Editing Terrance Dicks (section)

==Early career==
Born in [[East Ham]],<ref name="Russell">{{Cite web|url=https://www.ipswichstar.co.uk/news/daleks-doctors-and-a-dog-called-goliath-1-161772|title=Daleks, doctors and a dog called Goliath|first=Steven|last=Russell|website=Ipswich Star|date=20 February 2008}}</ref> Essex (now part of [[Greater London]]), Dicks was the only son of William, a tailor's salesman and Nellie (née Ambler), a waitress. His parents later ran a [[pub]], the Fox and Hounds, in [[Forest Gate]].<ref name="guardobit">{{cite news |last1=Hadoke |first1=Tony |title=Terrance Dicks obituary |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/sep/03/terrance-dicks-obituary |access-date=4 September 2019 |work=The Guardian |date=3 September 2019}}</ref> He excelled in English at [[Langdon Academy|East Ham Grammar School]] and consumed literature ranging from classics to pulp thrillers and adventure stories. He won a scholarship to study English at [[Downing College, Cambridge]], and later performed two years of [[national service]] in the [[British Army]] with the [[Royal Fusiliers]]. Following his discharge from the armed forces, he worked for five years as an advertising [[copywriter]], and started to write radio play scripts for the [[BBC]] in his spare time.<ref name="guardobit"/>

His breakthrough into television came when friend [[Malcolm Hulke]], whom he met when he rented a room from him,<ref name="guardobit"/> asked for his help with the scripting of "[[The Mauritius Penny]]", an episode of the second series of [[ABC Weekend TV|ABC]]'s action-adventure ''[[The Avengers (TV series)|The Avengers]]'', for which Dicks was awarded a co-writer's credit. Dicks went on to co-write a further two ''Avengers'' episodes with Hulke:<ref name="Russell"/> the second, "[[Intercrime]]", was later re-worked for the sixth and final series.