Early Career
Born in Cardiff, Wales, Nation initially worked in comedy, finding a way into the industry in 1955 after a — possibly apocryphal — incident in which Spike Milligan bought a sketch he had written because he thought Nation looked hungry. During the 1950s, Nation worked for writers' agency Associated London Scripts, with Johnny Speight and John Junkin, where he worked on hundreds of radio scripts for British comedians including Terry Scott, Eric Sykes, Harry Worth and Frankie Howerd. His big break came in 1962 when he was commissioned to write material for the comedian Tony Hancock, initially for Hancock's unsuccessful ATV television series (shown in 1963) and later for his stage show.
Nation accompanied Hancock as his chief screenwriter on tour in 1963, but Hancock continually fell back onto his old material and failed to use Nation's scripts. The two quarrelled and Nation was fired. Before this he had turned down an approach from David Whitaker to contribute to a new science-fiction series that the BBC was setting up, Whitaker having been impressed with a script Nation had written for the science fiction anthology series Out of this World for ABC. Now jobless and with a young family to support, Nation contacted Whitaker and took up the offer, writing the second ever Doctor Who serial - "The Daleks" (aka "The Mutants"). The serial introduced the eponymous aliens that would become the series' most popular monsters, and was responsible for the BBC's first merchandising boom.
Nation suddenly found himself a telefantasy writer at the centre of a media frenzy, and went on to contribute several further scripts to Doctor Who. Various Dalek spin-off material appeared, including a comic strip in TV Century 21 and annuals. Often the material was credited to Nation, even if written by others. He and Dennis Spooner co-wrote the 12-part story "The Daleks' Master Plan", after which Nation, who remained copyright holder of the Daleks, attempted to market the creatures in the United States.
He also worked for the more financially rewarding commercial television companies, contributing episodes to such shows as The Avengers, The Baron, The Persuaders!, The Champions, Department S, and The Saint. In the late 1960s Nation attempted to launch the Daleks as a series in their own right in the United States.
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