It’s the enormous full-sized Tardis in his garden that gives it away. Peter Stephenson, 64, of Keswick, is a committed Whovian. Standing in his front room are two 6ft-plus Cybermen, built by his own hands, and a 1987-era Dalek. Yet they don’t look out of place as wife Carol has subtly decorated in matching greys and metallic silvers. However, with two Daleks gone to a collector in Warwickshire, his Tardis is due to vanish by summer. Interview by Ellis Butcher.
IT all started because I liked Doctor Who when I was a kid.
It came out in 1963 so I would be about five. It was always on a Saturday tea-time after the football scores.
I remember my older brothers watching it, so that’s what got me interested.
I never really liked the Cybermen. I thought they were quite scary and you wouldn’t want to meet them on a dark night! I liked the Daleks as they were very, very mean.
When I first started watching it the Doctor was William Hartnell (he was the first television Doctor from 1963-66, although Peter Cushing played the doctor in a pair of films in 1965 and 1966).
William Hartnell was a very good Doctor and I’ve liked them all, but Jon Pertwee stands out.
I’ve followed all the Doctors all the way through including the last one, Jodie Whittaker, who did a very good job.
Most people of a certain age relate to Tom Baker the most because he was the Doctor for a long time.
At that time the screen-writing was better and the BBC seemed to throw a bit more money at it. The wobbly sets were very noticeable but they only had what they had to work with.
The Dalek I’ve got came from a bloke down south. He started making them having bought the moulds off the BBC. The chance of this one came up and I think it was about £1,600.
It was a bit of a spur of the moment decision and as a kid I always wanted one. I daren’t think how much I’ve spent but it’s probably not as much as you think.
Original Daleks used on screen can go for upwards of £35,000. They always blew them up at the end so there wasn’t many that survived, so they are quite rare.
The older Daleks, they were run around on rails, or they had wheels and stools in them with a guy inside operating.
The ones now have mobility scooters in them with someone driving it.
I got my Dalek in about 1997 and I thought I could make one of these myself. There’s a sink plunger, the main arm is a plumber’s waste pipe and the hemispheres on the body, the round domes, are Christmas decorations cut in half.
You have to match them to the absolute size.
I built two Daleks and the last one I made was remote-controlled and had about 15 phrases. If I worked continuously on one, it would probably take about a month to do.
I made most of the Cybermen (from the Earthshock episodes of 1982) which are very simple, apart from the helmet and chest plate, which has to go in a special mould.
There’s a shop mannequin inside and the rest is a boiler suit with bits stuck on it, the boots are rigger boots, and cricket gloves for the hands.
I actually went to a fancy dress party in this Cyberman costume. I put the whole suit on and walked down Keswick Main Street and got some very funny looks!
I’ve got quite a bit of Doctor Who stuff in the roof space and costumes.
The two Daleks I had were taking up space in the garage and it came to a point where Carol said “something’s got to go” and it was the Daleks that were going!
I get told off for them sometimes because they mark the wall, but she’s very tolerant.
She understands it’s a hobby for me. She knows I enjoy it and she gets pleasure from seeing what I can create as well.
I don’t think she’s decorated the front room to match the Cybermen!
I’ve had the Tardis about 10 years. It’s made out of plywood so it doesn’t last long and you have to keep replacing the panels.
I’ve put a new roof on it as well because it rained in on it very badly.
It needs painting every year and it’s iris blue, an external fence paint, but it’s the exact sort.
I get people coming to see the Tardis from all over. There’s a gentleman from the North East who’s a massive Doctor Who fan and every time he’s in Keswick he always comes up.
The Tardis is going in the early summer to Bassenthwaite. There’s a lad there who dresses like the Doctor played by David Tennant with the coat, the lot. I’ve got some work to do in the front garden and he loves Doctor Who.
I’ve got one grandchild, Georgie, who is three years old this year and she comes in and looks at the Cybermen, but ignores them. She’s not scared of them at all.
She’s not quite old enough yet to appreciate Doctor Who.
