John Nathan-Turner

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John Nathan-Turner (''

né A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth reg ...

'' Turner; 12 August 1947 – 1 May 2002) was an English television producer. He was the ninth producer of the long-running

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science fiction series ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

''. He was also the final producer of the series' first run on television (from 1980 until it was cancelled in 1989). He finished the role having become the longest-serving ''Doctor Who'' producer and cast

Peter Davison Peter Malcolm Gordon Moffett (born 13 April 1951), known professionally as Peter Davison, is an English actor with many credits in television dramas and sitcoms. He made his television acting debut in 1975 and became famous in 1978 as Tristan ...

Colin Baker Colin Baker (born 8 June 1943) is an English actor who played Paul Merroney in the BBC drama series '' The Brothers'' from 1974 to 1976 and the sixth incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series '' Doctor ...

and

Sylvester McCoy Percy James Patrick Kent-Smith (born 20 August 1943), known professionally as Sylvester McCoy, is a Scottish actor. Gaining prominence as a physical comedian, he became best known for playing the seventh incarnation of the Doctor in the lon ...

as the Fifth, Sixth and

Seventh Doctor The Seventh Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', and the final incarnation of the original Doctor Who series. He is portrayed by Scottish actor Sylvester McCoy. W ...

s, respectively.BBC (3 May 2002
Doctor Who producer dies
BBC. Retrieved 15 August 2008.

Early life

Born John Turner in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, he adopted the double-barrelled stage name ''John Nathan-Turner'' to distinguish himself from the British actor

John Turner John Napier Wyndham Turner (June 7, 1929September 19, 2020) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 17th prime minister of Canada from June to September 1984. He served as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and leader of t ...

. He was educated at King Edward VI School, at Aston in Birmingham, where he showed an early interest in acting and theatre. His earliest television acting work was as an

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, including ''

Crossroads Crossroads, crossroad, cross road or similar may refer to: * Crossroads (junction), where four roads meet Film and television Films * ''Crossroads'' (1928 film), a 1928 Japanese film by Teinosuke Kinugasa * ''Cross Roads'' (film), a 1930 Brit ...

'' and ''

The Flying Swan ''The Flying Swan'' is a 1965 British TV series starring Margaret Lockwood and her daughter Julia. It ran for 24 episodes on the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is th ...

''. Both shows were made in Birmingham (the former at ATV's Aston studios). On leaving school, he initially worked as an actor and assistant stage manager at Birmingham's Alexandra Theatre. Turner was later taken on by the BBC as a television floor assistant, working on every type of show (from light entertainment to news and current affairs), including – more importantly for his later career – drama. Shows produced by the BBC's drama department that he worked on included ''

The Pallisers ''The Pallisers'' is a 1974 BBC television adaptation of Anthony Trollope's Palliser novels. Set in Victorian era England with a backdrop of parliamentary life, Simon Raven's dramatisation covers six of Anthony Trollope's novels and follows the e ...

'', ''

How Green Was My Valley ''How Green Was My Valley'' is a 1939 novel by Richard Llewellyn, narrated by Huw Morgan, the main character, about his Welsh family and the mining community in which they live. The author had claimed that he based the book on his own persona ...

'', ''

Angels In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles incl ...

'', and '' All Creatures Great and Small''. An assignment to the BBC's light entertainment department also led to him spending two years working on '' The Morecambe and Wise Show'', prior to the act's move to ITV in 1978.

''Doctor Who''

Having joined the BBC as a floor assistant in the 1960s, he first worked on ''Doctor Who'' in 1969 as part of the floor crew at a time when the series was recorded in Studio D at the BBC's Lime Grove Studios. The first serial he worked on was the

Patrick Troughton Patrick George Troughton (; 25 March 1920 – 28 March 1987) was an English actor who was classically trained for the stage but became known for his roles in television and film. His work included appearances in several fantasy, science fiction ...

story ''

The Space Pirates ''The Space Pirates'' is the mostly missing sixth serial of the sixth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which originally aired in six weekly parts from 8 March to 12 April 1969. In this serial, the TARD ...

