Just one correction. Ron Grainer did not write the Doctor Who theme. He just gave Delia a tapped out rhythm and some vague notes, like sweeping sounds and clouds. She created the theme but never got true credit for it during her all too short life.

Imagine you're watching TV in 1963, all you know is the pop music of the time, and then you tune into Dr Who and that thing comes howling out of the TV. It must have been mind-blowing.

Delia was an extremely intelligent girl from a working class background. In the late 50's she was interested in "sound, music and acoustics," and became one of the pioneers of electronic music when only reel-to-reel tape was available. After graduating college... "she applied for a position at Decca Records, only to be told that the company did not employ women in their recording studios." That breaks my heart. To think they turned her away only because of her sex. So she got jobs teaching and in music publishing and it wasn't long before the talented young lady was hired by the BBC as an a trainee assistant studio manager.

She basically created the entire alphabet of analog electronic sound on her own. Amazing.

I think we take far too much for granted in this age of DAWs and throwaway music production. Those like Delia and her colleagues in the BBC Radiophonic Workshop really don’t get the credit they deserve as we wouldn’t be where we are now without their pioneering work in music production and sound manipulation. It’s a shame that those days of tape splicing and real hands on methods are sadly a faded memory. What a sad end to her life as Delia faded away without anyone really knowing who she was and what she achieved.

After years of listening to music, mainly electronic music, ive literaly only just become aware of Delias work. What an incredible mind. It seems that as time goes on her music becomes more and more relevant. Ive never really taken any notice of the Dr Who track but now i realise how important it is, there is probably more music around today than there has ever been that owes so much to that track. Itss somehow hard to know how to express how incredible Delia was, or still is.

I think we need to see a meticulously crafted movie about her work along the lines of Hidden Figures.

She was such a lovely innovator, so very much ahead of her time. A musical genius. I could listen to Delia's music all day. And such a soothing, pleasing voice too.

This sounds really fresh and groundbreaking today, I really can't begin to imagine the impact that these sounds would have on someone's mind fifty years ago

lets make those recordings widely available!!

There was SO MUCH material that came out of The BBC Radiophonic Workshop that other composers were merely doing to deadlines for money, but only Delia Derbyshire's material knocks you back on the floor when you hear it now. She has such a defined & yet shapeless sound. It's cruel that she was never given funding to simply compose her masterpieces.

Damn!! She was a genius and beautiful!!! Rest In Peace Delia!!

I just found a copy of White Noise...An Electric Storm at my local flea market for 3 bucks....now I know how lucky I was ! I saw Eno with Roxy Music in 1972....now I know he was imitating Delia !

How had I never heard of this woman before this?! This is why I love KZread! What a boss!!!

I get upset when my DAW has a hiccup and doesn't work lightning quick. After seeing the process she and others had to go through I'll never take for granted modern music recording and creation. Definitely a pioneer and legend

I hope a sculpture artist is watching this documentary because I'd like to see a statue of Delia, perhaps one of her standing overlooking the reel to reel tape recorder, on the front lawn of the BBC offices.

She basically was Dr. Who a timeless being putting together sounds before anyone was ready. It’s amazing that she was able to find such a huge platform for her work as she did. A lot of brilliantly creative people are not able to be heard and enjoyed. I’m glad they released the recordings as well. But nowadays I’m sure people would just try to drop it into a song as a sample and not think about the work it took to create it.

As a kid who grew up in 80's Britain some of the scariest things I watched back then were repeats from old 70's shows and the one thing they had that managed to scare my young mind out of it's wits was the use of sound. Visually some of the shows were a shambles with low budgets and it showed but the sound dept would always make it seem realistic with odd other worldly sounds that would unnerve you.

I love what she says at

I remember sitting in front of our tiny fuzzy B&W TV with dodgy reception to watch Dr. Who on a Sunday early evening back in the late 1960s. I loved the Dr. Who theme. It was mesmerising and unlike anything on the radio or elsewhere on television. What an interesting person Delia was :)