Veteran Doctor Who writer Terrance Dicks dies aged 84

Affectionally nicknamed “Uncle Terrance” by Doctor Who fans, Dicks wrote or co-wrote many stories for the BBC sci-fi show, including 20th anniversary special 'The Five Doctors' and Patrick Troughton adventure 'The War Games'.

Dicks served as the show’s assistant script editor and later script editor between 1968 and 1974 and was also a prolific writer of Doctor Who novels, including the much-loved Target novelisations of TV stories.

After the news broke, fans and Doctor Who writers past and present took to social media to pay tributes to “one of Doctor Who’s greatest writers”.

Current Doctor Who showrunner Chris Chibnall also paid tribute to Dicks' influence.

"The lights of Doctor Who are dimmer tonight, with the passing of Terrance Dicks," he said in a statement.

"He was one of the greatest contributors to Doctor Who’s history, on screen and off. As writer and script editor, he was responsible for some of the show’s greatest moments and iconic creations.

"As the most prolific and brilliant adaptor of Doctor Who stories into Target novels, he was responsible for a range of books that taught a generation of children, myself included, how pleasurable and accessible and thrilling reading could be.

"Doctor Who was lucky to have his talents. He will always be a legend of the show. Everyone working on Doctor Who sends his family and friends our love and condolences at this difficult time."

Outside of Doctor Who, Dicks also wrote episodes for ITV’s 1960s The Avengers series, plus provided scripts for Space: 1999 and BBC drama Moonbase 3.

Dicks also penned many novels for children including The Pyramid Incident and The Transylvanian Incident.