He stayed at the Doctor Who production office until August 1990, even though the show wasn't on air. He was technically still the salaried producer at that time, even though there was nothing to produce. His letter of resignation was dated 31st August 1990, the same date that the BBC officially closed the production office.

If he had broken his contract and left the BBC (as he would have had to) and the programme had been unceremoniously dropped in 1987, soon after the public outcry caused by the 1985-86 hiatus, he would have been pretty much unemployable and the BBC would have been hit by a lot of negative publicity. They couldn't afford to just drop the show at that time (in fact, they never technically cancelled it at all) and he couldn't afford to leave. Gary Downie went on record with a lot of this several times after John's death.

Did John try to find production work elsewhere after he eventually left the BBC in 1990? It's seems odd that he left the industry aged just 43 and never worked in TV again. (Apart from Dimensions in Time which wasn't paid work.)

As producer, I would imagine he'd have plenty of "business stuff" to do - like making sure that prop etc were returned, stored or disposed of (with triplicated proof, of course) - all the sort of boring, mundane detail that is invisible to us mere mortals.

I must admit though, I have now this mental image of him as being a cross between Lucius Fox and the Phantom of the Opera - living in the basement of the BBC studios and laughing maniacally whilst scribbling down new ideas for the show whilst people "upstairs" talk about this shadowy, dark-cloaked figure that occasionally walks the corridors at night and often taps four times at the window of the Grade's office before running away with a 12 foot long scarf trailing behind him.

As far as I know, his last paid work as a producer was on a handful of Doctor Who compilation tapes for BBC Video in the early '90's. And then, as you say, Dimensions in Time, which was for charity and therefore unpaid. He also helped oversee the development of Virgin's Doctor Who New Adventures book range. He'd been associatedwith Doctor Who since the mid 70's when he was pProduction Unit Manager under Graham Williams, so perhaps he just didn't have the heart to look for anything else. Or he couldn't get another job. He continued to contribute to documentaries and video spin-offs based on Who up until not long before his death.


From what I remember of the man, he'd probably love that image...

Whilst I recognise you're an expert on the show's history, I think JNT might have been involved with Doctor Who even longer than you suggest. I recall reading a book by him, where he claimed to have been some sort of production assistant in the late 60s, and that Hartnell was the only Doctor with whom he hadn't worked...

nyingy

His first story was The Space Pirates in 1969, but he didn't become a regular part of the crew until 1977. Even then, he was working on other shows as well (notably All Creatures Great and Small).

Many thanks for this. So, he had a longer association, but it was only ongoing from the late 70s. One might suppose that his work with All Creatures Great and Small should have been sufficient evidence that his career needn't begin and end with Doctor Who; but perhaps it indicates that, above all, he was embedded in the BBC and thus somewhat at their mercy.

On a connected note, I had a wee scout around online: I came across a clip of Saturday Superstore, in which, amongst other things, JNT reveals a fondness for Hi NRG music! It turns out his favourite LP was produced by Ian Levine, which is an interesting coincidence...

nyingy

Very much so, I think. His entire career in TV was at the BBC.
Possibly not a coincidence; he was very good at promoting things, he may well have been giving it a bit of a plug for Ian's benefit. Notice that when he's asked which story is his favourite, after mentioning Traken he then slips in a thinly disguised plug for the then-upcoming Twin Dilemma!

Those Hawaiian shirts were nearly as infamous as Colin's coat...

Yes, I wondered whether there might have been a little bit of plugging going on... I think he's right re Traken - even now, I find the sets quite lovely.

It's odd to see JNT without his trademark Hawaiian shirt* in later interviews. He was definitely something of a brand - I'm sure he'd have relished participating in something akin to Doctor Who Confidential...

nyingy

* He was wearing other clothing - I'm not touting a topless JNT, here!

JNT was offered and turned down Bergerac, something which is always forgotten in these "he was treated badly by the BBC" discussions.

Did he say why he turned it down?

(I'm assuming it was the show he rejected - not a date )

When was he offered Bergerac? Was it before or after Gradegate?

Well the word impact wasn't used(that was me!) but if you read the foreword it tells you the following:

1) That the use of video recorders meant viewers weren't slave to the scheduling anymore

2) The BBC tried to modernise it's image by increasing activities into new areas such as Breakfast/Daytime TV.

3) Other issues concerning bias against Government policies in BBC news and current affairs programmes which led to a siege mentality at top level at the BBC.

It then goes on to say that though on the face of it, none of the above seemed nothing to do with Doctor Who, they all indirectly played a part in it being suspended and Colin Baker being sacked from the programme.

So though the word impact wasn't used it is an appropriate word to describe what all those factors were on Doctor Who in the mid-80's.

Tat Wood says in "About Time volume 6" (p. 352) that JNT pitched several drama and comedy shows to the Beeb in the
1990s, but none of them went anywhere (although
a pilot was shot for "Pub Talk", starring Nick Courtney
and Tony Selby).

He joked that he wanted to get rid of John Nettles and and set it somewhere other than Jersey.


Andrew Cartmel was the script editor on Who at the time so I assume 1987 or 1988.


He'd been unsuccessfully pitching ideas to the BBC since the early 80s.

Well, Bergerac's final series aired within 18 months of Who's demise (apart from a final Christmas special), so jumping from one sinking ship to another may not have seemed all that attractive to JNT