University of Central Lancashire

The University of Central Lancashire, or UCLan, is a university in the city of Preston. In 2019, staff, students and alumni from the university worked together to recreate Mission to the Unknown, with the help of certain Doctor Who cast and crew, including Nicholas Briggs, Peter Purves and Edward de Souza.

The project, originally dubbed "Sci-fi in a Week", followed a successful "Soap in a Week" project in 2016 where students worked with cast and crew from Coronation Street and Emmerdale. Ariana Scott, an alumna of the University of Central Lancashire who worked as a production assistant on series 12 of Doctor Who, worked as producer on this project.^[1] During the 'Soap in a Week' project, the university's outdoor set was officially opened by former Doctor Who producer, Phil Collinson.^[2][3]

Mandip Gill, who plays Yasmin Khan, is an alumnus of the University of Central Lancashire. She completed her studies as an acting graduate in 2009.^[4] In 2024, she received an Honorary Fellowship from her former university.^[5] Peter Purves received an Honorary Fellowship from the university in 2022, to acknowledge the significant contribution he has made in services to television, acting and presenting.^[6] Steve Pemberton, who played Strackman Lux in the Doctor Who television episodes Silence in the Library and Forest of the Dead, also received an Honorary Fellowship from the University of Central Lancashire in 2024.^[7]

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