Doctor Who - The Almost People Trailer
The Secrets Of The Fourth Dimension
"All the secrets you seek can be found here on the Webb"
"We found your message you're alive but what secrets 'D'you mean?"
“I mean I glimpsed him and may the gods help him or perhaps you can”
“To see what I saw click on the spot beyond the doctors home planet”
Message Interrupted
Fanfics
Forget_You_The_Silence_Song - Eleven by Alias Bishie Joe Armstrong
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A History Of The Dalek Props In Doctor Who From '63 To '88 (Pt 13)
13: ‘Day of the Daleks’
Events from Apr 71 to Apr 72
Operators
John Scott Martin
Ricky Newby
Murphy Grumbar
Voices
Oliver Gilbert
Peter Messaline
New Doctor Jon Pertwee 
Script editor Terrance Dicks
The Return of the Daleks
Four years had passed since the Daleks had last appeared in Doctor Who and the series had changed dramatically. The series had a new lead actor; Jon Pertwee, along with a new companion and a new family of supporting cast to assist the Doctor during Earth exile - a concept devised as part of a revamped format. The show was now made and broadcast in colour and a new producer was at the helm. Old monsters such as Daleks and Cybermen had been deemed Persona non grata as producer Barry Letts and script editor Terrence Dicks looked to make their own mark on the show.
The exclusion of old enemies would be addressed however when an inquiry in the spring of 1971 by BBC Managing Director Huw Wheldon lead Letts and Dicks to consider the return of the Daleks. Letts had previously been reluctant to include the old foes but was persuaded to meet their creator Terry Nation, and whilst Nation himself was too busy to write the scripts he was willing for another author to write for his creations so long as he had approval, and permission was given on 22nd April .
Letts and Dicks first approached Robert Sloman to devise the proposed Dalek story as a climax to the upcoming Season Nine, and a storyline entitled The Daleks in London was produced. However Letts and Dicks became worried that the opening of the season needed something bigger to hook viewers, and so the Daleks were brought forward to be included in a Louis Marks' story about time-traveling guerrillas which was already well in advance having been commissioned in January of 1971. This story eventually became Day of the Daleks.
Daleks about to be sprayed for Day of the Daleks
Photo - James Russell 
Daleks about to be sprayed for Day of the Daleks
Photo - James Russell
Daleks in Colour. On the Small Screen!
The director appointed to the serial was Paul Bernard, and the scripts required him to depict a Dalek army for the story’s big climax.
Around the time that contracts were issued to the human actors in mid-August and early September 1971, the availability of the show's real stars was being investigated - the Daleks.
After a clear out of BBC storage some time earlier, the thin Dalek Eight had been junked along with the top of Dalek Two - however this top was rescued from destruction by Bernard Wilkie, along with the thin skirt. The thin shoulders of Dalek Eight only fitted the thin skirt, and so would have been of no future use.
The remaining props which were therefore brought from storage were: The original Dalek One, the stunt-prop built for The Chase with its movie-type characteristics which was Dalek Seven (now fitted with a TV neck), a composite made up of one skirts and the alternate top half built for The Dalek Invasion of Earthtermed Dalek Six-5, and lastly the lone skirt of Dalek Two - left orphaned without a matching top half.
The props at this time were still in their silver and blue livery as seen in Evil of the Daleks. In early September of 1971 the props were given some heavy refurbishment for the forthcoming TV appearance. All three necks were given new mesh of a coarser style and the cages were replaced. These retained the Shawcraft style of 'clover' rods but these were of a smaller diameter, therefore overall the rods appeared thinner. The eye mechanisms were adjusted, including new eyestalks and eyeballs (that now had a pupil as standard), which had the unfortunate effect of leaving visible screws around the pivot hole. The lights were changed again, this time to car side-lights very often seen on the "Mini" car of the time and the shoulders of all three Daleks were tidied with new mesh which was also of a coarser type than previously used. Dalek One also had some internal work carried out on its shoulders highlighted by two extra bolts which appeared either side of the oval between the boxes, which itself was new addition to all three props.
All four skirts surviving skirts had had their fenders enlarged, and metal plates were added around the edges to protect the easily damages wood. Bigger castors were also added, meaning the props stood slightly taller than previously. For their studio work, the excessive ground clearance would be hidden by thin black plastic film akin to the rubber movie style fenders.