'' in 1969. Nathan-Turner worked as an assistant floor manager on two serials in the

Jon Pertwee John Devon Roland "Jon" Pertwee (; 7 July 1919 – 20 May 1996) was an English actor, comedian, entertainer, cabaret performer and TV presenter. Born into a theatrical family, he served in the Royal Navy and the Naval Intelligence Division during ...

era of ''Doctor Who'': ''

The Ambassadors of Death ''The Ambassadors of Death'' is the third serial of the seventh season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in seven weekly parts on BBC1 from 21 March to 2 May 1970. Written by Trevor Ray, Te ...

'' (1970) and ''

Colony in Space ''Colony in Space'' is the fourth serial of the eighth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in six weekly parts on BBC1 from 10 April to 15 May 1971. The serial, wriiten by Malcolm ...

'' (1971). He later worked on ''Doctor Who'' in the

Tom Baker Thomas Stewart Baker (born 20 January 1934) is an English actor and writer. He is well known for his portrayal of the Fourth Doctor, fourth incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the science fiction television series ''Doctor Wh ...

era as production unit manager under producer Graham Williams from 1977 to 1979. When Williams decided to leave the show after three seasons and the BBC management's first choice to replace him,

George Gallaccio George Gallaccio (born 23 December 1938) is a retired British television producer who previously worked as a production assistant and production unit manager. His most prominent work was as the producer on two BBC detective drama series, ''Miss Ma ...

, turned it down, he accepted the post of producer for season 18, which would also become the last to feature Baker as the

Fourth Doctor The Fourth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Tom Baker. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord from the ...

. Due to Nathan-Turner's relatively young age at 33 and lack of previous experience as a producer, the BBC brought former ''Doctor Who'' producer

Barry Letts Barry Leopold Letts (26 March 1925 – 9 October 2009) was an English actor, television director, writer and producer, best known for being the producer of '' Doctor Who'' from 1969 to 1974. Born in Leicester, he worked as an actor in theatre ...

back to the series to act as executive producer for his first season. Nathan-Turner's experience of working with Graham Williams helped form his views on the future direction of the series. He strongly felt that people working on the programme (especially Williams, script editor

Douglas Adams Douglas Noel Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author and screenwriter, best known for ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. Originally a 1978 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (radio series), BBC radio comedy, ''The H ...

and star Tom Baker) had stopped taking the show seriously: it was parodying science fiction, rather than presenting serious storylines. He also believed that Williams had allowed Baker too much influence on the show's direction, rather than confronting Baker over his increasingly comedic acting style. Nathan-Turner, together with new script editor

Christopher H. Bidmead Christopher Hamilton Bidmead (born 18 January 1941) is a British writer and journalist. Bidmead trained as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA), later playing several roles on stage, television and radio. By the early 1970s h ...

, decided Baker's creative influence needed to be reined in. Nathan-Turner decided on a ''new broom'' approach, and instituted sweeping changes: replacing the arrangement of the theme music which had run throughout the 1970s with a more contemporary electronic arrangement by Peter Howell, and introducing revamped opening titles (featuring a new photograph of Baker, replacing the original taken in 1974) and a new closing credit sequence. Nathan-Turner also dispensed with the services of long-time composer

Dudley Simpson Dudley George Simpson (4 October 1922 – 4 November 2017) was an Australian composer and conductor. He was the Principal Conductor of the Royal Opera House orchestra for three years and worked as a composer on British television. He worked on ...

, who had provided the incidental music for the majority of the ''Doctor Who'' serials of the 1970s and all of the Williams era stories. With Simpson departed, the ''Doctor Who'' incidental music under Nathan-Turner's stewardship would be provided by electronic composers including Peter Howell,

Paddy Kingsland Paddy Kingsland (born 30 January 1947) is a composer of electronic music best known for his incidental music for science fiction series on BBC radio and television whilst working at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Educated at Eggar's Grammar Sch ...

, Malcolm Clarke,

Roger Limb Roger James Limb is a British composer, specialising in electronic music. He is best known for his work on the television series ''Doctor Who'' whilst at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. He joined the BBC as a studio manager, before going on to bec ...

