Martin Bannister was an English writer living on Earth. He wrote plays and television scripts.
In a parallel universe, he was contacted by Sydney Newman to write the first script for the pilot of Doctor Who. The show never got past the pilot and Newman was fired. Martin then started writing for the police drama Juliet Bravo, and since then he concentrated his career on writing for television shows. He had a wife and a son, Philip Bannister, but he didn't care for them and cheated on his wife because he believed himself to be a great writer.
Decades later, in a nursery home, he started having dreams with his characters and settings from Doctor Who. He was contacted by Sydney Newman again to write a new script for the series, which would be brought back by the BBC 40 years after the failed pilot. He started receiving visits from his son and his grandson, whom he tried to get in touch with, without success. Martin started to have daydreams of himself as his character, Doctor Who, and believed his wardrobe to be his TARDIS. His stories got increasingly darker, with Barbara and Ian getting ultimately killed by radiation sickness, with only him and his granddaughter Susan being left alive. Ultimately, he decided to lock himself in the wardrobe and go off in travels with Susan, instead of confronting reality. In reality, Martin died of suffocation inside the wardrobe. (AUDIO: Deadline)
Behind the Scenes
Ian McKellen was considered for the role of Martin Bannister.[1].