First ever Doctor Who script sells for £6,000
- Publication: Halesowen Chronicle
- Date: 2018-05-10
- Author:
- Page: 15
- Language: English
AN ORIGINAL script from the first ever Doctor Who episode has sold in Dudley for more than £6,000 at auction.
'Doctor Who and the Tribe of Gum' fetched £6,200 when it went under the hammer at Aston's Auctioneers in Dudley.
The stained and slightly battered type-written script belonged to actor William Hartnell, the original Time Lord, and covers the first episode, An Unearthly Child, of the first adventure of the long-running BBC children's TV series.
It had a guide price of between £5,000 and £7,000 and was sold as part of a film and music memorabilia auction.
It was found in a skip at the late actor's cottage in Mayfield, East Sussex, by a developer who gave it to his grandson.
Fantastic
Chris Aston, from Aston's Auctioneers, said: "It's fantastic - it's a piece of TV history from a cult TV series. "It's unique, you can't get any rarer.
He added: "It's the only copy that survived in more than 50 years."
More than 300 people bid for the item online as fans from around the world battled to get their hands on the script.
Chris says the item is possibly the most popular the auction house has ever sold. "It's probably generated the most interest," he said. "We have never has so many views on an item before on social media. It was really exciting."
The winning bidder was a private collector based in the UK.
The black-and-white episode, by Anthony Coburn, was first broadcast on November 23, 1963, and introduces William Hartnell as the first Doctor. It was slightly delayed due to extra news following the assassination of President John F Kennedy the previous day.
Carole Ann Ford plays his 15-year-old granddaughter, Susan. Her unusual behaviour in the first episode called The Unearthly Child' becomes the focus of concern by two of her schoolteachers, played by Jacqueline Hill and William Russell, who are puzzled by her brilliance at science while she is unable to understand money.
They decide to follow her home, to a junk yard containing a blue Police Call Box. There they confront her mysterious grandfather, the Doctor, and on hearing Susan's voice enter the police box. Inside they are amazed to find a large room. The Doctor, fearing they will give away the secret of his time and space machine, kidnaps them and takes them back to the Stone Age. The document is 43 pages long and features blue pencil annotation's by Hartnell. A full set of six original camera scripts from the 1968 Dr Who episode 'Fury From the Deep' also sold for £1,300.
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- APA 6th ed.: (2018-05-10). First ever Doctor Who script sells for £6,000. Halesowen Chronicle p. 15.
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- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=First ever Doctor Who script sells for £6,000 | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/First_ever_Doctor_Who_script_sells_for_%C2%A36,000 | work=Halesowen Chronicle | pages=15 | date=2018-05-10 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=1 May 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=First ever Doctor Who script sells for £6,000 | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/First_ever_Doctor_Who_script_sells_for_%C2%A36,000 | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=1 May 2025}}</ref>
