
Production
John Nathan-Turner
Born — Died
1947-08-12 — 2002-05-01
Place of birth
Birmingham, West Midlands, England, UK
Known for
Production
Credits
62 titles
John Turner, known professionally as John Nathan-Turner, was an English television producer. He was the ninth producer of the long-running BBC science fiction series Doctor Who and the final producer of the series' first run on television (from 1980 until it was cancelled in 1989). He finished the role having become the longest-serving Doctor Who producer and cast Peter Davison, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy as the Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Doctors, respectively.
Known for
8.4The Doctor and Ace arrive at a secret military base during World War II, where an ancient evil from the Doctor's past prepares to make his final deadly move. As hideous vampires rise from the sea and Russian commandoes begin to close in, they are confronted not only with a mystery from the distant past but also a terrifying vision of mankind's future...
Doctor Who: The Curse of Fenric
1989
7.9Captured in a time corridor, the Doctor and his companions are forced to land on 20th century Earth, diverted by the Doctor's oldest enemy - the Daleks. It is here the true purpose of the time corridor becomes apparent: after ninety years of imprisonment, Davros, the ruthless creator of the Daleks, is to be liberated to assist in the resurrection of his army. Not even the Daleks foresee the poisonous threat of their creator. Indeed, who would suspect Davros of wanting to destroy his own Daleks - and why? Only the Doctor knows the truth. Will he descend to Davros' level of evil to stop him?
Doctor Who: Resurrection of the Daleks
1984
6.5The Doctor and Mel visit Paradise Towers, a residential complex that promises a peaceful life to its residents. However, the establishment is far from what its name suggests: A conflict persists among the Kangs, humanesque multicolour beings who gather in opposing gangs based on which colour of the rainbow they bear; killer cleaning robots prowl the halls, and a secret in the complex's basement poses the greatest threat of all.
Doctor Who: Paradise Towers
1987
8.7At the Tranquil Repose mortuary, the Doctor and Peri uncover a sinister plot to create a new breed of Daleks under the supervision of the mysterious Great Healer.
Doctor Who: Revelation of the Daleks
1985
6.6On the planet Alzarius in the alternate universe of E-Space, the Doctor, Romana and K9 find survivors of a crashed starliner, strange creatures lurking in the marshes and a genetic riddle which stretches back centuries.
Doctor Who: Full Circle
1980
9.0A documentary on the history of Doctor Who (1963) featuring new interviews with cast and crew, transmitted as part of "Doctor Who Night" on BBC2.
Adventures in Space and Time
1999
Film credits
2020s · 2 titles
6.0As part of the sixtieth anniversary celebrations of Doctor Who, David Tennant time-travels back through the BBC archives to tell the story of the Doctor’s classic era.
Talking Doctor Who
2023
8.5Bill Baggs first met JNT as a fan at the BBC Dr Who Production Office in the 80's. He later worked with JNT on various projects. Bill conducted this interview as part of the BBV dvd '30 Years of Time Travel & Beyond' produced in 1995. In the recording sequence of filming, Bill conducted this interview last in order to give John the opportunity to respond to criticisms from other contributors. The cafe where it was filmed was local to JNT in Saltdean, near Brighton where he was a regular visitor. When Bill first approached Jon about the documentary, John was initially resistant to take part, asking why he'd been left until last. However, once Bill explained the logic of 'save the best 'til last' John agreed.
JNT: Uncut!
2021
2010s · 6 titles
NRThis well researched and insightful documentary about producer John Nathan-Turner looks at his career with a special emphasis on his time at Doctor Who which he worked on throughout the 1980s until the show went on hiatus following the Season 26 story ‘Survival’. Featuring rare footage and commentary from those who knew him and worked with him, Showman is a fascinating look at the life of a troubled showman with lots of stories to tell.
Showman: The Life of John Nathan-Turner
2019
NRIn April 1983, Roger Stevens and James Russell were given “Access All Areas” passes to the BBC’s Doctor Who celebrations at Longleat. Armed with a Ferguson Videostar camera they set out to record as much of the event as they could. While the BBC’s official footage amounts to only a few minutes for news broadcasts, James and Roger recorded several hours, and their material includes interviews with both Patrick Troughton and Tom Baker. Some of this material has been used in other productions by both Reeltime Pictures and BBC Video, but the original tapes were thought to be lost forever – until rediscovered earlier this year. So now enjoy another chance to take a trip to Longleat in 1983. The sound may not be perfect and the pictures come from ageing VHS tapes – but the atmosphere is unmistakable. So avoid the queues, and get to the front of the line with a trip down memory lane!
