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'''Jelly babies''' were a form of [[Earth]] sweet favoured by [[the Doctor]] during several of his incarnations.
{{wikipediainfo}}
{{ImageLink}}
{{Infobox Object
|image      = Eighth Doctor offers jelly baby.jpg
|aka        = Peace Babies
|type        = [[Food]]
|origin      = [[Earth]]
|made by    =
|used by    = [[The Doctor]]
|first      = The Dominators (TV story)
|only        =
|appearances = [[Jelly baby - list of appearances|'''''see list''''']]
|clip        = Jelly Baby -Take me to Your Leader - Doctor Who - The Face of Evil - BBC
}}
'''Jelly babies''', originally called '''Peace Babies''', ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Wolfsbane (novel)|Wolfsbane]]'') were an [[English]] [[sweet]] favoured by [[the Doctor]], particularly in their [[Fourth Doctor|fourth incarnation]]. The Doctor often offered them to [[companion]]s and others they met on their travels. Jelly babies were in the shape of a miniature [[humanoid]] [[child]]. They were made out of [[gelatin]] and were available in a variety of colours and flavours including chocolate. ([[GAME]]: ''[[City of the Daleks (video game)|City of the Daleks]]'') Colours included [[yellow]], ([[TV]]: ''[[Doctor Who (TV story)|Doctor Who]]'') [[green]], [[Orange (colour)|orange]], [[black]], [[pink]] ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Utopia (short story)|Utopia]]'') and [[red]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Scaredy Cat (audio story)|Scaredy Cat]]'')
 
The [[Eighth Doctor]] claimed that chewing them helped him to concentrate, as, he noted, "the tensile strength of a jelly baby offers the perfect resistance." ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[World of Damnation (audio story)|World of Damnation]]'')
 
== History ==
Under the name Peace Babies, the sweet was launched in [[1918]] to celebrate the end of the [[World War I|First World War]]. They became known as jelly babies sometime after [[1936]]. They were made from boiled up [[animal]] [[bone]]s and ligaments. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Wolfsbane (novel)|Wolfsbane]]'')
 
At one point, the company that made jelly babies decided to discontinue production of the pink jelly babies, unaware that it was a favourite colour of their customers. The company began to lose profits and eventually went bankrupt. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Utopia (short story)|Utopia]]'')
 
== Appearances and mentions ==
=== Second Doctor ===
The [[Second Doctor]] ate jelly babies from a bag while waiting in a travel capsule. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Dominators (TV story)|The Dominators]]'') He also offered a jelly baby to [[Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart|Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart]] while in [[the Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Three Doctors (TV story)|The Three Doctors]]'') When cornered by a [[Robot Yeti|Yeti]] and hunting through his pocket for a firework, he withdrew a bag of jelly babies. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Five Doctors (TV story)|The Five Doctors]]'') He had a bag of jelly babies in his pocket when he visited [[Mars]] with Jamie and Zoe ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Lords of the Red Planet (audio story)|Lords of the Red Planet]]'') and when he visited [[Oliver's Inn]] with Jamie in [[1968]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Last Day at Work (audio story)|The Last Day at Work]]'')
 
=== Third Doctor ===
[[Jo Grant]] once found jelly babies in the [[Third Doctor]]'s pockets. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Ghost in the Machine (audio story)|Ghost in the Machine]]'')
 
=== Fourth Doctor ===
The [[Fourth Doctor]] offered [[Sarah Jane Smith]] and [[Harry Sullivan]] jelly babies, before taking them off on their adventures. They both accepted. ([[TV]]: ''[[Robot (TV story)|Robot]]'') The Doctor offered round a bag of jelly babies while aboard [[Space Station Nerva]], shortly making an analogy to [[Wirrn]] eating up [[human]]ity, should they win. The Doctor later threw a bag of jelly babies to [[Vira]] as Sarah Jane, Harry and he were about to beam down to Earth via the [[transmat]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Ark in Space (TV story)|The Ark in Space]]'') After the Doctor was neutralised by the [[Cyberman|Cybermen]], [[Kellman]] searched through his pockets and found a packet of jelly babies. ([[TV]]: ''[[Revenge of the Cybermen (TV story)|Revenge of the Cybermen]]'') He offered one to [[Leela]] of the [[Sevateem]] tribe upon their first meeting, leading her to think he ate babies. He also bluffed the Sevateem by threatening one of the tribe with a "deadly jelly baby". ([[TV]]: ''[[The Face of Evil (TV story)|The Face of Evil]]'')
 
