Eric Saward (pronounced SAY-ward) was born in December 1944 and became a scriptwriter and script editor for the BBC, resigning from the latter post on the TV programme Doctor Who in 1986.

His career as a scriptwriter began with drama for radio while he was working as a teacher. Later he was able to cross into full-time writing. He was approached by then Doctor Who script editor Christopher H. Bidmead to submit some ideas to the series on the strength of a recommendation from the senior drama script editor at BBC Radio. He received a commission to write the story The Visitation. This in turn led to his appointment as script editor on the recommendation of Antony Root, who had briefly replaced Bidmead. In addition to his role as script editor, Saward also wrote the television stories Earthshock, Resurrection of the Daleks and Revelation of the Daleks.

He has claimed in interviews that he also performed uncredited writing duties, over and above that normally expected of a script editor, on The Awakening, The Twin Dilemma, Attack of the Cybermen and The Trial of a Time Lord, amongst others. Not all of these claims have been substantiated by other sources.

Saward's other Who writings include the 1983 short story, Birth of a Renegade in the Doctor Who 20th Anniversary Special one-off magazine, published by Radio Times (and Starlog Press in the U.S.) and the 1985 radio play Slipback. He wrote the novelisations of The Twin Dilemma and Attack of the Cybermen, as well as those of The Visitation and Slipback, for Target Books' Doctor Who range. His two Dalek stories remain among the few never novelised, while Earthshock was novelised by Ian Marter.

Saward aroused controversy in 1985, because many of the stories under his tenure (such as Attack of the Cybermen and The Two Doctors) contained numerous scenes of graphic violence, which many commentators felt was inappropriate for a program aimed at a family audience. Unlike previous criticism of this kind (for instance during the Philip Hinchcliffe era) this criticism came from members of the general public and some Doctor Who fans, as well as traditional critics such as Mary Whitehouse. Saward defended these scenes, claiming they were intended to be dramatic and intended to warn audiences against real-world violence. ^[1]

He did not have a harmonious relationship with Doctor Who's producer John Nathan-Turner which gave rise to occasional tensions behind the scenes. Saward often complained at Nathan-Turner's insistence on not hiring experienced Doctor Who writers, which led to his having to work hard, not always successfully, on unsuitable scripts submitted by rookie writers. This came to a head during the production of The Trial of a Time Lord in the middle of 1986 and he resigned as Script Editor before the completion of production. Nevertheless, Saward's association with the show continued — in the 1990s he wrote linking narration for Doctor Who audio releases of missing episodes, and more recently he has appeared in interviews on DVDs of his serials and contributed a short story to the Big Finish Short Trips collection. He also writes for German radio drama.

In terms of personal life, Saward lived in Holland for three years where he was briefly married. He also had a relationship with fellow writer Paula Woolsey for a number of years. He has two daughters named Natasha and Marielle.

[edit] Notes

1. ^ See The Handbook:The Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to the Production of Doctor Who by David J. Howe, Mark Stammers and Stephen James Walker,Telos, 2005 (pgs. 640-2).

[edit] External links

• Eric Saward at the Internet Movie Database
• Biography of Eric Saward at On Target