Doctor Who's first-ever story will be missing from BBC iPlayer's back catalog

BBC iPlayer may be getting ready to drop hundreds of old episodes of Doctor Who, but it's not set to be a complete back catalog. Four early episodes, which constitute the show's first-ever story arc and the introduction of William Hartnell's first Doctor, will be missing from the platform.

"This massive iPlayer back catalog will be home to over 800 hours of Doctor Who content, making it the biggest ever collection of Doctor Who programming in one place but will not include the first four episodes as we do not have all the rights to those," the BBC said in a statement.

The story, titled 'An Unearthly Child,' will be missing from the episodes releasing on the BBC's streaming platform on November 1 to coincide with Doctor Who's 60th anniversary. First airing in 1963, the show ran for 26 seasons until 1989, before being rebooted in 2005 with Christopher Eccleston in the lead role and Russell T. Davies at the helm. At the moment, only the rebooted seasons are available to watch online.

It's not just the main series that will be hitting iPlayer, either – spin-offs including Torchwood, The Sarah Jane Adventures, and Class, as well as the behind-the-scenes series Doctor Who Confidential will also be added to the platform.

Three hour-long specials to mark Doctor Who's 60th anniversary will air in November, with David Tennant back in the TARDIS, with season 14, starring Ncuti Gatwa, following in 2024. In the meantime, check out our guide to the other best new TV shows to add to your watch list.