Doctor Who ‘lost episodes’ key information
Doctor Who is back! No, I’m not talking about the mystery of Ncuti Gatwa regenerating into Billie Piper; instead, the BBC is airing two previously ‘lost’ episodes from the sci-fi show’s black-and-white days.
Given how massively popular Doctor Who is today, easily one of the best sci-fi shows of all time, it’s hard to imagine anyone just erasing episodes. But the sad truth is that nearly 100 episodes no longer exist in their original form. That’s why the recent discovery of ‘The Nightmare Begins’ and ‘Devil’s Planet’ was such a big deal.
Found in a private collection, by charitable trust Film is Fabulous!, these are the first and third episodes of Doctor Who’s third season, dubbed The Daleks’ Master Plan. It’s massively significant that these episodes, last aired in 1965, have been recovered. It also gives fans hope that additional episodes are still out there, waiting to be discovered.
Now, from April 3, 2026, you can watch these previously lost Doctor Who episodes from anywhere in the world.
How to watch Doctor Who’s lost episodes anywhere
Doctor Who: The Nightmare Begins and Devil’s Planet are available free on iPlayer, from April 3, at 1:00 AM EDT / 6:00 AM BST
Both lost Doctor Who episodes will arrive on iPlayer, the BBC’s online streaming service, on the morning of April 3, 2026. You can watch the show’s entire run on iPlayer, including episodes that were previously considered missing.
Can I watch these lost Doctor Who episodes outside the UK?
Apple TV has the rest of classic Who, so it’s possible they will arrive on that service at some point in the future. But, right now, these episodes are not available internationally; they’re just on the BBC’s UK-only iPlayer.
The good news is that if you happen to be away from the UK, you can watch these episodes using a VPN, or Virtual Private Network. A VPN is a security service, accessed via an app on your PC, mobile, or other device, which, aside from safeguarding your browsing, lets you appear to be browsing from elsewhere in the world.
This, in turn, allows you to access geo-locked content such as the BBC’s iPlayer and other streaming content, which is a major bonus if you’re travelling overseas and want your Who fix.
Our VPN of choice is NordVPN, and we have an exclusive offer that makes it just $3.09 a month, with three months free. You’ve got a 30-day money-back guarantee too, so you’ve nothing to lose.
Why were these episodes lost?
Given how popular Doctor Who is, it seems utterly absurd that any episode of Doctor Who could be ‘lost’, discarded with no appreciation for the show, its history, or its legions of fans who, barring unexpected discoveries, would never get to enjoy them.
Was there some secret Who-hater at the BBC, a mysterious, goateed menace determined to erase the Doctor from existence? Actually, no. There was no malice behind the BBC’s decision to erase its Doctor Who recordings; it was standard practice coupled with a lack of foresight.
Back in the 1960s, there wasn’t a home video market, and videotape was expensive, so it was erased for reuse. It wasn’t until the late 70s that the BBC started actively archiving material. Doctor Who wasn’t the only show to suffer this fate, either; others, such as Z-Cars, were partially erased.
Some of Doctor Who’s erased episodes may be lost forever, but through the efforts of enthusiasts, media companies, and other organisations, many have been recovered. Some have been found in the possession of overseas TV companies, others in private collections.
These two episodes were, indeed, in the hands of a now-deceased collector and were purchased by charity trust Film is Fabulous! They’ve since been restored and added to the BBC’s own archives. Could there be more out there? We have our fingers crossed.
