List of Doctor Who writers

This is a list of television writers for the science fiction television programme Doctor Who. The list defaults to ascending alphabetical order by writer's last name, though is sortable by a number of different criteria.

List of writers

Writer[a]	No. of stories[b][c]	No. of episodes	List of stories	First Story Date (year)	Last Story Date (year)	References
Ben Aaronovitch	2	8	Remembrance of the Daleks (1988) Battlefield (1989)	1988	1989	[2][3]
Douglas Adams	2[d]	10[d]	The Pirate Planet (1978) Shada (2017)[d]	1978	2017[d]	[4][5]
"David Agnew"	2	10	The Invasion of Time (1978) City of Death (1979)	1978	1979	[6][7]
Maxine Alderton	1.16[e]	2	"The Haunting of Villa Diodati" (2020) Flux (2021) (episode 4, "Village of the Angels", only; co-written with Chris Chibnall)	2020	2021	[8][9]
Sharma Angel-Walfall	1	1	"The Well" (2025) (co-written with Russell T Davies)	2025	2025	[10]
"Norman Ashby" (Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln)	1	5	The Dominators (1968)	1968	1968	[11]
Christopher Bailey	2	8	Kinda (1982) Snakedance (1983)	1982	1983	[12][13]
Bob Baker	9	36	The Claws of Axos (1971, co-written with Dave Martin) The Mutants (1972, co-written with Dave Martin) The Three Doctors (1972–73, co-written with Dave Martin) The Sontaran Experiment (1975, co-written with Dave Martin) The Hand of Fear (1976, co-written with Dave Martin) The Invisible Enemy (1977, co-written with Dave Martin) Underworld (1978, co-written with Dave Martin) The Armageddon Factor (1979, co-written with Dave Martin) Nightmare of Eden (1979)	1971	1979	[14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]
Pip and Jane Baker	3.5	11	The Mark of the Rani (1985) Terror of the Vervoids (1986) The Ultimate Foe (1986, part 2) Time and the Rani (1987)	1985	1987	[23][24][25][26]
Mike Bartlett	1	1	"Knock Knock" (2017)	2017	2017	[27]
Christopher H. Bidmead	3	12	Logopolis (1981) Castrovalva (1982) Frontios (1984)	1981	1984	[28][29][30]
Ian Stuart Black	3	12	The Savages (1966) The War Machines (1966) The Macra Terror (1967)	1966	1967	[31][32][33]
Malorie Blackman	1	1	"Rosa" (2018) (co-written by Chris Chibnall)	2018	2018	[34]
"Robin Bland" (Terrance Dicks and Robert Holmes)	1	4	The Brain of Morbius (1976)	1976	1976	[35]
Chris Boucher	3	12	The Face of Evil (1977) The Robots of Death (1977) Image of the Fendahl (1977)	1977	1977	[36][37][38]
Ian Briggs	2	7	Dragonfire (1987) The Curse of Fenric (1989)	1987	1989	[39][40]
Johnny Byrne	3	12	The Keeper of Traken (1981) Arc of Infinity (1983) Warriors of the Deep (1984)	1981	1984	[41][42][43]
Chris Chibnall	20	28	"42" (2007) "The Hungry Earth" / "Cold Blood" (2010) "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship" (2012) "The Power of Three" (2012) "The Woman Who Fell to Earth" (2018) "The Ghost Monument" (2018) "Rosa" (2018) (co-written with Malorie Blackman) "Arachnids in the UK" (2018) "The Tsuranga Conundrum" (2018) "The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos" (2018) "Resolution" (2019) "Spyfall" (2020) "Fugitive of the Judoon" (2020) (co-written with Vinay Patel) "Praxeus" (2020) (co-written with Pete McTighe) "Can You Hear Me?" (2020) (co-written with Charlene James) "Ascension of the Cybermen" / "The Timeless Children" (2020) Flux (2021) (part 4, "Village of the Angels", co-written with Maxine Alderton) "Eve of the Daleks" (2022) "Legend of the Sea Devils" (2022) (co-written with Ella Road) "The Power of the Doctor" (2022)	2007	2022	[9][34][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68]
