Career
He moved to the United Kingdom around 1950, where he joined the staff of British Broadcasting Corporation Television. While working as a staff writer for the British Broadcasting Corporation in 1963 and living in Herne Bay, Kent that he became involved in the early development of the science-fiction series Doctor Who. He liaised closely with the series" first story editor, David Whitaker, on establishing the format and characters of the show, which had been initiated by various British Broadcasting Corporation drama executives before being handed on to the new production team
Coburn wrote four full serials for the programme, An Unearthly Child, The Robots (also known as The Masters of Luxor) and two other unnamed scripts.
Only An Unearthly Child was produced and it was the first ever Doctor Who serial to be made, despite both Coburn and the production team"s misgivings about its prehistoric settings. The Robots was continually delayed and put back in production order, and then finally rejected — following this, Coburn severed his links with the show.
He was the co-creator of Warship with Ian Mackintosh, a popular British television drama series that centred on the Royal Navy. The programme was aired by the British Broadcasting Corporation between 1973 and 1977.
A book was also published in 1973 to coincide with the series.
Coburn produced the original pilot episode of The Onedin Lincolnshire. His tasks included searching many inlets and harbours before finally finding, in Dartmouth, Devon, the schooner that would be the Charlotte Rhodes. He died in 1977 of a heart attack while producing the second series of the British Broadcasting Corporation "period" drama Poldark.
