Hubbry Logo
Derrick SherwinDerrick SherwinMain
Open search
Derrick Sherwin
Community hub
Derrick Sherwin
logo
7 pages, 0 posts
0 subscribers
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Derrick Sherwin
Derrick Sherwin
Derrick Sherwin
View on Wikipedia
from Wikipedia

Derrick George Sherwin (16 April 1936 – 17 October 2018)[1] was an English television producer, writer, story editor and actor. After beginning his career in the theatre, Sherwin became an actor in television before moving into writing. He became the story editor on Doctor Who and, as the producer of the series in 1969, he oversaw the transition from black-and-white to colour by producing Patrick Troughton's final story and Jon Pertwee's first. He also co-produced Paul Temple for the BBC.

Key Information

Early life

[edit]

Sherwin began his career in the theatre and worked as a junior set designer, scenic artist, scene shifter, stage manager and lighting designer. He also spent two years of national service in the Royal Air Force. Following this, he established himself as an actor in theatre, films and television. While still working as an actor, he also began work as a freelance writer, contributing scripts to series such as Crossroads and Z-Cars.[2]

Doctor Who

[edit]

In 1967, during the tenure of Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor, Sherwin was offered a story-editing role on Doctor Who by BBC Head of Serials Shaun Sutton. He was story editor/script editor on the stories from The Web of Fear to The Mind Robber, on the latter tale writing the first episode.[3] He also wrote the script for The Invasion, which introduced the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce (UNIT),[4] having adapted the original storyline supplied by Kit Pedler.[5]

In 1968–1969, Sherwin began to take a greater role in the producing side of Doctor Who, and after the serial The Mind Robber, he became the unofficial assistant producer for the next three serials, with Terrance Dicks succeeding him as script editor. On The Space Pirates, Sherwin briefly resumed his old role as script editor,[6] while Dicks was busy writing Troughton's last story, the epic 10-part season finale The War Games with Malcolm Hulke. Dicks credited Sherwin with the creation of the Time Lords, who were introduced in The War Games.[7]

Sherwin was involved in the casting of Jon Pertwee in the lead role on the programme,[4] and succeeded Peter Bryant as producer in 1969 for The War Games and Pertwee's debut, Spearhead from Space, making a small on-screen appearance as a car park attendant in the latter serial as he was still a member of the British Actors' Equity Association at the time.[8] He had dismissed the actor originally cast in the part for not being able to perform the role adequately.[9]

Sherwin was responsible for the idea of exiling the Doctor to Earth the end of The War Games, a decision he took in an attempt to improve falling viewing figures, reinvent the programme and bring more reality to Doctor Who by basing it more on Nigel Kneale's Quatermass serials from the 1950s.[9] For this purpose, Sherwin created the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce (UNIT) in The Invasion as an organisation that the Doctor could become allied to on Earth during his exile.[6] UNIT became a prominent feature of Doctor Who throughout the Third Doctor's era, when the series was produced by Sherwin's successor, Barry Letts. Sherwin left the series after Spearhead from Space.

After leaving Doctor Who, Sherwin maintained connections with the series. When Michael Grade attempted to cancel it in 1985, Sherwin offered to "take it off [his] hands" and "produce it independently", and also said he had repeated the offer with Peter Cregeen, the man responsible for Doctor Who's actual cancellation in 1989.[9] He later contributed to several documentaries for the Doctor Who DVD range, as well as providing commentaries for the two stories he produced and surviving episodes of The Web of Fear and The Wheel in Space for the Lost in Time collection.[10]

Later work

[edit]

Sherwin left Doctor Who to once again work alongside Peter Bryant, who persuaded him to join the production of Paul Temple (1969-1971). Sherwin later produced the television series The Man Outside (1972), Skiboy (1973), and The Perils of Pendragon (1974).[11]

Death

[edit]

Sherwin died on 17 October 2018 following a long illness.[12]

Selected filmography

[edit]

Publications

[edit]
  • Who's Next? (2014) (autobiography). Fantom Films Ltd. ISBN 9781781961117
  • The Perfect Assassin or Wroten's Law (2014). (novel). United p.c. ISBN 9783710303319

