Per Big Finish Productions, and a family obituary shared via Sci-Fi Bulletin, British author Justin Richards died on Sunday, June 28, after a decade of living with early onset frontotemporal dementia. He was 64 years old. Richards was best known for writing multiple Doctor Who novels, audio dramas, and reference books, and more. His original book series included The Invisible Detective, Time Runners, Agent Alfie, The School of Night, Department of Unclassified Artefacts, and (with Jack Higgins) Rich and Jade.
Richards was born in Epping, Essex, on September 14, 1961, and studied English and Theatre at the University of Warwick. He began his career as a developer for IBM, but also contributed to Doctor Who Magazine, and co-edited the behind-the-scenes fanzine In•Vision. He made his fiction debut with the Virgin New Adventures novel Theatre of War in 1994, and his audio debut with the 1999 Big Finish production Whispers of Terror, which marked the third original Doctor Who audio drama from the company after it acquired the rights that year.
In 2000, after the license for the Doctor Who novels returned to BBC Books, he was appointed a contributing range consultant for the series, overseeing the Eighth Doctor, Past Doctor, and New Series Adventures books, in addition to writing new installments, until 2017. These included a pair of original graphic novels, The Only Good Dalek, and The Dalek Project (created with Mike Collins) from 2010, and 2012. Over at Big Finish, Richards served as script editor on the Doctor Who spin-off Jago & Litefoot from 2010 to 2017, and the Blake’s 7 continuation.
Richards was honored during his lifetime with the Hull Children’s Book Award, for the standalone sci-fi fantasy novel The Chaos Code, in 2008. He is survived by his wife Alison, their sons Chris and Julian, and his mother and brothers. Julian, who followed in his father’s footsteps by becoming a writer for Big Finish, shared a lengthy tribute to him on the company’s website, alongside executive producer Nicholas Briggs, and producer David Richardson.
The younger Richards quoted a passage from his father’s 1996 Doctor Who novel The Sands of Time, which reads, “He listened, always. I was always talking sense when I spoke to Dad; I was always interesting when I spoke to Dad; I was always right when I spoke to Dad, even if he then told me something that was even more right.” Briggs comments, “Justin was such a kind and decent chap,” who “shone just as brightly in his role as a champion for other creators” as a writer.
Richardson ends the tribute, saying, “Justin’s talents go without saying, but for those who only know him through his work, it’s worth stating that he was a genuinely lovely person. People wanted to be around him because he was decent and kind; a benevolent force for good with vast amounts of talent. He’ll be missed by everyone who knew him. Deepest condolences to his family, who he adored.”
