A Day with a TV Producer
Graham Rickard
Hardcover
(Hodder & Stoughton Childrens Division, Dec. 31, 1980)
This is a minor yet charming 1980 piece of Doctor Who memorabilia. It is notable because it is entirely behind-the-scenes. It documents Producer John Nathan-Turner's glory days: his first season producing the show. What a self-promoter! He is featured on just about every page. 55 pages; illustrations throughout. Written at an upper elementary level ("Romana throws a beachball for K9"), this is part of an "A Day With a Nurse/Fireman/Etc." series: small books for small hands with a single large photograph on every page with accompanying text. Most of these photos are staged and many look staged. There are a number of nice shots of the location shooting on Brighton for "The Leisure Hive," the first episode of Season 18. We get to see Matthew Waterhouse without the wig he wore in his first episodes. We get to see June Hudson "presenting" her "new" costume redesigns for the 4th Doctor. For the 1980's Doctor Who geek, there's a lot to wonder at here. JN-T looking thin and fresh-faced. A particularly clear and informative shot of the wall of JN-T's office. Director Lovett Bickford appears but, unlike favored members of JN-T's inner circle, he never is given a name in the book. Tom Baker, looking healthy and rested, being measured at Madame Tussaud's. A couple of shots of Jane Judge. And there's Pepsi!