Terrance Dicks was born in East Ham, London, England in 1935. He was educated at the local grammar school and later attended Downing College, Cambridge, where he studied English. After completing his education, Dicks served in the British Army for two years before pursuing a career in writing. He started out as an advertising copywriter, a job he held for five years, during which time he began writing radio scripts as a sideline.
Eventually, Dicks made the transition to full-time freelance writing, initially working on plays and comedy series for radio, and later on television programs such as The Avengers and Crossroads. In 1963, he joined the production team of the popular science fiction series Doctor Who, initially as a junior script editor, working under producers Peter Bryant and Derrick Sherwin.
During his time on Doctor Who, Dicks co-wrote several episodes, including the epic serial The War Games, and played a key role in bringing Robert Holmes, who would go on to become the series' most popular writer, to the show. He also formed a close working relationship with producer Barry Letts, and together they were responsible for the five popular seasons starring Jon Pertwee as the Doctor.
After leaving Doctor Who, Dicks returned to freelance writing, and went on to script-edit several classic BBC serials, including Great Expectations and Jane Eyre. He also made his debut as a producer on the highly acclaimed Oliver Twist, which helped to save the classic serial strand from cancellation.
Dicks returned to Doctor Who in the 1980s, despite producer John Nathan-Turner's initial reluctance to use established writers. He wrote several episodes, including State of Decay and The Five Doctors, and also penned two spin-off plays, "Doctor Who and the Daleks in Seven Keys to Doomsday" and "Doctor Who - The Ultimate Adventure".
In addition to his work on Doctor Who, Dicks has written numerous novelizations of televised serials and several original Doctor Who novels for Virgin's "The New Adventures" range. Today, he is one of the UK's most prolific authors of children's fiction, and continues to be active in the writing industry.
