In 1981 Doctor Who Magazine published the first comprehensive inventory of the BBC's archive, listing which Doctor Who episodes existed and were missing.
45 years on, 41 episodes have been returned to the archives. Here's a recreation of that list followed by how it stands in 2026.
"You know, sort of like when you’ve had eight pints and you feel sick and you want to go home and you realise that the answer is actually a ninth, tenth and possibly even eleventh pint."
It's your favourite time of the week! Time to read the thoughts of Carl Kinsella! #Surrealing
“But, as you see, it's a beautiful day, the Strait of Hormuz is open and people are having a wonderful time.”
no one ever appreciates my vision
Pretty sure nothing’s ever surpassed the first 30 seconds of this in my mind
youtu.be/6vWTtx_PxPo?...
All the SAW stuff sounds quaint and nostalgic to me now. Any frustrations I may have had with them have evaporated, I’m completely at peace. Hearing one of their records now feels like bumping into an old friend #TOTP
Cheered and punched the air when Soul II Soul came on #TOTP
PLAY I BEG YOUR PARDON #TOTP
1982 is so interesting because the good stuff is about as good as pop ever got while the bad stuff is EXCRUCIATING #TOTP #seventears
Classic feels like a song that should have been MASSIVE in America in the early-80s but got mixed up in the slipstream and ended up being big in the UK instead #TOTP
Easily my favourite Depeche Mode single tbh #TOTP
Gonna go out on a limb here and say that was probably the best double bill of the year so far. Perfectly happy with about 85% of that #TOTP
The Strait of Hormuz is open for transit
Well that Christmas Day present was worth the wait.
Two episodes of Doctor Who recovered and preserved.
Well done and thanks to all involved.
Follow the donations link to help them continue their search for and recovery of lost films and television.👏🏿
It’ll last longer than an Easter Egg.
Top of the Pops (12th March 1981). The Teardrop Explodes are still searching for their Reward.
props
He wore the RA's Gerry Beret - the kind you find in a second hand store?
When are they going to get Gritty on Who Do You Think You Are so we can get an update on his cousins, the Morbegs
I know a big Irish head when I see one, felt or otherwise
If I had a nickel for every time Franz Ferdinand was involved in the precursor events of a world war, I’d have two nickels, which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird it happened twice
Welcome to the Garyneum, the 13 day period between the birthdays of Gary Numan and Gary Oldman.
33
I’m too young to say when the Irish cultural obsession with The Simpsons really began (possibly 1997 when we first got repeats on RTE) but this was surely an early indicator of how much Ireland craved The Simpsons in the nineties.
One more Do the Bartman fact for the feed: It spent NINE weeks at number one in Ireland, only one week less than the eventual Irish total of Bryan Adams that summer #TOTP
I once nearly gave myself a neck injury lipsyncing to Do the Bartman during a school talent show audition #TOTP
Everything we didn’t hear in that top 10 is absolute class. Xpansions, 808 State, Nomad, bangers all #TOTP
Because lord knows the Immaculate Collection needed another bit of promo #TOTP
Jesus what a song though. What. A. Song. #TOTP #massive
This was the fourth time that All Right Now had been a Top 40 hit (70, 73, 78 and 91) and a reissue had missed during the 80s too. Bizarre how enduring it was #TOTP
Only 748 copies separated Boyzone and Geri Halliwell from the top spot btw (142,901 vs 142,153) #TOTP #pickyourpoison
