Catch Classic Who on The Horror Channel This Easter
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Fans of Doctor Who are set to find the TARDIS materialising at a new location this Easter as a selection of the Time Lord’s classic adventures in space and time start screening on Horror Channel. The UK’s prime home for fans of horror, fantasy and sci-fi has completed a deal with BBC Worldwide to broadcast 30 adventures from the Classic series which ran 1963 to 1989 featuring the first seven Doctors, starting with William Hartnell and concluding with Sylvester McCoy.
This specially curated season give fans old and new a chance to get re-acquainted with favourite companions Jamie McCrimmon, Jo Grant and Sarah Jane Smith, rogue Time Lords such as The Master, Omega and The Rani and all those iconic monsters including Daleks, Cybermen, Sea Devils and Ice Warriors.
Launching on Friday 18th April (Good Friday) the season begins with the very first story An Unearthly Child, starring William Hartnell as the Doctor. It then leads into a special WHO ON HORROR weekend – a classic marathon featuring one story from each of the Doctors across the Easter weekend. There will then be weekday double-bills in daytime and evening slots with stories shown in chronological order starting on Easter Monday 21st April. Horror Channel is screening some of the most memorable adventures that the show produced including The Mind Robber, The Daemons, Genesis Of The Daleks, The Talons Of Weng Chiang, The Caves Of Androzani, Attack Of The Cybermen and The Curse Of Fenric.
Many emphasise the horror elements of the programme from the first scary moments the Daleks appeared, to encounters with giant spiders and maggots, and even battles with Mary Whitehouse over the violent content of the show during Tom Baker’s era.
Alina Florea, Director of Programming, said today: “Doctor Who is an iconic series and we are proud and excited to welcome this giant of British television to our channel. The line-up will include some of the most revered from seven classic Doctors – stories that terrified, thrilled and captured the imagination of children and adults through the decades. Doctor Who joins a long line of well-loved classic series we have endeavoured to showcase on Horror Channel over the last few years.”
Sam Tewugwa, Commercial Director, TV and VOD Sales at BBC Worldwide commented: “This is a great new way for fans to enjoy classic Doctor Who stories. Our discovery of missing episodes of Doctor Who last year highlighted the fans’ appetite for classic episodes to be made more widely available and we’re delighted to be able to extend that through the series available on the channel”
UK viewers can find Horror Channel on Sky 319 / Virgin 149 / Freesat 138.
