Ayton Whitaker

Ayton Whitaker was the Drama Group Administrator at the British Broadcasting Corporation in 1963, and thus a sort of deputy to Donald Wilson, at the time of the creation of Doctor Who. He was responsible for some of the more "nuts and bolts" decisions with respect to scheduling and budgeting the production of Doctor Who. His job was essentially to liaise with the planning departments within the BBC whose job it was to allocate studio space, recording facilities and other resources necessary for the production of a television programme. He was thus a kind of "buffer" between the more "creative" executives, like Wilson, Newman and Lambert, and the more technical executives like Joanna Spicer, John Mair, and Richard Levin, who controlled the resources with which to make the show.

He therefore became a key player in what Sydney Newman famously called the "Dr. Who Hassle" in a memo dated 27 June 1963. The "hassle" was a struggle for control of facilities, equipment, and design personnel necessary to the production of Doctor Who which had erupted during Newman and Wilson's simultaneous vacations in June. In their absence, Whitaker effectively became the voice of Wilson's office, thus making him virtually the most senior advocate of Doctor Who within the BBC's organisation. His furious stream of memos that June would prove instrumental in keeping the production of the new programme on course until the return of Wilson and Newman at the end of the month. As Newman wrote after his return in a memo designed to cut through the production ennui, "While I may be ignorant of the some of the finer points of Corporation routine, it is apparent that Ayton Whitaker and others in my Group are not."

Indeed, Whitaker was clearly one of the people who knew how to get things done within the Corporation. He had been, after all, the first person to deliver any specifics about what Doctor Who would be, in practical terms. His 26 April 1963 memo — in fact a reply to a query intended for Donald Wilson — set out the general recording schedule, were the show picked up as a 52-week concern. In the memo he also establsihed an initial budget of £2300/episode and £500 for the building of the as-yet-unnamed TARDIS. He was also a key player in the battle throughout season 1 of where, exactly, Doctor Who would be recorded. He proved a sympathetic ear to the complaints of Rex Tucker, Verity Lambert and David Whitaker over the unsuitability of Lime Grove Studios for the recording of Doctor Who. Perhaps because his boss, Donald Wilson, was dissatisfied with Lime Grove, as well, he quickly lobbied John Mair for a move to either BBC Television Centre or Riverside Studios after the recording of the first two serials, in a memo dated 10 June 1963. (REF: The First Doctor Handbook)