The First Doctor’s final adventure The Tenth Planet is to have its lost fourth episode animated for DVD release, doctorwho.tv can exclusively reveal.

Teased yesterday at the Gallifrey One convention by Dan Hall, commissioning editor of the classic Doctor Who DVD range, The Tenth Planet sees both the introduction of the menacing, dead-eyed Cybermen, and the departure of the First Doctor, William Hartnell. The final episode has been missing from the BBC Archives since the mid-1970s, and will be reconstructed using the same Thetamation process used to recreate The Reign of Terror episodes 4 and 5.

See a gallery of The Tenth Planet animation stills >>

Dan Hall said: "It’s a real thrill to be bringing such an iconic Doctor Who episode back to life. Without the events established in The Tenth Planet episode 4, there would be no Doctor Who as we know it!"

The release date is currently scheduled for late 2013.

View a clip of episode one, below: A tenth planet has appeared in the sky. No one listens as the Doctor insists that the inhabitants of this new planet will soon arrive...