The Doctor Who Production Diary: 1964 Previous: 1963 Next: 1965 Jump: Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec January Expedition 3 Recording for The Daleks takes place at Lime Grove Studio D in Shepherd's Bush, London 4 Debut broadcast of The Daleks episode three, The Escape, on BBC TV 6 Producer Verity Lambert issues instructions to retain two Dalek casings for potential future use 8 William Hartnell's contract is extended for sixteen episodes starting with the slot ultimately filled by The Keys Of Marinus 8 William Russell's contract is extended for sixteen episodes starting with the slot ultimately filled by The Keys Of Marinus 8 Jacqueline Hill's contract is extended for sixteen episodes starting with the slot ultimately filled by The Keys Of Marinus 10 Carole Ann Ford's contract is extended for sixteen episodes starting with the slot ultimately filled by The Keys Of Marinus 10 Recording for The Daleks takes place at Lime Grove Studio D in Shepherd's Bush, London 11 Debut broadcast of The Daleks episode four, The Ambush, on BBC TV 13 Recording for Marco Polo takes place at the BBC Television Film Studios in Ealing, London 14 Recording for Marco Polo takes place at the BBC Television Film Studios in Ealing, London 15 Recording for Marco Polo takes place at the BBC Television Film Studios in Ealing, London 16 Recording for Marco Polo takes place at the BBC Television Film Studios in Ealing, London 17 Recording for Inside The Spaceship takes place at Lime Grove Studio D in Shepherd's Bush, London 17 Recording for Marco Polo takes place at the BBC Television Film Studios in Ealing, London 17 Moris Farhi proposes “The Fragile Yellow Arc Of Fragrance” 18 Debut broadcast of The Daleks episode five, The Expedition, on BBC TV 21 Terry Nation is commissioned to write The Keys Of Marinus in place of “The Red Fort” 24 Recording for Inside The Spaceship takes place at Lime Grove Studio D in Shepherd's Bush, London 24 “The Fragile Yellow Arc Of Fragrance” is rejected 25 Debut broadcast of The Daleks episode six, The Ordeal, on BBC TV 31 Recording for Marco Polo takes place at Lime Grove Studio D in Shepherd's Bush, London February 1 Debut broadcast of The Daleks episode seven, The Rescue, on BBC TV 4 An untitled “miniscules” storyline by Robert Gould is abandoned, but he begins work on an untitled storyline about hostile plants 7 Recording for Marco Polo takes place at Lime Grove Studio D in Shepherd's Bush, London 8 Debut broadcast of Inside The Spaceship episode one, The Edge Of Destruction, on BBC TV 9 The Beatles appear on The Ed Sullivan Show, heralding the British Invasion of North America 9 An untitled storyline about hostile plants by Robert Gould is abandoned 10 David Whitaker is retroactively commissioned for writing Inside The Spaceship 13 The final thirteen episodes of Doctor Who's original 52-episode production block are ordered, following on from the slot eventually filled by The Sensorites 14 Recording for Marco Polo takes place at Lime Grove Studio D in Shepherd's Bush, London 15 Debut broadcast of Inside The Spaceship episode two, The Brink Of Disaster, on BBC TV 16 Birth of Christopher Eccleston (bio), who played the Ninth Doctor 20 Doctor Who appears on the cover of the Radio Times listings magazine for the first time, advertising the start of Marco Polo 21 Recording for Marco Polo takes place at Lime Grove Studio D in Shepherd's Bush, London 22 Debut broadcast of Marco Polo episode one, The Roof Of The World, on BBC TV 25 Boxer Cassius Clay, later known as Muhammad Ali, beats Sonny Liston to become the heavyweight champion of the world 25 John Lucarotti is commissioned to write The Aztecs 25 Peter R Newman is commissioned to write The Sensorites 28 Recording for Marco Polo takes place at Lime Grove Studio D in Shepherd's Bush, London 29 Debut broadcast of Marco Polo episode two, The Singing Sands, on BBC TV March 5 Recording for The Keys Of Marinus takes place at the BBC Television Film Studios in Ealing, London 6 Recording for Marco Polo takes place at Lime Grove Studio D in Shepherd's Bush, London 7 Debut broadcast of Marco Polo episode three, Five Hundred Eyes, on BBC TV 12 With Carole Ann Ford having grown unhappy with Susan's development, the press reports that she will leave Doctor Who at the end of the first production block 13 Recording for Marco Polo takes place at Lime Grove Studio D in