During the refurbishment work, the halves became mixed, with Dalek One's shoulders paired with Dalek Five's skirt (becoming Dalek One-5 from here on). Dalek Seven's shoulders were paired with Dalek Two's skirt (becoming Dalek Seven-2) and Dalek Six's shoulders were paired with Dalek Seven's skirt (becoming Dalek Six-7). The skirt of Dalek One now became orphaned.
Dalek Seven-2 was given a new gold and black livery and acted as the lead Dalek, whilst the other two Daleks were painted in a dark metallic grey and black.
Daleks on location at Bull's Bridge 
Dalek One's skirt's last appearance
On location and a Sad Demise
Location filming began on 14th September 1971 at Dropmore Park in Burnham which was acting as Auderly House. The climatic battle scenes were filmed here supposedly featuring an army of Daleks attacking the peace conference taking place in the House. However as only three props were assembled the army looked a little thin on the ground, which was not helped by the director repeatedly using shots of all three Daleks, giving the impression that there were many gold leaders flanked by just two subordinates.
When shooting moved to Bull's Bridge two days later, the props had to run on boards placed over the uneven surface, and the lack of the black plastic on the fender would have aided ground clearance. The filmed shots mainly show them from the lower skirt upwards, but there is at least one instance of a full shot showing the uncovered fender.
Filming moved to Harvey House, Green Dragon Lane in Brentford where the attack on the Daleks’ headquarters took place. These scenes firstly utilised Dalek Six-7 attacking the guerrillas and then a shot was required featuring a destroyed Dalek.
Rather than create an FX prop from scratch, it was deemed easier to use the surplus fourth skirt, and thus the TV career of Dalek One's orphaned skirt was brought to an undignified end for the sake of a one-second shot. Large sections of the fibreglass were broken open, such as on the panel at the front, and at the rear left corner the top section was fractured and the loose section was then hinged over to dangle down. Various hemispheres were removed, and some of the holes in the sides were widened so that smoke could blow through them.
It was a sad fate for one of the original four Dalek components, which had survived a decade's use, appeared in approximately 40 television episodes, and made numerous publicity appearances in support of the programme.
The three Daleks in studio 
Dalek Seven-2 invades the Blue Peter Studio 
Daleks at Ealing Studios 
Pertwee and Letts at the London Planetarium 
Dalek Seven-2 and Dalek One-5 looking battered
In Studio and a Sneak Peek
In studio work, beginning on 4th October, the Daleks were used sparingly and even when on screen were very static. Two new voice artistes were employed and gave the Daleks a very dull and monotone speech pattern. Bernard had disliked the voices from the 1960’s and so voice modulation was done in studio rather than using the Radiophonic Workshop. Overall the whole impression the Daleks gave was very different to the agitated and angry Daleks of the sixties tales.
Just six days after filming was completed in October 1971, viewers were treated to a surprise appearance of the new look props prior to transmission of the serial the following January. On October 25th Blue Peterincluded a brief promotion for Doctor Who and the three props appeared in studio. Viewers were encouraged to write in to increase the chance of the Daleks appearing in the upcoming season.
Dalek Six-7 was already sporting a damaged gun and missing eye disc which can be seen half broken in the location footage and Dalek Seven-2 already had two different styles lights indicating one had been damaged since filming finished.
While filming The Curse of Peladon at Ealing in December, Jon Pertwee took time out for a photo call featuring two Ogrons and two Daleks. These pictures featured Dalek Seven-2 and Dalek One-5 and would be used for publicity.
A few days later, on 21st December, Dalek Seven-2 appeared at a photo call at the London Planetarium. Former companion Peter Purves interviewed Pertwee and Letts as part of the Planetarium’s ‘Young Observers’ lectures.
In the days since the Ealing photo call the plastic film, running round the fender of the prop, had in the main been ripped away leaving some small areas with torn plastic hanging limply from it. Several hemispheres were also chipped revealing the original blue colour.
On 31st December, Jon Pertwee again took part in a publicity photo call with Dalek Seven-2 and Dalek One-5 outside BBC Television Centre. The gold Dalek Seven-2 was in its same ‘Planetarium’ condition but Dalek One-5 was heavily damaged with nearly all its eye discs either broken or missing, slats were missing from the shoulders and the whole casing was generally chipped and scratched.
