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BBC confirms recovery of 'lost' Doctor Who episodes

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By Steven Raeburn, N/A

October 8, 2013 | 2 min read

The BBC has officially confirmed that “a number” of episodes of Doctor Who, lost since the 1960s, have been recovered.

A detailed announcement is expected this week

The episodes were wiped during a cost-cutting phase at the corporation.

In June, The Drum reported that 90 of the 106 lost episodes were believed to have been recovered.

“A number of early episodes of Doctor Who, which were believed to have been permanently lost, have been returned to the BBC,” the BBC said via its News website.

“A total of 106 episodes featuring the first two actors to play the Doctor, William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton, are currently missing. The BBC destroyed many of the sci-fi drama's original transmission tapes in the 1960s and 1970s.

“However, the majority of the episodes had been transferred on to film for foreign broadcasters. It is often these prints found in other countries that are the source of retrieved episodes.

“BBC Worldwide is expected to confirm the find at a press screening in London later this week.”

Dr Who archivist Ian Levine understands that the BBC announcement will state that the lost episodes will be made available via the iPlayer or commercially via iTunes.

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