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Doctor Who<\/em><\/a> is missing almost 100 of 253 episodes from the show\u2019s first six years, but an archive expert has shared an exciting update about the discovery of at least one of those long-lost instalments.<\/p>\n Appearing on the Doctor Who: The Missing Episodes<\/em><\/a> podcast, film collector John Franklin\u00a0spoke on behalf of Film is Fabulous<\/a>, an organization run by film collectors and vintage television enthusiasts, sharing an update on a recent post made on the Film is Fabulous Facebook page<\/a> about missing Doctor Who<\/em> episodes.<\/a><\/p>\n The Facebook post read, \u201cWe are aware of several missing episodes of Doctor Who<\/em> in private film collections in the UK. We are liaising with the individuals about cataloguing and preserving their entire collection, including the missing Doctor Who<\/em> episodes, and ensuring that copies are returned to the BBC. We expect to make a detailed announcement shortly.\u201d<\/p>\n Franklin shared more details, explaining how, since 2023, he and other members of the Film is Fabulous team \u201chave been aware of a large collection of films, thousands of films, that have become vulnerable.\u201d He confirmed, \u201cThat collection contains some very important material including a missing episode of Doctor Who<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n He added that the collection is \u201clarge\u201d and could possibly contain \u201cother episodes of Doctor Who<\/em>,\u201d but noted, \u201cat this moment in time, we know of one.\u201d<\/p>\n Doctor Who<\/em> debuted back in 1963 on the BBC, and at the time, the network erased or reused tapes to save on space and storage costs. This led to the loss of many classic era episodes (97 in total) until archiving became a policy. However, some of those missing episodes still exist in private collections.<\/p>\n Franklin explained that the collector recently died and, while they\u2019d previously received permission to catalogue the collection, there are now new legal obstacles to overcome.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are doing everything legally, with propriety, to make sure we secure that collection and can return that missing episode of Doctor Who<\/em> and other items to the rights holder,\u201d he stated, per the Radio Times<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n Franklin added that once the legal situation is sorted, fans should expect some exciting news. \u201cGive us the space to conclude the things that we\u2019re doing,\u201d he said. \u201cYou will be very, very happy with the announcements when they come, but we just need the space to be able to do that now.\u201d<\/p>\n