Anthony Coburn

James Anthony Coburn (10 December 1927 – 28 April 1977) was an Australian television writer and producer, who spent much of his professional career living and working in the United Kingdom. He moved to the UK around 1950, where he joined the staff of BBC Television. While working as a staff writer for the BBC in 1963 and living in Herne Bay, Kent that he became involved in the early development of the science-fiction series Doctor Who.He liaised closely with the series first story editor, David Whitaker, on establishing the format and characters of the show, which had been initiated by various BBC drama executives before being handed on to the new production team. It is believed to have been Coburns idea for the Doctors travelling companion, Susan, to be his granddaughter, as he was disturbed by the possible sexual connotations of an old man travelling with an unrelated teenager.Coburn wrote four full serials for the programme, An Unearthly Child, The Robots (also known as The Masters of Luxor) and two other unnamed scripts. Only An Unearthly Child was produced and it was the first ever Doctor Who serial to be made, despite both Coburn and the production teams misgivings about its prehistoric settings. The Robots was continually delayed and put back in production order, and then finally rejected — following this, Coburn severed his links with the show.He was the co-creator of Warship with Ian Mackintosh, a popular British television drama series that centred on the Royal Navy. The programme was aired by the BBC between 1973 and 1977. A book was also published in 1973 to coincide with the series. Another of his assignments was the 1965, six-part series Heiress of Garth, based on the novel Ovingtons Bank by Stanley J. Weyman.Coburn produced the original pilot episode of The Onedin Line; his tasks included searching many inlets and harbours before finally finding, in Dartmouth, Devon, the schooner that would be the Charlotte Rhodes. He died in 1977 of a heart attack while producing the second series of the BBC period drama Poldark.

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