View source for Back to the future for Dr Who's 30th Birthday

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| publication = London Evening Standard
| file = 1993-06-17 London Evening Standard.jpg
| px = 450
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| date = 1993-06-17
| author = Nicholas Hellen
| pages = 17
| language = English
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DR WHO has vanquished his arch enemies - the BBC drama chiefs - to make a spectacular return to the screen after a sinister four-year absence.

The trusty Tardis will reappear in the autumn carrying all five of the surviving Time Lords for a 30th anniversary special.

A new adventure has been planned, which will see Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy join forces to wrestle with the Daleks, the Cybermen and other intergalactic nasties. 

But it emerged that the show's return owes more to the prospect of a commercial bonanza than the supernatural powers of the Doctor. Foreign sales have notched up almost £10 million since William Hartnell, the original Dr Who, stepped out of his battered time-travelling police box on 23 November, 1963.

Worldwide interest in the show's 30th anniversary has persuaded executives at BBC Enterprises, the Corporation's commercial arm, that it is time to dust off Dr Who's velvet cloak and the Daleks. It has already laid plans for dozens of spin-off products, as well as repackaged videos.

The programme was axed by Michael Grade in 1986, who complained that the 4.5 million audience was too low and criticised the low-tech special effects. It made a short-lived return with Sylvester McCoy, but was criticised by fans as lacking conviction.

It now seems certain the BBC will have to update the show with the sort of special effects pioneered by Arnold Schwarzenegger's Terminator 2 film.

Some of the older Time Lords, such as 74-year-old Pertwee, might also welcome a little help to cover up the effects of the passing years.

But there may be some problems in mustering the original props, such as the hardboard Daleks, after hundreds of costumes were sold at auction. BBC sources insist they will be able to pick up enough memorabilia from exhibitions at Longleat and Needles Pleasure Park on the Isle of Wight.

The planned programme will be the highlight of a lavish season of anniversary celebrations for the autumn.

Pertwee has already recorded a five-part radio series, Dr Who And The Paradise Years, to be aired on BBC Radio 5 from 27 August. He will be rejoined by his original assistant, Elisabeth Sladen.

Fans drawn from the show's 110 million viewers worldwide will descend on Hammersmith in September for a fan club convention.

Graphic: Whos Who, Jon Pertwee, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy And Peter Davison Return To The BBC Screen For 30th Anniversary Special

Corrections: The Paradise of Death

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