Shepherd's Bush, London 14 Debut broadcast of Marco Polo episode four, The Wall Of Lies, on BBC TV 17 Terry Nation is commissioned to write The Dalek Invasion Of Earth 18 William Hartnell's contract is extended for sixteen episodes starting with The Reign Of Terror 18 William Russell's contract is extended for sixteen episodes starting with The Reign Of Terror 18 Jacqueline Hill's contract is extended for sixteen episodes starting with The Reign Of Terror 18 Carole Ann Ford's contract is extended for sixteen episodes starting with The Reign Of Terror 20 Recording for The Keys Of Marinus takes place at Lime Grove Studio D in Shepherd's Bush, London 21 Debut broadcast of Marco Polo episode five, Rider From Shang-Tu, on BBC TV 26 David Whitaker is forced to defend part three of The Keys Of Marinus against charges of plagiarism levied by Robert Gould 27 Recording for The Keys Of Marinus takes place at Lime Grove Studio D in Shepherd's Bush, London 28 Debut broadcast of Marco Polo episode six, Mighty Kublai Khan, on BBC TV 31 Moris Farhi is commissioned to write the first episode of “Farewell Great Macedon” April 2 Dennis Spooner is commissioned to write The Reign Of Terror 3 Recording for The Keys Of Marinus takes place at Lime Grove Studio D in Shepherd's Bush, London 4 Debut broadcast of Marco Polo episode seven, Assassin At Peking, on BBC TV 10 Recording for The Keys Of Marinus takes place at Lime Grove Studio D in Shepherd's Bush, London 11 Debut broadcast of The Keys Of Marinus episode one, The Sea Of Death, on BBC TV 13 Recording for The Aztecs takes place at the BBC Television Film Studios in Ealing, London 14 Recording for The Aztecs takes place at the BBC Television Film Studios in Ealing, London 14 Louis Marks is commissioned to provide a storyline for Planet Of Giants 17 Recording for The Keys Of Marinus takes place at Lime Grove Studio D in Shepherd's Bush, London 18 Debut broadcast of The Keys Of Marinus episode two, The Velvet Web, on BBC TV 20 BBC Two begins broadcasting, although most of its programming is delayed by a day due to a power failure at Television Centre 21 “The Whirlpool Of Time” is rejected 24 Recording for The Keys Of Marinus takes place at Lime Grove Studio D in Shepherd's Bush, London 25 Debut broadcast of The Keys Of Marinus episode three, The Screaming Jungle, on BBC One May 1 Recording for The Aztecs takes place at Lime Grove Studio D in Shepherd's Bush, London 2 Debut broadcast of The Keys Of Marinus episode four, The Snows Of Terror, on BBC One 7 Recording for The Sensorites takes place, either today or tomorrow, at the BBC Television Film Studios in Ealing, London 8 Recording for The Aztecs takes place at BBC Television Centre Studio 3 in White City, London 9 Debut broadcast of The Keys Of Marinus episode five, Sentence Of Death, on BBC One 11 Louis Marks is commissioned to write Planet Of Giants 15 Recording for The Aztecs takes place at BBC Television Centre Studio 3 in White City, London 16 Debut broadcast of The Keys Of Marinus episode six, The Keys Of Marinus, on BBC One 20 Sydney Newman suggests that Doctor Who should be cancelled if satisfactory studio facilities cannot be found for the programme; it is soon agreed that Riverside Studio 1 will be the show's new production home 22 Recording for The Aztecs takes place at Lime Grove Studio D in Shepherd's Bush, London 23 Debut broadcast of The Aztecs episode one, The Temple Of Evil, on BBC One 29 Recording for The Sensorites takes place at BBC Television Centre Studio 3 in White City, London 30 Debut broadcast of The Aztecs episode two, The Warriors Of Death, on BBC One late May The Controller of Programmes for BBC One, Donald Baverstock, decides to end Doctor Who's first season with The Reign Of Terror instead of The Sensorites June 5 Recording for The Sensorites takes place at BBC Television Centre Studio 3 in White City, London 6 Debut broadcast of The Aztecs episode three, The Bride Of Sacrifice, on BBC One 12 Nelson Mandela is sentenced to life in prison for protesting Apartheid in South Africa 12 Recording for The Sensorites takes place at Lime Grove Studio D in Shepherd's Bush, London 13 Debut broadcast of The Aztecs episode four, The Day Of Darkness, on BBC One 15 Doctor Who is recorded on location for the first time, at Denham and Gerrards Cross in Buckinghamshire, for The Reign Of Terror 16 Recording for The Reign Of Terror