References

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Derrick Sherwin

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
Derrick Sherwin was a British actor, writer, and television producer known for his transformative work on the BBC science fiction series Doctor Who, where he served as script editor and producer in the late 1960s and early 1970s. His contributions included creating the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce (UNIT), introducing the Time Lords, and establishing the Earth-bound format that defined the Jon Pertwee era, helping to secure the programme's long-term future during a period of significant change. Born in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, Sherwin initially trained in woodworking before winning a scholarship to the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and pursuing a career in repertory theatre and early television acting roles, including appearances in Armchair Theatre and the soap opera United. Dissatisfied with the quality of scripts in acting work, he transitioned to writing in the mid-1960s, contributing to series such as Thirty Minute Theatre, Z Cars, and Crossroads before joining Doctor Who in 1968. As script editor, Sherwin resolved troubled stories including The Mind Robber and The Invasion, the latter of which he wrote and in which he devised UNIT and featured the memorable Cybermen march past St Paul's Cathedral. He stepped in as producer for The War Games, Patrick Troughton's final story, which introduced the Time Lords and the Doctor's exile to 20th-century Earth, and oversaw Spearhead from Space, the first colour episode and Jon Pertwee's debut. These decisions shifted the series from black-and-white to colour and from a wandering format to contemporary Earth-based adventures anchored by UNIT. After leaving Doctor Who, Sherwin produced BBC series including Paul Temple, The Man Outside, and Perils of Pendragon before pursuing independent projects, forming a computer design company, and later running a bar and bungee business in Thailand. He published his autobiography in 2014 and died in 2018 at the age of 82.

Early life

Derrick George Sherwin was born on 16 April 1936 in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. Following school, he enrolled at the High Wycombe College of Art and Technology, where his woodworking skills earned him a job offer as a hospital furniture designer. However, after attending summer school acting classes, he won a scholarship to the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). Sherwin subsequently worked in repertory theatre in High Wycombe, Amersham (both in Buckinghamshire), and Bangor, north Wales, where he multitasked as a juvenile lead actor, stage electrician, and scenic artist. This early theatrical work was interrupted by national service, during which he served with RAF Fighter Command in Northern Ireland. On a nearly deserted airbase, he began writing to ease his boredom. After demobilisation, he returned to acting and scenic artistry, eventually moving to London and appearing in television productions. His breakthrough came with the role of Raleigh in a BBC production of Journey’s End (1960).

Military service and acting career

National service and early acting roles

Derrick Sherwin completed two years of national service in the Royal Air Force. Following his military service, he established himself as an actor in theatre, film, and television productions. His early acting credits included a role in the 1961 film Clue of the Silver Key, where he portrayed Quigley. In 1962, he appeared in Number Six as Detective Sergeant Waters. He also had a part in the 1968 fantasy film The Vengeance of She, playing the character No. 1. Additionally, Sherwin made a small on-screen cameo as a car park attendant (also described as a UNIT commissionaire) in the Doctor Who serial Spearhead from Space (1970). This minor appearance was not a major performance role and occurred amid his growing involvement with the series in other capacities.

Television writing career

Early freelance scripts

While continuing his acting career, Derrick Sherwin began writing scripts for television in the mid-1960s as he grew dissatisfied with the roles available to him. He contributed a play to the anthology series Theatre 625 in 1965 and an episode of the hospital drama Emergency – Ward 10 in 1966. A significant turning point came during his regular role as Bryn Morriston in the football soap opera United! in 1966; frustrated with the quality of the scripts he was receiving, Sherwin declined to renew his acting contract and was instead invited to become the show's lead writer, eventually scripting more than a dozen episodes. Building on this experience, he worked as a freelance writer contributing to other series, including episodes of the anthology Thirty Minute Theatre from 1966 to 1967, the police procedural Z-Cars in 1967, and the soap opera Crossroads in 1967. This early freelance work demonstrated his ability as a scriptwriter and bridged his transition from performing to full-time writing behind the scenes.

