³ÉÈËÂÛ̳

Life-long Doctor Who fan Doug Inman has always had a fascination with the Doctor and the Daleks, and he always wanted one himself.

Five years ago he searched the internet to see if he could find the plans to help him build a Dalek.

Fixing one of the 56 'balls'

With no particular background or experience as a builder, Doug made his first Dalek based on instructions he found online.

He says those earlier Daleks look a bit basic and "wrong" to him now, but as he's built more he says he's improved a lot. To date he's made eight Daleks himself – and the latest one is taking shape in his ordinary-looking garage in Swanage.

Doug has been working on this Dalek for several weeks now, beginning with the creature's lower section and is currently adding 56 of the semi-spherical "balls" to the Dalek's "skirt".

Next, he'll be attaching the famous sink-plunger gun and working on the eye stalk and dome – and at around 5' 8" a completed Dalek makes for a sturdy, impressive sight.

Doug will operate the finish Dalek

Once the Dalek is completed, Doug will climb inside and appear at charity events around Dorset – he's even got a 'ring modulator', the device used to alter the voice to sound like a Dalek.

But what do Doug's friends think of his hobby?

He says: "My friends are quite tolerant – I am known as the Dalek man in Swanage! They seem to love it although I do have the mickey taken sometimes when I'm down the pub after a few beers, but it's all in good fun."

Meeting the Doctor

Doug, 26, has been a fan of Doctor Who since he was younger, and has collected numerous autographs from the programme's cast members over the years.

Doug's autograph of Sylvester McCoy

And the first Doctor Who autograph Doug ever got was from the Doctor himself – in the shape of Sylvestor McCoy, when the show visited Dorset to film a story, Survival, in 1989.

Doug says: "When I was eight or nine we heard that they were filming in Warmwell [Quarry], and my dad took me down there.

"He spoke to the production crew who arranged for Sylvester McCoy [playing the seventh Doctor] to come up and meet us.

"It was quite surreal seeing the Doctor stroll up and have a chat with us, in full costume, but that was the first time I got a Doctor Who autograph."

Survival was the last story of the series' original run and it wasn't the first time the programme had filmed in Dorset.

The finished Dalek will be about 5'8"

In fact, Doctor Who had shot exterior scenes in locations across Dorset on several occasions over the years, and some of these are still visited by fans to this day.

Doug says: "There's a Tom Baker story called Destiny of the Daleks from 1979 that was filmed at Winspit Quarry [near West Matravers], and you can still see the ledge where the TARDIS landed.

"I'm sure there must be fans that go to have their photo taken there - I've done it myself!"

Entertaining a crowd

Doug avidly watches the current series and, despite having made models of K-9 and helped paint a few TARDIS police boxes, he says he enjoys making Daleks most of all.

Doug's Daleks at Bovington Tank Museum

He takes them to conventions, he's used them in fan theatre productions and his Daleks have helped raise money at local charity events.

He says: "[I build them because] there's the geek in me that wants the Dalek, but when you're inside operating it, and you're being the Dalek in public, you're entertaining a crowd.

"You see the kids getting scared a little bit, but also the mum and dad are scared as well, because they remember it from their own childhood.

"There's a 'scared curiosity' there: they want to get closer to it but they've still got that fear from when they were young and it is great seeing their reactions.

"There's nothing more satisfying."