In the mid 1990s, a parody Doctor Who (1963) fanzine called "Auton" printed a
telephone conversation with Dicks in which they pretended to represent
a group of fans presenting him with an award for being a "Criminally
Underrated National Treasure". The humour, for those who fail to spot
it, lies in the initials of the award's name.
He was a very good friend of writer Malcolm Hulke, who helped him
start his own career as a writer. He has called Hulke his mentor in the
business and later commissioned several scripts from him during his
time as script editor of Doctor Who (1963).
Following his death, author Jenny Colgan expressed her surprise that he had never even received an OBE for his efforts in introducing so many children, especially boys, to reading books. In fact, he hadn't even received the lowest honour, an MBE.
Although Barry Letts and Dudley Simpson both received tributes upon their deaths from BBC Radio 4's "Last Word", Terrance Dicks' death was ignored.