Kevin Clarke	1	3	Silver Nemesis (1988)	1988	1988	[69]
Barbara Clegg	1	4	Enlightenment (1983)	1983	1983	[70]
Anthony Coburn	1	4	An Unearthly Child (1963)	1963	1963	[71]
Paul Cornell	2	3	"Father's Day" (2005) "Human Nature" / "The Family of Blood" (2007)	2005	2007	[72][73][74]
Donald Cotton	2	8	The Myth Makers (1965) The Gunfighters (1966)	1965	1966	[75][76]
Frank Cottrell-Boyce	2	2	"In the Forest of the Night" (2014) "Smile" (2017)	2014	2017	[77][78]
Neil Cross	2	2	"The Rings of Akhaten" (2013)[f] "Hide" (2013)	2013	2013	[79]
Graeme Curry	1	3	The Happiness Patrol (1988)	1988	1988	[80]
Richard Curtis	1	1	"Vincent and the Doctor" (2010)	2010	2010	[81]
Russell T Davies	38	47	"Rose" (2005) "The End of the World" (2005) "Aliens of London"/"World War Three" (2005) "The Long Game" (2005) "Boom Town" (2005) "Bad Wolf"/"The Parting of the Ways" (2005) "The Christmas Invasion" (2005) "New Earth" (2006) "Tooth and Claw" (2006) "Love & Monsters" (2006) "Army of Ghosts"/"Doomsday" (2006) "The Runaway Bride" (2006) "Smith and Jones" (2007) "Gridlock" (2007) "Utopia"/"The Sound of Drums"/"Last of the Time Lords" (2007) "Voyage of the Damned" (2007) "Partners in Crime" (2008) "Midnight" (2008) "Turn Left" (2008) "The Stolen Earth"/"Journey's End" (2008) "The Next Doctor" (2008) "Planet of the Dead" (2009) (co-written with Gareth Roberts) "The Waters of Mars" (2009) (co-written with Phil Ford) "The End of Time" (2009–10) "The Star Beast" (2023) "Wild Blue Yonder" (2023) "The Giggle" (2023) "The Church on Ruby Road" (2023) "Space Babies" (2024) "The Devil's Chord" (2024) "73 Yards" (2024) "Dot and Bubble" (2024) "The Legend of Ruby Sunday"/"Empire of Death" (2024) "The Robot Revolution" (2025) "Lux" (2025) "The Well" (2025) (co-written with Sharma Angel-Walfall) "Wish World"/"The Reality War" (2025)	2005	2025	[10][82][83][84][85][86][87][88][89][90][91][92][93][94][95][96][97][98][99][100][101][102][103][104][105][106][107][108][109][110][111][112][113][114][115][116][117][118][119][120][121][122][123][124][125][126]
Gerry Davis	3.5	14	The Tenth Planet (1966) (episodes 3 and 4; co-written with Kit Pedler) The Highlanders (1966–67) (co-written with Elwyn Jones) The Tomb of the Cybermen (1967) (co-written with Kit Pedler) Revenge of the Cybermen (1975)	1966	1975	[127][128][129][130]
Juno Dawson	1	1	"The Interstellar Song Contest" (2025)	2025	2025	[131]
Terrance Dicks	5	23	The War Games (1969) Robot (1974–75) Horror of Fang Rock (1977) State of Decay (1980) "The Five Doctors" (1983)	1969	1983	[132][133][134][135][136]
Sarah Dollard	2	2	"Face the Raven" (2015) "Thin Ice" (2017)	2015	2017	[137][138]
Terence Dudley	3	8	Four to Doomsday (1982) Black Orchid (1982) The King's Demons (1983)	1982	1983	[139][140][141]
Inua Ellams	1	1	"The Story & the Engine" (2025)	2025	2025	[142]
David Ellis	1	6	The Faceless Ones (1967, co-written with Malcolm Hulke)	1967	1967	[143]
William Emms	1	4	Galaxy 4 (1965)	1965	1965	[144]
Paul Erickson	1	4	The Ark (1966, co-written with Lesley Scott)	1966	1966	[145]
