David Arthur Whitaker (18 April 1928 – 4 February 1980) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

television writer and novelist who worked on the early years of the

science-fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel univers ...

TV 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 served as the programme's first

story editor Story editor is a job title in motion picture and television production, also sometimes called "supervising producer". In live action television, a story editor is a member of the screenwriting staff who edits scripts, pitches stories, and reports ...

, supervising the writing of its first 51 episodes from 1963 to 1964.

Career

Prior to joining the BBC, Whitaker worked as a writer, actor and director with the York Repertory Group. A play he wrote for them, 'A Choice of Partners' (1957), gained the attention of the BBC's script department. They commissioned Whitaker to work on the programmes Garry Halliday (1962) and the long-running Compact (1962). Whitaker also contributed his own scripts for a number of ''Doctor Who'' serials, including '' The Crusade'' (1965), ''

The Power of the Daleks ''The Power of the Daleks'' is the completely missing third serial of the fourth season of British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', and which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 5 November to 10 December 1966. It is ...

'' (1966), ''

The Evil of the Daleks ''The Evil of the Daleks'' is the mostly-missing ninth and final serial of the fourth season in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which originally aired in seven weekly parts from 20 May to 1 July 1967. In this seri ...

'' (1967), ''

The Enemy of the World ''The Enemy of the World'' is the fourth serial of the fifth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which originally aired in six weekly parts from 23 December 1967 to 27 January 1968. The serial is set in Aus ...

'' (1967–68) and ''

The Wheel in Space ''The Wheel in Space'' is the mostly missing seventh and final serial of the fifth season in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which originally aired in six weekly parts from 27 April to 1 June 1968. In this seria ...

'' (1968, from a story concept by

Kit Pedler Christopher Magnus Howard "Kit" Pedler (11 June 1927 – 27 May 1981) was a British medical scientist, parapsychologist and science fiction author. Biography He was the head of the electron microscopy department at the Institute of Ophthalmol ...

). Although he left the post of story editor in 1964 his final script for the show was ''

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). He had not planned to stay longer than a year as Doctor Who's story editor, as he thought the serial might not be renewed. He had therefore agreed to take up a role working on another production. His other work included writing 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'' ...

comic strip for the weekly children's magazine ''

TV Century 21 ''TV Century 21'', later renamed ''TV21'', ''TV21 and Tornado'', ''TV21 and Joe 90'', and ''TV21'' again, was a weekly British children's comic published by City Magazines during the latter half of the 1960s. Originally produced in partnership ...

'', in addition to the stage play ''

The Curse of the Daleks ''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 ...

'' (1965). In 1964, Whitaker published the first

novelisation A novelization (or novelisation) is a derivative novel that adapts the story of a work created for another medium, such as a film, TV series, stage play, comic book or video game. Film novelizations were particularly popular before the advent of ...

of a ''Doctor Who'' serial; more than 150 other such books would be published in the course of the next 30 years. His own, '' Doctor Who in an Exciting Adventure with the Daleks'', was based on

Terry Nation Terence Joseph Nation (8 August 19309 March 1997) was a British screenwriter and novelist. Especially known for his work in British television science fiction, he created the Daleks and Davros for ''Doctor Who'', as well as the series '' Survivo ...

's script for the first Dalek TV serial. He completed a second novelisation the following year, this time based on his own script for ''The Crusade''. Both books were originally published by Frederick Muller, with the first also being given a paperback release by Armada. In 1973, Whitaker's novelisations (along with a third, written by

Bill Strutton William Harold Strutton (23 February 1918 – 23 November 2003) was an Australian screenwriter and novelist. He worked on television shows such as '' Ivanhoe'', '' The Saint'', '' The Avengers'', ''Riptide'' and '' Doctor Who''. Early lif ...

and based on ''

The Web Planet ''The Web Planet'' is the fifth serial of the second season in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Written by Bill Strutton and directed by Richard Martin, the serial was broadcast on BBC1 in six weekly parts from 1 ...

