A LOCAL couple who are long-time fans of Doctor Who, are getting ready to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the show this Saturday – and they will be sitting down to watch the TV special with their own custom-built Dalek called Desmond!
Doctor Who fans (referred to as Whovians), Iain and Tracey Brownlie, have watched the show since 1985 and even met at a Doctor Who convention almost 30 years ago.
Iain took his love for the show a step further last year when he acquired a life-sized fully functioning Dalek, lovingly named Desmond Dalek. Iain explained,“There are various Dalek-building communities online and six months after I put in an order, Desmond arrived in Westbury!
“It arrived as a hollow shell so I spent last summer sawing, glueing and fibreglassing a base into the shell. I then bought a mobility scooter so Desmond can move and a brand-new voice modulator so he even sounds like the real thing.”
Iain and Tracey are looking forward to the upcoming Dr Who 60th anniversary specials, which will begin airing with ‘The Star Beast’ this Saturday, 25th November.
“Myself and my wife Tracey are massive fans of the show and we actually met at a Doctor Who convention in 1996,” explained Iain. “My good friend from school was going out with Tracey’s sister at the time and he arranged a blind date for the two of us at the convention. We had a great time and haven’t looked back since!
“November 23rd marks the day when the show first started, so each year on that date, I watch the first episode and on the Saturday, we will be sitting down as a family to watch the special. Following this on the Sunday, we will be taking Desmond down to a convention in Weston-super-Mare, which we are really looking forward to, as the whole place will be alive with chatter following the new episode.
“Doctor Who is complete escapism for so many people across the world – when you’re watching a programme such as this, you don’t think about bills and work, you just switch it on and become completely engrossed in the story. It also acts as a sort of soap opera as it has been a rock of British culture for so many years and I’m so glad that the future of the show looks bright, with specials such as this.
“I think my first memory of Doctor Who was watching an episode called ‘The Invisible Enemy’ from 1977 but I really became a fan in 1982/23 with the 20th anniversary and I’ve been watching religiously since.”
When asked to choose a favourite version of the time-traveller, Iain said, “Doctor Who is a bit like James Bond in that everyone’s favourite version of the character is the one they grew up with, so mine would have to be Tom Baker; but out of the new ones, I really like David Tennant.”
