TV - Robert Banks Stewart

Doctor Who writer and creator of The Zygons, Robert Banks Stewart, has died...

Robert Banks Stewart has passed away at the age of 84, after a hard fought battle with cancer. Born in Edinburgh, he cut his teeth in journalism before moving to writing for TV and contributing stories for series such as Callan and The Avengers.  He was responsible for the creation of some very well-loved series of his own in the late 70's and 80's, creating both the detective series Shoestring, which gave Trevor Eve his big break, and Bergerac, which saw John Nettles fighting crime on Jersey. He also went on to produce episodes of other huge series such as Darling Buds of May, where he is credited (some say blamed) with being the person who cast Catherine Zeta Jones in her first role.

But he was probably best known to us here at /G-f for his two classic Tom Baker era Doctor Who stories, Terror of the Zygons, which introduced the shape-shifting aliens who lived under Loch Ness, and The Seeds of Doom, a storyline which drew heavily on classic sci-fi inspiration such as Day of the Triffids. The Zygons were seen as such popular aliens with the fans that they were chosen to appear in The Day of the Doctor, for the 50th anniverary, as well as being brought back again in the two parter of the most recent series, The Zygon Invasion/The Zygon Inversion, proving that the creativity of Robert Banks Stewart stands the test of time(lords).

Image - BBC