Robert Holmes was a scriptwriter for numerous television programmes including Dr Finlay's Casebook, Dixon of Dock Green, The Saint, Juliet Bravo and Bergerac. He was involved with Doctor Who for over fifteen years and wrote numerous scripts including Jon Pertwee's debut serial as the Third Doctor, Spearhead from Space, and Fifth Doctor Peter Davison's final serial, The Caves of Androzani (voted by fans in 2009 as the best Doctor Who story in history). He introduced both the Autons and the Sontarans to the show and was script editor during the first three years of Tom Baker's tenure as Fourth Doctor. Holmes also contributed to several other sci-fi shows including Doomwatch, The Nightmare Man and Blake's 7. He died in 1986, aged 60.