The soldiers of UNIT have been defending the Earth from alien aggressors since the black-and-white era of Doctor Who. Now, a lavish bookazine from Panini – UNIT Declassified – traces the history of the secret organisation, from the Cyberman invasion of London to the epic spin-off series The War Between the Land and the Sea, coming soon to BBC1.
Doctor Who Magazine first focused on UNIT in a Winter Special issue back in 1991, featuring a cover by Richard Piers Rayner, edited by John Freeman. UNIT actors from the series gamely joined in with the fun back then, posing in civilian clothes for features in the 52-page magazine. Following that tradition, it’s great to see Panini offering a “Variant Cover” for this new bookazine, available to preorder now, with art from David and Emily Roach.
“We’ve never done a bookazine about UNIT before,” says editor Marcus Hearn. “Now the Taskforce is finally getting the standalone series it always deserved, we decided this was the perfect time to celebrate a tour of duty that began way back with Patrick Troughton’s Doctor.”
The 116-page publication features new interviews, insightful commentary and some extraordinary behind-the-scenes images that have never been seen before.
Highlights of UNIT Declassified include:
- Pete McTighe, the co-writer of The War Between of the Land and the Sea, previews the new series
- Chris Chibnall, Russell T Davies and Steven Moffat on UNIT’s 21st-century adventures
- A rarely-seen interview with Brigadier actor Nicholas Courtney, conducted in 1984
- Exclusive new interviews with UNIT personnel, including Angela Bruce (Brigadier Bambera), Katy Manning (Jo Grant), Fernanda Marlowe (Corporal Bell) and former EastEnders regular Derek Martin
- Eyewitness accounts of the 1973 location shoot for legendary UNIT story The Green Death
- Irene Walls, make-up artist on the 1970 and 71 seasons, remembers working with Jon Pertwee and the UNIT regulars
- Previously unpublished images from the location filming of The Android Invasion in 1975
- A look at director Douglas Camfield’s meticulous preparations for the first UNIT story, The Invasion
- Infographics on UNIT insignia and the thorny issue of exactly when the classic UNIT stories are set
- Guides to UNIT vehicles, some of the most important battles, the expanded universe and much more!
• Doctor Who: UNIT Declassified will be available at panini.co.uk and good news retailers from Thursday 4th December 2025, price £12.99. It will also be available digitally from pocketmags.com price £11.99
• Preorder the Doctor Who: UNIT Declassified – online only VARIANT cover here direct from Panini UK
- About the Author
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as 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: Doctor Who, downthetubes News, Magazines, Other Worlds, Science Fiction, Television
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