Designer (crew)

A designer was a member of the pre-production staff of the 1963 version of Doctor Who. They were responsible for designing the visual look of props, sets and sometimes graphics used in an individual serial.

The position was somewhat similar to the modern production designer, but far more limited in scope. Because designers worked only on a serial-by-serial basis, no one was in charge of the overall look of the episodes. Hence some important design elements, as with the first TARDIS interior, were simply the product of the original designer, Peter Brachacki — who never worked on Doctor Who again.

Also, the designer had oversight of fewer visual elements than the production designer. In particular, the designer had extremely limited interaction with the costume department. Thus, if a monster was achieved by the use of a costume, as with the Cybermen, it was the costume supervisor, and not the designer, who created the look. This is one of the reasons that the Cybermen changed in almost every appearance, whereas the Daleks — achieved through the use of a prop — remained stable.

In some instances, the job of the early Doctor Who designer more closely resembled that of a concept artist. Because Doctor Who for many years lacked the ability to construct its own models and props, they had to subcontract the work to firms outside the BBC's control. The designer would submit a detailed drawing and hope that the manufacturer could adhere to it. If the firm failed to adhere to the design, there was often little the designer could do about it before filming began. This problem abated somewhat in the 1970s and 1980s, as Doctor Who's ability to call on the in-house workshop increased.

Nevertheless, the designer was not in any kind of formal control of the people who executed his designs. Like he himself, individual artisans and craftspeople would've been assigned to Doctor Who per serial by a BBC scheduler. They were all employees of the BBC, rather than employees of Doctor Who. This is decidedly not the case of the modern production designer who, as the head of the art department within a production company that is technically distinct from BBC Wales, has managerial oversight of hundreds of employees.

Designers of Doctor Who

Season 1

• An Unearthly Child - Peter Brachacki and Barry Newbery
• The Daleks - Raymond Cusick and Jeremy Davies
• The Edge of Destruction - Raymond Cusick
• Marco Polo - Barry Newbery
• The Keys of Marinus - Raymond Cusick
• The Aztecs - Barry Newbery
• The Sensorites - Raymond Cusick
• The Reign of Terror - Roderick Laing

Season 2

• Planet of Giants - Raymond Cusick
• The Dalek Invasion of Earth - Spencer Chapman
• The Rescue - Raymond Cusick
• The Romans - Raymond Cusick
• The Web Planet - John Wood
• The Crusade - Barry Newbery
• The Space Museum - Spencer Chapman
• The Chase - Raymond Cusick and John Wood
• The Time Meddler - Barry Newbery

Season 3

• Galaxy 4 - Richard Hunt
• Mission to the Unknown - Richard Hunt and Raymond Cusick
• The Myth Makers - John Wood
• The Daleks' Master Plan - Raymond Cusick and Barry Newbery
• The Massacre - Michael Young
• The Ark - Barry Newbery
• The Celestial Toymaker - John Wood
• The Gunfighters - Barry Newbery
• The Savages - Stuart Walker
• The War Machines - Raymond London

Season 4

• The Smugglers - Richard Hunt
• The Tenth Planet - Peter Kindred
• The Power of the Daleks - Derek Dodd
• The Highlanders - Geoffrey Kirkland
• The Underwater Menace - Jack Robinson
• The Moonbase - Colin Shaw
• The Macra Terror - Kenneth Sharp
• The Faceless Ones - Geoffrey Kirkland
• The Evil of the Daleks - Chris Thompson

Season 5

• The Tomb of the Cybermen - Martin Johnson
• The Abominable Snowmen - Malcolm Middleton
• The Ice Warriors - Jeremy Davies
• The Enemy of the World - Christopher Pemsel
• The Web of Fear - David Myerscough-Jones
• Fury from the Deep - Peter Kindred
• The Wheel in Space - Derek Dodd

Season 6

• The Dominators - Barry Newbery
• The Mind Robber - Evan Hercules
• The Invasion - Richard Hunt
• The Krotons - Raymond London
• The Seeds of Death - Paul Allen
• The Space Pirates - Ian Watson
• The War Games - Roger Cheveley

Season 7

• Spearhead from Space - Paul Allen
• Doctor Who and the Silurians - Barry Newbery
• The Ambassadors of Death - David Myerscough-Jones
• Inferno - Jeremy Davies

Season 8

• Terror of the Autons - Ian Watson
• The Mind of Evil - Ray London
• The Claws of Axos - Kenneth Sharp
• Colony in Space - Tim Gleeson
• The Dæmons - Roger Ford

Season 9

• Day of the Daleks - David Myerscough-Jones
• The Curse of Peladon - Gloria Clayton
• The Sea Devils - Tony Snoaden
• The Mutants - Jeremy Bear
• The Time Monster - Tim Gleeson

