Donald Tosh (16 March 1935 – 3 December 2019) was a British

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

who contributed to ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' in 1965. He was the last surviving

script editor A script editor is a member of the production team of scripted television and radio programs, usually dramas and comedies. The script editor has many responsibilities including finding new script writers, developing storyline and series ideas wit ...

and writer from the

William Hartnell William Henry Hartnell (; 8 January 1908 – 23 April 1975) was an English actor, who is best known for portraying the first incarnation of the Doctor, in the long-running British science-fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' from 1963 t ...

era.

Career

Before working on ''Doctor Who'' Tosh was briefly script editor on the series ''

Compact Compact as used in politics may refer broadly to a pact or treaty; in more specific cases it may refer to: * Interstate compact, a type of agreement used by U.S. states * Blood compact, an ancient ritual of the Philippines * Compact government, a t ...

'', and had helped to develop the show that eventually became ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

''. Tosh was the

story editor Story editor is a job title in motion picture and television production, also sometimes called supervising producer. The responsibilities of the story editor vary depending on the production; this article describes the duties the role most commo ...

for the ''Doctor Who'' stories between '' The Time Meddler'' and '' The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve'', working with producers

Verity Lambert Verity Ann Lambert (27 November 1935 – 22 November 2007) was an English television and film producer. Lambert began working in television in the 1950s. She began her career as a producer at the BBC by becoming the founding producer of t ...

and John Wiles. On Tosh's final story, '' The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve'' by John Lucarotti, Tosh performed a substantial rewrite of the scripts, both to align them with historical accuracy and also to accommodate

's dual role as both the Doctor and the Abbot of Amboise. On the final episode the story editor's credit was given over to his successor Gerry Davis and Tosh was co-credited. He also performed an extensive re-write of '' The Celestial Toymaker'' by

Brian Hayles Brian Leonard Hayles (7 March 1931 – 30 October 1978) was an English television and film writer, most notably for the BBC science fiction series '' Doctor Who''. Doctor Who Hayles wrote six stories for '' Doctor Who'' and is best known for ...

. Most of this work, however, was in turn rewritten by Davis. Tosh claimed that the trilogic game was the sole retention from his version of the script.

Post Television

After leaving television Tosh worked for a time for

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

. He was Head Custodian of Sherborne Old Castle,

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

and

St Mawes St Mawes () is a village on the end of the Roseland Peninsula, in the eastern side of Falmouth, Cornwall, Falmouth harbour, on the south coast of Cornwall, England. The village, formerly two separate hamlets, lies on the east bank of the Carri ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

. He retired to

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

. In 2013 he appeared as an extra in ''

An Adventure in Space and Time ''An Adventure in Space and Time'' is a 2013 British Biographical film, biographical television film, starring David Bradley (English actor), David Bradley, Brian Cox (actor), Brian Cox, Jessica Raine and Sacha Dhawan. Directed by Terry McDono ...

'', a drama about the making of the William Hartnell era of ''Doctor Who'', made to commemorate the show's 50th anniversary. The programme did not, however, depict a version of him as a character. Tosh died in December 2019 at the age of 84.Donald Tosh 1935–2019
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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tosh, Donald 1935 births 2019 deaths 20th-century male writers British science fiction writers British soap opera writers British television writers British male television writers