How Douglas Adams’ career was saved by last-ditch BBC offer to write for iconic show

Self-critical and often fearing his efforts were “utter rubbish”, the sci-fi writer he had nearly given up after years of dreaming of working on Doctor Who scripts

His success really was out of this world – but Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy author Douglas Adams once came close to jacking in ­writing and becoming a shipping clerk, his ­private diaries reveal.

Self-critical and often fearing his efforts were “utter rubbish”, he had nearly given up after years of dreaming of writing for Doctor Who. And then, just as he was considering moving to Hong Kong to get a “proper job” with P&O, word came from the BBC. It was accepting two of his scripts – Hitchhiker’s for radio and The Pirate Planet for Doctor Who.

After years of plugging away, plagued by self-doubt, a diary entry from July 12, 1977 reveals Cambridge-born Douglas’s elation. “One of the best days of my life,” the 25-year-old wrote in his journal. “They loved The Pirate Planet… loved H.H.G.” He adds “I shall be released” and “Phone John Cleese” – a touching reference to wanting to let his comic hero, who he had met, know of his good fortune.

The never-before-seen diary entry is captured in a new book, 42: The Wildly Improbable Ideas of Douglas Adams, which provides intimate insights on the weird and wonderful workings of the creative genius and humorist’s mind. The book’s editor Kevin Jon Davies – a long-time pal and colleague of the sci-fi writer – recounts the day that changed Douglas’s life forever.