Gerry Davis

Gerry Davis was a British author, notably of science fiction teleplays, best remembered today for his contribution to Doctor Who (1963) in the 1960s and as the co-creator of another cult series, Doomwatch (1970). A former journalist and merchant seaman, Davis had a grounding in opera and had worked as a cinema translator in Italy. His first professional output as a writer was for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. In 1965, he was employed as story editor by the BBC and the following year began a long-standing association with Doctor Who (1963). Together with the series' scientific advisor Kit Pedler he is credited with inventing the Cybermen. Davis worked on more than seventy episodes, initially as story editor. Starting with The Tomb of the Cybermen: Episode 1 (1967), he also contributed original screenplays. Although he was offered the chance to take over as the producer of Doctor Who (1963) by Innes Lloyd, he declined, preferring to concentrate on his writing. Davis subsequently collaborated with Pedler in creating the ecological drama series Doomwatch (1970), as well as working with him on several sci-fi novels. From 1976, he was based in Hollywood, writing primarily for episodic television (though also co-scripting one feature film, The Final Countdown (1980)). Davis latterly taught screenwriting at the UCLA film school. He died in August 1991, aged 61, in California.