, Jonathan Gibbs,

Keff McCulloch Keff McCulloch is an English composer best known for his electronic music for ''Doctor Who'' in the late 1980s. In 1987, he was employed by producer John Nathan-Turner to arrange the ''Doctor Who'' theme music for the Seventh Doctor, Sylvester ...

, and

Mark Ayres Mark Ayres is an electronic musician, composer and audio engineer. Ayres studied music and electronics at Keele University. He also worked as a sound engineer at TV-am between 1982 and 1987. As a television composer, he became known for providi ...

. As Nathan-Turner had no writing or script-editing experience, the choice of the stories for production was largely left to Bidmead. This at once led to difficulties, with the second story to enter production, ''

Meglos ''Meglos'' is the second serial of the 18th season of the science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 27 September to 18 October 1980. In the serial, the Zolfa-Thuran plant Meglo ...

'' (1980), suffering from all the problems which Nathan-Turner had identified in the show's scripts under Graham Williams (a lack of realism, an over indulgence in comedy). Nathan-Turner's first major story influence was in bringing back the Master, but the details of this he left to Bidmead. At the end of Nathan-Turner's first season in charge, both Bidmead and Letts left their posts on the series along with Tom Baker, and

Lalla Ward Sarah Jill "Lalla" Ward (born 28 June 1951) is an English actress, voice artist and author. She is best known for playing the role of Romana II in the BBC television series ''Doctor Who'' from 1979 to 1981. Career Early career Ward's stage na ...

, who had played companion Romana, also left partway through the season in ''

Warriors' Gate ''Warriors' Gate'' is the fifth serial of the 18th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was written by Stephen Gallagher and was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 3 to 24 January 1981. The ...

'' (1980). Letts was not replaced, leaving Nathan-Turner as sole producer. Nathan-Turner cast

as the

Fifth Doctor The Fifth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Peter Davison. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord from ...

for season 19, having previously worked with him on '' All Creatures Great and Small''. Bidmead was briefly replaced with

Antony Root Antony Root is a British television executive and producer. He has worked in the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States. He is currently the executive vice-president of HBO Europe and head of original production for WarnerMedia EMEA. Ed ...

, then more permanently with

Eric Saward Eric Saward (; born 9 December 1944) is a British radio scriptwriter who worked for the BBC as a television script editor and screenwriter on the science fiction series ''Doctor Who'' from 1982 until 1986. He wrote the stories '' The Visitation' ...

, who would work as script editor (and occasional writer) of the series from 1982 until 1986. After Nathan-Turner brought the Master back for three consecutive stories, ''

The Keeper of Traken ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' (1981), ''

Logopolis ''Logopolis'' is the seventh and final serial of the 18th season of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 28 February to 21 March 1981. It was Tom Baker's last ...

'' (1981) and '' Castrovalva'' (1982, now played on a regular basis by

Anthony Ainley Anthony Ainley (20 August 1932 – 3 May 2004) was an English actor. He was the fourth actor to portray The Master (Doctor Who), the Master in ''Doctor Who''. Early life Ainley was born in Stanmore, Middlesex, the son of the actor Henry Ainle ...

), he believed that the show could benefit from the publicity inherent in bringing back popular characters and monsters from its past. ''

Earthshock ''Earthshock'' is the sixth serial of the 19th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four twice-weekly parts on BBC1 from 8 to 16 March 1982. This serial marks the final regular appe ...

'' (1982) enjoyed considerable publicity from featuring the return of the

Cybermen The Cybermen are a fictional race of cyborgs principally portrayed in the British science fiction television programme '' Doctor Who''. The Cybermen are a species of space-faring cyborgs who often forcefully and painfully convert human beings ...

, after an absence of seven years. Season 20 then saw the return of

Omega Omega (; capital: Ω, lowercase: ω; Ancient Greek ὦ, later ὦ μέγα, Modern Greek ωμέγα) is the twenty-fourth and final letter in the Greek alphabet. In the Greek numeric system/isopsephy (gematria), it has a value of 800. The wo ...

, the Mara, the Black and White Guardians (from the ''Key to Time'' season), and

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart Brigadier Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, generally referred to simply as the Brigadier, is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', created by writers Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln and p ...

