Neil Gaiman leads tributes to Doctor Who writer Terrance Dicks

Neil Gaiman has led tributes to Doctor Who writer Terrance Dicks, who has died aged 84.

The script editor worked on several seminal series of the long-running show from 1968, and produced novelisations and children’s fiction.

Many authors have credited Dicks with inspiring them to read and write.

Scottish writer Gaiman paid tribute to the writer who prompted him to want to pen a Doctor Who episode of his own.

On Twitter, the novelist said: “I remember reading his and Malcolm Hulke’s book THE MAKING OF DOCTOR WHO when I was eleven or twelve, and deciding then that I would one day write an episode of Doctor Who, because they had shown me how.

“RIP Terrance Dicks.”

The novelist did go on the pen episodes of the series, and fellow writers on the show have also paid tribute to the long-time master of Doctor Who scripts.

Writer James Moran wrote: “#TerranceDicks was involved with so many episodes and novelisations of Doctor Who, I think he was actually a Time Lord himself.

“So he’s not dead, he’s just regenerated. One of the people most responsible for my childhood (and continuing childhood) love of the show. RIP.”

Actor Dan Starkey, who has appeared in numerous episodes of Doctor Who, said: “My love of recreational reading came from devouring the many books of #TerranceDicks What a shame.”

Writer Jenny Colgan wrote online: “Terrance Dicks helped more children (especially boys) develop a lifelong love of reading than almost anyone else who’s ever lived. I don’t think he even got an OBE.”