#And in 2013 the docudrama An Adventure in Space and Time about the show's origins was aired as part of the 50th anniversary

[doctorwho2022]

Doctor Who episodes that aired on the 21st of November…

In 1964, World’s End (the 1st episode of The Dalek Invasion of Earth)

In 2015, Face the Raven

In 2021, Village of the Angels (the 4th chapter of Flux)

[tartantardis]

The Dalek Invasion of Scotland

(This feature appeared in both the Daily Record [Monday 18 November 2013] in truncated form and more fully in the East Kilbride News [Wednesday 20 November 2013]. The original was far longer, and sadly I can’t find the file, but I thought it was still of interest! I went to meet Paul with the Daleks under construction, and took my daughter. She was them and ran off in tears, terrified. She was six!)

THE Daleks are set to invade our television screens again – and their latest conquest plans began in East Kilbride.

To celebrate 50 years of Doctor Who, the BBC have produced a docudrama, An Adventure in Space and Time, charting the creation of Doctor Who through the early years.

The drama is being overseen by Doctor Who’s Paisley-born executive producer Steven Moffat, to form part of the show’s golden anniversary celebrations.

And the production will feature the Doctor’s deadliest enemies, the Daleks, who first fully appeared in the show’s sixth-ever episode.

To ensure the show is as accurate as possible, the BBC needed four Daleks identical to the ones which appeared during the early years – and they’ve been built at Titan Props, based in Kinning Park.

The four Daleks were built at short notice by Paul McNamara, a Greenhills resident, and Brian Quinn, who were commissioned by Dave Arrowsmith, the production designer on the BBC show.

The original Daleks were designed by BBC staff member Raymond Cusick and built by Shawcraft Models in Uxbridge.

Paul, who was a Doctor Who fan until Tom Baker left the role, said: “We didn’t have the original plans, so I went online and found a forum called Project Dalek, which had been created by fans, and got the plans there.

“They must be very talented boys as one of our chippies had a look at the plans, he’s built many a house, but he concluded these plans were mathematically impossible as the Dalek base sections with the balls are wider at the bottom, narrower at the top, and yet it still remains flat.

“But with a wee bit of fettling here and there, we’ve got it to work.”

Creating a Dalek isn’t an easy process, even once you’ve got the base section ready.

Paul said: “Getting the spheres right is something I’m really proud of. The balls in the skirt are actually the same ones that we’ve used for the eye-piece. We ordered them from the Precision Plastic Ball Company.

“They are just clear plastic balls which can be used to make Christmas decorations as they split in half and you can put whatever you like inside them. I was able to spray-paint the inside of them in Ford Olympic blue, which gives a clean finish.

“We then had to rout out all the holes for the balls to fit into, which Robert Douglas from Taigh Mor did, so they would all fit properly.

“For things like the gun, most of them were made from material I just had lying about – I’m a bit of a magpie that way, as I keep everything, you never know when you’ll need it.

“Then for the lights on the dome, I think they were originally from a 1950s London taxi, but I’ve used ping-pong balls. They’re easier to get than bits of an old cab!”

Paul’s work will be scrutinised by millions of Doctor Who fans all over the world – but he’s no stranger to working on international successes.

He said: “I’ve done various jobs through the years. I did a bit of work on Mission: Impossible 2. It wasn’t like I was making specicic action props – they are all machine-made by big engineering companies. We would be installing things like boxes on the walls, with wee twinkling lights on them.

“I was also in the dressing crew for Trainspotting – and I worked on the worst toilet in Scotland. It was one of the best tasks I’d ever had.

“The designer would come in and say it was lacking a wee bit as it wasn’t quite bad enough – to vandalise it a wee bit more. So I’d go in with a hammer and knock off a bit more, then she’d come back and want more as it still wasn’t bad enough. It was great.

“This time, though, we’re making the stars of the show in my eyes. Everyone wants to see the Daleks.”

Paul’s Daleks have to be multi-functional, as not only do they have to appear as they were in the original episodes, they have to double up as the slightly different Mark II models, which appeared in 1964s $e Dalek Invasion of Earth. Then their appearance was slightly modified, with a di#erent eye-stalk, a satellite dish on their back and a larger bumper around the base.

Paul said: “We’ve built the Mark I Daleks, which need to be modified for the Mark II version. We’ve made them with inter-changeable eye-stalks, which can be taken out and a new one slotted in place, and they can sit on the bigger base, which is just screwed on at the bottom. We’ve made the satellite dishes as well.”

He added: “I’m fairly happy with how it’s gone so far. I’ve had a few fans coming through and having a wee look and they’ve all had nothing but positive comments, which is great.”

And they’re already proved their worth, terrifying one six-year-old girl who visited during their construction, reducing her to tears.

Since the Daleks returned from London after filming, Paul has sold two of them.

He added: “I’m a model-maker – I like building and this was a great opportunity I just couldn’t miss.”