Craig Hinton Craig Paul Alexander Hinton ( 7 May 1964 - 3 December 2006 ) was a British writer best known for his work on spin - offs from the BBC Television series " Doctor Who " . He also wrote articles for science fiction magazines and was the Coordinator of the Doctor Who Appreciation Society . He taught mathematics in London , where he was found dead in his home on 3 December 2006 . The cause of death was given as a heart attack . His final book , " Synthespians™ " , was dedicated to his new husband , Ali , whom he ' d " waited a lifetime " to find . Work . Hinton first was known for his articles about science fiction television programmes , including " Doctor Who " and " Star Trek " . These brought him to the attention of the editor of Marvel UK ' s " Doctor Who Magazine " , who offered him the job of reviewing merchandise for the magazine ' s " Shelf Life " section . Whilst writing for the magazine , Hinton had his first novel published . " The Crystal Bucephalus " was part of Virgin Publishing ' s " Missing Adventures " range . The book - which Hinton often jokingly referred to as " The Crystal Bucket " - was originally submitted for Virgin ' s " New Adventures " , and 50 , 000 words of this version were written before the change was made . This novel was followed by a further " Missing Adventure " , " Millennial Rites " in 1995 , and then by Hinton ' s only " New Adventure " in 1996 , " GodEngine " , which features the Ice Warrior s as well as oblique appearances by the Dalek s . Following Virgin ' s loss of their licence for " Doctor Who " merchandise , Hinton began submitting proposals to BBC Books . In 2001 they published his novel " The Quantum Archangel " as part of their BBC Past Doctor Adventures range . This was followed in 2004 by " Synthespians™ " . This had started life as a proposal for the Eighth Doctor before being adapted to a previous Doctor . An image of the television show was used on the cover : the cover ' s creators had arranged for permission to use the copyrighted image , but had neglected to get permission to alter it . At the last minute a replacement cover had to be produced . It is this that appears on the cover . Hinton ' s " Doctor Who " novels often contain references to or explanations of elements of past continuity . He claimed to have been the originator of the term " " , which he applied to his own work . Hinton continued to work with Virgin , writing pseudonym ously under the name Paul C . Alexander for their Idol range . He wrote three books in the range : " Chains of Deceit " , " The Final Restraint " and " Code of Submission " . These titles were a major departure from his science fiction . They explored aspects of his sexuality only suggested in his other works . Hinton wrote for Big Finish Productions ' Audio Adventures . The play " Excelis Decays " was produced in 2002 for their " Doctor Who " range and " The Lords of Forever " in 2005 for their " The Tomorrow People " range . Hinton also wrote short stories for their short fiction collections . Outside of the science fiction world Hinton was a noted IT journalist in the UK . He edited magazines in the mid - 1990s for VNU Business Publications in London and moved on to ITNetwork . com shortly afterwards .