This is the holy grail for Doctor Who merch collectors. It is rare. Very, very rare. I’d guess, on the basis of no evidence whatsoever, that there might be 20 of these left in the world. It is as rare as a sighting of Lord Lucan galloping past on Shergar. As rare as a truthful utterance from the lips of Donald Trump. Nearly as rare as a film canister of episode four of The Tenth Planet. As rare…

The year 1965 was marked by Dalekmania and by the arrival in the world of your humble author.

It is customary to present a child with gifts on his or her appearance on this planet; alternatively, baptismal presents may be showered on the relevant sprog at the christening. To this day, I curse all my relations for not presenting me then with the fruits of Dalekmania. Even if I didn’t need them as…

Or: that time the First Doctor played Cliff Richards’ father. A fascinating glimpse of William Hartnell’s career after Doctor Who has emerged thanks to writer, Gareth Roberts (The Shakespeare Code; The Lodger) who stumbled across it whilst browsing on YouTube. It’s from a long-forgotten series called Life With Johnny which starred Cliff Richard as a young man trying to make his way in the world,…