Born in South Australia in 1918, Bill Strutton worked as a clerk before joining the Australian army during World War 2. He served in the Middle East and later in Greece. Captured by the Germans in Crete, he spent several years as a prisoner of war. After the war, Strutton came to live in England where he pursued a career writing. He worked as a journalist as well as writing novels and television scripts. Strutton’s only script for Doctor Who was The Web Planet, commissioned in late 1964 and broadcast in 1965. He died on 23 November 2003, the day of Doctor Who's 40th anniversary, aged 85 years.