Longleat '83: The Lost Footage
2015
NRA special retrospective of Peter Davison's tenure as the Fifth Doctor.
Come in Number Five
2011
NRHanging by a Thread: The Making of Logopolis is a documentary about the production of the Doctor Who story, Logopolis, which aired in 1981. It is part of the Season 18 Blu-ray collection of Doctor Who. The documentary explores the challenges and complexities faced during the filming of the story, including the transition from Tom Baker to Peter Davison
Hanging by a Thread: The Making of Logopolis
2019
NRThis is the definitive set of interviews with the team who brought the Colin Baker era of Doctor Who to life! This documentary includes the best in-depth interviews with Colin Baker (the Sixth Doctor), Nicola Bryant (Peri), Bonnie Langford (Mel), Michael Jayston (The Valeyard), John Nathan-Turner (Producer) and Eric Saward (Script Editor) ever undertaken!
The Doctors: The Colin Baker Years
2019
NRDuring the mid-1980s, senior BBC executives had doubts about whether Doctor Who should continue. In 1987, the programme was given one final chance...
The Last Chance Saloon
2010
2000s · 5 titles
NRA look at the radical changes made to Doctor Who by John Nathan-Turner for his first story as producer, which opened the programme's eighteenth year on BBC1.
A New Beginning
2004
NRActors and members of the production team recall the making of the programme in this specially-shot documentary, which features contributions from actors Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant, Kate O'Mara and Gary Cady (Luke), writers Pip & Jane Baker, script editor Eric Saward and composer Jonathan Gibbs.
Lords and Luddites: Making 'The Mark of the Rani'
2006
7.0Over Easter weekend the 3rd and 4th of April 1983 the BBC held the biggest Doctor Who event ever to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the programme. The BBC expected 10,000 people a day. They got 30,000. We travel back to 1983 using extensive video footage of the entire event plus interviews with those people who were there – both the organisers and the attendees. In this landmark video we feature Heather Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison and a host of celebrities and production staff from Doctor Who in what might be for some… The greatest show in the galaxy!
Longleat '83: The Greatest Show in the Galaxy
2001
NRA retrospective of Colin Baker's turbulent three-years as the Sixth Doctor in Doctor Who (1963), covering his casting, the 1985 hiatus, and his sacking on the orders of BBC One controller Michael Grade.
Trials and Tribulations
2008
NRIn the 1980’s US public television station New Jersey Network produced some groundbreaking documentaries about Doctor Who following the programme’s huge success in America. The Home Whovian was planned to be the first in a series of video releases in the USA featuring interviews with the stars of Doctor Who. In the event it proved to be a one-off. Featuring interviews with Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker and John Nathan-Turner. Unique material from a unique moment in Time Travel TV – when Doctor Who conquered America!
The Home Whovian
2001
1990s · 5 titles
9.0A documentary on the history of Doctor Who (1963) featuring new interviews with cast and crew, transmitted as part of "Doctor Who Night" on BBC2.
Adventures in Space and Time
1999
8.0BBC Executives are gathered to come up with a new concept for Doctor Who on television. After the Children's and Drama departments are excluded the project falls in the hands of the BBC Sports department. The classic science fiction series is changed into a sports grudge match between all the television and movie Doctors against the classic monsters - Cybermen, Daleks, etc.
The Few Doctors
1997
7.0More than 30 years have now passed since a certain time traveling police box first materialized on our television screens, and the exploits of its various crews have enthralled audiences ever since. Here is the story of Britain's Number 1 Science Fiction programme told in order of the various actors who have played the Doctor.
The Doctors: 30 Years of Time Travel and Beyond
1995
7.9A documentary celebrating the 30th anniversary of Doctor Who, featuring new interviews, rare archive footage and recently discovered material.
30 Years in the TARDIS
1993
9.0Doctor Who travelled with the most gorgeous girls in the Cosmos. But was there any Lust in Space? Doctor Who is on trial - and the charge is sexism! The scene is set, the witnesses called. We expose Doctor Who’s final taboo! It’s everything you wanted to know about sex (in Doctor Who) but were afraid to ask!
Lust in Space
1998
1980s · 3 titles
NRA documentary designed to introduce Americans to Doctor Who following the growing fanbase over the pond.
