Doctor Who: The Gunfighters

Donald Cotton became interested in writing and acting after he joined the drama society at Nottingham University, where he had studied zoology before transferring to English and philosophy. During the Fifties he wrote for and appeared in numerous stage revues. His first television work – a musical adaptation of A Christmas Carol – came in 1955 for ITV. His BBC debut was in 1958, as a contributor to a late-night revue show, Better Late! This was followed by a period of radio work as a writer for the BBC’s Third Programme. It was story editor Donald Tosh who contacted Cotton about writing for Doctor Who and this resulted in his penning two scripts for the show: The Myth Makers (1965) and The Gunfighters (1966). At this point Tosh left the show, and the new production team wished to steer away from adventures in history, so Cotton’s association with the programme ended. Having helped to develop the BBC series Adam Adamant Lives!, he grew disillusioned with television and concentrated instead on the theatre, where he had continued success as a playwright and actor throughout the Sixties and Seventies. He retired from acting in 1981, but continued his writing career into the Eighties. He novelised his two Doctor Who scripts for the Target range, and also novelised Dennis Spooner’s similarly themed The Romans. Target Books also produced an original novel called The Bodkin Papers: Being the Memoirs of Josiah Bodkin, Bird about Town and Parrot of the World (1986), the bird in question being the 150-year-old parrot companion to Charles Darwin. Cotton died in January 2000. Author biography by David J. Howe, author of The Target Book, the complete illustrated guide to the Target Doctor Who novelisations.