Publisher Weidenfeld & Nicholson has announced the upcoming release of Exterminate/ Regenerate by John Higgs, on 10th April 2025.

In Exterminate/ Regenerate, John Higgs takes us in his TARDIS on a sixty-plus year journey to discover how ideas survive, why we are so addicted to stories, and why this wonderful wandering time traveller means so much to so many.

Doctor Who behaves in a way quite unlike any other fictional character. For sixty years the Doctor has sat at the heart of British culture and rewired the imaginations of generations. Yet no one person invented this strange character, and no one person controls them. They emerged from the space between many minds, able to evolve and adapt to our fast-changing world more skillfully than any other fiction.

The story of Doctor Who is a story of change, mystery and the role of imaginary characters in our lives. It is also the story of the thousands of people who have given part of themselves – and sometimes, too much of themselves – in order to bring this folk hero to life. Ncuti Gatwa, Russell T Davies and Disney+ are currently placing this glorious, imaginative and perfectly ludicrous British character at the heart of global culture, so it is time to acknowledge that the life of Doctor Who is far stranger, profound and uncanny than we usually assume.

Jenny Lord, Executive Publisher of Weidenfeld & Nicolson and Orion Literary, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights in Exterminate/ Regenerate by John Higgs from Sarah Ballard at United Agents.

“Sixty years after the birth of Doctor Who, I can think of no better writer to tell us the full story of how this fictional character continues to endure so many decades on,” says Jenny. “Both playful and profound, grounded and uncanny, Exterminate/ Regenerate will be a delightful and fascinating biography for our age.’

“The question of how something as joyous, absurd and mythic as Doctor Who came to exist is an endlessly fascinating one,” commented John Higgs. “Real life is stranger than fiction, but the real-life events that came together to create this fiction are the strangest of all.

“Doctor Who is the unholy marriage of extraordinary people seduced by wild imagination, and it’s a great pleasure to celebrate its ever-evolving story.’”

John Higgs is a writer who specialises in finding previously unsuspected narratives, hidden in obscure corners of our history and culture, which can change the way we see the world. In the words of MOJO magazine, “Reading John Higgs is like being shot with a diamond. Suddenly everything becomes terrifyingly clear”. 

He is the author of I Have America Surrounded, The KLF, Stranger Than We Can Imagine (described by Alan Moore as “Breathtakingly lucid… An illuminating work of massive insight, I cannot recommend this magnificent work too highly.”), Watling Street, The Future Starts Here, William Blake Now, William Blake VS The World and Love and Let Die.

A prolific public speaker, Higgs has spoken at events and festivals including Tate Britain, The Secret Garden Party, Latitude, Festival No. #6, the Brighton Festival, Women In Art, the the British Library, and LonCon3 (the World Science Fiction Convention). Before turning to full-time writing he directed over 100 episodes of animated pre-school television, created the long-running BBC Radio 4 quiz series X Marks the Spot, and worked as producer on a number of videogames for the Xbox, PlayStation2 and Nintendo Gamecube.

He lives in Brighton, England, with his wife and their two children.

• Exterminate/ Regenerate is available to preorder now | ISBN: 978-1399614771 | 320 Pages | AmazonUK Affiliate Link

With thanks to John McLay for the news tip

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.

Categories: Books, Doctor Who, downthetubes News, Other Worlds, Science Fiction, Television

Tags: British Comics - Books, Doctor Who, downthetubes News, John Higgs, Weidenfeld & Nicholson