In the space of just ten days the condition of the props had seriously deteriorated, more than likely due to mishandling on their trips around the country. It was a continual problem for them but their own popularity meant that people all over the country wished to see them, meaning damage would happen on a regular basis.
Dalek Seven-2 on display at the Ceylon Tea Centre
Photo - James Russell
Tea Time
The Radio Times promoted the return of the monsters with a "Win a Dalek" competition during the transmission of the serial (beginning on 1st January, 1972) with the winners receiving a “Mark 7” remote controlled Dalek.
There was also an exhibition of the winning entries at the Ceylon Tea Centre in Regents Street, London in the last week of March and first week of April. The gold Dalek Seven-2 was placed in the window of the centre for the duration of the display and was sporting some new castor covering tidying up its appearance somewhat.
1973 would see the tenth anniversary of Doctor Who and what better way to celebrate than to bring back the Daleks, and written for by their original creator, Terry Nation.
A Good Man Goes To War synopsis
Amy Pond has been kidnapped and the Doctor is raising an army to rescue her as the drama continues. But as he and Rory race across galaxies, calling in long-held debts and solemnly given promises, his enemies are laying a carefully concealed trap.
In her cell in Stormcage, River Song sadly acknowledges that the time has come at last – today will mark the Battle of Demons Run and the Doctor's darkest hour. Both sides will make their sacrifices and River Song must finally reveal her most closely guarded secret to the Doctor.
Source - Blogtorwho
A History Of The Dalek Props In Doctor Who From '63 To '88 (Pt 12)
12: Five Years in the Cold
Events from Aug 67 to Mar 71
Three Daleks with black domes for Evil of the Daleks
The Final End
When Terry Nation's Dalek spin-off The Destroyers wasn't taken up by the BBC, he took the concept to America, prompting the BBC to write the Daleks out of Doctor Who for good. The supposed "final end" of the Daleks had been recorded for The Evil of the Daleks in June 1967 when the story had already begun broadcast. Transmission concluded on 1st July and the props were placed into storage.
Two Daleks visit BBC Cardiff in October 1967
Cardiff Visit - October 1967
Three months after recording had taken place, two Daleks paid a visit to the offices of BBC Cardiff in October 1967.
The first prop which came to terrorise the staff was made up of the shoulders of Dalek Two, with the distinctive collar lift still present, fitted with the neck of Dalek Seven (as it had been for a year since recording of Power of the Daleks) and a dome still painted black from its recent appearance in Evil of the Daleks. The skirt for this prop was the original skirt from Dalek One.
The second prop had the shoulders of Dalek Seven (with its flat-top movie-mould gunboxes) with the neck ofDalek Two, still sporting the distinctive neck repair (also as it had been in Power). It had the skirt of Dalek Two.
The Daleks in a Blue Peter photo-call in November 1967
Blue Peter Photoshoot - November 1967
The following month, on November 13th 1967, three props were in attendance at the Blue Peter Studios at Lime Grove. Contrary to appearances, this did not form part of an episode but was merely a photo-call for the forthcoming Design-a-Monster competition.
The two props which had visited Wales had had their tops swapped over which meant that Dalek Two was now reunited into a complete prop once more, whereas the other halves formed Dalek Seven-1. The third prop was Dalek Six-5, the prop normally retained by Shawcraft at their workshops.
A fourth Dalek on Downing Street
Downing Street - November 1967
A couple of days later, a Dalek made up of two further halves could be found trundling along Downing Street. This prop featured the inverse components of one of the Blue Peter props,
The publicity stunt took place on November 17th as part of a students' fund-raising mission for Cancer Relief, and the Dalek was given a collection tin to carry. The prop featured the shoulders of the original Dalek Onewhich paired with the movie-style skirt of Dalek Seven.
The shoulders were in a state of some disrepair, with join at the rear of the lower collar having come loose, leaving the ends trailing, and several slats were broken or lost. The availability of props for use in non-BBC work would become increasingly frequent, and the fact that the props weren't being scheduled for further use on Doctor Who meant that any damage sustained was not repaired.