Once Upon a Time Lord
1983
10.0Produced for American Public Television, this documentary on the long-running Doctor Who television series features interviews with actors and actresses who played the traveling companions of the Time Lord hero and with three actors, Jon Pertwee, Peter Davison, and Colin Baker, who portrayed the title character, as well as footage of a U.S. fan convention where Tom Baker, appeared and answered questions. The fan backlash against the 1985-6 hiatus for the series and the finding of some previously lost Jon Pertwee era episodes are addressed, and this documentary closes with some on-the-street interviews with British viewers, who tell who their favorite Doctor is.
Who's Who
1986
NRIn a special documentary made for public television in the United States, Eric Luskin goes behind the scenes of the 25th anniversary story, Silver Nemesis.
The Making of Doctor Who: Silver Nemesis
1988
Series credits
Behind the camera
8.4The Doctor and Ace arrive at a secret military base during World War II, where an ancient evil from the Doctor's past prepares to make his final deadly move. As hideous vampires rise from the sea and Russian commandoes begin to close in, they are confronted not only with a mystery from the distant past but also a terrifying vision of mankind's future...
Doctor Who: The Curse of Fenric
1989
7.9Captured in a time corridor, the Doctor and his companions are forced to land on 20th century Earth, diverted by the Doctor's oldest enemy - the Daleks. It is here the true purpose of the time corridor becomes apparent: after ninety years of imprisonment, Davros, the ruthless creator of the Daleks, is to be liberated to assist in the resurrection of his army. Not even the Daleks foresee the poisonous threat of their creator. Indeed, who would suspect Davros of wanting to destroy his own Daleks - and why? Only the Doctor knows the truth. Will he descend to Davros' level of evil to stop him?
Doctor Who: Resurrection of the Daleks
1984
6.5The Doctor and Mel visit Paradise Towers, a residential complex that promises a peaceful life to its residents. However, the establishment is far from what its name suggests: A conflict persists among the Kangs, humanesque multicolour beings who gather in opposing gangs based on which colour of the rainbow they bear; killer cleaning robots prowl the halls, and a secret in the complex's basement poses the greatest threat of all.
Doctor Who: Paradise Towers
1987
8.7At the Tranquil Repose mortuary, the Doctor and Peri uncover a sinister plot to create a new breed of Daleks under the supervision of the mysterious Great Healer.
Doctor Who: Revelation of the Daleks
1985
6.6On the planet Alzarius in the alternate universe of E-Space, the Doctor, Romana and K9 find survivors of a crashed starliner, strange creatures lurking in the marshes and a genetic riddle which stretches back centuries.
Doctor Who: Full Circle
1980
7.7As the Doctor's trial continues, evidence is presented showing his most recent adventure, one where he faces an old adversary, Sil. As a scientist conducts his unethical experiments to prolong the life of Sil's boss Kiv, the Doctor's memories of the events begins to return and an unpleasant surprise awaits him.
Doctor Who: Mindwarp
1986
5.0On the lush planet Tigella, two opposing factions are divided over the usage of the Dodecahedron, an ancient and powerful artefact which provides the entire planet's energy. The Doctor is summoned to arbitrate the conflict, but the power-crazed Meglos intercepts the call and impersonates him in order to steal the Dodecahedron.
Doctor Who: Meglos
1980
6.2The Doctor and Mel go for a holiday trip to Shangri-La aboard a Nostalgia Tours bus, only to get dragged into the battle against genocide of their fellow passenger Delta, a Chimeron Queen fleeing from the Bannermen who wish to make her species extinct.
Doctor Who: Delta and the Bannermen
1987
7.1The arrival of a mysterious comet heralds impending danger from enemies both old and new. As Ace helps the Doctor defend Earth, she is confronted with a dangerous question..."Doctor Who?"
Doctor Who: Silver Nemesis
1988
7.3Knights from a parallel universe arrive on Earth to find the legendary sword Excalibur. Only the Doctor and Ace, with the assistance of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, can save the Earth from total catastrophe.
Doctor Who: Battlefield
1989
4.7As evidence for the defense at his ongoing trial, the Doctor presents an adventure from his future when he is travelling with a computer programmer named Mel. Answering a mysterious distress call from the space liner Hyperion III, they find that the passengers aboard include unscrupulous scientists, secret agents, saboteurs, thieves and a murderer. And lurking in the shadows are the Vervoids, the product of sinister botanical experiments, who will stop at nothing to destroy all non-plant life.
