Doctor Who fans may know the name Terry Burnett, who sadly passed away earlier this year, leaving a vast collection of TV and movie reels.
Burnett was the film collector who unknowingly sat on two lost Doctor Who episodes for years (see our podKast of the Missing Believed Wiped event). His archive is believed to be considerable, and could feature some lost gems.
The archive has been moved to an archive by the BBC’s Richard Latto.
This news was shared on Twitter by BBC Sussex’s Stephen Cranford:
Film collector Terry Burnett sadly died in February. @RichardLatto negotiated with his estate to save his film collection, which was safely moved to an archive today. Terry unwittingly had two missing Dr Who episodes (Galaxy 4 and Underwater Menace 2)….
… which were returned to the BBC in 2011. Terry didn’t watch Dr Who so didn’t realise what they were. Most of the reels are unlabelled. Terry told Richard that around half of his collection was never catalogued. Wish us luck… Who knows what lies in this lot!
Speculation about what the archive may reveal has been rife. More Doctor Who seems unlikely, but anything could happen. Equally, lost eps of Dad’s Army, Till Death Us Do Part, Do Not Adjust Your Set, or even rarer material like quiz shows, kids TV, and soaps could be hiding in there.
If you want to consider what might lurk in the collection of the late Terry Burnett, consider this top 100 lost British TV shows list.