. The

Dalek The Daleks ( ) are a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants principally portrayed in the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. They were conceived by writer Terry Nation and first appeared in the 1963 ''Doctor Who'' ...

s and

Davros Davros () is a character from the long-running British science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He was created by screenwriter Terry Nation, originally for the 1975 serial ''Genesis of the Daleks''. Dav ...

also returned in ''

Resurrection of the Daleks ''Resurrection of the Daleks'' is the fourth serial of the 21st season in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in two weekly parts on BBC1 between 8 February and 15 February 1984. The serial ...

'' (1984), but the re-use of classic villains often proved complex for script editor Eric Saward and the show's writers. Nathan-Turner, however, was largely focused on generating publicity for the series, something which he also achieved by the device of casting high profile, well-known actors (sometimes from the world of light entertainment) as guest stars. Nathan-Turner rarely used directors or writers who had worked for previous producers. The few exceptions were director

Pennant Roberts John Pennant Roberts (15 December 1940 – 22 June 2010) was a British director and producer known for his work in British television drama. Early life Roberts was born at Weston-super-Mare in Somerset to Welsh parents. He went to school i ...

(who directed ''

Warriors of the Deep ''Warriors of the Deep'' is the first serial of the 21st season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was broadcast in four twice-weekly parts on BBC1 from 5 to 13 January 1984. In the serial, two human power b ...

'' and ''

Timelash ''Timelash'' is the fifth serial of the 22nd season in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in two weekly parts on BBC1 on 9 and 16 March 1985. In the serial, the Borad (Robert Ashby), the mu ...

''), and the writers David Fisher (who wrote ''

The Leisure Hive ''The Leisure Hive'' is the first serial of the Doctor Who (season 18), 18th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC One, BBC1 from 30 August to 20 September 198 ...

''),

Terrance Dicks Terrance William Dicks (14 April 1935 – 29 August 2019) was an English people, English author and television screenwriter, script editor and Television producer, producer. In television, he had a long association with the BBC science-fictio ...

(who wrote ''

State of Decay ''State of Decay'' is a series of third-person survival horror video games. The series was created by Undead Labs and published by Xbox Game Studios. To date, there are two installments in the franchise, and an upcoming third game. Common game ...

'' and ''

The Five Doctors ''The Five Doctors'' is a special feature-length episode of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', produced in celebration of the programme's 20th anniversary. It had its world premiere in the United States, on the Chicago ...

''), and Robert Holmes (who wrote ''

The Caves of Androzani ''The Caves of Androzani'' is the sixth serial of the 21st season of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four twice-weekly parts on BBC1 from 8 to 16 March 1984. In the serial, the Doctor ...

'', ''

The Two Doctors ''The Two Doctors'' is the fourth serial of the Doctor Who (season 22), 22nd season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in three weekly parts on BBC One, BBC1 from 16 February to 2 March 1985 ...

'', ''

The Mysterious Planet ''The Mysterious Planet'' is the first serial of the larger narrative known as ''The Trial of a Time Lord'' which encompasses the whole of the 23rd season of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who''. It was first broadcast i ...

'' and the first episode of ''

The Ultimate Foe ''The Ultimate Foe'' is the fourth and final serial of the larger narrative known as ''The Trial of a Time Lord'' which encompasses the whole of the 23rd season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was first broadca ...

''). By coincidence, Nathan-Turner's tenure occurred during a period of large growth in the show's fan base in the United States, thanks to repeated showings there of the Tom Baker serials on affiliates of the American Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) network. Nathan-Turner became a familiar face among the many ''Doctor Who'' celebrities who made appearances during

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

fundraising drives, held to finance the purchase of more ''Doctor Who'' serials for screening in the United States. In addition to his work on the television series, for some years during the Eighties Nathan-Turner's interest in light entertainment led to him producing an annual Christmas Pantomime, at the Tunbridge Wells Theatre, starring the incumbent Doctor and other members of the cast. The first of these, in December 1982, starred Peter Davison and co-starred Anthony Ainley (the Master) and the actress

Sandra Dickinson Sandra Dickinson (née Searles) is an American-British actress. She trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. She has often played characters who fell into the trope of a dumb blonde with a high-pitched voice. Early life D ...