Dalek & John Noakes - Design a Monster Competition
Design a Monster - December 1967
On the 8th December one of the Daleks made a return to the Blue Peter studios where it had had a photo-call a month earlier.
Once again, this was for the Design-a-Monster competition, and Patrick Troughton was in attendance alongside the programme's presenters in order to chose a winning entry for this competition. The prop was very dusty from its spell in storage, but it was otherwise in fine condition. This top half of Dalek Two was still sporting its small iris and lower collar lift.
Dalek Seven-1 at the Boys and Girls Exhibition
Boys and Girls - New Year 1968
A couple of weeks later, and tying into the Blue Peter competition, the Daleks made another appearance at the Daily Mail's "Boys and Girls Exhibition".
In their last appearance in Olympia during the height of Dalekmania, Doctor Who was represented by just two Dalek props in their Dalek Invasion of Earth guise. This time around the Daleks were joined by original Cybermen costumes, as well as Yeti and other monsters, plus three winning monsters of the Design-a-Monster Competition, built by BBC Visual Effects.
The exhibition ran into January 1968 and featured one of the Daleks just as it had appeared in the Blue Peter studios a month-and-a-half previously. A distinctive scratch on the front panel of the skirt helps identify the lower half, and the shoulders are the movie-mould set first used in The Chase, which demonstrates the prop is still a pairing of of Dalek Seven and the skirt of Dalek One. Interestingly however, unlike the Blue Peter appearance, the eye-ball has no iris.
Alan Whicker interviews Terry Nation with
his four Daleks in attendance
Whicker's World - January 1968
Having run for nine years, the highly-successful BBC documentary Whicker's World was famed for reporting stories of social interest from around the globe. Its presenter was journalist Alan Whicker who chose a diverse range of topics and interviewees, so it was perhaps not surprising that he should speak to the man who had created a fictional icon - Terry Nation.
In the programme of 27th January 1968, Nation was shown in his home which revealed that he lived with four Daleks from the second feature film released eighteen months previously. One of the props was red and black - but the colour is misleading and its its identifying features revealed its true origin. A prominent bolt between the slats over the gunbox and another at the rear, one slat missing and one bent but, most notably, it had uniquely wide-spaced rivets affixing all the slats - which reveals this to be the Gold Dalek from Daleks: Invasion Earth 2150AD.
The Sky at Night - April 1968
A television programme which had already notched up eleven years by this point was the monthly astronomy programme, The Sky at Night. For the programme broadcast on 28th April 1968 two Dalek props made an appearance along side the show's presenter, Patrick Moore.
The Doctor shows a lucky Zoe a repeat of
Evil of the Daleks on the TARDIS TV 
Destruction of the Emperor Dalek
‘Have You Ever Heard of the Daleks?’
And so on the 1st June 1968 the final episode of Patrick Troughton's second season was broadcast. It was the fifth year that Doctor Who had been on air, but it was the first time there had been a year of production without the use of Terry Nation's creations.
Series four had in fact been the first time that two Dalek stories were present in one season, with Patrick Troughton's early tenure bookended by his battles with them. But in Troughton's second year it was the Cybermen who were promoted to lead villain, and season five had opened with Tomb of the Cybermen and closed with The Wheel in Space.
But then a strange thing happened. In the closing moments of this summer Cybermen adventure, potential new companion Zoe had stowed away in the TARDIS and, in an attempt to alert her to the dangers of their travels, the Doctor asks her if she's heard of the Daleks. She says that she hasn't and so the Doctor uses a head-set to weave his recollections into a complete story for her. What then appears on the screen is a clip from the last few moments of episode one of Evil of the Daleks.
The following week, a repeat then began of the previous year's ultimate Dalek serial, and a specially-recorded voice over then brought the action back to the start, with Zoe asking, "What about those Daleks you showed me?" and the Doctor sensibly replied, "Just let me show you the story from the beginning." Not only was this the first time ever that a Doctor Who story had been repeated, but this diegesis meant that in a very strict sense a Dalek story does become part of the show's fifth year after all.
