Victor Pemberton (10 October 1931-13 August 2017[1]) wrote the Doctor Who television story Fury from the Deep and the audio drama Doctor Who and the Pescatons (as well as their respective novelisations), acted as script editor from The Evil of the Daleks to The Ice Warriors but was only credited on The Tomb of the Cybermen, and appeared in a minor acting role as Jules Faure in The Moonbase. Along with Glyn Jones, Toby Whithouse and Mark Gatiss, he is one of a handful of people to have both written and acted in TV Doctor Who.
As Fury from the Deep is missing all its episodes, Pemberton is the only writer (excluding Elwyn Jones) to not have a single surviving Doctor Who episode in the BBC Archives.
He is often credited as the one who created the Doctor's sonic screwdriver although it was production assistant Michael Briant who suggested to change the Doctor's normal screwdriver into a "sonic" one on location. (DWM 277)
Personal life
He was in a relationship for many years with actor David Spenser, his life partner, until Spenser passed away in 2013.[2] Both were acknowledged in a posthumous tribute by Gary Russell in the form a visual easter egg in the Fury from the Deep, where a clipboard contains a note that says "Get Vic and Dave on this!".[3]
Selected credits
Writing
Television
Doctor Who
Audio
Novelisations
Script Editor
Television
Doctor Who
- The Evil of the Daleks (uncredited Assistant Script Editor[source needed])
- The Tomb of the Cybermen
- The Abominable Snowmen (uncredited Assistant Script Editor[source needed])
- The Ice Warriors (uncredited Assistant Script Editor[source needed])
Acting
Television
Doctor Who
- The Moonbase (as Jules Faure)