Malcolm Hulke was a prolific and respected television writer from
the 1950s until the 1970s. His writing credits included the early
science fiction Pathfinders series, as well as The Avengers. Hulke
was first approached to write for Doctor Who when the series first
started, but his idea for The Hidden Planet was not pursued. In 1967
he wrote The Faceless Ones (with David Ellis) for the Second Doctor.
By 1969, Hulke's friend and occasional writing partner Terrance Dicks
was Script Editor for Doctor Who and needed a ten part story to
replace other scripts and write out Patrick Troughton's Doctor.
Together, they wrote The War Games, which for the first time explained
the Doctor's origins and introduced his people, the Time Lords. Hulke
continued to write for Doctor Who, providing a story for each of the
Third Doctor's series. Malcolm Hulke died in 1979, soon after completing
his novelisation of The War Games.