Radio Times proudly announced that Saturday was a big day for Doctor Who (as well for the programme and fans) as the British Film Institute (BFI) launched Doctor Who at 50, its year-long celebration of the Time Lord. This year it’s the Doctor Who 50th anniversary, so from now on every month BFI will be screening a classic story for each Doctor and reuniting many luminaries from the world of Who.
To kick off, it was right back to the very beginning, to An Unearthly Child, the atmospheric four-part serial that launched the series on BBCtv in November and December 1963. And it was amazing how many guests were able to attend, people directly involved on that programme or with the era of the first Doctor, William Hartnell. They included (pictured above) William Russell and Carole Ann Ford (companions Ian and Susan) and Jeremy Young, who played the first villain.
These were some of the hottest tickets in the BFI’s history, quickly selling out. I snapped up four on the day of release for myself and three friends: TV producer Richard Marson, überfan Ian Levine (who secured several guests for the BFI) and Waris Hussein, director of An Unearthly Child. In the event, Waris was offered his own tickets and Ian invited his cousin Shirley Cooklin to join us.
You can read more about the event over here.
