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British television writer and author

Malcolm Ainsworth Hulke (21 November 1924 – 6 July 1979) was a British television writer and author of the industry "bible" Writing for Television in the 70s. He is remembered chiefly for his work on the science fiction series Doctor Who although he contributed to many popular television series of the era.

Known as "Mac" throughout his life, Hulke was born out of wedlock in 1924 and never knew his father. He later discussed the social stigma of illegitimacy and his personal experiences of it in a 1964 radio documentary and a 1973 op ed piece in The Observer. and worked briefly as a typist in the party's headquarters. His politics remained firmly on the left, and this was reflected in his writings, which often explored anti authoritarian, environmental, and humanist themes. Michael Herbert is working on a full length biography of Hulke.

Hulke was involved with the socialist Unity Theatre in the 1950s and 1960s, serving as its production manager in the mid 1950s, and wrote a booklet in 1961 celebrating the theatre's 25th anniversary. Hulke met writer Eric Paice at Unity and the two wrote as a team for television, beginning in the late 1950s with "This Day in Fear", which was produced by BBC Television in 1958 as part of its Television Playwright anthology series. In addition to the Pathfinders series, Crossroads, football soap United!, Gideon's Way, and was script editor for Spyder's Web. His scripts for Doctor Who were known for avoiding black and white characterisation and simplistic plotting. Military figures are usually presented unfavourably – Invasion of the Dinosaurs and The Ambassadors of Death both have a general as the ultimate villain. One of his best known contributions to the series is Doctor Who and the Silurians. This story depicts an encounter between the human race and the remnants of a technological reptilian race that ruled Earth in prehistoric times. Hulke avoids casting either side as heroes or monsters. He was a friend and mentor to Terrance Dicks, with whom he collaborated in 1962 on The Avengers episode "The Mauritius Penny", which was Dicks' first television credit; The War Games, Dicks' first Doctor Who script, and on the non fiction book The Making of Doctor Who. He also contributed to Target Books' range of Doctor Who novelisations, adapting many of his scripts before his death, as well as 1973's The Green Death. Hulke's novelisations were noted for providing a wealth of additional background detail and character depth. He wrote an influential screenwriting manual, Writing for television in the 70s in 1974, and an updated version, Writing for Television, which was released posthumously in 1981.

Hulke died of cancer on 6 July 1979, aged 54.

Hulke also wrote a pilot for a planned radio series starring Peter Cushing as Dr. Who in the late 1960s. Titled Journey into Time, it was produced but the recording was never broadcast and the tapes are now lost. After the script was re discovered, a fan made recording was released in 2020.