Although we still don’t know what the future holds for Doctor Who after Ncuti Gatwa stepped out of the TARDIS for good in May 2025, we’ll soon be finding out more about the Time Lord’s past.
Two episodes of Doctor Who which were thought to be lost will debut on BBC iPlayer on Good Friday, 3 April 2026, at 6am GMT. The Nightmare Begins and Devil’s Planet are part of the third series of the show, titled The Daleks’ Master Plan, which aired in 1965-1966.
At the time, William Hartnell led the series as the Doctor, while his companion, Steven Taylor, was played by Peter Purves. The episodes also feature Nicholas Courtney as Bret Vyon, Adrienne Hill as Katarina, and Kevin Stoney as Mavic Chen. The script was written by Terry Nation.
The episodes were discovered thanks to the efforts of Film is Fabulous! – a charity bringing together film collectors, cinema fans and vintage television lovers. They were found in a private collection and handed over to the BBC Archives.