Terrance Dicks death: Doctor Who writer dies aged 84

Tributes have been flooding in for legendary screenwriter on Twitter

Terrance Dicks, one of the original writers on the Doctor Who series, has died at the age of 84.

Dicks was affectionately called “Uncle Terrance” by fans of the BBC show, which he began working on in 1968.

The script writer edited the Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee eras of the hit series, and also wrote many Doctor Who episodes and spin-off novels.

In addition to his contribution to Doctor Who, Dicks wrote a number of children’s books ncluding The Pyramid Incident, The Transylvanian Incident and The Sarah Jane Adventures.

The official Doctor Who Twitter account announced the news, saying: “BREAKING NEWS... just received comms that legendary #DoctorWho writer, Terrance Dicks has died. Genuinely gutted. An incredibly talented man who we had the pleasure of interviewing over the years. He also regularly took part in Q&As on the DWO Forums. He will be sorely missed!”

Tributes for Dicks have been flooding in on Twitter.

Eddie Robson, who has also written many Doctor Who spin-offs, wrote: “Oh, gutted to hear Terrance Dicks has died. An absolute titan of TV writing and children’s fiction.

“He possibly did more to shape Doctor Who than anyone else, which is amazing considering it had already been running for nearly five years by the time he came aboard.”

BBC journalist Lizo Mzimba added that Dicks was “one of the great Doctor Who storytellers, not just for the TV show, but so many fantastic novelisations too. And much more. A huge part of so many of our childhoods”.

Best-selling author Jenny Colgan also wrote: “Terrance Dicks helped more children (especially boys) develop a lifelong love of reading than almost anyone else who’s ever lived. I don’t think he even got an OBE.”

In an article cerebrating Dicks’s 80th birthday in 2015, Doctor Who News described the writer as “arguably the most prolific contributor to Doctor Who”.