Season 10

• The Three Doctors - Roger Liminton
• Carnival of Monsters - Roger Liminton
• Frontier in Space - Cynthia Kljuco
• Planet of the Daleks - John Hurst
• The Green Death - John Burrowes

Season 11

• The Time Warrior - Keith Cheetham
• Invasion of the Dinosaurs - Richard Morris
• Death to the Daleks - Colin Green
• The Monster of Peladon - Gloria Clayton
• Planet of the Spiders - Rochelle Selwyn

Season 12

• Robot - Ian Rawnsley
• The Ark in Space - Roger Murray-Leach
• The Sontaran Experiment - Roger Murray-Leach
• Genesis of the Daleks - David Spode
• Revenge of the Cybermen - Roger Murray-Leach

Season 13

• Terror of the Zygons - Nigel Curzon
• Planet of Evil - Roger Murray-Leach
• Pyramids of Mars - Christine Ruscoe
• The Android Invasion - Philip Lindley
• The Brain of Morbius - Barry Newbery
• The Seeds of Doom - Jeremy Bear (episodes 1, 2), Roger Murray-Leach

Season 14

• The Masque of Mandragora - Barry Newbery
• The Hand of Fear - Christine Ruscoe
• The Deadly Assassin - Roger Murray-Leach
• The Face of Evil - Austin Ruddy
• The Robots of Death - Kenneth Sharp
• The Talons of Weng-Chiang - Roger Murray-Leach

Season 15

• Horror of Fang Rock - Paul Allen
• The Invisible Enemy - Barry Newbery
• Image of the Fendahl - Anna Ridley
• The Sun Makers - Tony Snoaden
• Underworld - Dick Coles
• The Invasion of Time - Barbara Gosnold

Season 16

• The Ribos Operation - Ken Ledsham
• The Pirate Planet - Jon Pusey
• The Stones of Blood - John Stout
• The Androids of Tara - Valerie Warrender
• The Power of Kroll - Don Giles
• The Armageddon Factor - Richard McManan-Smith

Season 17

• Destiny of the Daleks - Ken Ledsham
• City of Death - Richard McManan-Smith
• The Creature from the Pit - Valerie Warrender
• Nightmare of Eden - Roger Cann
• The Horns of Nimon - Graeme Story
• Shada - Vic Meredith

Season 18

• The Leisure Hive - Tom Yardley-Jones
• Meglos - Philip Lindley
• Full Circle - Janet Budden
• State of Decay - Christine Ruscoe
• Warriors' Gate - Graeme Story
• The Keeper of Traken - Tony Burrough
• Logopolis - Malcolm Thornton

Season 19

• Castrovalva - Janet Budden
• Four to Doomsday - Tony Burrough
• Kinda - Malcolm Thornton
• The Visitation - Ken Starkey
• Black Orchid - Tony Burrough
• Earthshock - Bernard Lloyd-Jones
• Time-Flight - Richard McManan-Smith

Season 20

• Arc of Infinity - Marjorie Pratt
• Snakedance - Jan Spoczynski
• Mawdryn Undead - Stephen Scott
• Terminus - Dick Coles
• Enlightenment - Colin Green
• The King's Demons - Ken Ledsham
• The Five Doctors - Malcolm Thornton

Season 21

• Warriors of the Deep - Tony Burrough
• The Awakening - Barry Newbery
• Frontios - David Buckingham
• Resurrection of the Daleks - John Anderson
• Planet of Fire - Malcolm Thornton
• The Caves of Androzani - John Hurst
• The Twin Dilemma - Valerie Warrender

Season 22

• Attack of the Cybermen - Marjorie Pratt
• Vengeance on Varos - Tony Snoaden
• The Mark of the Rani - Paul Trerise
• The Two Doctors - Tony Burrough
• Timelash - Bob Cove
• Revelation of the Daleks - Alan Spalding

Season 23 The Trial of a Time Lord

• The Mysterious Planet - John Anderson
• Mindwarp - Andrew Howe-Davies
• Terror of the Vervoids - Dinah Walker
• The Ultimate Foe - Michael Trevor

Season 24

• Time and the Rani - Geoff Powell
• Paradise Towers - Martin Collins
• Delta and the Bannermen - John Asbridge
• Dragonfire - John Asbridge

Season 25

• Remembrance of the Daleks - Martin Collins
• The Happiness Patrol - John Asbridge
• Silver Nemesis - John Asbridge
• The Greatest Show in the Galaxy - David Laskey

Season 26

• Battlefield - Martin Collins
• Ghost Light - Nick Somerville
• The Curse of Fenric - David Laskey
• Survival - Nick Somerville

Designers of K9 and Company

• A Girl's Best Friend - Nigel Jones