takes place at the BBC Television Film Studios in Ealing, London 17 Recording for The Reign Of Terror takes place at the BBC Television Film Studios in Ealing, London 18 Recording for The Reign Of Terror takes place at the BBC Television Film Studios in Ealing, London 19 Recording for The Sensorites takes place at BBC Television Centre Studio 4 in White City, London 20 Debut broadcast of The Sensorites episode one, Strangers In Space, on BBC One 21 Birth of David Morrissey (bio), who played Jackson Lake 26 Recording for The Sensorites takes place at Lime Grove Studio G in Shepherd's Bush, London 27 Debut broadcast of The Sensorites episode two, The Unwilling Warriors, on BBC One July 2 The Civil Rights Act abolishes racial segregation in the United States 3 Recording for The Sensorites takes place at Lime Grove Studio D in Shepherd's Bush, London 4 Doctor Who is preempted for the first time, due to an extended edition of Summer Grandstand 10 Recording for The Sensorites takes place at Lime Grove Studio G in Shepherd's Bush, London 10 Recording for The Reign Of Terror takes place at Lime Grove Studio G in Shepherd's Bush, London 11 Debut broadcast of The Sensorites episode three, Hidden Danger, on BBC One 14 Birth of Jane Espenson (bio), writer and co-executive producer 17 Recording for The Reign Of Terror takes place at Lime Grove Studio G in Shepherd's Bush, London 18 Debut broadcast of The Sensorites episode four, A Race Against Death, on BBC One 22 Birth of Bonnie Langford (bio), who played Melanie Bush 24 Recording for The Reign Of Terror takes place at Lime Grove Studio G in Shepherd's Bush, London; director Henric Hirsch collapses from stress 25 Debut broadcast of The Sensorites episode five, Kidnap, on BBC One 30 Terry Nation is asked to amend his scripts for The Dalek Invasion Of Earth to incorporate Susan's departure from Doctor Who 30 Recording for Planet Of Giants takes place at the BBC Television Film Studios in Ealing, London 31 Recording for The Reign Of Terror takes place at Lime Grove Studio G in Shepherd's Bush, London 31 Moris Farhi's “Farewell Great Macedon” is abandoned August 1 Debut broadcast of The Sensorites episode six, A Desperate Venue, on BBC One 6 Dennis Spooner begins trailing David Whitaker in preparation for becoming Doctor Who's story editor 7 The United States Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which facilitates a major escalation of American military activity against North Vietnam 7 Recording for The Reign Of Terror takes place at BBC Television Centre Studio 4 in White City, London 8 Debut broadcast of The Reign Of Terror episode one, A Land Of Fear, on BBC One 13 Recording for Planet Of Giants takes place at the BBC Television Film Studios in Ealing, London 14 The BBC orders thirteen episodes of Doctor Who to open its second production block 14 Recording for The Reign Of Terror takes place at BBC Television Centre Studio 4 in White City, London 15 Debut broadcast of The Reign Of Terror episode two, Guests Of Madame Guillotine, on BBC One 17 Pamela Franklin is cast as new companion Jenny, who will be introduced in The Dalek Invasion Of Earth 19 Due to a contract dispute with the regular cast, Verity Lambert decides that Jenny will not be retained as a new companion; Pamela Franklin is subsequently replaced in The Dalek Invasion Of Earth by Ann Davies 21 The BBC guarantees a second block of thirteen episodes for Season Two in order to settle the regular cast's contract dispute 21 Recording for Planet Of Giants takes place at BBC Television Centre Studio 4 in White City, London 22 Debut broadcast of The Reign Of Terror episode three, A Change Of Identity, on BBC One 23 Recording for The Dalek Invasion Of Earth takes place in London, at Westminster, South Kensington and Wembley 25 Recording for The Dalek Invasion Of Earth takes place in London, at Shepherd's Bush and Southwark 27 Recording for The Dalek Invasion Of Earth takes place in London, at Kew, Hammersmith, Wapping and Southwark 28 Recording for Planet Of Giants takes place at BBC Television Centre Studio 4 in White City, London 28 Recording for The Dalek Invasion Of Earth takes place in Stone, Kent 29 Debut broadcast of The Reign Of Terror episode four, The Tyrant Of France, on BBC One 31 Dennis Spooner is commissioned to write The Romans late Aug David Whitaker receives informal permission to write The Rescue to introduce