March 13th, 2026
145 comments
We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article.
Two Missing Episodes from The Daleks’ Master Plan Found
From the BBC Press Office
Doctor Who fans are in for a treat this Easter, as two ‘missing’ episodes from the 1960’s will be made available for viewers on BBC iPlayer.
The episodes, thought to be lost forever, were found by Film is Fabulous! – a charitable trust run by film collectors, cinema lovers and vintage television enthusiasts. They approached BBC Archives after finding them in a private collection. BBC Archives has worked to restore the original 16mm telerecordings – meaning viewers will be able to watch them in the best possible condition on BBC iPlayer.
The two episodes; The Nightmare Begins and Devil’s Planet were from the third series entitled The Daleks’ Master Plan. Written by Terry Nation, the series starred William Hartnell as the Doctor and Peter Purves as Steven Taylor. It also featured Nicholas Courtney as Bret Vyon, Adrienne Hill as Katarina, and Kevin Stoney as Mavic Chen.
Noreen Adams, Director of BBC Archives says: “We’re thrilled to have worked with the team at Film is Fabulous! to bring these lost Doctor Who episodes to viewers on BBC iPlayer this Easter. BBC Archives has been working to restore the original recordings and update these to broadcast quality, ensuring fans can enjoy a little extra treat with their Easter Eggs this April.”
These two episodes add to a raft of Doctor Who programming which forms The Whoniverse on BBC iPlayer.
Categorised under: 
The Doctor Who Site
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Merchandise
Flickr
YouTube
Andy
April 1st, 2026 - 4:48pmThere is a seller on eBay selling reconstruction of missing episodes on dvd with covers they include surviving episodes of partly missing stories. The reconstructions are just photo stills probably upload from you tube. The seller has in the listing that will also be updating The Daleks Master Plan soon with the missing episodes 1 & 3.
Bob Hellier
April 1st, 2026 - 5:56pmbut today are things April fool jokes Andy.
Gordon
April 1st, 2026 - 10:19pmI’ll be surprised if it doesn’t end up on dailymotion or internet archive or one of those sights very quickly once it goes up on Friday. I’m sure there will be somebody out there able to download their own version from iPlayer and put it up somewhere else for anybody to watch or make a copy
Gordon
March 31st, 2026 - 11:24amSounds like we don’t have to wait till Saturday. It’s going up Friday:
Breaking news! The two ‘missing’ Doctor Who episodes from THE DALEKS’ MASTER PLAN will be materialising on BBC iPlayer on 3rd April at 6am!
Andy
March 31st, 2026 - 2:54pmHa ha, its just like when you were a kid when you believed in Santa Claus to get your presents. It will be like that every Doctor Who fan counting down the hour and minutes for them watching Doctor Who while having your breakfast what a great way to start the day.
The ergon
March 31st, 2026 - 3:41pmBreakfast at 6am though?
Rob
March 31st, 2026 - 4:40pmI’ll watch MTTU on youtube the night before.
Pete X
March 31st, 2026 - 5:40pmI just hope iPlayer will be able to take all the traffic and not crash.
Andy
March 31st, 2026 - 8:14pmYeah Breakfast at 6am some people start work at 6 so probably have breakfast about 5am for some. I have a feeling once these drop there will be an announcement for a future DVD and Blu-ray release. Still think they should consider broadcast these on BBC Four for those who don’t have BBC iPlayer. As some of my friends don’t some even have the old widescreen tvs’ with the big backs because they can’t afford these new devices been on the dole. We however are the lucky ones that can watch it anywhere on phones, computer and tv.
Prof Horner
March 31st, 2026 - 8:24pmGreat news! I am not working on Friday, but I am on Saturday.
James
March 31st, 2026 - 10:06pmAgreed…should air all 5 eps on bbc four. Or even if just ep1 on BBC 2 then advertise the rest via iPlayer. To late now anyways
Gordon
March 31st, 2026 - 10:33pmThink the issue with broadcasting all 5 is there are gaps and they aren’t likely to broadcast recons. I could see the first 3 being broadcast but given it does not appear to be happening I can’t see it. I definetly don’t see bbc 1 or 2 showing it. If they dedicated a night on bbc 4 to classic who or a specific person ie Innes Lloyd I could see it. Think it would get a reasonable turn out but I wouldn’t expect millions.
The ergon
April 1st, 2026 - 12:19pmI wont be getting up for 6am. I will just avoid all comments and watch around midday fresh and not bleary eyed. Its not like i havent heard the soundtrack many times. Masterplan is one of my favourites.
