London , England ( CNN ) -- Whovians across the world can rejoice as the BBC confirms the discovery of nine lost `` Doctor Who '' episodes from the 1960s in Africa . The treasure-trove of missing episodes were traced to a relay station in Jos , Nigeria via Hong Kong using overseas shipment records by Philip Morris , director of Television International Enterprises Archive . `` I remember wiping the dust off the masking tape on the canisters and my heart missed a beat as I saw the words 'Doctor Who , ' '' said Morris . `` When I read the story code I realized I 'd found something pretty special . '' Ending weeks of speculation , the announcement was made at a press screening in London Thursday attended by former companion actors Frazer Hines , Deborah Watling -- who appeared in the recovered episodes -- and Mark Gatiss , who has both written and acted in the show in recent years . The lost black and white stories are episodes from `` The Enemy of the World '' and `` The Web of Fear '' featuring Patrick Troughton as the second iteration of the time-traveling Doctor . The `` Web of Fear '' -- first broadcast in 1968 -- sees the eccentric chrononaut battling robot yetis on the London Underground and was also the first appearance of Nicholas Courtney as Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart . While introducing the episode in front of around 70 excited reporters Gatiss said : `` It 's the quintessential 'Doctor Who ' story ... the most British thing you could ever imagine . '' During the 1960s it was common practice by television companies to erase videotapes of original episodes much to the dismay of fans today . Yet some classic installments were distributed internationally for foreign broadcasters to purchase . In 2011 , two episodes were rediscovered by former TV engineer Terry Burnett after he bought them at a school fair . Morris described the newly materialized episodes as `` the largest haul of missing episodes recovered in the last 25 , maybe 30 years '' and now brings down the number of remaining lost episodes to 97 . The find is a fitting gift for fans of the long-running show as the British cult science-fiction series celebrates its 50th anniversary on November 23 . Inez Torre contributed to this report .
Nine lost `` Doctor Who '' episodes from the 1960s have been found in Africa . The BBC has revealed that it is looking for a new home to house its archive of classic TV shows and films. The long-running science-fiction show celebrates 50th anniversary in November .