The country was treated once again to the apocalyptic "final end" of the Daleks on Skaro on 3rd August 1968 but in a painfully ironic twist, this epic adventure was then immediately selected for deletion. Since the BBC had no videotape library at the time, the tapes themselves remained property of the BBC Engineering Department for which there was no mandate, and if the production team gave any indication that a particular recording was surplus to requirements then the tapes could be wiped and recycled. Film tele-recordings had been made with a view to selling Doctor Who overseas, and these survived for some time after, but August 1968 saw the annihilation of episodes one to six in their original form. Episode seven would be retained for 13 more months before that too was expunged.
Out of the Unknown 
A machine allows two men to enter a land of fiction 
The fantasy world of Marsham Craswell 
Robots from a 1966 Out of the Unknown episode
Daleks in Full TV Production Again - Out of the Unknown - August 1968
The BBC had developed an anthology show called Out of the Unknown for broadcast on BBC2. It had begun in 1965 and, just like Doctor Who, it had been created by a woman under the supervision of Sydney Newman. Irene Shubik had approached Newman with the desire to create a science-fiction version of Armchair Theatreand television writers were drafted in to adapt works by known science fiction authors and newcomers alike. One such writer was Terry Nation, who adapted Ray Bradbury's The Fox and the Forest for season one of the show.
It was during season three in 1968 however that an adaptation of Peter Phillips' Get Off My Cloud required the cooperation of Nation once again - but this time, it was over a plan to feature his Daleks in the episode. Keen to somehow include an element of successful BBC1 show Doctor Who, the BBC had a back-up plan if Nation refused to agree - they would use the Cybermen instead.
The back-up plan was not needed however, as Nation consented to their use, and so plans were made for the Daleks to be brought in for their first proper TV work for over a year. On 8th August 1968 three of the six available Dalek props arrived at Ealing studios. Three experienced Dalek operators were drafted in: Kevin Manser, Robert Jewell and Murphy Grumbar.
The first sequence for which the Daleks were needed was set in a remote farmhouse. This opening scene concerned one of the protagonists - a sports journalist called Pete Parnell - having flashbacks to his youth. As a young boy, he had nightmares about certain monsters from the television show Doctor Who. The first Dalek scene required them to burst into his bedroom and menace him.
In the script, Pete then tells his father of his terrors, and his father has the idea of trying to implant the image of a Colt .45 revolver into his dreams so that he can defend himself. The father shows Pete a picture of the weapon. When Pete next falls asleep, another nightmare ensues and one-by-one the three Daleks enter his room again. But just as his father hoped, the picture of the gun appears within the dream and the boy is able to lift it from its frame and he fires five times at the alien intruders, who beat a hasty retreat. All the action was captured on 35mm film.
This flashback was something of a red-herring at the start of the episode, which opened with the grown-up Parnell relating that boyhood experience to a psychiatrist. The concept of the episode was that Parnell could provide an average mind which is linked via a piece of technology to a mentally-ill science fiction writer called Marsham Craswell. The hope being that Parnell's lack of imagination will balance the bizarre fantasies troubling Craswell.
The Dalek props were used again as the characters confront each other in a dream-world, but this time it is the supposedly boring Parnell who conjures up the weird imagery, recalling his childhood nightmares about these fictional monsters. Craswell refuses to acknowledge the Daleks as real. This sequence also featured the appearance of the TARDIS Police Box prop which Parnell uses to telephone for help in their battle of wills.1
Exactly two weeks later on 22nd August, Peter Hawkins was employed to add the grating voices, making this is a very typical outing for the Daleks in all respects except it wasn't Doctor Who. Hawkins recorded the lines of "exterminate, annihilate, destroy" for when the Daleks burst into the bedroom, harking back to the chanting from Power of the Daleks, and he provided appropriate Dalek screams when the boy shoots at them.
By coincidence, the month after this episode of Out of the Unknown was recorded, the Doctor Who story entitled The Mind Robber began broadcast. The two stories were littered with similarities. The Mind Robber's first episode also featured a young man terrorised by a nightmare, and again the nightmare later became a reality (in this case Jamie and a unicorn). The story as a whole dealt with the same theme of a world of fiction which could be altered by those inside it and perhaps most significantly, it also included a scene in which two men were linked via a machine which allowed them to exert their willpower in a creative battle.
As if the similarities in plot weren't enough to raise an eyebrow, when the production team needed several robot props to appear in the hastily-written first episode of The Mind Robber, it was decided that they would recycle a set of costumes created for a 1966 episode of Out of the Unknown called The Prophet.
