They struck fear into the hearts of generations of children and now some of Doctor Who’s most terrifying foes have materialised in Scotland alongside his iconic time travelling vessel.
Visitors will come face to face with the Cybermen, Weeping Angels and Daleks as well as the Tardis, at a new exhibition which explores the science behind the world’s longest running action-adventure show.
Tickets go on sale on Tuesday for Doctor Who Worlds of Wonder, which has been produced by leading experiential design experts Sarner International under license from BBC Studios.
A range of hands-on immersive experiences and interactive features take visitors on a journey through cosmic curiosities, a Tardis tech room and the science behind time travel asking whether it really is possible.
Actor, director and author Mark Gatiss - writer of several episodes of Doctor Who - will narrate the exhibition, which runs from December 9 to May 1 at the Museum of Scotland.
He said: “So many people who have gone on to work in science have had their interest piqued by watching Doctor Who, and one of the amazing things about the show is its ability to make us wonder.
“I’m thrilled to be part of the exhibition and I do hope as many curiously minded people as possible take the opportunity to visit when it arrives at the National Museum of Scotland.”
Scotland has a strong association with the BBC show with Sylvester McCoy, David Tennant and Peter Capaldi all taking on the role.
A fourth Scot, Ncuti Gatwa, was recently announced as the new Doctor.
Born in Rwanda in 1992, Gatwa came to the UK in 1994 to escape the Rwandan genocide and the family settled first in Dunfermline and later in Edinburgh, where he attended Boroughmuir High School.
He later studied at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow and is the first actor of colour to take on the lead role.
Other Scottish cast members have included Karen Gillan and Neve McIntosh as well as Michelle Gomez as Missy (The Master) while Alan Cumming also appeared recently as King James VI & I.
The new exhibition premiered at National Museums Liverpool’s World Museum, where it will run until October 30.
Alison Cromarty, Head of Exhibitions & Design at National Museums Scotland, said: “We are delighted to announce that tickets are now on sale for this cutting-edge scientific exhibition.
“We know visitors of all ages will be keen to be among the first in Scotland to experience Doctor Who Worlds of Wonder and are tremendously excited that the countdown is now on to opening in December.”
Since making its BBC debut on November 23, 1963, Doctor Who has entranced several generations of fans, including a few of its future Doctors, with its quirky mix of history and sci-fi.
The Doctor actually is a doctor. In a sickbay in the 1967 story The Moonbase, he was asked, “Listen, are you really a medical doctor?”
He replied, “Yes, I think I was once, Polly. I think I took a degree once in Glasgow. 1888 I think. Lister.”
The regeneration effect, used for when one Doctor changes into the next one, was created at the end of the first series by accident.
A faulty mixing desk allowed the image of William Hartnell (the first Doctor) to be overexposed almost to white so that Patrick Troughton (the second Doctor) could be put in his place before the effect faded again.
The creepy Weeping Angels are based on the children’s game What’s the time, Mr Wolf?
Tickets for Doctor Who Worlds of Wonder will be available to book at www.nms.ac.uk/doctorwho
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here