David Fisher	4	16	The Stones of Blood (1978) The Androids of Tara (1978) The Creature from the Pit (1979) The Leisure Hive (1980)	1978	1980	[146][147][148][149]
John Flanagan	1	4	Meglos (1980, co-written with Andrew McCulloch)	1980	1980	[150]
Phil Ford	2	2	"The Waters of Mars" (2009) (co-written with Russell T Davies) "Into the Dalek" (2014) (co-written with Steven Moffat)	2009	2014	[110][151]
Neil Gaiman	2	2	"The Doctor's Wife" (2011) "Nightmare in Silver" (2013)	2011	2013	[152][153]
Stephen Gallagher	2	8	Warriors' Gate (1981) Terminus (1983)	1981	1983	[154][155]
Mark Gatiss	9	9	"The Unquiet Dead" (2005) "The Idiot's Lantern" (2006) "Victory of the Daleks" (2010) "Night Terrors" (2011) "Cold War" (2013) "The Crimson Horror" (2013) "Robot of Sherwood" (2014) "Sleep No More" (2015) "Empress of Mars" (2017)	2005	2017	[156][157][158][159][160][161][162][163][164]
Matthew Graham	2	3	"Fear Her" (2006) "The Rebel Flesh" / "The Almost People" (2011)	2006	2011	[165][166][167]
Stephen Greenhorn	2	2	"The Lazarus Experiment" (2007) "The Doctor's Daughter" (2008)	2007	2008	[168][169]
Peter Grimwade	3	12	Time-Flight (1982) Mawdryn Undead (1983) Planet of Fire (1984)	1982	1984	[170][171][172]
Mervyn Haisman	2	12	The Abominable Snowmen (1967, co-written with Henry Lincoln) The Web of Fear (1968, co-written with Henry Lincoln)	1967	1968	[173][174]
Peter Harness	3	4	"Kill the Moon" (2014) "The Zygon Invasion" / "The Zygon Inversion" (2015) ("The Zygon Inversion" co-written with Steven Moffat) "The Pyramid at the End of the World" (2017) (co-written with Steven Moffat)	2014	2017	[151][175][176]
"Stephen Harris" (Lewis Greifer and Robert Holmes)	1	4	Pyramids of Mars (1975)	1975	1975	[177]
Brian Hayles	6	30	"The Celestial Toymaker" (1966) "The Smugglers" (1966) "The Ice Warriors" (1967) "The Seeds of Death" (1969) "The Curse of Peladon" (1972) "The Monster of Peladon" (1974)	1966	1974	[178][179][180][181][182][183]
Kate Herron	1	1	"Rogue" (2024, co-written with Briony Redman)	2024	2024	[184]
Ed Hime	2	2	"It Takes You Away" (2018) "Orphan 55" (2020)	2018	2020	[185][186]
Robert Holmes	15.5	64	The Krotons (1968–69) The Space Pirates (1969) Spearhead from Space (1970) Terror of the Autons (1971) Carnival of Monsters (1973) The Time Warrior (1973–74) The Ark in Space (1975) The Deadly Assassin (1976) The Talons of Weng-Chiang (1977) The Sun Makers (1977) The Ribos Operation (1978) The Power of Kroll (1978–79) The Caves of Androzani (1984) The Two Doctors (1985) The Mysterious Planet (1986) The Ultimate Foe (1986, part 1)	1968	1986	[25][187][188][189][190][191][192][193][194][195][196][197][198][199][200][201]
Don Houghton	2	13	Inferno (1970) The Mind of Evil (1971)	1970	1971	[202][203]
Malcolm Hulke	7	47	The Faceless Ones (1967, co-written with David Ellis) The War Games (1969, co-written with Terrance Dicks) Doctor Who and the Silurians (1970) Colony in Space (1971) The Sea Devils (1972) Frontier in Space (1973) Invasion of the Dinosaurs (1974)	1967	1974	[132][143][204][205][206][207][208][209]
Matthew Jacobs	1	1	Doctor Who (1996)	1996	1996	[210]
Charlene James	1	1	"Can You Hear Me?" (2020)	2020	2020	[58]
Elwyn Jones	1	4	The Highlanders (1966–67) (co-written with Gerry Davis)	1966	1967	[128]
Glyn Jones	1	4	The Space Museum (1965)	1965	1965	[211]
