John Nathan-Turner was the final producer of the ‘classic’ Doctor Who series, steering the show through the torrid waters of the 1980s as it slowly fell out of favour with both the domestic audience and, more crucially, the BBC hierarchy, who became increasingly disinterested in the series as the decade wore on. Nathan-Turner’s personal story – the extravagant highs and the deep professional lows – have been well chronicled both in print and on screen – but we’ve rarely been afforded the opportunity to hear directly from the man himself. This fascinating new DVD finally allows us to see Nathan-Turner talking about his time on the series and if it’s rarely warts-and-all – Nathan-Turner remained utterly professional and slightly guarded long after his involvement with the series was over – it’s still an absorbing and compelling look at the most troubled period in Doctor Who’s history and the man who, remember, fought to keep the series afloat long after the BBC had decided to torpedo it. It also  gives us a chance to fully appreciate his visions for the series and his sense of professionalism and determination divorced from the shroud of salacious stories and rumours that have inevitably sprung up in the wake of his premature death in  May 2002.

Some years after the ‘classic’ series had wound down (he continued to caretake the show for some time after its BBC production office had closed down) Nathan-Turner sat down in a Brighton café with producer/director Bill Baggs (who had himself been keeping the Who flag flying by producing a number of acclaimed low-budget copyright-swerving video productions starring various Doctor Who alumni) and discussed his time on the show at length. Snippets of the interview have appeared on various BBC DVD and Blu-ray releases, but this disc presents all Baggs’ footage – raw and unedited – and presents a picture of an initially quite wary man who slowly relaxes into the process and is happy to explain his approach to the series as he tried to re-energise it for the 1980s. Although the footage never becomes mawkish or overly-intrusive, it’s easy to see Nathan-Turner’s fortunes declining and his frustrations increasing as his years on the series wore on. He hints at clashes with Tom Baker, whose portrayal of the Doctor had become slapdash and comedic until Nathan-Turner’s arrival forced him to reign himself in and he admits that he had really done all he set out to do by the time the show celebrated its 20th anniversary in 1983 and that, in hindsight, he should have stepped down from his post at that point. He chronicles the show’s very public ‘cancellation’ in 1985, his frustrating relationship with script editor Eric Saward and his struggles to  cast Sylvester McCoy in 1987 and whilst he’s circumspect enough to not explicitly bad-mouth anyone, the wounds are clearly still raw at this point and we’re left with a very clear picture of a man who appreciates that his career hasn’t quite gone the way he might have hoped – ideas submitted to the BBC that would have taken him off Doctor Who were repeatedly shot down in flames – thanks, ironically, to his devotion to show that he loved but that, in the end, didn’t love him back enough.

JNT Uncut is essential viewing for anyone interested in Doctor Who behind-the-scenes and whilst there are few entirely new revelations here, it’s nice to see some rumours debunked and several long-standing shibboleths dismantled. The full JNT story is out there, of course, but this is a valuable time capsule of his own views on his extended period at  Doctor Who’s tiller just as the dust was settling on its cancellation and long before even its brief 1996 Paul McGann resurrection let alone its triumphant 21st century rebirth. Nathan-Turner remains one of the show’s most intriguing personalities and JNT Uncut is an important part of the haphazard jigsaw that makes up his life and times.

JNT Uncut is available from  bbv.productions.co.uk