Former “Dr Who” Producer Barry Letts Passes Away

Barry Letts, who served as producer for the Jon Pertwee era of “Doctor Who, has passed away at the age of 84.

Letts served as producer on the series from 1970-74, guiding the series’ transition into color.  Letts broke into show business as an actor before moving into directing and producing.

His first work on “Doctor Who” was a director on Patrick Troughton’s “The Enemy of the World” in 1968.  Letts was offered the role as exeuctive producer and along with script-editor Terrance Dicks, guided and shaped the series for five seasons.

One of the most significant contributions to “Doctor Who” history came durng this era–the introduction of the Doctor’s adversary, the Master.

Letts also directed several serials during the Pertwee years, as well as contributing to some of the scripts under a pen-name.  (BBC rules didn’t allow producers to write scripts at the time).  Letts contributed to some of the most popular and best-remembered scripts of the era, including cast and crew favorite “The Daemons” and the fan-remembered “The Green Death.”

Letts remained fond of and connected with the series right up until his death. When producer Graham Williams broke his leg during production of season 16 in 1978 Letts helped to keep an eye on the series, and more officially he served as Executive Producer in 1980, overseeing the inexperienced John Nathan-Turner’s first season in charge of the programme. For many years thereafter Letts also penned novels, novelisations and radio serials connected to the programme. He also appeared on DVD commentaries and in various documentaries.

He also gained extensive credits outside of Doctor Who, most notably as producer of the BBC’s “Classic Serial” strand during the late 1970s and early 1980s. In this role he produced many acclaimed and award-winning adaptations of classic novels, including “Great Expectations”, “Alice in Wonderland” and “Jane Eyre”. Later, he directed episodes for the soap opera “EastEnders”.

Letts has participated in commentaries for a majority of the Pertwee stories released on DVD in recent years.   He has also offered his comments on several stories that aren’t year released from the era.