Matt Jones	1	2	"The Impossible Planet" / "The Satan Pit" (2006)	2006	2006	[212][213]
Malcolm Kohll	1	3	Delta and the Bannermen (1987)	1987	1987	[214]
"Guy Leopold" (Barry Letts and Robert Sloman)	1	5	The Dæmons (1971)	1971	1971	[215]
Henry Lincoln	2	12	The Abominable Snowmen (1967, co-written with Mervyn Haisman) The Web of Fear (1968, co-written with Mervyn Haisman)	1967	1968	[173][174]
Peter Ling	1	4[g]	The Mind Robber (1968)	1968	1968	[216]
John Lucarotti	3	15	Marco Polo (1964) The Aztecs (1964) The Massacre (1966) (episode 4 co-written with Donald Tosh)	1964	1966	[217][218][219]
Tom MacRae	2	3	"Rise of the Cybermen" / "The Age of Steel" (2006) "The Girl Who Waited" (2011)	2006	2011	[220][221][222]
Louis Marks	4	15	Planet of Giants (1965) Day of the Daleks (1972) Planet of Evil (1975) The Masque of Mandragora (1976)	1965	1976	[223][224][225][226]
Dave Martin	8	32	The Claws of Axos (1971) (co-written with Bob Baker) The Mutants (1972) (co-written with Bob Baker) The Three Doctors (1972–73) (co-written with Bob Baker) The Sontaran Experiment (1975) (co-written with Bob Baker) The Hand of Fear (1976) (co-written with Bob Baker) The Invisible Enemy (1977) (co-written with Bob Baker) Underworld (1978) (co-written with Bob Baker) The Armageddon Factor (1979) (co-written with Bob Baker)	1971	1979	[14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]
Philip Martin	2	6	Vengeance on Varos (1985) Mindwarp (1986)	1985	1986	[227][228]
Jamie Mathieson	4	4	"Mummy on the Orient Express" (2014) "Flatline" (2014) "The Girl Who Died" (2015) (co-written with Steven Moffat) "Oxygen" (2017)	2014	2017	[151][229][230][231]
Glen McCoy	1	2	Timelash (1985)	1985	1985	[232]
Andrew McCulloch	1	4	Meglos (1980, co-written with John Flanagan)	1980	1980	[150]
Pete McTighe	3	3	"Kerblam!" (2018) "Praxeus" (2020) (co-written with Chris Chibnall) "Lucky Day" (2025)	2018	2025	[57][233][234]
Nina Metivier	1	1	"Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror" (2020)	2020	2020	[235]
Steven Moffat	42.5[h]	51	"The Empty Child" / "The Doctor Dances" (2005) "The Girl in the Fireplace" (2006) "Blink" (2007) "Silence in the Library" / "Forest of the Dead" (2008) "The Eleventh Hour" (2010) "The Beast Below" (2010) "The Time of Angels" / "Flesh and Stone" (2010) "The Pandorica Opens" / "The Big Bang" (2010) "A Christmas Carol" (2010) "The Impossible Astronaut" / "Day of the Moon" (2011) "A Good Man Goes to War" (2011) "Let's Kill Hitler" (2011) "The Wedding of River Song" (2011) "The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe" (2011) "Asylum of the Daleks" (2012) "The Angels Take Manhattan" (2012) "The Snowmen" (2012) "The Bells of Saint John" (2013) "The Name of the Doctor" (2013) "The Night of the Doctor" (2013) "The Day of the Doctor" (2013) "The Time of the Doctor" (2013) "Deep Breath" (2014) "Into the Dalek" (2014) (co-written with Phil Ford) "Listen" (2014) "Time Heist" (2014) (co-written with Steve Thompson) "The Caretaker" (2014) (co-written with Gareth Roberts) "Dark Water" / "Death in Heaven" (2014) "Last Christmas" (2014) "The Magician's Apprentice" / "The Witch's Familiar" (2015) "The Girl Who Died" (2015) (co-written with Jamie Mathieson) "The Zygon Inversion" (2015) (co-written with Peter Harness) "Heaven Sent" (2015) "Hell Bent" (2015) "The Husbands of River Song" (2015) "The Return of Doctor Mysterio" (2016) "The Pilot" (2017) "Extremis" (2017) "The Pyramid at the End of the World" (2017) (co-written with Peter Harness) "World Enough and Time" / "The Doctor Falls" (2017) "Twice Upon a Time" (2017) "Boom" (2024) "Joy to the World" (2024)	2005	2024	[151][236][237]
