Doctor Who's first writer could finally be recognised 60 years after he helped launch the hugely-popular series.
However, a campaign to erect a memorial to Coburn in his home town of Herne Bay, Kent, is gathering pace a month ahead of the show's 60th anniversary. He had a good pedigree in writing BBC dramas, including Maigret and Dr Finlay's Casebook, but the proposed show took his creative skills in a different direction.The first episode of An Unearthly Child broadcast on 23 November 1963, the day after John F Kennedy's assassination.
He said: "Tony Coburn's achievements go beyond Doctor Who, writing the last Maigret and giving Brian Blessed his first TV role. He was hard-working and committed to his writing every day.""I believe it's important for communities to identify with their heritage in all its forms and that includes TV heritage.