new companion Tanni September 4 Recording for Planet Of Giants takes place at BBC Television Centre Studio 4 in White City, London 5 Birth of Stephen Greenhorn (bio), writer 5 Debut broadcast of The Reign Of Terror episode five, A Bargain Of Necessity, on BBC One 11 Recording for Planet Of Giants takes place at BBC Television Centre Studio 4 in White City, London 12 Debut broadcast of The Reign Of Terror episode six, Prisoners Of Conciergerie, on BBC One 18 Recording for The Dalek Invasion Of Earth takes place at Riverside Studio 1 in Hammersmith, London 24 Victor Pemberton's “The Slide” is rejected 25 Recording for The Dalek Invasion Of Earth takes place at Riverside Studio 1 in Hammersmith, London 28 Bill Strutton is commissioned to write The Web Planet 30 William Hartnell's contract is extended for sixteen episodes starting with The Rescue 30 William Russell's contract is extended for sixteen episodes starting with The Rescue 30 Jacqueline Hill's contract is extended for sixteen episodes starting with The Rescue October early Oct David Whitaker encourages Glyn Jones to develop a Doctor Who serial, and he is soon commissioned to write The Space Museum 2 William Hartnell's back is injured during recording for The Dalek Invasion Of Earth at Riverside Studio 1 in Hammersmith, London 6 Terry Nation is commissioned to write an untitled storyline 8 A remount of some of the August 25th recording for The Dalek Invasion Of Earth apparently takes place 9 Maureen O'Brien is contracted to play new companion Tanni for 12 episodes, beginning with The Rescue 9 Recording for The Dalek Invasion Of Earth takes place at Riverside Studio 1 in Hammersmith, London 16 Recording for The Dalek Invasion Of Earth takes place at Riverside Studio 1 in Hammersmith, London 19 Donald Wilson orders Planet Of Giants trimmed from four parts to three because he feels the story lacks pace; the final two episodes are edited together to form a single installment 20 Malcolm Hulke's “The Hidden Planet” is formally rejected 23 Recording for The Dalek Invasion Of Earth takes place at Riverside Studio 1 in Hammersmith, London 27 Albert DeSalvo is arrested and later confesses to being the Boston Strangler, who murdered thirteen women between 1962 and 1964 31 David Whitaker steps down as Doctor Who story editor, to be replaced by Dennis Spooner 31 Debut broadcast of Planet Of Giants episode one, Planet Of Giants, on BBC One November 1 David Whitaker is retroactively commissioned to write The Rescue 1 David Whitaker is commissioned to write The Crusade 7 Debut broadcast of Planet Of Giants episode two, Dangerous Journey, on BBC One 9 The British House of Commons, under newly-elected Prime Minister Harold Wilson, votes to eliminate the death penalty 10 The BBC announces that Maureen O'Brien has been cast as the new companion 13 The new companion played by Maureen O'Brien, previously called Tanni and then Lukki, is renamed Vicki 14 Debut broadcast of Planet Of Giants episode three, Crisis, on BBC One 16 Recording for The Rescue takes place at the BBC Television Film Studios in Ealing, London 17 Recording for The Rescue takes place at the BBC Television Film Studios in Ealing, London 17 Recording for The Romans takes place at the BBC Television Film Studios in Ealing, London 18 Recording for The Romans takes place at the BBC Television Film Studios in Ealing, London 21 Debut broadcast of The Dalek Invasion Of Earth episode one, World's End, on BBC One 28 Debut broadcast of The Dalek Invasion Of Earth episode two, The Daleks, on BBC One; Doctor Who is one of the Top Ten programmes of the week for the first time December 4 Recording for The Rescue takes place at Riverside Studio 1 in Hammersmith, London 5 Debut broadcast of The Dalek Invasion Of Earth episode three, Day Of Reckoning, on BBC One 11 Recording for The Rescue takes place at Riverside Studio 1 in Hammersmith, London 12 Debut broadcast of The Dalek Invasion Of Earth episode four, The End Of Tomorrow, on BBC One 16 Terry Nation is commissioned to write The Chase to replace an untitled storyline 18 Recording for The Romans takes place at Riverside Studio 1 in Hammersmith, London 19 Debut broadcast of The Dalek Invasion Of Earth episode five, The Waking Ally, on BBC One 26 Debut broadcast of The Dalek Invasion Of Earth episode six, Flashpoint, on BBC One

	Return To
Main Page		Diary

Previous: 1963

Next: 1965