Gordon
March 24th, 2026 - 9:51amAmazing to think we only need 42 animated eps (about 1050 mins) till we have a full run of viewable in motion Doctor who on disc. I know it’s not the same as having the real thing but it’s still great to see. Even less if you want to count the fan made wheel and mission which I quite enjoy
James
March 24th, 2026 - 10:46amAgreed. In space of 20 years we’ve had 61 (67 if you include Shada) episodes animated across 17 stories (include Shada).
Do your think the BBC would pick up TardisGirls Wheel version and work on it so it’s more release worthy? Or would they stick to 2D now? They said they listen to the fans so didn’t use it when she approached them. Yet we got Toymaker in 3d.
It’s hard to believe we are only now 10 stories away from a full run. When it was 26.
Do you recon they would use the same company to do Mission/Myth/Masterplan/Massacre? They all follow on from each other in S3. Obviously Mission and Masterplan will as they use the same characters.
That would leave Marco S1, Crusade S2, Smugglers and Highlanders S4, Wheel S5 and Pirates S6 to get worked on.
The Collection team have said they won’t be eating for animations to release the sets. If they are ready in time and can be added it be a bonus. So once everything has been completed, a Ultimate Collectors Collection set be done years down the line. A complete set with all stories mixed with live and animations, and updated The Collection set so to speak. Maybe not done in the cardboard limited style and just a standard set version.
Can’t wait for the day where my shelves are full with every story on silver dvds lined up, box sets however they need up being released.
Prof Horner
March 24th, 2026 - 12:35pmI think the wonderful thing as a Troughton fan is we are of only three stories short of a completing his run. At one time of day he had only five complete stories, all from season 6. Now we have two complete stories from season 5 and a couple almost complete, with the rest of them complete with animation. Hopefully we will get at least Wheel in Space and Space Pirates animation in the year or two, to complete 5 and 6.
Gordon
March 24th, 2026 - 1:22pmThe wheel rejection was after the toymaker release James. For all we know they could also be taking into account the early trailer response of toymaker into consideration. I wouldn’t rule it out as a special feature on season 5 but I suspect not as I do feel their own version will probably get made and released on its own before season 5. I do feel it would need additional polish up (which lz skinner has said she would be doing anyway for an official release) first.
It makes a ton of sense to do mission all the way along to massacre 4 in the same animation style and team but it may all depend on how it’s being released.
It’s so close prof. Can’t wait to get our first complete with animation season
Bob Hellier
March 23rd, 2026 - 7:52pmwould the other missing episodes have to be animated though on the DVD?
Scotel
March 23rd, 2026 - 8:49pmNo there is no requirement to animate the missing episodes.
I expect any DVD will have a recon for the remaining episodes (and seeing as there’s no telesnaps they’ll have to put some actual effort into it, so no repeat of The Underwater Menace).
Amypondfan
March 23rd, 2026 - 9:41pmNo but it would be better than just a reconstruction. I imagine we might get a reconstruction as any animation is likely to take 18-24 months depending on if all episodes are done or just the missing ones.
Gordon
March 24th, 2026 - 2:58amDoctor who on disc is in a very different place than it was when underwater menace came out. There wasn’t really anybody heading the range then as it was pretty dead at that point due to reaching its then natural end and Derek Handley (formally loose cannon) has worked the range since 2018 so I doubt they will ever repeat recons to the poor level of menace again.
As much as I’d want an animated version I don’t see them waiting 2 plus years to get them out when other territories will be needing ways to see them
Mac
March 22nd, 2026 - 6:27pmHoping for a DVD release with episodes 1,2,3,5 & 10 reunited
Gordon
March 23rd, 2026 - 11:37amI’m sure there will be at some point. I doubt it’s going to stay just on iplayer forever
Gordon
March 19th, 2026 - 5:00pmhttps://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7ultQoSQkbA&pp=iggCQAE%3D
Comparison pic
Auton
March 19th, 2026 - 9:40pmJust when I ask about comparisons, FIF deliver. The original unresolved version doesn’t look too bad but the remaster certainly looks great
Gordon
March 19th, 2026 - 12:29pmNo Crocker/vanezis/Ayres restoration
INFO: Doctor Who Restoration by R3Store
Film is Fabulous! have collaborated with the BBC Archives, and R3Stores Studios in London, to ensure that the two recovered episodes of Doctor Who look and sound great, when released on the BBC iPlayer.
