50th anniversary of DOCTOR WHO

Are you a fan of Doctor Who? Maybe, there are some things you don't know about his long-running TV series.

Doctor Who was first broadcast on BBC One at 5.15pm on Saturday November 23, 1963. Created as an educational family show to fit between the football results and evening entertainment programmes, Doctor Who was the brainchild of Canadian TV producer and BBC Head of Drama, Sydney Newman. When the First Doctor William Hartnell wanted to leave the series after three years, the idea of renewing their leading man was born.

After an initial run of 26 years, the series was rested. It returned for a one-off TV movie featuring the Eighth Doctor in 1996. Doctor Who was fully resurrected in 2005 and has gone from strength to strength ever since.

In its 50th anniversary year, the series is watched by an estimated 80 million viewers in 206 countries. It has been honoured by Guinness World Records as both the longest running and most successful science-fiction series in the world.