Doctor Who: Terror of the Vervoids
1986
5.4The Doctor, Tegan and Turlough arrive in Little Hodcombe, where the townspeople's re-enactments of English Civil War battles are causing a dormant entity, the Malus, to re-awaken.
Doctor Who: The Awakening
1984
5.0Tegan falls once more under the influence of the Mara and directs the TARDIS to the planet Manussa. There, the Federator's son Lon and his mother Tanha are preparing for a ceremony to celebrate the banishment of the Mara five hundred years earlier. The Mara takes control of Lon and uses him and Tegan to obtain from Ambril, the Director of Historical Research, the 'Great Crystal' - the large blue stone that originally brought it into being by focusing energy from the minds of the planet's one-time inhabitants. The Mara now plans to use the crystal during the ceremony to bring about its return to corporeal existence.
Doctor Who: Snakedance
1983
7.4After an encounter with the Master, an airline stewardess named Tegan Jovanka becomes an unwitting stowaway aboard the TARDIS as it travels to the planet Logopolis. There, the Doctor discovers that the Master's interference with the Logopolitans' advanced mathematics has unleashed a wave of entropy which threatens to consume the entire universe.
Doctor Who: Logopolis
1981
7.2As trouble brews on the space trading colony of Iceworld, the Doctor and Mel encounter their sometimes-ally Sabalom Glitz and a new friend who goes by the name "Ace".
Doctor Who: Dragonfire
1987
5.7Sarah Jane Smith arrives at the home of her Aunt Lavinia in the cozy village of Moreton Harwood, only to find that Lavinia is nowhere to be found and that the Doctor has left her a parting gift in K·9 Mark III. With the help of K·9 and Lavinia's young ward Brendan Richards, Sarah Jane starts investigating her aunt's disappearance. In the process, they discover that Moreton Harwood is home to a coven worshipping the pagan god Hecate and preparing for a human sacrifice...
K-9 and Company: A Girl's Best Friend
1981
3.0While operating the controls on his TARDIS console, The Doctor accidentally transports his former companion Tegan Jovanka on board. Less than happy about her situation, she reluctantly agrees to help when the Doctor reveals that two Sontarans are on board with a powerful vitrox bomb with which they intend to blow up the ship.
A Fix with Sontarans
1985
7.8Many incarnations of the Doctors and their old companions are taken out of time and deposited in the Death Zone on Gallifrey. There, they must battle the Master, Daleks, Cybermen and Yeti in order to reach the Dark Tower and discover the Tomb of Rassilon.
Doctor Who: The Five Doctors
1983
7.8"Frontios buries its own dead", or so the saying goes. The Doctor, Turlough and Tegan are forced into landing on the remote planet of Frontios, a human colony where deaths go unaccounted for. What lies beneath the surface, dragging its victims down?
Doctor Who: Frontios
1984
5.1The Doctor, Romana, Adric and K9 encounter the enslaved time-sensitive Tharils, who lead them to a white void occupied only by the ruins of an old building and a spaceship - a dimension that might be the key to escaping E-Space.
Doctor Who: Warriors' Gate
1981
7.8The Doctor needs somewhere peaceful to recover from his traumatic regeneration. But the sanctuary of Castrovalva is not all it seems, as the Master will stop at nothing to gain his revenge over the Doctor...
Doctor Who: Castrovalva
1982
NRA documentary where Tom Baker watches and gives spontaneous reactions to numerous excerpts from his tenure on Doctor Who. Released on two VHS cassettes with nearly 3 hours of clips.
Doctor Who: The Tom Baker Years
1992
NRA documentary where Tom Baker watches and gives spontaneous reactions to numerous excerpts from his tenure on Doctor Who. Released on two VHS cassettes with nearly 3 hours of clips.
Doctor Who: The Tom Baker Years
1992
9.8Arriving on the barren world of Androzani Minor, the Doctor and Peri find themselves embroiled in a long running, literal underground war. At the heart of the conflict is a substance called Spectrox - both valuable and deadly! The Doctor & Peri wind up being poisoned by the material, which is killing them slowly and painfully unless they can find a cure. As the conflict heats up and the situation gets more desperate, the Doctor realises time is running out - both for Peri and himself...
Doctor Who: The Caves of Androzani
1984
7.5The Doctor and Ace head for the Psychic Circus on the planet Segonax, where they meet a disparate group of performers and visitors, including a self-centred explorer named Captain Cook, his companion Mags and a biker known as Nord.