R3Store Studios used a range of restoration tools on Phoenix to return these episodes as closely as possible to their original broadcast appearance.
Over time, film naturally degrades: it can shrink, warp, and lose stability, so the first step was to stabilise the image by effectively ‘pinning’ the four corners of each frame.
From there, R3Stored applied a de-flicker process to correct fluctuations in brightness, followed by an automated dirt pass that identifies and removes black and white specks. This is supplemented by a meticulous manual clean-up to address any imperfections the automated process may have missed.
Because automated tools can sometimes introduce artifacts, every pass is carefully reviewed on a shot-by-shot, or scene-by-scene, basis to ensure any unintended issues are corrected.
The final stage of the visual restoration involves subtle sharpening and targeted noise reduction, to enhance clarity while preserving the integrity of the original image.
To restore the audio, a newly developed source separation technique and process, which allowed the different elements of the soundtrack to be isolated before any restoration work began, was used.
By separating out the dialogue first, noise reduction was applied only to the remaining elements, completely avoiding the risk of artefacts affecting the speech.
The result is cleaner dialogue that retains its original character. Given the soundtrack had accumulated noise at every stage, getting as close to the source as possible was the ultimate goal.
Auton
March 19th, 2026 - 3:05pmWe all knew it would take some work but I’m sure it will look great. I would love a comparison to really see how much work has to be done on surviving film cans left in a box.
Gordon
March 19th, 2026 - 3:13pmThere is some side by side comparison photos on the film is fabulous Facebook
Missyrules
March 19th, 2026 - 5:45pmI’d rather not watch ian’s besides no doubt he will still claim his are more accurate than the original episodes!
Bob Hellier
March 18th, 2026 - 7:46pmthe remake of mission to the unknown was good but to find the original with the original Marc Cory Edward De Souza would be good as it was the episode before DMP PART 1 then you could have both episodes to watch
Bob Hellier
March 18th, 2026 - 2:19pmi dont think 2 episodes recovered from dmp will be on say an updated Lost In time dvd will they?
Amypondfan
March 18th, 2026 - 2:48pmNo, more likely on the next hartnell animation such as myth makers or smugglers
Andy
March 18th, 2026 - 3:44pmI know when episode 2 of The Daleks Master Plan, Day Of Armageddon was found they did release it on the Lost in Time.
So yeah they could update that release to refresh the episodes as it doesn’t no longer need episode 1 of The Web Of Fear or episode 3 of The Enemy Of The World. Then I remember the Sun newspaper back in the day did a promotion of Single episodes on DVD I remember that one was of the recent missing episode of The Daleks Master Plan Day Of Armageddon. So yeah maybe do another Lost in Time with the odd episodes that were found for the likes of Galaxy 4 Episode 3 Air Lock, and Episode 2 of The Underwater Menace I know these have been released in animation form but yeah maybe those could be added as they are episodes from missing stories so yeah add on along with The Daleks Master Plan Episodes 1 & 3. So yeah Lost in Time Vol. 2 could be a possibility could be a way forward to get the recent episodes that have been found. I think some people would be happy with that. So it would give them more time if they decided to animate it in the future.
Missyrules
March 18th, 2026 - 4:00pmReally don’t see the point of a new lost in time set when most of the episodes have now had their own releases. The only ones that haven’t come out individually are…
The Crusade 1 & 3
Daleks’ Masterplan 2, 5 and 10 (and now 1 and 3)
Wheel in space 3 & 6
And space pirates 2
Can’t say I think a new version would be popular especially as the rumours of animation include pirates reducing it down further.
SV7
March 18th, 2026 - 4:29pmI would expect them to be a bonus feature on the rumoured Myth Makers animation alongside episode 2. If Myth Makers is being animated that is… (didn’t one of the original surviving cast members say a little too much at a convention recently?)
I guess as a worst case scenario we’ll just have to wait a few years for the Season 3 Blu-ray, but they will get them out physically at some point.
Gordon
March 18th, 2026 - 10:53pmI’ll be honest I don’t really see a lost in time 2 happening any time soon. Take off the like of crusade that is on season 2 already, g4: airlock which has its own release, same with the final test, uwm 2 and 3, faceless 1 and 3, abominable 2, enemy 3 and web 1 it only leaves 5 masterplan eps wheel 3 and 6 as well as pirates 2 and surviving clips (and these are only a couple minutes total combined) of myth makes, massacre, smugglers and highlanders and considering some of these will probably get animated/collection sets in a few years you’d just be as well doing a masterplan release
The more I think about it the more I think it won’t get included on the next Hartnell animated release. If it was included that release would need budgeted in advance. Plus if it was included on say myth makers it would make no sense to just be 1 and 3 so you have 2 as well. At that point you would be as well including 5 and 10 too. Plus if they thought mission remake/recon should be included that would mean there is more masterplan eps than myth makers eps. It would be buying a masterplan release for a bonus myth makers animation. There is a clear imbalance there.