The Doctor pondered whether [[Planet (Death-Dealer)|a market world]] sold jelly babies. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Death-Dealer (audio story)|Death-Dealer]]'') When emptying his pockets for [[Magnus Greel]], one of the things the Doctor placed on the [[table]] was his bag of jelly babies. He began eating them. The Doctor offered one to Greel, but was refused. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Talons of Weng-Chiang (TV story)|The Talons of Weng-Chiang]]'') The Doctor offered round a bag of jelly babies while on the [[sandminer]]; they were slapped out of his hands by an imposter working there. To this, he replied, saying, "A simple no thank you would have been sufficient". ([[TV]]: ''[[The Robots of Death (TV story)|The Robots of Death]]'') The Doctor gave [[Ted Moss]] a jelly baby. While investigating the [[Fendahl]] on Earth he offered the skull dubbed "[[Eustace]]" a jelly baby, in jest. ([[TV]]: ''[[Image of the Fendahl (TV story)|Image of the Fendahl]]'') The Doctor told [[Cordo]] that instead of [[Suicide|ending his life]], he needed a jelly baby. When Cordo tried to take the sweet he offered, the Doctor grabbed his hand through the bag and Leela knocked him down. While in the [[Correction Centre]] on [[Pluto]], the Doctor offered the workers jelly babies, telling them they were in his jacket pocket. After he was freed, he left the bag with [[Bisham]], another prisoner. This was later a clue Leela used to find him. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Sun Makers (TV story)|The Sun Makers]]'')
 
[[File:Like this.jpg|right|thumb|The [[Fourth Doctor]] and [[Andred (The Invasion of Time)|Andred]] eat. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Invasion of Time (TV story)|The Invasion of Time]]'')]]
Upon arriving on [[Gallifrey]], the Doctor declared that the [[Chancellery Guard]] were not worthy to guard a jelly baby. He then offered [[Andred (The Invasion of Time)|Andred]] one, which was declined. Upon returning to his TARDIS to, apparently, retrieve another bag of jelly babies, the Doctor was confronted by Chancellery Guard Andred. After explaining what the jelly babies were, the Doctor simultaneously ate one while Andred ate another. He then gave the bag to Andred, saying to beware a "certain someone" because he didn't approve of the delicious sweet. While [[Lord President]], the Doctor asked [[Castellan]] [[Kelner]] to remove a jelly baby from his pocket for him. He asked it be orange, his preference. However, once he heard that there weren't any orange jelly babies, the Doctor slammed the bag to the table. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Invasion of Time (TV story)|The Invasion of Time]]'')
 
[[File:The Doctor offering jelly babies.jpg|left|thumb|The [[Fourth Doctor]] offers jelly babies to a [[Starfleet]] away team. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[Assimilation² (comic story)|Assimilation²]]'')]]
The Doctor offered jelly babies to [[James T. Kirk]], [[Spock]], [[Leonard McCoy]] and [[Montgomery Scott]]. Spock pronounced them "fascinating." ([[COMIC]]: ''[[Assimilation² (comic story)|Assimilation²]]'') The Doctor offered [[Fenella Wibbsey]] a jelly baby, telling her to take two as they were nutritious. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Relics of Time (audio story)|The Relics of Time]]'') [[Romana I]] offered a bag of jelly babies around while she and the Doctor were on [[Zanak]]. He used them twice to lure a guard away from a vehicle; the second time was not effective. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Pirate Planet (TV story)|The Pirate Planet]]'') The Doctor interrupted the game of rock-paper-scissors he was playing with [[Romana II]] by placing a jelly baby in her hand, showing illogical moves can sometimes help. The Doctor offered a jelly baby to [[Davros]], which was slapped out of his hand. ([[TV]]: ''[[Destiny of the Daleks (TV story)|Destiny of the Daleks]]'')
 
While in the [[Eden (planet)|Eden]] projection, the Doctor ate some jelly babies. ([[TV]]: ''[[Nightmare of Eden (TV story)|Nightmare of Eden]]'') He also gave a green one missing a leg to [[Bernice Summerfield]], who was tracking the [[Key to Time]]. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[Time & Time Again (comic story)|Time & Time Again]]'') The Doctor offered some jelly babies to the [[Anethan]]s aboard a [[Skonnan]] freighter. After Romana showed them they were not poisonous, they accepted. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Horns of Nimon (TV story)|The Horns of Nimon]]'') The Iron Legion invaded a [[Great Britain|British]] town in which the Doctor happened to be at a shop, stocking up on jelly babies. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[Doctor Who and the Iron Legion (comic story)|Doctor Who and the Iron Legion]]'')
 
