Brian Hayles
Encyclopedia
Brian Hayles was born in Portsmouth
, Hampshire
, England
. His body of work as a writer for television
and film
, most notably for the BBC
science fiction
series Doctor Who
, lasted from 1962 to 1978.
Hayles wrote six stories for Doctor Who
and is best known for his creation of the Celestial Toymaker
in the 1966 story of the same name, the Ice Warrior
s, introduced in the 1967 story of the same name
, and the feudal planet Peladon, the setting for The Curse of Peladon
and its sequel The Monster of Peladon
.
In addition to script writing for the radio series The Archers
, Hayles penned a novel based on the soap called Spring at Brookfield (Tandem, 1975) set in the period between the two world war
s. His other books included novelisations of his Doctor Who
serials The Curse of Peladon
(Target, 1974) and The Ice Warriors
(Target, 1976), an adaptation of his scripts for the BBC drama The Moon Stallion
(Mirror Books, 1978), and two horror plays for children, The Curse of the Labyrinth (Dobson, 1976) and Hour of the Werewolf (Dobson, 1976). An original novel entitled Goldhawk (NEL, 1979) was published posthumously.
Apart from Doctor Who
, Hayles wrote for such television series as The Regiment, Barlow at Large, Doomwatch
, Out of the Unknown
, United!
, Legend of Death, Public Eye
, Z-Cars
, BBC Playhouse, The Wednesday Thriller and Suspense. He also wrote the screenplays for the feature films Nothing But the Night (1972) and Warlords of Atlantis
(1978). The novelisation of the latter by Paul Victor (Futura, 1978) included a preface by Hayles entitled 'The Thinking Behind Atlantis' in which he explained the origins of the film's central concepts.
Hayles's final screenplay was for Arabian Adventure
(1979), which he completed shortly before his death on 30 October 1978. The novelisation of the film by Keith Miles
(Mirror Books, 1979) was dedicated to his memory.
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
, Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. His body of work as a writer for television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
and film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, most notably for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
series Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
, lasted from 1962 to 1978.
Hayles wrote six stories for Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
and is best known for his creation of the Celestial Toymaker
The Celestial Toymaker
The Celestial Toymaker is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 2 April to 23 April 1966.-Plot:...
in the 1966 story of the same name, the Ice Warrior
Ice Warrior
The Ice Warriors are a fictional extraterrestrial race of reptilian-like humanoids in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The race originated on Mars, and first appeared in the 1967 serial The Ice Warriors where they encountered the Second Doctor and his...
s, introduced in the 1967 story of the same name
The Ice Warriors
The Ice Warriors is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from November 11 to December 16, 1967...
, and the feudal planet Peladon, the setting for The Curse of Peladon
The Curse of Peladon
The Curse of Peladon is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 29 January to 19 February 1972.-Synopsis:...
and its sequel The Monster of Peladon
The Monster of Peladon
The Monster of Peladon is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 23 March to 27 April 1974.-Synopsis:...
.
In addition to script writing for the radio series The Archers
The Archers
The Archers is a long-running British soap opera broadcast on the BBC's main spoken-word channel, Radio 4. It was originally billed as "an everyday story of country folk", but is now described on its Radio 4 web site as "contemporary drama in a rural setting"...
, Hayles penned a novel based on the soap called Spring at Brookfield (Tandem, 1975) set in the period between the two world war
World war
A world war is a war affecting the majority of the world's most powerful and populous nations. World wars span multiple countries on multiple continents, with battles fought in multiple theaters....
s. His other books included novelisations of his Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
serials The Curse of Peladon
The Curse of Peladon
The Curse of Peladon is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 29 January to 19 February 1972.-Synopsis:...
(Target, 1974) and The Ice Warriors
The Ice Warriors
The Ice Warriors is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from November 11 to December 16, 1967...
(Target, 1976), an adaptation of his scripts for the BBC drama The Moon Stallion
The Moon Stallion
The Moon Stallion is a British children's television serial made by the BBC in 1978 and written by Brian Hayles, who also authored its novelization....
(Mirror Books, 1978), and two horror plays for children, The Curse of the Labyrinth (Dobson, 1976) and Hour of the Werewolf (Dobson, 1976). An original novel entitled Goldhawk (NEL, 1979) was published posthumously.
Apart from Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
, Hayles wrote for such television series as The Regiment, Barlow at Large, Doomwatch
Doomwatch
Doomwatch is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC, which ran on BBC One between 1970 and 1972. The series was set in the then present-day, and dealt with a scientific government agency led by Doctor Spencer Quist , responsible for investigating and combating various...
, Out of the Unknown
Out of the Unknown
Out of the Unknown is a British television science fiction anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and broadcast on BBC2 in four series between 1965 and 1971. Each episode was an independent dramatisation of a separate science fiction short story...
, United!
United!
United! was a British television series which was produced by the BBC between 1965 and 1967, and was broadcast twice-weekly on BBC1.The series followed the fortunes of a fictional second division football team, Brentwich United...
, Legend of Death, Public Eye
Public Eye
Public Eye is a British television series that ran from 1965 to 1975 . It was produced by ABC Television for three series, and Thames Television for a further four series...
, Z-Cars
Z-Cars
Z-Cars is a British television drama series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby in the outskirts of Liverpool in Merseyside. Produced by the BBC, it debuted in January 1962 and ran until September 1978.-Origins:The series was developed by...
, BBC Playhouse, The Wednesday Thriller and Suspense. He also wrote the screenplays for the feature films Nothing But the Night (1972) and Warlords of Atlantis
Warlords of Atlantis
Warlords of Atlantis is a 1978 British science fiction, fantasy film. As the title suggests, the film is about a trip to the lost world of Atlantis. The movie was directed by Kevin Connor from a screen play by Brian Hayles. It was filmed in color with monaural sound and English dialogue, and runs...
(1978). The novelisation of the latter by Paul Victor (Futura, 1978) included a preface by Hayles entitled 'The Thinking Behind Atlantis' in which he explained the origins of the film's central concepts.
Hayles's final screenplay was for Arabian Adventure
Arabian Adventure
Arabian Adventure is a 1979 fantasy adventure film directed by Kevin Connor and starring Christopher Lee and Oliver Tobias. The film was shot at Pinewood Studios, Buckinghamshire, U.K.-Plot synopsis:...
(1979), which he completed shortly before his death on 30 October 1978. The novelisation of the film by Keith Miles
Keith Miles
Keith Miles is a writer of historical fiction and mystery novels. He has also written children's books, radio and television dramas and stage plays. He is best known under the pseudonym Edward Marston, and has also written as Martin Inigo and Conrad Allen.-Career:Miles was born and educated in...
(Mirror Books, 1979) was dedicated to his memory.