The new issue of Panini's Doctor Who Magazine, number 578, came out last Thursday, and I'm fortunate enough to have written a piece for it. Not to do with the new Doctor casting on the front cover, but very exciting to be in a 'new Doctor' issue!
My piece is about the restoration work which has been carried out on the two 1960s Dalek movies, for their new 4K re-release. I must admit that these films are not exactly my favourite iteration of Doctor Who, but I do have a certain nostalgic affection for the second one, on the basis that it was one of the first - if not the first - Doctor Who VHS tape I ever owned. It was given to me by my brother's friend Damien when I was very young, perhaps as young as six or seven.
In fact, I even still own the tape - sort of. It's been in my parents' attic for the past 18 years or so, but oddly enough I came across it just the other week when I was visiting them. I wanted to retrieve some books from a big box full of my things in the attic, and among the assorted odds-and-ends I had to move out of the way to find the books I wanted was that very VHS tape, thirty-odd years since I first owned it!
One particularly nice thing about doing this piece was that it wasn't something I pitched - I was specifically asked to do it, which is always very flattering. Always an ego-boost to be actually sought out and commissioned to do a piece of professional writing!
Anyway, DWM 578 is now on-sale at WH Smith's and all good newsagents, or via the Panini website. I hope you like the piece if you do have a read!