=== Fifth Doctor ===
The [[Fifth Doctor]] gave some [[Tibet]]an Sherpas a bag of jelly babies in exchange for the use of their [[yak]]s and cart to move [[the Doctor's TARDIS|his TARDIS]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Roof of the World (audio story)|The Roof of the World]]'')
 
=== Sixth Doctor ===
In a confused condition brought on by attacks upon his [[Second Doctor|second incarnation]], the [[Sixth Doctor]] made random references to his previous lives and "the tensile strength of jelly babies". ([[TV]]: ''[[The Two Doctors (TV story)|The Two Doctors]]'') On [[Earth|Ravolox]], [[Drathro]]'s minions, [[Humker]] and [[Tandrell]], discovered a bag of jelly babies in the Doctor's coat as they frisked him. He quickly snatched the bag back, before wordlessly offering them each one. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Mysterious Planet (TV story)|The Mysterious Planet]]'')
 
=== Seventh Doctor ===
The [[Seventh Doctor]] enjoyed a snack of jelly babies from a bowl while reading ''[[The Time Machine]]'', just before the events that led to his [[regeneration]], making it the last thing he ate. After appearing to die in a [[San Francisco]] [[Walker General Hospital|hospital]], his belongings ended up in the possession of a youth named [[Chang Lee]]. Amongst those possessions was a bag of jelly babies. ([[TV]]: ''[[Doctor Who (TV story)|Doctor Who]]'')
 
=== Eighth Doctor ===
The [[Eighth Doctor]] produced a bag of jelly babies to distract a police officer, and then disarmed him. He also used a jelly baby to confuse a security guard named [[Gareth (Doctor Who)|Gareth]] at the [[Institute for Technological Advancement and Research]]. The Master also saw an image of the Doctor eating a jelly baby. ([[TV]]: ''[[Doctor Who (TV story)|Doctor Who]]'') The Eighth Doctor also searched for jelly babies in the markets of [[Hyspero]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Scarlet Empress (novel)|The Scarlet Empress]]'') Whilst living on Earth in the town on Greyfrith, he often bought jelly babies by the pound. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Father Time (novel)|Father Time]]'') [[Fitz Kreiner|Fitz]] once told a tale of when the Doctor went missing for days, having gone searching for the "perfect jelly baby". ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The City of the Dead (novel)|The City of the Dead]]'') Jelly babies were kept in [[the Doctor's Gladstone bag]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Deadstone Memorial (novel)|The Deadstone Memorial]]'') On [[Endarra]], he offered a jelly baby to [[Galayana]], stating that he had a preference for the red ones. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Scaredy Cat (audio story)|Scaredy Cat]]'')
 
=== Tenth Doctor ===
The [[Tenth Doctor]] gave [[Donna Noble]] a bag to breathe into when she began hyperventilating; she commented that it smelled of jelly babies. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Forever Trap (audio story)|The Forever Trap]]'') When shopping for some [[Brainy Crisps]] to conduct an investigation, the Doctor was able to ignore a lot of the sweets but gave the jelly babies a longing glance. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Code of the Krillitanes (novel)|Code of the Krillitanes]]'')


[[Image:St--4w06.jpg|[[Fourth Doctor|The Doctor]] eats a jelly baby|right|250px]]
=== Eleventh Doctor ===
While trying to stabilise into his namesake's form and personality, a [[Eleventh Doctor (Ganger)|Ganger duplicate]] of the [[Eleventh Doctor]] rapidly fluctuated through the earlier incarnations and asked the real Doctor if he would like a jelly baby, in the voice of the [[Fourth Doctor]] while holding out his hand as if holding a bag of them. He then mixed the sentences together and said, "I've reversed the jelly baby of the neutron flow." ([[TV]]: ''[[The Almost People (TV story)|The Almost People]]'') When the [[First Doctor]]'s companions [[Ian Chesterton]] and [[Barbara Wright]] did not recognise his eleventh incarnation as the Doctor, he told them to "Think lapels! Think monocles! Think jelly babies!", before realising they became associated with the Doctor after Ian and Barbara's time with the Doctor's first incarnation. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[Hunters of the Burning Stone (comic story)|Hunters of the Burning Stone]]'')


==[[Second Doctor]]==
The Eleventh Doctor found jelly babies from "the late 70's" in a room of his TARDIS dating back to his fourth incarnation and offered them to [[Alice Obiefune]], [[Abslom Daak]] and [[River Song]]. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[The One (comic story)|The One]]'')
*The [[Second Doctor]] offered a Jelly Baby to the [[Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart|Brigadier]] while in the [[TARDIS]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Three Doctors]]'')


