Science advisor

You may be looking for the short story, Scientific Adviser or scientific advisor.

A science advisor, or scientific advisor, is a member of the pre-production and production teams who advises the writers and actors on how best to realistically portray scientific concepts on screen.

Within DWU productions, they've largely gone uncredited.

In 2011, John Sotos broke this pattern, receiving clear screen credit for his work as science advisor on Torchwood: Miracle Day. His help was invaluable to that series, since it is largely based on a medical "what if?" situation.

In 2018, Dr Niall Doran was credited as a scientific advisor on the Doctor Who series 11 story Arachnids in the UK. He is a zoologist and conservationist, and the story centres on spiders, featuring a research scientist in the field as a guest character.

Uncredited advisors

1960s

Kit Pedler was an unofficial scientific advisor on Doctor Who during the late William Hartnell and early Patrick Troughton eras. He is especially known for giving scientific credibility to the concept of the Cybermen, and for prognosticating about the Internet in The War Machines. Likewise, Pip Baker's brother, a national defence scientist, was known to have been enlisted to help solve certain scientific dilemmas in The Trial of a Time Lord. (DCOM: The Ultimate Foe)

2000s

Edward Gomez, professional astronomer, provided science advice for the writing team of David Tennant-era Doctor Who, including The Sontaran Stratagem, and The Sarah Jane Adventures.