Tentatively called The Troubleshooters, then The Mutants, Dr Who came into being when in March 1963 a 25 minute gap appeared in the BBC Saturday evening TV schedule, between the sports programme Grandstand and the youth pop show Juke Box Jury. New Head of Drama, and Sci fi fan, Sydney Newman, set about to create an educational science programme that could appeal to both the young and older tv audience tuning in at that time. An idea about earthlings in a Tardis battling a recurring foe developed. As originally written, The Daleks and Thals were victims of an alien neutron bomb. But the Daleks were made the aggressors, and so Dr Who was born. It nearly didn't go into production, but first transmitted on 26th December 1963 and has become a landmark of British popular culture. In 2024 we will see the 15th doctor on our screens, actor Ncuti Gatwa.