(who at that time was Davison's wife, but later guest starred in ''Doctor Who'' with Jon Pertwee, on ''Ghosts of N-Space''). During his time producing ''Doctor Who'', Nathan-Turner wrote two books about the programme, ''Doctor Who: The TARDIS Inside Out'' (1985) and ''Doctor Who: The Companions'' (1986).

Contentious decisions

Criticism of his production decisions was wide-ranging, from employing too many back-references (thereby limiting the scriptwriters, and confusing the casual viewer), to employing excessive violence in Colin Baker's 1985 season, to his hostility to using writers and directors from the show's past, and in the casting of guest stars best known for roles from light entertainment rather than from drama (including

Rodney Bewes Rodney Bewes (27 November 1937 – 21 November 2017) was an English television actor and writer who portrayed Bob Ferris in the BBC television sitcom ''The Likely Lads'' (1964–66) and its colour sequel ''Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?'' ...

Beryl Reid Beryl Elizabeth Reid, (17 June 1919 – 13 October 1996), was a British actress of stage and screen. She won the 1967 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for ''The Killing of Sister George'', the 1980 Olivier Award for Best Comedy Performan ...

Richard Briers Richard David Briers (14 January 1934 – 17 February 2013) was an English actor whose five-decade career encompassed film, radio, stage and television. Briers first came to prominence as George Starling in ''Marriage Lines'' (1961–66), but ...

Ken Dodd Sir Kenneth Arthur Dodd (8 November 1927 – 11 March 2018) was an English comedian, singer and occasional actor. He was described as "the last great music hall entertainer", and was primarily known for his live stand-up performances. A life ...

and

Hale and Pace Hale and Pace were an English comedy double-act that performed in clubs and on radio and television in the United Kingdom in the 1980s and 1990s. The duo was made up of Gareth Hale and Norman Pace, with the ''Hale and Pace'' television sho ...

). However, Patrick Mulkern of ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...

'' argued that "John Nathan-Turner should be applauded for enticing big-name guest stars and his 'stunt casting' of actors in wildly inappropriate roles often pays off", although he cited Briers as an example who was "shockingly bad". He was criticised for the casting of companions purely as gimmicks: the character

Tegan Jovanka Tegan Jovanka is a fictional character played by Janet Fielding in the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. An Australian airline stewardess and a native of Brisbane who was a companion of the Fourth and Fift ...

(an Australian air-stewardess played by

Janet Fielding Janet Fielding (born Janet Claire Mahoney; 9 September 1953) is an Australian actress who starred in the BBC science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'' as companion Tegan Jovanka. Early life and career Fielding was born in Brisbane. Aft ...

) was introduced solely to curry favour with viewers in Australia; whilst Peter Davison reported that the American character

Peri Brown Perpugilliam “Peri” Brown, is a fictional character played by Nicola Bryant in the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. An American botany major from Pasadena, California, Peri is a companion of the Fifth ...

(played by

Nicola Bryant Nicola Jane Bryant (born 11 October 1960)England & Wales Birth ...

) was introduced only in an attempt to endear the show to American viewers. Davison has said Nathan-Turner's decision to introduce an American companion merely to appeal to the American market was one of his reasons for leaving the show, as he felt it was wrong for the series, but led to his realising that – despite being its star – the direction of the series was out of his control, and he could do nothing about decisions he disagreed with. In 1985, BBC1 controller

Michael Grade Michael Ian Grade, Baron Grade of Yarmouth, (born 8 March 1943) is an English television executive and businessman. He has held a number of senior roles in television, including controller of BBC1 (1984–1986), chief executive of Channel 4 ( ...

