Final black and white Doctor Who to air in colour
The last black and white Doctor Who adventure to be broadcast on TV has been remade in colour.
The War Games, a 1969 10-episode epic, was the swansong for Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor.
The show has been turned into a 90-minute film colourised by a team led by fan Rich Tipple from Saltdean, near Brighton, and will be screened on BBC Four and BBC iPlayer on Monday.
Mr Tipple, who also worked on the colourisation of the original Dalek story in 2023, said: “I was beyond excited to be given the opportunity to bring this story back to life for a modern audience.”
The War Games marked the end of an era for the Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton) and his companions Jamie (Frazer Hines) and Zoe (Wendy Padbury).
The trio land in a battlefield that appears to be a World War One military zone. But all is not as it seems.
Russell T Davies, Doctor Who showrunner, said: “From the day I arrived back on Doctor Who, this was the plan – to colourise old stories and bring them back to life.
“It looks so vivid and new.”
Lead colourisation artist Rich Tipple and his team spent 12 months working on the project.
He said: “Some people find black and white a barrier to watch.
“Making this in colour is a chance to open it up to a whole new audience who can now appreciate how good the 1960s golden era of Doctor Who was.”
The War Games was filmed extensively in East Sussex locations including Brighton, Cuckmere and Birling Gap.
Mr Tipple said: “It was a joy to work on something that had such amazing links to where I’m from.
“It was magic to be able to turn locations that I’m so familiar with into vibrant colour.”
The episode will feature the Second Doctor’s never-before-seen regeneration into the Third Doctor (Jon Pertwee), alongside recovered footage not seen since the original broadcast.
