Dudley Simpson

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Dudley Simpson (4 October 1922-4 November 2017[1]) composed the incidental music for many Doctor Who stories. He contributed more than any other person to the original series.

In The Talons of Weng-Chiang, he played the conductor of the Palace Theatre. (DOC: The Last Hurrah)

Simpson's time with Doctor Who came to an end when incoming producer John Nathan-Turner invited him out for lunch one day, during which he announced his intention to dispense with Simpson's services and make a fresh start for the 1980s. All incidental music from then on was composed in-house by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.

Other Notable Works[[edit] | [edit source]]

Dudley also composed the theme tune to Blake's 7.

Legacy[[edit] | [edit source]]

As of 2021, Dudley had worked on more Doctor Who episodes than his fellow composers.

Following his death on 4th November 2017, the DVD and Blu-ray release of the part-live action, part-animated version of Shada was dedicated to his memory. Simpson was originally booked to compose music for the story. For the 1992 VHS release, the incidental music was composed by Keff McCulloch, whilst it was composed by Mark Ayres for the 2017 version.

Doctor Who filmography[[edit] | [edit source]]

External links[[edit] | [edit source]]

Footnotes[[edit] | [edit source]]