enforced an 18-month hiatus on ''Doctor Who'', publicly criticising the series as tired, violent and unimaginative. In 1986, after the series had returned (with fewer episodes in the season), Grade insisted that Nathan-Turner replace the actor he had cast as the Sixth Doctor, Colin Baker, as a condition of it continuing. According to an interview with Peter Davison in 2018, Baker was "the victim" because "the power structure in the BBC had changed and they didn't want John Nathan-Turner around." Nathan-Turner also received criticism from his former executive producer, Barry Letts, for introducing the question mark motif on Tom Baker's costume. Peter Davison, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy all said they were not happy with their wardrobe in the series. Davison disliked what he considered the "designer look" of his cricket attire; Colin Baker didn't approve of the tasteless multi-coloured outfit he was given (as he detailed in the documentaries ''The Story of Doctor Who'' and ''Trials and Tribulations''); while McCoy was dissatisfied with his pullover being covered in question marks, which he found "overstated". Writing for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', Tim Dowling thought it "certainly undermined a lot of his darker scenes". Eric Saward, who joined ''Doctor Who'' as script editor in season 19 (1982), had a tumultuous working relationship with Nathan-Turner and quit the programme during production of season 23 (1986). In September 1986, an interview with Saward was published in issue No. 97 of '' Starburst'' magazine in which Saward voiced scathing criticism of Nathan-Turner. Nathan-Turner's casting decisions for the central role of the Doctor have also been criticised. Former script editor

said of the three actors he cast: "The magic wasn't quite there." Former producer

Philip Hinchcliffe Philip Michael Hinchcliffe (born October 1944) is a retired English television producer, screenwriter and script editor. After graduating from Cambridge University, he began his career as a writer and script editor at Associated Television befo ...

claimed that, following Tom Baker's departure, the series "became a bit pantomime for me" and that Baker's successors lacked the "moral conviction" the earlier actors brought to the role. Eric Saward disagreed with the casting of Colin Baker in particular, saying he lacked "the energy and eccentricity that the part calls for", and complained that Nathan-Turner hadn't discussed casting decisions with him. Saward was also unhappy with the casting of

Bonnie Langford Bonita Melody Lysette "Bonnie" Langford (born 22 July 1964) is an English actress, dancer and singer. She came to prominence as a child star in the 1970s, when she had a notable role in the TV series ''Just William''. In the 1980s, she played c ...

Mel Bush Mel, also sometimes referred to as Melanie, is a fictional character played by Bonnie Langford in the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. A computer programmer from the 20th century who is a companion of the ...

, saying: "I don't think she can act, let alone bring anything to the show." Terrance Dicks was particularly scathing of Nathan-Turner's production of ''Doctor Who'' during an interview in 2013: "There was a decline, without a doubt. I think the people working on it, particularly John Nathan-Turner, were not fit for purpose, as it were. Colin Baker, for example, never got a chance with that silly costume, which I thought was a great shame. I was sorry, but I wasn't surprised when they took it off." However, composer and audio engineer

made an impassioned defence of Nathan-Turner on the DVD commentary for ''

The Greatest Show in the Galaxy ''The Greatest Show in the Galaxy'' is the fourth and final serial of the 25th season of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 14 December 1988 to 4 January 198 ...

'', stating: "John gets a lot of criticism as a producer but he was absolutely fantastic in giving people a chance: new writers, new composers, new actresses. And a lot of what John did didn't work, let's be honest, but when it does work I think you get something really quite special."

Later career

After the series ended in 1989, and until shortly before his death, Nathan-Turner continued to be involved in ''Doctor Who''-related events, and remained a familiar face at conventions for many years afterwards. In the early 1990s, while working for BBC Video, Nathan-Turner produced and wrote several ''Doctor Who'' videotape documentary releases: ''The Hartnell Years'', ''The Troughton Years'', ''The Pertwee Years'', ''The Tom Baker Years'', ''The Colin Baker Years'', ''Daleks: The Early Years'', ''Cybermen: The Early Years'', and a special release of the unfinished story '' Shada'' with Tom Baker doing first person linking narration as the

in place of the missing scenes. Also during the early 1990s, Nathan-Turner produced the earliest ''Doctor Who'' commercial releases on audio cassette, for the BBC Radio Collection, creating narrated adaptations of television serials for which only the soundtrack remained. In these, he mixed the surviving soundtrack with a narration (written by himself) explaining the missing pictures, using as narrator actors who had played the Doctor. As Patrick Troughton had died in 1987, Nathan-Turner contracted Jon Pertwee (for ''The Tomb of the Cybermen''), Tom Baker (for ''The Evil of the Daleks''), and Colin Baker (for ''The Macra Terror'') to narrate Troughton-era stories which, at the time of the link narration recordings, were all missing from the BBC's television archives except for episode 2 of ''The Evil of the Daleks''. Nathan-Turner left his roles at BBC Video and the BBC Radio Collection at the end of 1992. Nathan-Turner co-presented the '' BSB'' ''31 Who'' programmes during their 1990 ''Doctor Who Weekend'', and co-wrote the 1993 charity special ''

