Doctor Who and the Crusaders

Arriving in the Holy Land in the middle of the Third Crusade, the Doctor and his companions run straight into trouble. The Doctor and Vicki befriend Richard the Lionheart, but must survive the cut-throat politics of the English court. Even with the king on their side, they find they have made powerful enemies. Looking for Barbara, Ian is ambushed - staked out in the sand and daubed with honey so that the ants will eat him. With Ian unable to help, Barbara is captured by the cruel warlord El Akir. Even if Ian escapes and rescues her, will they ever see the Doctor, Vicki, and the TARDIS again? This novel is based on a Doctor Who story which was originally broadcast from 27 March - 17 April 1965. Featuring the First Doctor as played by William Hartnell, and his companions Ian, Barbara, and Vicki.

David Whitaker was the first Story Editor for Doctor Who, and was responsible for finding and commissioning writers, and it was Whitaker as much as anyone who defined the narrative shape of Doctor Who. He wrote for the Doctor Who annuals, novelised the first Dalek story and his own script of The Crusade, and worked with Terry Nation on various Dalek-related material including the hugely successful comic strip The Daleks, which appeared in the Gerry Anderson magazine TV Century 21.

Whitaker's own scripts for the programme, in particular his two Dalek stories for the second Doctor - The Power of the Daleks and The Evil of the Daleks - are remembered as being amongst the very best of Doctor Who. David Whitaker died in 1980.