Ian Levine

Ian Levine (born 22 June 1953) has made several contributions to Doctor Who.

He composed the theme music for K9 and Company, and was also the producer of the 1985 charity single Doctor in Distress (releasing it on his label, Record Shack Records) He was also the co-producer of Downtime, and contributed to Doctor Who: The Unfolding Text. He later received thanks for work on Ian Chesterton: An Introduction.

He was one of the earliest advocates for the BBC to formally begin the process of recovering missing episodes. As a result, he was responsible for returning various episodes from private collections; such as The Abominable Snowmen episode 2, and Invasion of the Dinosaurs episode 1. For a while, he also collaborated with the Doctor Who Restoration Team on DVD releases of older stories.

During an interview for the DVD documentary Genesis of a Classic, Elisabeth Sladen swore in response to a question he asked about the clothing of Sarah Jane Smith. This clip gained some attention among fandom social media circles during 2021. Ian himself responded, claiming that the response was a light-hearted joke between the two of them.

Disputed claims

According to himself, he was also the unofficial continuity consultant for Doctor Who in the 1980s, apparently leaving after the casting of Bonnie Langford. In the documentary The Missing Years, he also credits himself with personally saving the entirety of The Daleks from destruction by BBC Enterprises. As of 2024, neither of these claims have been corroborated by any other individuals involved or any relevant documentation.

He has claimed he co-wrote Attack of the Cybermen, although Eric Saward disputed this. According to Richard Bignell, Levine has also claimed that Saward was to write a story for Season 23 called Gallifrey, but Saward has also disputed this claim.

Levine has also claimed that a storyline for the unmade Season 23 story Yellow Fever and How to Cure It was written, but Bignell has noted that there is no evidence such a storyline document was commissioned from Robert Holmes, and has also taken issue with Levine's claim that the Rani would not have been featured in said story if created - as documentation exists to show permission was received from Pip and Jane Baker to use the Rani.

In-universe references

In the K9 episode The Cambridge Spy, a newspaper clipping from 1963 mentions "His Honour Chief Justice Ian Levine".

Documentary appearances

• Missing in Action
• Showman - The Life of John Nathan-Turner
• Attack of the Cybermen (TV story)Attack of the Cybermen feature

External links

• Ian Levine at the Internet Movie Database
• Official Twitter account