Paula Moore	1	2	Attack of the Cybermen (1985)	1985	1985	[238]
James Moran	1	1	"The Fires of Pompeii" (2008)	2008	2008	[239]
Rona Munro	2	4	Survival (1989) "The Eaters of Light" (2017)	1989	2017	[240][241]
Terry Nation	10.5	56	The Daleks (1963–64) The Keys of Marinus (1964) The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1964) The Chase (1965) Mission to the Unknown (1965) The Daleks' Master Plan (1965–66) (episodes 1-5, 7) Planet of the Daleks (1973) Death to the Daleks (1974) Genesis of the Daleks (1975) The Android Invasion (1975) Destiny of the Daleks (1979)	1963	1979	[242][243][244][245][246][247][248][249][250][251][252]
Peter R. Newman	1	6	The Sensorites (1964)	1964	1964	[253]
Simon Nye	1	1	"Amy's Choice" (2010)	2010	2010	[254]
Geoffrey Orme	1	4	The Underwater Menace (1967)	1967	1967	[255]
Vinay Patel	2	2	"Demons of the Punjab" (2018) "Fugitive of the Judoon" (2020) (with Chris Chibnall)	2018	2020	[56][256]
Kit Pedler	3	12	The Tenth Planet (all episodes; episodes 3 and 4 co-written with Gerry Davis, 1966) The Moonbase (1967) The Tomb of the Cybermen (1967) (co-written with Gerry Davis)	1966	1967	[127][129][257]
Victor Pemberton	1	6	Fury from the Deep (1968)	1968	1968	[258]
Marc Platt	1	3	Ghost Light (1989)	1989	1989	[259]
Eric Pringle	1	2	The Awakening (1984)	1984	1984	[260]
Helen Raynor	2	4	"Daleks in Manhattan" / "Evolution of the Daleks" (2007) "The Sontaran Stratagem" / "The Poison Sky" (2008)	2007	2008	[261][262][263][264]
Anthony Read	1	4	The Horns of Nimon (1979–80)	1979	1979	[265]
Briony Redman	1	1	"Rogue" (2024, co-written with Kate Herron)	2024	2024	[184]
Ella Road	1	1	"Legend of the Sea Devils" (2022) (co-written with Chris Chibnall)	2022	2022	[67]
Gareth Roberts	6	6	"The Shakespeare Code" (2007) "The Unicorn and the Wasp" (2008) "Planet of the Dead" (2009, co-written with Russell T Davies) "The Lodger" (2010) "Closing Time" (2011) "The Caretaker" (2014, co-written with Steven Moffat)	2007	2014	[109][151][266][267][268][269]
Eric Saward	4	12	The Visitation (1982) Earthshock (1982) Resurrection of the Daleks (1984) Revelation of the Daleks (1985)	1982	1985	[270][271][272][273]
Lesley Scott	1	4	The Ark (1966, co-written with Paul Erickson)	1966	1966	[145]
Robert Shearman	1	1	"Dalek" (2005)	2005	2005	[274]
Derrick Sherwin[g]	1	8	The Invasion (1968)	1968	1968	[275]
Robert Sloman	3	18	The Time Monster (1972) The Green Death (1973) Planet of the Spiders (1974)	1972	1974	[276][277][278]
Andrew Smith	1	4	Full Circle (1980)	1980	1980	[279]
Dennis Spooner	3.5	20	The Reign of Terror (1964) The Romans (1965) The Time Meddler (1965) The Daleks' Master Plan (1965–66) (episodes 6,8-12)	1964	1966	[247][280][281][282]
Anthony Steven	1	4	The Twin Dilemma (1984)	1984	1984	[283]
Robert Banks Stewart	2	10	Terror of the Zygons (1975) The Seeds of Doom (1976)	1975	1976	[284][285]
Bill Strutton	1	6	The Web Planet (1965)	1965	1965	[286]
