BBC releases archive 'Dr Who' documents

The BBC has revealed several previously unreleased documents and images dating back to 1962 that detail the origins of Doctor Who.

Available online on the BBC Archive website, the material includes handwritten notes from 1963 by the broadcaster's then Head of Drama Sydney Newman, in which he states his desire for the proposed show to be an "educational experience - drama based upon and stemming from factual material and scientific phenomena and actual social history of past and future".

Archivist Jim Sangster told BBC News that the documents demonstrate how much of a gamble Doctor Who was perceived to be by the corporation, as "they didn't have confidence in sci-fi. It was seen as niche and American."

"After Star Wars, we have a different view of course, and we see it as hugely entertaining and successful. But they were nervous - it wasn't a Western or a period drama. It was something really obscure and they had to do research into it."