Peter
March 19th, 2026 - 8:30amLost in time was released 22 years ago – the market has totally changed since then and DVD is now old hat. There’s no way they will do a LoT 2, and these two newly discovered episodes going (amazingly) to iPlayer are kind of indicative of that.
The Collections are the big, latest thing that will seen them given a physical media release.
atl
March 18th, 2026 - 11:34amis there a way these can be put on disc … it can not be on its own release with 8 missing and i am counting mission to the unknow i suppose there may be more missing episodes to come and there could be a lost in time 2 box set short of thing or there could be a animation of another story sometime and the new/old eps can be on that , but i know when the underwater menace 2 was found it took years to come to home media
Peter
March 19th, 2026 - 11:41amThe episodes will be on the S3 Collection set, whenever it’s released. 🙂
And FiF! have told us there are other episodes out there in private collections, so looking hopefully they’ll be back soon also. Happy times and places.
Lee
March 18th, 2026 - 4:13amI’m really glad a decent organisation like film is fabulous have aquired these and they will be available for all of us very soon. I haven’t forgotten all those missing episodes found in 2013 were at first exclusive to apple tv and we had to pay to stream them.
Gordon
March 18th, 2026 - 8:01amIf FIF hadn’t requested iPlayer I suspect it would have been a digital release first to get them out asap. I’m sure they will be able to buy at some point for those without iplayer
Kev
March 18th, 2026 - 11:02amThey came out on DVD first didn’t they?
Gordon
March 18th, 2026 - 1:44pm8 October 2013: Both stories released digitally on iTunes
25 November 2013: enemy of the world dvd
24 February 2013: web of fear dvd with recon
26 March 2018: enemy of the world special edition with extras
16 August 2021: web of fear special edition with animation and extras
Auton
March 18th, 2026 - 2:30pmWhat date was those 2013 episodes returned?
Prowl 1701
March 18th, 2026 - 2:39pmI think Gordon meant February 2014 for the first web dvd release.
Andy
March 18th, 2026 - 4:24pmAuton, The BBC had been pressured into making an announcement because of the press and social media spreading rumours that over 100 episodes had been found in 2013. So they had to announce something to put to bed the rumours it was in fact 11 episodes were found 2 of which already were in the archives like the recent episodes that were found they was 6 episodes 4 of them exist already. The announcement came just weeks before the 50th Anniversary of The Day Of The Doctor. Yeah they were available to buy on itunes as BBC iPlayer was still quite young at the time. I think the plan was to quietly release the stories as a surprise to fans on DVD but because of the press and social media they were forced hand to make an announcement. Now no-one knows but The Web Of Fear episode 3 was there as well but it had disappeared on its journey back to the BBC. So we know that there is the possibility of one missing episode somewhere in between Nigeria and the UK. which is episode 3 of The Web Of Fear. The answer to your question is was October 2013 they made the announcement of the 9 episodes of The Web Of Fear, and The Enemy Of The World.
Gordon
March 18th, 2026 - 9:36pmYes prowl meant to say feb 2014 for the original web dvd.
Aston it was announced in October 2013 but it was returned a few months early (it was scanned around June time) and was restored through the summer ready for the October reveal. However Philip was said to have found them a while before then in jos (some point 2011 rings a bell) but it took a till 2013 to get over here.
DPHill
March 17th, 2026 - 12:34pmWell FiF have been let down by Riverside as their website crashed, but also expected of doctor who fans, had to try and call, but it was too late and all sold out now! I kind of wish they did not drop on the same day as the screening to maybe give a couple or three screenings before everyone can see it, anyway, maybe the bfi will still do a screening of it later on!
Gordon
March 17th, 2026 - 2:32pmI don’t think it matters who had hosted the tickets. It would have crashed anyway. The place doesn’t hold that much either (450 odd maximum).
DPHill
March 17th, 2026 - 8:39pmI mean that’s right, maybe for missing episodes a couple of screenings before could have been good, but regardless we have missing episodes! The place at riverside really is tiny with around 200 seats, at least BFI is 450, can’t wait for whatever who we get next, about to dive in S21 special features in a mo!