, covering everything from Doctor Who, Star Wars and Marvel to House of the Dragon and Good Omens. She previously worked at Metro as a Senior Entertainment Reporter and has a degree in English Literature.