About this event
The first biography of the infamous Time Lord.
In ‘Exterminate / Regenerate’, John Higgs invites us into his TARDIS on a journey to discover how ideas emerge and survive despite the odds, why we are so addicted to fiction, and why this wonderful wandering time-traveller means so much to so many.
On screen, Doctor Who is a story of monsters, imagination and mind-expanding adventure. But the off-screen story is equally extraordinary – a tale of failed monks, war heroes, 1960s polyamory and self-sabotaging broadcasting executives. From the politics of fandom to the inner-struggles of the BBC, thousands of people have given part of themselves – and sometimes, too much of themselves – to bring this unlikeliest of folk heroes to life.
This is a story of change, mystery and the importance of imaginary characters in our lives. Able to evolve and adapt more radically than any other fiction, Doctor Who has acted as a mirror to more than six decades of social, technological and cultural change while always remaining a central fixture of the British imagination.
Written by one of the most well-respected cultural critics at work in the UK today, John Higgs is the author of several bestselling books, including: ‘The KLF’, ‘Live and Let Die: Bond, The Beatles and British Psyche’, ‘Watling Street’ and ‘William Blake v The World’.