Derrick G. Sherwin (born 16 April 1936 in High Wycombe, England, died 17 October 2018[1]) was script editor of Doctor Who from The Web of Fear to The Mind Robber. Immediately after his departure as script editor, he wrote The Invasion and briefly returned as script editor for The Space Pirates. He was the producer for The War Games and Spearhead from Space, overseeing the transition from Patrick Troughton's Second Doctor to Jon Pertwee's Third Doctor, the production's conversion from monochrome to colour, and the retooling of the series to one of Earth-bound, present-day adventures. (DOC: The UNIT Family) Until the 1996 TV Movie, Sherwin is the shortest-serving producer of the classic era of Doctor Who, having produced only two serials consecutively.
Sherwin, as well as being script editor and producer, was also an actor, with several roles on television in the 1950s and 1960s. He made a cameo appearance in The Invasion where he stepped in as a non-speaking and uncredited UNIT attendant. (DWM 533) He also had an uncredited role in Spearhead from Space as a UNIT commissionaire. (DOC: Down to Earth)
He shared his memories of his Doctor Who career on several audio commentaries and exclusive-to-DVD documentaries.
Personal life
His wife, Jane Sherwin, whom he had met as an actor, played Lady Jennifer Buckingham in his first story as producer, The War Games.
Credits
Script Editor
- The Web of Fear
- Fury from the Deep
- The Wheel in Space
- The Dominators
- The Mind Robber
- The Space Pirates
Writer
Producer
Actor
- The Invasion - UNIT attendant (uncredited)
- Spearhead from Space - UNIT commissionaire (uncredited)
Audio commentary
- The Web of Fear Episode 1 (Lost in Time box set)
- The Wheel in Space Episode 6 (Lost in Time box set)
- The War Games
- Spearhead from Space (2012 reissue)
Documentary
- Recharge and Equalise
- The Fact of Fiction
- Second Time Around
- War Zone
- Shades of Grey
- Down to Earth
- Regenerations: From Black and White to Colour
- The UNIT Family
- Remembering Barry Letts
- Doctor Who and the Third Man
- Strike! Strike! Strike! (archive footage)