==[[Fourth Doctor]]==
After receiving a [[letter]] from [[Max (Doctor, Doctor! 275)|Max]] asking if he liked [[sweet]]s and, if so, what [[type]], the [[Eleventh Doctor]] listed off several sweets which he liked: jelly babies from [[Earth]], [[pong drop]]s from [[Raxacoricofallapatorius]], [[sherbert lava lump]]s from [[Pyrovilia]], [[candy floss]] from [[Clom]], and [[pickled apple]]s from [[Apalapucia]]. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|Doctor, Doctor! (DWA 275 short story)|namedpart=Sweet Talker!|page=28}})
*The Doctor offered round a bag of jelly babies while aboard space station Nerva, shortly before a comparison of the Wirrn eating up humanity like jelly babies was made. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Ark in Space]]'')
*He offered one to [[Leela]] of the [[Sevateem]] tribe upon their first meeting, leading her to think he ate babies. He would also effectively bluff the Sevateem by threatening one of the tribe with a "deadly jelly baby". ([[DW]]: ''[[The Face of Evil]]'')
*The Doctor offered round a bag of jelly babies whilst on the [[sandminer]] (they were slapped out of his hand while he attempted to do so). ([[DW]]: ''[[The Robots of Death]]'')
*Whilst investigating the [[Fendahl]] on Earth he offered "[[Eustace]]" a jelly baby in jest. ([[DW]]: ''[[Image of the Fendahl]]'')
*Whilst on [[Gallifrey]] as [[Lord President]] he requested [[Castellan]] [[Kelner]] to remove a jelly baby from his pocket for him, in this (slightly power mad state) he preferred an orange one. He also gave one to [[Andred]] and then also gave him the packet.([[DW]]: ''[[The Invasion of Time]]'')
* [[Romana I|Romana]] offered a bag of jelly babies around while she and the Doctor are on [[Zanak]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Pirate Planet]]'')
* The Doctor offered a jelly baby to [[Davros]], which are also slapped out of his hand and,  oddly, an expolosion is heard when they fell to ground. ([[DW]]: ''[[Destiny of the Daleks]]'')
* Whilst in the [[Eden]] projection the Doctor eats some jelly babies, and also gives a green one missing a leg to [[Bernice Summerfield]] (as she was tracking the [[Key to Time]]). ([[DW]]: ''[[Nightmare of Eden]]'', [[DWM]]: ''[[Time & Time Again]]'')
*He offered them to the Anethans whilst aboard the [[Skonnan]] freighter. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Horns of Nimon]]'')
==[[Sixth Doctor]]==
On [[Ravalox]], [[Drathro]]'s minions, [[Humker]] and [[Tandrell]], discover a bag of jelly babies in the Doctor's coat as they investigate him.  He quickly snatches the bag back, before wordlessly offering them each one of the sweets. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Mysterious Planet]]'')


==[[Seventh Doctor]]==
=== Twelfth Doctor ===
*The Doctor enjoyed a snack of jelly babies while reading ''[[The Time Machine]]'', just before the events that led to his regeneration, technically making this his last meal. ([[DW]]: ''[[Doctor Who: The TV Movie]]'')
When investigating the deaths occurring aboard the [[Orient Express (spacecraft)|Orient Express]] in space, the [[Twelfth Doctor]] approached [[Professor]] [[Emile Moorhouse|Moorhouse]] regarding the myth of the [[Foretold]] and exchanged information with him. During their conversation, he took out [[Twelfth Doctor's jelly baby case|a cigarette case full of jelly babies]] from his coat, offering one to the professor. ([[TV]]: ''[[Mummy on the Orient Express (TV story)|Mummy on the Orient Express]]'')


==[[Eighth Doctor]]==
While on [[Floor 0507]] of the [[Mondasian]] [[Colony ship (World Enough and Time)|colony ship]], he offered [[Alit]], a child assisting him and [[Bill Potts|Bill]], a jelly baby from a paper bag in his coat. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Doctor Falls (TV story)|The Doctor Falls]]'')
*The [[Eighth Doctor]] also seemed to develop a taste for jelly babies, he also used them to distract a police officer so he could disarm him, whilst in [[San Francisco]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[Doctor Who: The TV Movie]]'')
*The Eighth Doctor also searched for jelly babies in the markets of [[Hyspero]]. ([[EDA]]: ''[[The Scarlet Empress]]'')


