Terrance Dicks
Terrance William Dicks (14 April 1935 – 29 August 2019)[1] was an English author and television screenwriter, script editor and producer. In television, he had a long association with the BBC science-fiction series Doctor Who, working as a writer and also serving as the programme's script editor from 1968 to 1974. The Doctor Who News Page described him as "arguably the most prolific contributor to Doctor Who".[2] He later became a script editor and producer of classic serials for the BBC.
For the politician, see Terry Dicks.
Terrance Dicks
29 August 2019 (aged 84)
- Television screenwriter
- Script editor
- Producer
- Children's author
1962–2019
Doctor Who TV scripts, novelisations and novels
3
Dicks wrote many children's books during the 1970s and 1980s. He also maintained his association with Doctor Who by adapting televised stories into novelisations for Target Books and in later years contributing to many documentaries and DVD commentaries for the series.
Early career[edit]
Born in East Ham,[3] Essex (now part of Greater London), Dicks was the only son of William, a tailor's salesman and Nellie (née Ambler), a waitress. His parents later ran a pub, the Fox and Hounds, in Forest Gate.[4] He excelled in English at East Ham Grammar School and consumed literature ranging from classics to pulp thrillers and adventure stories. He won a scholarship to study English at Downing College, Cambridge, and later performed two years of national service in the British Army with the Royal Fusiliers. Following his discharge from the armed forces, he worked for five years as an advertising copywriter, and started to write radio play scripts for the BBC in his spare time.[4]
His breakthrough into television came when friend Malcolm Hulke, whom he met when he rented a room from him,[4] asked for his help with the scripting of "The Mauritius Penny", an episode of the second series of ABC's action-adventure The Avengers, for which Dicks was awarded a co-writer's credit. Dicks went on to co-write a further two Avengers episodes with Hulke:[3] the second, "Intercrime", was later re-worked for the sixth and final series.
Other television work[edit]
Dicks also wrote for the ATV soap opera Crossroads.[11] He co-created and wrote for the short-lived BBC science-fiction TV series Moonbase 3 (1973),[18] and wrote for the ITC science-fiction series Space: 1999 (1976).[19] During the early 1980s, Dicks served once more as script editor to producer Barry Letts on the BBC's Sunday Classics strand of period dramas and literary adaptations.
When Letts returned to directing in 1985, Dicks succeeded him as the producer of the Sunday Classics, overseeing productions such as Oliver Twist, David Copperfield and Vanity Fair,[20] before retiring from the BBC in 1988 to resume his career as a novelist.
Children's fiction and non-fiction[edit]
It was through his work on Doctor Who books that Dicks became a writer of children's fiction, penning many successful titles during the 1970s and 1980s. In 1976, he wrote a trilogy for Target Books, The Mounties, concerning a Royal Canadian Mounted Police recruit. They were followed from 1979 to 1983 another trilogy, Star Quest, which was later re-printed by Big Finish Productions.
Beginning in 1978, Dicks penned The Baker Street Irregulars inspired by the Sherlock Holmes characters; the series eventually ran to 10 books,[3] the last published in 1987. In 1981, he commenced work on a series of six children's horror novels with Cry Vampire. In 1987, Dicks started a new series for very young children titled T. R. Bear, resulting in a further seven books. There followed the Sally Ann series, about a ragdoll, Magnificent Max, about a cat, and The Adventures of Goliath (Dicks' longest series, at 18 books), about a golden retriever. Another five books concerning a St. Bernard dog make up the Harvey series.
Jonathan's Ghost and its three sequels were published in 1988, and the three-part MacMagic series followed in 1990. The Littlest Dinosaur was published in 1993 and The Littlest on Guard in 1994. Other works that Dicks published in 1994 include Woof! The Never Ending Tale, the Cold Blood series and the Chronicles of a Computer Game Addict series (both in four parts). Between 1998 and 2000, Dicks penned Changing Universe trilogy. In 2000 and 2001, Dicks produced the 12-book series, The Unexplained.
As well as his numerous fictional works, Dicks also penned several non-fiction books for children,[20] including Europe United, A Riot of Writers, Uproar in the House, A Right Royal History and The Good, the Bad and the Ghastly.
Personal life[edit]
Dicks lived in Hampstead, London. In 1963, he married Elsa Germaney, a teacher and later a Quaker recording clerk.[4] They had three sons: Stephen, Jonathan and Oliver.[21] Also, three grandchildren: Amy, Nelly Rose, and Rufus.[22]
Dicks died in London on 29 August 2019 after a short illness.[4][23][24][25]