John Nathan-Turner (born Jonathan Turner; 12 August 1947--1 May 2002) was the ninth producer of the long-running BBC science fiction series Doctor Who, from 1980 until it was effectively cancelled in 1989. He was the longest-serving and, at the time, the most widely known Doctor Who producer. He joined the BBC as a floor assistant in the 1960s, and first worked on Doctor Who in 1969 as part of the floor crew at the time that the series was recorded in Studio D of the Lime Grove Studios. His first story was The Space Pirates in 1969, in which he was credited as John Nathan. He came from a non-practising Jewish family. He later served as production unit manager under Graham Williams from 1977 to 1979. He accepted the position of producer for Season 18, the last that featured Tom Baker's portrayal of the central character, the Doctor. He subsequently cast the next three actors to play the role: Peter Davison (1981--1984), Colin Baker (1984--1986) and Sylvester McCoy (1987-1989 & 1996). Nathan-Turner's experience under Graham Williams helped form his views for the future of the series. He strongly felt that many people, both within the programme and in the viewing public, no longer took Who seriously. It was also generally agreed that Tom Baker had been allowed too much influence of the direction of the series and that Williams was not willing to confront him. Nathan-Turner, along with the new Script Editor, Christopher H. Bidmead, decided that Baker needed to be reined in and made to take the role more seriously. For Nathan-Turner's first season in charge of the show, former Doctor Who producer Barry Letts was asked to return in the role of Executive Producer, and acted as an advisor for Nathan-Turner in this period. Nathan-Turner decided to begin a sweeping overhaul of the series, replacing the original theme music with a more contemporary electronic beat. He also introduced revamped title and credit sequences, featuring a new face shot of Baker (the original having been taken in 1974). He commissioned costume designer June Hudson to make a new outfit for Tom Baker, giving her carte-blanche (even giving permission to remove the trademark scarf if she liked, which she only gave a new burgundy and purple colour pattern instead). He did, however, insist that question marks be added to the costume. Nathan-Turner had no writing experience and as a result, choosing stories was left largely to script editors. Nathan-Turner's first major story influence was bringing back the Master, the logistics of which he left to Bidmead to deal with. After Nathan-Turner's first season in charge, both Bidmead and Letts left the series. Letts was never replaced in Nathan-Turner's time in charge of the show, while Bidmead was briefly replaced by Antony Root, and then more permanently by Eric Saward, who would be script editor for much of Nathan-Turner's time in charge of the show. Nathan-Turner was arguably the highest-profile producer of the series, and his reign was at times controversial. His changes to the programme were initially well-received by Doctor Who fans, to whom he extended an unprecedented degree of welcome. Editors of non-professional magazines or "fanzines" would be granted interviews by Nathan-Turner in the Who production office. Although he did not divulge the contents of forthcoming storylines in such conversations, he would speak in-depth and at length about his approach to producing the show. This openness to fandom proved a double-edged sword for Nathan-Turner. As his tenure on the series lengthened, and especially when the show's ratings began to drop, fan criticism of Nathan-Turner became more prevalent. Fanzines began to blame him for decisions made about the series, whether he was responsible for them or not. The series was placed on hiatus at the end of its 1985 season. This interview was conducted at the Doctor Who convention at Longleat Safari Park in 1996. Interview by Shaun Russell. Camera by Ben Jones. Brought to you by the hilarious sci-fi comedy Kangazang! Available now as a 3 CD audiobook performed by Doctor Who's Colin Baker. Visit the website now to order your copy while stocks last! http://www.kangazang.co.uk

• published: 25 Jul 2011
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