==[[The Master]]==
=== Other ===
*[[The Master]] also appeared to enjoy a bag of jelly babies along side his [[Lucy Saxon|wife]] whilst awaiting the [[Toclafane]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Sound of Drums]]'')
[[Harry Sullivan]] offered a bag of jelly babies given to him by the [[Fourth Doctor]] to the [[Eighth Doctor]], who was suffering from [[amnesia]] and stranded on [[Earth]]. The Doctor rejected the offer given what they were made of. Harry took this as a sign that this wasn't "his" Doctor from whom he was separated, and was also put off eating one himself. [[Godric]] added to this by pointing out eating effigies of babies was a strange was to celebrate [[peace]], unless they represented the babies of the vanquished. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Wolfsbane (novel)|Wolfsbane]]'')


==Behind the Scenes==
[[Bernice Summerfield]] went to find a segment of the [[Key to Time]], disguised as a jelly baby, which the [[Fourth Doctor]] happened to have. To this end, she met him while fending off [[Mandrel]]s in the section of [[Eden (planet)|Eden]] taken by the [[Continuous Event Transmuter]]. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[Time & Time Again (comic story)|Time & Time Again]]'')
In the United States, jelly babies had a low as a confectionery product. When [[Pinnacle Books]] published ''[[Doctor Who]]'' novelisations in new packaging, the editorial changes made by them included changing jelly babies to jelly beans, for fear of confusing American readers. Later, when the series had a great deal more popularity, many Americans simply associated jelly babies with ''Doctor Who'' and with the Doctor as played by [[Tom Baker]]. Under license from the BBC, one company sold jelly babies in packaging resembling [[the Doctor's TARDIS]], advertising them as "the Cosmic Candy of the Time Lords".


The "Inside the TARDIS" featurette on the UK DVD of ''Doctor Who: The TV Movie'' includes a closeup view of the tray of jelly babies enjoyed by the Seventh Doctor at the start of the film.
{{Simm|c}} enjoyed a bag of jelly babies with [[Lucy Saxon|his wife]] onboard the ''[[Valiant (aircraft carrier)|Valiant]]'' while waiting for the [[Toclafane]] invasion. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Sound of Drums (TV story)|The Sound of Drums]]'')


{{wikipediainfo}}
When disguised as the Fourth Doctor, [[Affinity]] offered the [[Twelfth Doctor]] a [[Worthington's Superior Peppermint]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Silhouette (novel)|Silhouette]]'')
[[Category:The Doctor's items]]
 
[[Category:Cultural References]]
== Behind the scenes ==
[[Category:Food and Beverages]]
[[File:Fourth Doctor eating allsort.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Fourth Doctor]] eats an allsort while offering a jelly baby ([[TV]]: ''[[The Sun Makers (TV story)|The Sun Makers]]'')]]
Jelly Babies are a real-world product sold under that name since 1953 (existing long before their association with ''Doctor Who''), and under other names many years before that. They are similar to gummi candies.
 
On a number of occasions, the [[Fourth Doctor]] offered "jelly babies" when in fact he was holding another kind of sweet, such as [[liquorice allsort]]s. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Sun Makers (TV story)|The Sun Makers]]'', ''[[Image of the Fendahl (TV story)|Image of the Fendahl]]'')
 
On [[Tom Baker]]'s official website, an overview of Tom Baker's tenure as the Fourth Doctor by writer [[Nicholas Pegg]] claimed that the original script of ''[[The Face of Evil (TV story)|The Face of Evil]]'' involved the Fourth Doctor threatening the tribesmen with a knife. Feeling that such an act was not appropriate, he insisted that the Doctor bluff his way out with a jelly baby instead.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tombakerofficial.com/fourth-doctor/ |title=The Tom Baker Years |author=Pegg, Nicholas |date of source= |website name=Tom Baker Official |accessdate=14 October 2014}}</ref>
 
In the [[United States]], jelly babies had a low profile as a confectionery product. When [[Pinnacle Books]] published ''[[Doctor Who]]'' novelisations in new packaging, the editorial changes made by them included changing jelly babies to jelly beans, for fear of confusing American readers. Later, when the series had a great deal more popularity, many Americans simply associated jelly babies with ''Doctor Who'' and with the Doctor as played by Tom Baker. Under license from the BBC, one company sold jelly babies in packaging resembling [[the Doctor's TARDIS]], advertising them as "the Cosmic Candy of the [[Time Lord]]s".
 
The ''Inside the TARDIS'' featurette on the UK DVD of the television film ''[[Doctor Who (TV story)|Doctor Who]]'' includes a closeup view of the bowl of jelly babies enjoyed by the [[Seventh Doctor]] at the start of the film.
 
Jelly babies appear as collectable cards in ''[[The Adventure Games]]''.
 
