Professor Cook stars in new collection of classic Dr Who writing

Professor John Cook features in a new compilation of classic Dr Who writing - released to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the show.

Adventures Across Space and Time, published by Bloomsbury, brings together the best academic, critic and fan writings about the world's longest-running science-fiction series.

The editors selected a piece by Professor Cook, penned in 1999, about the 1965 big-screen outing Dr Who and the Daleks, starring Peter Cushing.

Glasgow Caledonian's Professor in Media was inspired to write the piece after conducting an academic interview with legendary BBC drama executive Sydney Newman, who sketched out the original idea of an adventure series featuring a wise scientist with a time machine.

Professor Cook said: "It's nice that my piece has been recognised as worthy of anthologisation as a 'classic' piece of writing on Doctor Who.

"It was one of the first pieces of scholarly academic writing on the series - now there is a whole Doctor Who academic publication industry.

"While, on one level, Doctor Who and the Daleks might be regarded as a trivial and fun topic, there are some interesting historical and cultural resonances with Britain's experience in the Second War and the Cold War of the 1960s."

Adventures Across Space and Time, which also features contributions from the writer Douglas Adams, actor Peter Capaldi and Dr Who showrunner Steven Moffat, is out now.