Doctor Who: The Greatest Show in the Galaxy
1988
7.0A warp ellipse draws the TARDIS off course. The Fifth Doctor's companions are separated from him not in space, but in time, and he has to deal with a treacherous schoolboy named Turlough. But why does the Doctor's old friend, the Brigadier, not remember him at all?
Doctor Who: Mawdryn Undead
1983
7.4When the TARDIS is in need of repairs, the Doctor and Peri are forced to land on Varos, a mining planet whose population is entertained and enslaved by a sadistic system of public torture and execution, and find themselves the latest unwilling subjects in this most extreme form of reality TV.
Doctor Who: Vengeance on Varos
1985
7.0Romana fancies a proper holiday and convinces the Doctor to visit the leisure planet Argolis, where a takeover by the Argolins' historic enemy is underway.
Doctor Who: The Leisure Hive
1980
4.8All of the Doctor's incarnations are in crisis when The Rani creates a time-loop in the East-end of London in this 30th Anniversary Special.
Doctor Who: Dimensions in Time
1993
4.8All of the Doctor's incarnations are in crisis when The Rani creates a time-loop in the East-end of London in this 30th Anniversary Special.
Doctor Who: Dimensions in Time
1993
7.0An alien distress call draws the Doctor and Peri to Earth, 1985, where they uncover a Cyberman plot to change the course of history.
Doctor Who: Attack of the Cybermen
1985
8.9London, 1963: The Doctor returns to the place where it all began — alongside his latest companion, Ace, with unfinished business. Not for the first time, unusual events are unfolding at Coal Hill School. At 76 Totter's Lane, the Doctor discovers that his oldest foes — the Daleks — are on the trail of stolen Time Lord technology that he left on Earth long ago. The Daleks are planning to perfect their own time-travel capability, in order to unleash themselves across the whole of time and space.
Doctor Who: Remembrance of the Daleks
1988
8.0The TARDIS arrives on the planet Terra Alpha, where the Seventh Doctor and Ace discover a society in which sadness is against the law - a law enforced zealously by the brightly uniformed Happiness Patrol. The planet is ruled by Helen A with the aid of her companion, Joseph C, and her carnivorous pet Stigorax, Fifi.
Doctor Who: The Happiness Patrol
1988
6.2The TARDIS arrives in 1925 England where the Doctor ends up playing in a local cricket match due to a case of mistaken identity. The travellers accept an invitation to a masked fancy dress ball, but events take on a more sinister tone as murders are perpetrated at the country home of their host, Lord Charles Cranleigh.
Doctor Who: Black Orchid
1982
5.7Charged with genocide by the treacherous Valeyard at his trial, the Doctor receives help from an unlikely source to turn the tide of the High Council's rulings in his favour and reveal the Valeyard as a wrongdoer: the Master. For the Valeyard's own crimes are so atrocious, even the Doctor's archenemy will help him to ensure that the villain won't see the light of day again. Cornered, the Valeyard flees to the Matrix, where he can be the Doctor's judge, jury and executioner...
Doctor Who: The Ultimate Foe
1986
4.8The Fifth Doctor, Tegan and Turlough arrive on Sea Base 4, a nuclear warhead station under the sea that has some very nasty neighbours.
Doctor Who: Warriors of the Deep
1984
7.3Suddenly gripped by a memory of being executed in his second incarnation, the Sixth Doctor travels to Seville to save his past self and ensure his own existence in his present.
Doctor Who: The Two Doctors
1985
8.4The Doctor takes Ace on an initiative test to a strange Victorian old house where she is forced to confront her darkest fears.
Doctor Who: Ghost Light
1989
7.4The Doctor and Adric learn from the wizened Keeper of Traken that a great evil has come to his planet in the form of a Melkur - a calcified statue. The Keeper of Traken is nearing the end of his reign and seeks the Doctor's help in preventing the evil from taking control of the bioelectronic source that is the keystone of the Traken Union's civilisation.
Doctor Who: The Keeper of Traken
1981
4.7The Doctor and Romana arrive on the marsh moon of Delta Magna in search of the next segment of the Key to Time. They are caught in the conflict between the native Swampies and the crew of a chemical refinery. The presence of a gun runner complicates matters; to make things worse, the Swampies intend to awaken Kroll, the giant god that lives beneath the swamps.
Doctor Who: The Power of Kroll
1979