It is a strange twist indeed that the Daleks should appear in one fictional tale from Out of the Unknown which depicted the nightmares caused by Doctor Who, whilst Doctor Who itself no longer featured the Daleks, but instead created the new threat of a Land of Fiction populated by robots borrowed from Out of the Unknown.
The episode Get Off My Cloud was broadcast the following year, on 1st April 1969.
Mismatched Dalek Seven-8 in The War Games
Nation's Daleks in Honey Magazine - April 1969
Fourteen months after appearing on Whicker's World, Terry Nation's Daleks were in use for a photo-shoot for the magazine Honey in which the props were used to accompany two fashion models wearing what were supposedly future-inspired styles of clothing. "Out-a-space white is out-a-sight" it proclaims, as the women pose with the props.
The casings themselves appear almost exactly as they had done the previous year when Alan Whicker came to visit the writer. One prop was painted red with black hemispheres (having been gold in the film) and the other was silver with blue hemispheres. They are both in extremely good condition, even four years since their big screen work. For a detailed explanation of the four Daleks which lived with their creator, you can visit the Terry Nation Props page.
Mismatched Dalek Seven-8 in The War Games
The War Games - June 1969
In June 1969 Patrick Troughton's final story was being recorded. At the climax of this story, the Doctor was put on trial and as part of his defence he listed all the evils in the universe he had fought. Not surprisingly, one of the foes he wished to depict was a Dalek.
Episode ten featuring the trial was recorded on June 12th and a Dalek prop was duly assembled. It had been ten months since the Daleks had last been needed in a television studio for Out of the Unknown(broadcast two months earlier) and despite five other normal Dalek skirts being available, the skirt which was chosen for use was the thin skirt from Dalek Eight.
To make matters worse, rather than its original matching thin shoulder section, the top which was used was that of Dalek Seven (originally the "stunt Dalek" built for The Chase from movie moulds). These shoulders were paired with neck of Dalek Two, with its notorious neck repair. Overall, the prop was in poor condition, with a missing light, broken eye-discs and plenty of wear-and-tear in evidence.
The end result was a disheveled, mismatched prop whose shoulders over-hung its skirt. It was not an impressive showing for the now rarely-seen Daleks, but it remained a thankfully low-key appearance on a screen projected behind the Doctor. This was the last-ever appearance of a Dalek on Doctor Who in both the 1960s and in black and white.
1970 - What's The Sense
A year after the Dalek cameo in The War Games, May 1970 saw a Dalek pop up in a BBC Pilot entitled "What's the sense". By this stage the Daleks' appearances were becoming few and far between.
The Purge and Storage
The Daleks' last full story on the programme was becoming a fading memory and the new production team lead by Barry Letts wanted to exclude old foes in favour of newly-devised creations. As the television industry was expanding, the storage of unnecessary props and scenery became an increasing luxury.
It was perhaps inevitable that if the BBC had a purge of old, damaged or unwanted items to make more storage space2 then the issue of the Daleks' retirement would come up. Having not been afforded their own television adventure for years, the dilapidated old props must have seemed increasingly irrelevant.
As part of this rationalisation the skirt of the thin Dalek Eight, along with the shoulders of the originalDalek Two ended up in a skip. However, these two halves were rescued by BBC Visual Effects Designer Bernard Wilkie who recognised the components for what they were and put them to good use as a play thing for his children.
Only one Dalek section was never seen again after the 60s, being the shin shoulders of Dalek Eight. The skirt of Dalek Six and the shoulders of Dalek Five remained paired up at Shawcraft, whilst the remaining components went into storage.
Surviving into the 70s therefore were: the inverse halves of the Shawcraft-kept prop i.e. Dalek Six-5, the complete Dalek One, the complete Dalek Seven and the skirt of Dalek Two, all remaining in their silver/blue livery.
It had been an active retirement after their supposed "final end". The latter years of the 60s had had no official Dalek stories, and yet they still appeared in Doctor Who twice, had numerous cameos in other programme's, and even guest-starred in Out of the Unknown. Despite the current production team's desire to keep them out of their parent show, it was clear that the public had an appetite for the metal monsters, and they would be brought in from the cold soon enough....