Dimensions in Time ''Dimensions in Time'' is a charity special crossover between the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and the soap opera ''EastEnders'' that ran in two parts on 26 and 27 November 1993. It was filmed on location at Greenwich ...

'' for the show's 30th Anniversary. Nathan-Turner made his final contribution to ''Doctor Who'' in March 2002, six weeks before his death, when he gave his final interview on a location visit to what was used during the ''Resurrection of the Daleks'' recordings in 1983. This last interview from March 2002 first appeared on the November 2002 original DVD release of ''Resurrection of the Daleks''.

Personal life

A long term drinker and smoker, Nathan-Turner was in poor health in the last years of his life. He contracted an infection and died in hospital on 1 May 2002, aged 54, just over a year before the announcement by the BBC that ''Doctor Who'' would be revived, with new episodes to air beginning in 2005. Nathan-Turner lived for many years in London, with a home also in

Saltdean Saltdean is a coastal village in the city of Brighton and Hove, with part (known as East Saltdean) outside the city boundary in Lewes district. Saltdean is approximately east of central Brighton, west of Newhaven, and south of Lewes. It is ...

, Brighton. Openly gay, he was survived by his long-term partner,

Gary Downie Roderick Gary Downie Pinkus (17 July 1940 – 19 January 2006) was a South African-born English production manager on many 1980s episodes of the long-running science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', and partner of its producer John N ...

, who was also a BBC employee (ultimately becoming a production manager with BBC Television). They met in 1972, and worked together on '' All Creatures Great and Small'', where Nathan-Turner was Production Unit Manager (Downie was the Assistant Floor Manager at BBC Pebble Mill on series 3), and on ''Doctor Who''. Downie, who was born Roderick Pinkus in South Africa in 1940, died on 19 January 2006. He spoke of his life with Nathan-Turner in an interview with ''

Doctor Who Magazine ''Doctor Who Magazine'' (abbreviated as ''DWM'') is a magazine devoted to the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Launched in 1979 as ''Doctor Who Weekly'', the magazine became a monthly publication the followi ...

''.

Richard Marson Richard Marson (born c.1967) is an English writer, television producer and director, best known as a former editor-in-chief of the BBC's children's television programme ''Blue Peter''. In September 2007, Marson was sacked from his post for makin ...

's book, ''JN-T: The Life and Scandalous Times of John Nathan-Turner'' (2013), alleges inappropriate sexual behaviour on the part of Nathan-Turner and Downie by stating that the two men were preying on male teenage fans during the 1980s, including making unwanted advances to himself. The age of consent for gay men at the time was 21 in the UK, compared to 16 for heterosexual relationships.

Books

* ''Doctor Who – The TARDIS Inside Out'' (May 1985, Picadilly Press Ltd., by John Nathan-Turner and illustrated by Andrew Skilleter, Paperback; October 1985, Random House Children's Books (library), Hardback) * ''Doctor Who: The Companions'' (November 1986, Picadilly Press Ltd., by John Nathan-Turner and illustrated by Stuart Hughes, Paperback; January 1987, Random House Children's Books (library), Hardback) * ''JN-T: The Life and Scandalous Times of John Nathan-Turner'' By

(May 2013, Miwk Publishing Ltd.)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nathan-Turner, John 1947 births 2002 deaths 20th-century English screenwriters BBC television producers English television producers English television writers British gay writers LGBT writers from England People educated at King Edward VI Aston School People from Brighton Writers from Birmingham, West Midlands People from Saltdean 20th-century LGBT people