'') were re-issued by Target Books as part of its launch of a new series of novelisations; Whitaker's Dalek story was re-titled ''Doctor Who and the Daleks''. From 1966 to 1968 Whitaker was the chairman of the Writers Guild of Great Britain. He moved to Australia in the 70's and contributed to the series "Homicide", "The Drifter" and "Elephant Boy" before returning to the UK. Before his death in 1980, Whitaker had been undergoing treatment for

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

. He died leaving his novelisation of ''The Enemy of the World'' unfinished and his plans to adapt ''The Evil of the Daleks'' unrealised. The adaptation of ''The Enemy of the World'' was ultimately written by

Ian Marter Ian Don Marter (28 October 194428 October 1986) was an English actor and writer, known for his role as Harry Sullivan in the BBC science-fiction television series '' Doctor Who'' from December 1974 to September 1975, with a non-regular, one-s ...

without using any of the material prepared by Whitaker, while ''The Evil of the Daleks'' was eventually novelised by

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

and published in 1993.

List of ''Doctor Who'' credits

As writer (1963–69)

*''

The Edge of Destruction ''The Edge of Destruction'' (also referred to as ''Inside the Spaceship'') is the third serial of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who''. It was written by David Whitaker, and first broadcast on BBC TV in two weekly part ...

'' *'' The Rescue'' *'' The Crusade'' *''

'' (

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 ...

's first serial as the

Second Doctor The Second Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He was portrayed by actor Patrick Troughton. While the Troughton era of ''Doctor Who'' is well-remembered by fans an ...

, with uncredited script re-writes by

Dennis Spooner Dennis Spooner (1 December 1932 – 20 September 1986) was an English television writer and script editor, known primarily for his programmes about fictional spies and his work in children's television in the 1960s. He had long-lasting profess ...

) *''

'' *''

'' (with uncredited re-writes by

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 ...

and

Derrick Sherwin Derrick George Sherwin (16 April 1936 – 17 October 2018) was an English television producer, writer, story editor and actor. After beginning his career in the theatre, Sherwin became an actor in television before moving into writing. He becam ...

) *''

'' (from a story by

) *''

'' (with uncredited re-writes by

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 ...

Trevor Ray Trevor Ray (died 24 December 2019) was a British actor, writer and script editor. As an actor he gained credits in many television series. As a writer and script editor he worked on series such as ''Doctor Who'', ''Paul Temple'' and ''Children of ...

and

Malcolm Hulke Malcolm Ainsworth Hulke (21 November 1924 – 6 July 1979) was a British television writer and author of the industry "bible" ''Writing for Television in the 70s''. He is remembered chiefly for his work on the science fiction series ''Doctor Wh ...

) Although tasked with writing the serial that would later be produced as '' The Invasion'' (1968), Whitaker was ultimately unable to contribute a script, leaving then-story editor and future ''Doctor Who'' producer

to write it himself.

As story editor (1963–64)

*''

An Unearthly Child ''An Unearthly Child'' (sometimes referred to as ''100,000 BC'') is the first serial of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was first broadcast on BBC TV in four weekly parts from 23 November to 14 December 1963 ...

'' *''

The Daleks ''The Daleks'' (also known as ''The Mutants'' and ''The Dead Planet'') is the second serial in the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast on BBC TV in seven weekly parts from 21 December 1963 to ...

'' *''

Marco Polo Marco Polo (, , ; 8 January 1324) was a Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known as ''Book of the Marv ...

'' *''

The Keys of Marinus ''The Keys of Marinus'' is the fifth serial in the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast on BBC TV/BBC1 in six weekly parts from 11 April to 16 May 1964. Written by Terry Nation and directed by Joh ...

'' *''

The Aztecs The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl ...

'' *''

The Sensorites ''The Sensorites'' is the seventh serial in the British science fiction television Science fiction first appeared in television programming in the late 1930s, during what is called the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and othe ...

'' *'' The Reign of Terror'' *''

Planet of Giants ''Planet of Giants'' is the first serial of the second season in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Written by Louis Marks and directed by Mervyn Pinfield and Douglas Camfield, the serial was first broadcast on BBC1 i ...

'' *''

The Dalek Invasion of Earth ''The Dalek Invasion of Earth'' is the second Serial (radio and television), serial of the Doctor Who (season 2), second season in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Written by Terry Nation and directed by Richard Ma ...

References

Bibliography

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Whitaker, David 1928 births 1980 deaths 20th-century English novelists BBC people Deaths from cancer in England English comics writers English science fiction writers English television writers People from North Hertfordshire District 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights British male dramatists and playwrights English male novelists 20th-century English male writers English male non-fiction writers British male television writers 20th-century English screenwriters