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Doctor Who: Two Fourth Doctor stories have been removed by BBC iPlayer

BBC iPlayer has an incredible catalogue of Doctor Who stories. Sadly, two much-loved stories from one of the show's greatest seasons have recently been removed.

By James Aggas

Two very popular Doctor Who stories - one of which includes the iconic trio of the Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker), Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen), and Harry Sullivan (Ian Marter) - have recently been removed from BBC iPlayer.
Two very popular Doctor Who stories - one of which includes the iconic trio of the Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker), Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen), and Harry Sullivan (Ian Marter) - have recently been removed from BBC iPlayer. / Victor Blackman/GettyImages
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Over a year ago, on Nov 1, 2023, BBC iPlayer gave UK fans the biggest collection of Doctor Who in one place. While Classic Who and New Who had been widely available across separate streaming services, this was the first time that most of Who was available to watch on the same service.

However, while the collection of Classic Who was close to complete, there were some noticeable gaps. This wasn’t just due to the number of ‘60s episodes missing from the BBC archive, either: An Unearthly Child wasn’t available to watch due to rights issues. As the first-ever story, its absence from the collection is certainly noticeable. Thankfully, it was the only complete story missing from iPlayer.

That changed earlier this month. Terror of the Zygons and The Seeds of Doom, two classic serials starring Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor, were removed from iPlayer. This is honestly a real shame to see. Not only are they both from Season 13, which is quite possibly one of the greatest seasons of Doctor Who ever made. They're also equally brilliant stories with truly iconic monsters. In the Zygons' case, they were iconic enough to have a massive role in the 50th anniversary story The Day of the Doctor.

Missing episodes

Why have these particular serials been removed? It’s worth noting that both of these iconic stories were written by Robert Banks Stewart. Shockingly, these were Stewart’s only contributions to Doctor Who. It’s also worth noting that the stories were removed from iPlayer on Nov 1, 2024 - exactly one year after they and hundreds of other episodes were brought to the platform. So while the rights to other episodes seem to have been negotiated for a longer term, it looks like these two stories were only available on iPlayer for one year.

However, there’s no indication that their removal is permanent. If we’re lucky, it might be a short break before we see both stories back online. Certainly, it’s looking a lot more likely than seeing An Unearthly Child on iPlayer anytime soon.

Also, the episodes themselves are still widely available to watch. In th UK, both stories are still available on DVD, although we’re still waiting for Season 13 to be released on Blu-ray. And in the US at least, both stories are still available to watch on streaming services BritBox and Tubi. So while it’s disappointing that there’s currently one less way for fans to enjoy these classic stories, it is reassuring to know that there are still plenty of other options, at least.