Doctor Who script editor and writer

Derrick Sherwin served as script editor on Doctor Who beginning with the first episode of The Web of Fear in 1968 and continuing through The Mind Robber later that year. During his tenure as script editor on The Mind Robber (1968), he wrote the opening episode at short notice after issues arose with the planned story structure, contributing to a surreal and inventive serial that remains highly regarded. He also wrote the eight-part serial The Invasion (1968), adapting a storyline by Kit Pedler and introducing the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce (UNIT), a military organisation formed to protect Earth from extraterrestrial threats. The story featured memorable sequences, including the Cybermen marching past St Paul's Cathedral. After The Mind Robber, Sherwin acted as unofficial assistant producer on three subsequent serials. He briefly resumed script editor responsibilities on The Space Pirates (1969). Sherwin is credited by Terrance Dicks with devising the concept of the Time Lords, which was introduced in The War Games (1969). These roles as script editor and writer helped pave the way for his later promotion to producer on the series.

Doctor Who producer

Tenure and revitalisation of the series

Derrick Sherwin assumed the role of producer for Doctor Who during a pivotal transitional period for the series. He produced the ten-part serial The War Games (1969), which served as Patrick Troughton's final story as the Second Doctor. To revitalise the programme amid declining ratings and creative fatigue, Sherwin devised the major format change of exiling the Doctor to late-20th-century Earth at the conclusion of The War Games, imposed by the Time Lords as punishment. This decision deliberately grounded the series in a more contemporary, Earth-bound setting, drawing inspiration from Nigel Kneale's Quatermass serials of the 1950s to create a more relatable and investigative tone for the Doctor's adventures. Sherwin also contributed to the casting of Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor, selecting the actor to embody a more action-oriented and authoritative incarnation suited to the new Earth-exile premise. Sherwin's next and final production was Spearhead from Space (1970), the first serial of the seventh season and Jon Pertwee's debut appearance. This story marked the series' permanent switch to colour broadcasting and fully initiated the exile era, with the Doctor reluctantly allying himself with the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce (UNIT) to defend Earth against alien threats. The format shift, building on UNIT's earlier introduction in Sherwin's prior contributions to the programme, aimed to reinvigorate Doctor Who by emphasising military and scientific realism over cosmic wanderings. Sherwin departed the programme after producing Spearhead from Space, succeeded as producer by Barry Letts starting with the subsequent serial.

Later career

Post-Doctor Who productions

After leaving Doctor Who, Derrick Sherwin continued his work as a television producer on several series. He served as producer on Paul Temple (1970–1971), a series starring Francis Matthews as the eponymous crime novelist which focused on investigative adventures. Sherwin then produced The Man Outside in 1972, a drama series centered on a journalist navigating international intrigue. He followed this with Skiboy in 1974, a children's adventure series involving skiing and youth-oriented stories. In 1974, he produced The Perils of Pendragon, a comedy about a Welsh corner shop starring Kenneth Griffith. These productions marked his transition to roles outside the science fiction genre.

Later activities

Sherwin subsequently left the BBC and developed his own television ideas. He formed a computer design company called Electric Arts. Later, he moved to Thailand, where he ran a bar and a bungee business. He published his autobiography in 2014.

Later years and death

Autobiography, media appearances, and passing

In his later years, Derrick Sherwin moved to Thailand, where he ran businesses as a bar owner, restaurateur, and bungee-jump proprietor. He became increasingly critical of the direction of Doctor Who after his involvement ended, describing post-departure developments as largely a regression (with a brief exception during Tom Baker’s era) and dismissing the 2005 relaunch as “a favourite for overgrown schoolboys with little intelligence, pretending to be very clever intellectually”. Sherwin published his memoir Who's Next? in 2013. The book recounts aspects of his professional life in television, with particular focus on his experiences working on Doctor Who as a writer, script editor, and producer. That same period, he released the political thriller novel The Perfect Assassin, also known as Wroten's Law. Sherwin contributed to Doctor Who home media releases by appearing in several DVD documentaries and recording audio commentaries for stories he had been involved with, including The War Games, Spearhead from Space, the surviving episodes of The Web of Fear, and The Wheel in Space in the Lost in Time collection. These commentaries reflect on his contributions to the series during his time as script editor and producer. Derrick Sherwin died on 17 October 2018, aged 82.
Add your contribution
Related Hubs
User Avatar
No comments yet.