[[J. K. Woodward]], who worked on the ''[[Star Trek]]'' [[crossover]] ''[[Assimilation² (comic story)|Assimilation²]]'', released a piece depicting [[Spock]] gleaning the image of a jelly baby in a {{iw|startrek|mind meld}} with the [[Fourth Doctor]].
 
== Footnotes ==
{{Reflist}}
 
[[Category:Sweets from the real world]]
[[Category:Fourth Doctor]]
[[Category:Segments of the Key to Time]]
[[Category:Eighth Doctor]]
[[Category:Seventh Doctor]]
[[Category:Sixth Doctor]]
[[Category:Second Doctor]]
[[Category:Twelfth Doctor]]

Latest revision as of 23:04, 31 August 2024

Jelly baby

Jelly babies, originally called Peace Babies, (PROSE: Wolfsbane) were an English sweet favoured by the Doctor, particularly in their fourth incarnation. The Doctor often offered them to companions and others they met on their travels. Jelly babies were in the shape of a miniature humanoid child. They were made out of gelatin and were available in a variety of colours and flavours including chocolate. (GAME: City of the Daleks) Colours included yellow, (TV: Doctor Who) green, orange, black, pink (PROSE: Utopia) and red. (AUDIO: Scaredy Cat)

The Eighth Doctor claimed that chewing them helped him to concentrate, as, he noted, "the tensile strength of a jelly baby offers the perfect resistance." (AUDIO: World of Damnation)

History[[edit] | [edit source]]

Under the name Peace Babies, the sweet was launched in 1918 to celebrate the end of the First World War. They became known as jelly babies sometime after 1936. They were made from boiled up animal bones and ligaments. (PROSE: Wolfsbane)

At one point, the company that made jelly babies decided to discontinue production of the pink jelly babies, unaware that it was a favourite colour of their customers. The company began to lose profits and eventually went bankrupt. (PROSE: Utopia)

Appearances and mentions[[edit] | [edit source]]

Second Doctor[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Second Doctor ate jelly babies from a bag while waiting in a travel capsule. (TV: The Dominators) He also offered a jelly baby to Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart while in the TARDIS. (TV: The Three Doctors) When cornered by a Yeti and hunting through his pocket for a firework, he withdrew a bag of jelly babies. (TV: The Five Doctors) He had a bag of jelly babies in his pocket when he visited Mars with Jamie and Zoe (AUDIO: Lords of the Red Planet) and when he visited Oliver's Inn with Jamie in 1968. (AUDIO: The Last Day at Work)

Third Doctor[[edit] | [edit source]]

Jo Grant once found jelly babies in the Third Doctor's pockets. (AUDIO: Ghost in the Machine)

Fourth Doctor[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Fourth Doctor offered Sarah Jane Smith and Harry Sullivan jelly babies, before taking them off on their adventures. They both accepted. (TV: Robot) The Doctor offered round a bag of jelly babies while aboard Space Station Nerva, shortly making an analogy to Wirrn eating up humanity, should they win. The Doctor later threw a bag of jelly babies to Vira as Sarah Jane, Harry and he were about to beam down to Earth via the transmat. (TV: The Ark in Space) After the Doctor was neutralised by the Cybermen, Kellman searched through his pockets and found a packet of jelly babies. (TV: Revenge of the Cybermen) He offered one to Leela of the Sevateem tribe upon their first meeting, leading her to think he ate babies. He also bluffed the Sevateem by threatening one of the tribe with a "deadly jelly baby". (TV: The Face of Evil)

The Doctor pondered whether a market world sold jelly babies. (AUDIO: Death-Dealer) When emptying his pockets for Magnus Greel, one of the things the Doctor placed on the table was his bag of jelly babies. He began eating them. The Doctor offered one to Greel, but was refused. (TV: The Talons of Weng-Chiang) The Doctor offered round a bag of jelly babies while on the sandminer; they were slapped out of his hands by an imposter working there. To this, he replied, saying, "A simple no thank you would have been sufficient". (TV: The Robots of Death) The Doctor gave Ted Moss a jelly baby. While investigating the Fendahl on Earth he offered the skull dubbed "Eustace" a jelly baby, in jest. (TV: Image of the Fendahl) The Doctor told Cordo that instead of ending his life, he needed a jelly baby. When Cordo tried to take the sweet he offered, the Doctor grabbed his hand through the bag and Leela knocked him down. While in the Correction Centre on Pluto, the Doctor offered the workers jelly babies, telling them they were in his jacket pocket. After he was freed, he left the bag with Bisham, another prisoner. This was later a clue Leela used to find him. (TV: The Sun Makers)

