Doctor Who and the Crusaders (Doctor Who)

The Doctor (William Hartnell) returns to his favourite planet, Earth, in 12th century Palestine and his companion Barbara is soon kidnapped by the Saracen leader. Meanwhile the Doctor and Vicki are taken to the court of Richard the Lionheart, who is leading a crusade against the Saracens.

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.