There are plans to “accelerate the rate” at which Doctor Who animations of missing stories are made and released… but we’re a while away from that happening.

Speaking at a screening of The Savages at the BFI Southbank in London, executive producer Paul Hembury said:

“Rather than one at a time, what we want to do is actually to accelerate the rate at which we make them. What we want to do – and I believe at this stage we will do – is to get the next one started reasonably soon, but before completing that one, we start the one after that… that’s the goal.

“Things are coming together quite well. We don’t have a signed agreement, but we’re very hopeful of being able to do more.”

That sounds very promising, as are implications that the eventual aim is for the animated stories to be part of The Collection Blu-ray sets that collect together whole seasons of Doctor Who.

However, Hembury further warned that, while The Savages is coming out later this month, we’re at least a year away “from completion of [another story]”. That’s sad, of course, but we’re at least glad that the animations have not only been revived, but also that the future seems bright for them.

Various stories featuring the First and Second Doctors (William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton respectively) are missing after the BBC’s policy of junking tapes to save space and money. These including Marco Polo, The Daleks’ Master Plan, and The Wheel in Space. Many have been animated already, like The Invasion, Galaxy 4, and The Evil of the Daleks.

The Savages is due out on 24th March 2025 and you can pre-order it now.