Upon arriving on Gallifrey, the Doctor declared that the Chancellery Guard were not worthy to guard a jelly baby. He then offered Andred one, which was declined. Upon returning to his TARDIS to, apparently, retrieve another bag of jelly babies, the Doctor was confronted by Chancellery Guard Andred. After explaining what the jelly babies were, the Doctor simultaneously ate one while Andred ate another. He then gave the bag to Andred, saying to beware a "certain someone" because he didn't approve of the delicious sweet. While Lord President, the Doctor asked Castellan Kelner to remove a jelly baby from his pocket for him. He asked it be orange, his preference. However, once he heard that there weren't any orange jelly babies, the Doctor slammed the bag to the table. (TV: The Invasion of Time)

The Fourth Doctor offers jelly babies to a Starfleet away team. (COMIC: Assimilation²)

The Doctor offered jelly babies to James T. Kirk, Spock, Leonard McCoy and Montgomery Scott. Spock pronounced them "fascinating." (COMIC: Assimilation²) The Doctor offered Fenella Wibbsey a jelly baby, telling her to take two as they were nutritious. (AUDIO: The Relics of Time) Romana I offered a bag of jelly babies around while she and the Doctor were on Zanak. He used them twice to lure a guard away from a vehicle; the second time was not effective. (TV: The Pirate Planet) The Doctor interrupted the game of rock-paper-scissors he was playing with Romana II by placing a jelly baby in her hand, showing illogical moves can sometimes help. The Doctor offered a jelly baby to Davros, which was slapped out of his hand. (TV: Destiny of the Daleks)

While in the Eden projection, the Doctor ate some jelly babies. (TV: Nightmare of Eden) He also gave a green one missing a leg to Bernice Summerfield, who was tracking the Key to Time. (COMIC: Time & Time Again) The Doctor offered some jelly babies to the Anethans aboard a Skonnan freighter. After Romana showed them they were not poisonous, they accepted. (TV: The Horns of Nimon) The Iron Legion invaded a British town in which the Doctor happened to be at a shop, stocking up on jelly babies. (COMIC: Doctor Who and the Iron Legion)

Fifth Doctor[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Fifth Doctor gave some Tibetan Sherpas a bag of jelly babies in exchange for the use of their yaks and cart to move his TARDIS. (AUDIO: The Roof of the World)

Sixth Doctor[[edit] | [edit source]]

In a confused condition brought on by attacks upon his second incarnation, the Sixth Doctor made random references to his previous lives and "the tensile strength of jelly babies". (TV: The Two Doctors) On Ravolox, Drathro's minions, Humker and Tandrell, discovered a bag of jelly babies in the Doctor's coat as they frisked him. He quickly snatched the bag back, before wordlessly offering them each one. (TV: The Mysterious Planet)

Seventh Doctor[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Seventh Doctor enjoyed a snack of jelly babies from a bowl while reading The Time Machine, just before the events that led to his regeneration, making it the last thing he ate. After appearing to die in a San Francisco hospital, his belongings ended up in the possession of a youth named Chang Lee. Amongst those possessions was a bag of jelly babies. (TV: Doctor Who)

Eighth Doctor[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Eighth Doctor produced a bag of jelly babies to distract a police officer, and then disarmed him. He also used a jelly baby to confuse a security guard named Gareth at the Institute for Technological Advancement and Research. The Master also saw an image of the Doctor eating a jelly baby. (TV: Doctor Who) The Eighth Doctor also searched for jelly babies in the markets of Hyspero. (PROSE: The Scarlet Empress) Whilst living on Earth in the town on Greyfrith, he often bought jelly babies by the pound. (PROSE: Father Time) Fitz once told a tale of when the Doctor went missing for days, having gone searching for the "perfect jelly baby". (PROSE: The City of the Dead) Jelly babies were kept in the Doctor's Gladstone bag. (PROSE: The Deadstone Memorial) On Endarra, he offered a jelly baby to Galayana, stating that he had a preference for the red ones. (AUDIO: Scaredy Cat)

Tenth Doctor[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Tenth Doctor gave Donna Noble a bag to breathe into when she began hyperventilating; she commented that it smelled of jelly babies. (AUDIO: The Forever Trap) When shopping for some Brainy Crisps to conduct an investigation, the Doctor was able to ignore a lot of the sweets but gave the jelly babies a longing glance. (PROSE: Code of the Krillitanes)

Eleventh Doctor[[edit] | [edit source]]

