A man by the name of Terry Nation was born in Cardiff in August, 1930. He would grow up to become one of the most significant and successful contributors to British television writing, but will always be best remembered for writing a script for a newly-launched BBC series called Doctor Who
Nation only agreed to write it after a falling out with comedian Tony Hancock, for whom he'd been writing comedy scripts in 1963. Left with unexpected free time, Nation agreed to write 'The Mutants', a story set on a far-off planet called Skaro, where a devastating war had left a group of small, horribly-mutated creatures having to live in individual, armoured, mobile casings.
When Nation had finished his script for 'The Mutants', the episode that first introduced the Daleks, BBC staff designer Raymond P Cusick was given the task of giving the daleks their appearance. The script was little help on describing what a dalek should look like, with Nation only saying they were "Hideous machine like creatures. They are legless, moving on a round base. They have no human features. A lens on a flexible shaft that acts as an eye. Arms with mechanical grips for hands. The creatures hold strange weapons in their hands." Not wishing to have a man in a monster suit, Ray telephoned Terry for advice. Terry spoke of his recent visit to a performance by the Georgian State Ballet, where dancers in long skirts had appeared to glide across the stage, their feet completely hidden. Armed with the extra information, Cusick set about sketching various designs, ending up with the now familiar 'pepperpot' look we know so well
A look at a complete and all-original renegade Dalek from Remembrance of the Daleks
This grey and black 'renegade' Dalek starred with Sylvester McCoy in the 1988 series 'Remembrance Of The Daleks', what many thought would be the last outing for the 'metal meanie', and one that proved very popular with viewers. Of course, Chris Eccleston would battle a new breed of daleks when Dr Who hit the small screen again in 2005
This glass-fibre survivor was bought at the famous Dr Who auction at London's Bonham's showrooms in 1991. It was in remarkably good condition, with every internal mechanism complete and nothing smashed. Since then, it's suffered from paint peel but little else. All the missing hemispheres are carefully stored away, ready for some light repainting of the skirt, once the correct colour grey has been matched. I can confirm that this dalek is very heavy. The base alone takes two to lift it - the castors are off to prevent it wandering!
It has the traditional hole in the dome allowing a thick screw bolt to protrude through and assist with the revolving of the dome on it's three castors, set into the top of the wooden neck bin. The original, and somewhat complicated, eye mover levers are still in place, wired up with the dome lights flasher switch. The original dome light batteries were still in place, but are now safely removed after leakage of acid was noticed. A set of new batteries and, almost certainly, the lights would spring into life once again.
If you own an ORIGINAL dalek prop, one that was seen in a BBC Doctor Who series, in either of the two cinema films starring Peter Cushing or was used in the London stage productions, I would love to see a photo. I can probably help identify exactly which Dalek it is, and which episodes/stage shows/movies it featured in (if you haven't already done the research), and, of course, if you're looking to sell it, I can advise on the best auction houses and private collectors to offer it to, so please send me an