Keith Temple	1	1	"Planet of the Ood" (2008)	2008	2008	[287]
Steve Thompson	3	3	"The Curse of the Black Spot" (2011) "Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS" (2013) "Time Heist" (2014) (co-written with Steven Moffat)	2011	2014	[151][288][289]
Donald Tosh	0.25	1	The Massacre (1966) (episode 4 only, co-written with John Lucarotti)	1966	1966	[219]
Catherine Tregenna	1	1	"The Woman Who Lived" (2015)	2015	2015	[290]
David Whitaker[i]	8	40	The Edge of Destruction (1964) The Rescue (1965) The Crusade (1965) The Power of the Daleks (1966) The Evil of the Daleks (1967) The Enemy of the World (1967–68) The Wheel in Space (1968) The Ambassadors of Death (1970)[j]	1964	1970	[291][292][293][294][295][296][297][298]
Toby Whithouse	6	7	"School Reunion" (2006) "The Vampires of Venice" (2010) "The God Complex" (2011) "A Town Called Mercy" (2012) "Under the Lake" / "Before the Flood" (2015) "The Lie of the Land" (2017)	2006	2017	[299][300][301][302][303][304][305]
Joy Wilkinson	1	1	"The Witchfinders" (2018)	2018	2018	[306]
Stephen Wyatt	2	8	Paradise Towers (1987) The Greatest Show in the Galaxy (1988–89)	1987	1989	[307][308]

Notes

1. A "writer" is defined by this list as the person or persons who received onscreen credit for writing the script. This column sorts by the last name of the individual. It does not include such credits as: "based on an idea by", "story by", and other such creative credits that fall short of scriptwriting credit.
2. A "story" is a grouping of one of more episodes that form a single narrative. In the classic era, a "story" was a single serial, which might have comprised anywhere from one to twelve episodes, although the most common number was four. For the revived era, most stories have been a single episode in length. Where multi-part stories have been produced by the BBC, the titles of all parts are given so as to indicate the entirety of the story. Writers are credited with a fraction of a story if their name appears on only some of the episodes within a single story.
3. The story count in this list (prior to 2005) follows the official website's episode guide; there is some dispute on the numbering of the original series (including an unfinished story), and so other sources sometimes diverge in their numbering.^[1]
4. Shada was left unfinished during the original production of season 17. It was eventually completed for the DVD and Blu-ray release in 2017, 16 years after Adams died, and seven years after director Pennant Roberts died. This version was broadcast on American television in 2018. It would have originally aired in the United Kingdom from 19 January to 23 February 1980.
5. Alderton wrote one of Flux's six episodes.
6. Incorrectly credited to Steven Moffat on the official website's episode guide.
7. Derrick Sherwin is credited on the official website's episode guide as a co-writer of The Mind Robber, likely for episode 1. On-screen, the episode has no writer credit at all.
8. Moffat is only credited on the second part of the two-parter "The Zygon Invasion"/"The Zygon Inversion".
9. Sometimes misspelt as "Whittaker" on the official website's episode guide
10. Malcolm Hulke, Trevor Ray, and Terrance Dicks are credited as writers alongside Whitaker on the official website's episode guide but not on-screen.