While trying to stabilise into his namesake's form and personality, a Ganger duplicate of the Eleventh Doctor rapidly fluctuated through the earlier incarnations and asked the real Doctor if he would like a jelly baby, in the voice of the Fourth Doctor while holding out his hand as if holding a bag of them. He then mixed the sentences together and said, "I've reversed the jelly baby of the neutron flow." (TV: The Almost People) When the First Doctor's companions Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright did not recognise his eleventh incarnation as the Doctor, he told them to "Think lapels! Think monocles! Think jelly babies!", before realising they became associated with the Doctor after Ian and Barbara's time with the Doctor's first incarnation. (COMIC: Hunters of the Burning Stone)

The Eleventh Doctor found jelly babies from "the late 70's" in a room of his TARDIS dating back to his fourth incarnation and offered them to Alice Obiefune, Abslom Daak and River Song. (COMIC: The One)

After receiving a letter from Max asking if he liked sweets and, if so, what type, the Eleventh Doctor listed off several sweets which he liked: jelly babies from Earth, pong drops from Raxacoricofallapatorius, sherbert lava lumps from Pyrovilia, candy floss from Clom, and pickled apples from Apalapucia. (PROSE: "Sweet Talker!" [+]Part of Doctor, Doctor! 275, Loading...{"page":"28","namedpart":"Sweet Talker!","1":"Doctor, Doctor! (DWA 275 short story)"})

Twelfth Doctor[[edit] | [edit source]]

When investigating the deaths occurring aboard the Orient Express in space, the Twelfth Doctor approached Professor Moorhouse regarding the myth of the Foretold and exchanged information with him. During their conversation, he took out a cigarette case full of jelly babies from his coat, offering one to the professor. (TV: Mummy on the Orient Express)

While on Floor 0507 of the Mondasian colony ship, he offered Alit, a child assisting him and Bill, a jelly baby from a paper bag in his coat. (TV: The Doctor Falls)

Other[[edit] | [edit source]]

Harry Sullivan offered a bag of jelly babies given to him by the Fourth Doctor to the Eighth Doctor, who was suffering from amnesia and stranded on Earth. The Doctor rejected the offer given what they were made of. Harry took this as a sign that this wasn't "his" Doctor from whom he was separated, and was also put off eating one himself. Godric added to this by pointing out eating effigies of babies was a strange was to celebrate peace, unless they represented the babies of the vanquished. (PROSE: Wolfsbane)

Bernice Summerfield went to find a segment of the Key to Time, disguised as a jelly baby, which the Fourth Doctor happened to have. To this end, she met him while fending off Mandrels in the section of Eden taken by the Continuous Event Transmuter. (COMIC: Time & Time Again)

The Saxon Master enjoyed a bag of jelly babies with his wife onboard the Valiant while waiting for the Toclafane invasion. (TV: The Sound of Drums)

When disguised as the Fourth Doctor, Affinity offered the Twelfth Doctor a Worthington's Superior Peppermint. (PROSE: Silhouette)

Behind the scenes[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Fourth Doctor eats an allsort while offering a jelly baby (TV: The Sun Makers)

Jelly Babies are a real-world product sold under that name since 1953 (existing long before their association with Doctor Who), and under other names many years before that. They are similar to gummi candies.

On a number of occasions, the Fourth Doctor offered "jelly babies" when in fact he was holding another kind of sweet, such as liquorice allsorts. (TV: The Sun Makers, Image of the Fendahl)

On Tom Baker's official website, an overview of Tom Baker's tenure as the Fourth Doctor by writer Nicholas Pegg claimed that the original script of The Face of Evil involved the Fourth Doctor threatening the tribesmen with a knife. Feeling that such an act was not appropriate, he insisted that the Doctor bluff his way out with a jelly baby instead.[1]

In the United States, jelly babies had a low profile as a confectionery product. When Pinnacle Books published Doctor Who novelisations in new packaging, the editorial changes made by them included changing jelly babies to jelly beans, for fear of confusing American readers. Later, when the series had a great deal more popularity, many Americans simply associated jelly babies with Doctor Who and with the Doctor as played by Tom Baker. Under license from the BBC, one company sold jelly babies in packaging resembling the Doctor's TARDIS, advertising them as "the Cosmic Candy of the Time Lords".

The Inside the TARDIS featurette on the UK DVD of the television film Doctor Who includes a closeup view of the bowl of jelly babies enjoyed by the Seventh Doctor at the start of the film.

Jelly babies appear as collectable cards in The Adventure Games.

J. K. Woodward, who worked on the Star Trek crossover Assimilation², released a piece depicting Spock gleaning the image of a jelly baby in a mind meld with the Fourth Doctor.

Footnotes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  1. Pegg, Nicholas. The Tom Baker Years. Tom Baker Official. Retrieved on 14 October 2014.