‘Doctor Who’ Script from Original Series Premiere Sold at Auction for $8,400
By Sam Callahan
According to BBC News, William Hartnell’s personal script from the first episode ever aired of Doctor Who in 1963 just sold at auction for £6,200, which comes out to around $8,400, at Aston’s Auctioneers in Dudley.
The story is called “Doctor Who and the Tribe of Gum,” written by Anthony Coburn, but the show’s fans would know it better by the title of the first script from the story, “An Unearthly Child” (and you can watch the episode here on Britbox).
Apparently, it was found by a builder who was working on William Hartnell’s home in Mayfield, East Sussex, England.
That builder then gifted the script to his then-eight-year-old grandson, who was already a huge fan of Doctor Who.
The script belonged to William Hartnell, who originated the role of the First Doctor. Hartnell appeared in 29 stories, which amounts to 134 episodes by 1966, then again in the 10th-anniversary episode “The Three Doctors.”
Aston Auctioneer’s Gallery Picture of Original Doctor Who Script from 1963, personally owned by original First Doctor, William Hartnell
According to Antiques Gazette, it is 43 pages long and contains Hartnell’s script annotations in blue pencil. The pages are yellowed with character, but it’s still in good shape.
After Hartnell, Richard Hurndall appeared as the First Doctor in the 20th anniversary special “The Five Doctors.”
and David Bradley graced us as the First Doctor in the most recent Christmas Special “Twice Upon A Time” (now
!) He also played William Hartnell in a biopic of the original series called
An Adventure in Space and Time
(2013) written by Mark Gatiss.
For me, as a former actor, a wannabe screenwriter, and an all-around obsessive
Doctor Who
fan, the prospect of owning or even glancing at an original script is a bit like
If you’ve never held an actor’s script in your hands, let me tell you, it’s something special. You can feel the energy in it, the history, and the legend. This script is the starting point for a 55-year adventure, and it holds that history within it like a time vault.
When the script was brought onto
in December 2017, Chris Yeo accurately described it as, “the DNA of Doctor Who” and the “genesis of the programme.”
Let me know what you think in the comments below!
"“One Day, I shall come back. Yes, I shall come back. Until then, there must be no regrets, no tears, no anxieties. Just go forward in all your beliefs and prove to me that I am not mistaken in mine.” – The First Doctor ‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’ (1964)."