Doctor Who is known for its “lost” episodes, with all sorts of adventures from the early years of the sci-fi drama wiped from the archives due to a BBC attempt to reuse film – but in recent years, plenty of these missing serials have in some way been revived.

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Previously we’ve had stories like The Power of the Daleks, The Macra Terror and Fury of the Deep recreated using animation – and now, even more lost Doctor Who episodes are said to be coming our way, with The Mirror reporting that 1967 serials The Evil of the Daleks and The Abominable Snowmen are set to be turned into animated stories themselves for release in 2021.

Originally planned to be the last appearance of the Doctor’s greatest foe, The Evil of the Daleks is also notable for featuring the first appearance of Second Doctor companion Victoria Waterfield (played by Deborah Watling), with only the episode that she first appears in (discovered in a car boot sale years later) surviving to be returned to the BBC Archive.

The original 1967 billing for Evil of the Daleks (Radio Times Archive)
The original 1967 billing for Evil of the Daleks (Radio Times Archive)

The Abominable Snowmen, meanwhile, also has just one episode left standing, with the other five – featuring a story where the Doctor first meets recurring robot foes the Yeti – all still missing.

A behind-the-scenes shot from the filming of The Abominable Snowmen (Radio Times archive)
A behind-the-scenes shot from the filming of The Abominable Snowmen (Radio Times archive)

Both starring Patrick Troughton, these stories were lost during an archive purge at the BBC, with only scraps of footage of the missing episodes remaining – however, as with previously recreated lost stories, original soundtrack recordings and set photos will be used to accurately recreate the on-screen action as much as possible.

An animated Patrick Troughton as seen in previous recreations (BBC Studios)
An animated Patrick Troughton as seen in previous recreations (BBC Studios)

RadioTimes.com understands more information about the animation teams working on the episodes and details about the release will be unveiled in due course – for now, though, fans can just get excited that more missing Doctor Who will, in some way, be returning to the canon for fans to enjoy watching.

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Doctor Who: Revolution of the Daleks comes to BBC One in late 2020/early 2021. Want something to watch? Check out our TV Guide.

Authors

Huw FullertonSci-Fi and Fantasy Editor, RadioTimes.com

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