Two long-lost episodes of ‘Doctor Who’ have been found. Fans will soon be able to watch them

Lost ‘Doctor Who’ Episodes Resurface After Decades, Delighting Fans

Two long-lost episodes of the iconic British science fiction series “Doctor Who” have been discovered among a deceased collector’s possessions, marking a significant find for television archivists and fans worldwide.

Film charity Film is Fabulous! announced Friday that the episodes, “The Nightmare Begins” and “Devil’s Planet,” were found wrapped in plastic bags inside film cans. The black-and-white episodes, which originally aired in 1965 as part of the show’s third season, have since been restored by BBC archivists and will become available on the broadcaster’s streaming service next month.

The episodes feature William Hartnell, the first actor to portray the time-traveling alien known as the Doctor, in a storyline involving one of the show’s most recognizable villains: the Daleks, metallic creatures infamous for their “Exterminate!” battle cry.

“In some ways finding missing ‘Doctor Whos’ is the holy grail of classic TV discoveries,” said Justin Smith, cinema professor at England’s De Montfort University and chair of trustees of Film is Fabulous!, which works to preserve cinema and television history.

The recovery represents a small but important victory in an ongoing quest to locate 95 episodes that remain missing from the show’s early years. The BBC’s casual approach to archiving during the 1960s and 1970s resulted in numerous episodes being discarded, with film recordings thrown away and videotapes wiped for reuse—a common practice at the time when storage space was limited and few anticipated the future value of television content.

“The main broadcasters in the U.K. in the 1960s, 70s, up to the 80s really, junked quite a lot of content,” Smith explained to The Associated Press.

Peter Purves, now 87, who played the Doctor’s companion Steven Taylor in the newly discovered episodes, expressed both joy and wistfulness at the find. “Twenty-seven of mine still are missing, but I’m delighted that two have been found,” Purves told the BBC. “It’s rather sad, but it’s great when some turn up.”

This discovery is the first since 2013, when nine missing episodes were unexpectedly found in the storeroom of a television relay station in Nigeria. The newfound episodes form part of a 12-part storyline, much of which remains missing.

Smith remains optimistic about future discoveries. “We know that other episodes are in existence. We don’t know where they are or who’s got them—otherwise we’d be knocking on doors. But, yeah, I think there are more. The only question is when and where they will come to light.”

The endurance of “Doctor Who,” which first aired in 1963, stems partly from its ingenious premise. The Doctor, a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey, can travel to any point in space or time and can “regenerate” into new bodies when necessary—a plot device that has allowed the show to continue with different actors in the lead role.

The original series ran until 1989 before being revived to great acclaim in 2005. It has since become a global phenomenon, attracting millions of viewers across generations and spawning a vast merchandise empire. The most recent series starred Ncuti Gatwa as the Doctor, with the show expected to return with a new lead actor in the future.

For dedicated fans, these recovered episodes represent more than just entertainment—they’re pieces of cultural history restored after being presumed lost for decades. The discovery highlights the ongoing efforts of archivists and collectors to preserve television heritage that might otherwise disappear forever.

As Smith noted, the appeal of these episodes remains strong even after nearly 60 years: “It’s got it all, it really has. It is intergalactic, it’s got some great performances. It stands up really, really well.”