Grating section

The grating section of a Drone Dalek. (COMIC: The Only Good Dalek)

The grating section, upper grating section, (PROSE: The Dalek Generation) or neck section, (PROSE: Prisoner of the Daleks) was the part of a Dalek's casing below the dome and above the weapons platform. Dalek mutants were typically located within the grating section, beneath the dome, although with some of their tentacles extending further below. (TV: Dalek, Daleks in Manhattan) The grating section was composed of the neck grille, which covered the mutant, and neck rings which supported the grille. (PROSE: Prisoner of the Daleks)

The neck sections of the early Dalek casings created by Davros contained the gravity compensator. (PROSE: Dalek: The Astounding Untold History of the Greatest Enemies of the Universe)

Opening

A docking clamp located at the back connected the dome to the grating section. By releasing their docking clamp, a Dalek could tilt their dome forward, exposing their mutant form. (TV: Resurrection of the Daleks) Likewise, a similar "catch" connected the grating section to the weapons platform. (TV: The Daleks)

Should a Dalek chose to open up their casing, the front portion of the grating section would extend and split in two, exposing the mutant inside. (TV: Dalek)

Variants

Typically, the frames of the grating sections of most Daleks were coloured to match their domes. (TV: The Daleks et al.) Notable exceptions were the black-domed Dalek saucer commanders and the Emperor's Personal Guard, which were coloured according to their wider casings, (TV: The Dalek Invasion of Earth, The Evil of the Daleks, The Parting of the Ways) and the early Supreme Daleks, whose frames were coloured silver like the silver Daleks they commanded. (TV: The Dalek Invasion of Earth)

The white Imperial Daleks created by Davros uniquely had golden grating sections with white frames. (TV: Revelation of the Daleks, Remembrance of the Daleks)

Matching the casing, the frame of the "bronze" Dalek drones of the Last Great Time War, as well as the Emperor's Personal Guard, and beyond were coloured bronze. (TV: Dalek, The Parting of the Ways) While Black Daleks such as Dalek Sec had matching black frames, (TV: Army of Ghosts) black Dalek Inquisitor Generals such as Dalek X likewise had black grating sections, though they were distinguished by their gold slats and sensor globes. (PROSE: Prisoner of the Daleks) Red Supreme Daleks had golden frames which uniquely connected the grating section to the weapons platform. (TV: The Stolen Earth)

Matching the casing, the frame of the Ironside Daleks' grating sections were coloured khaki-green. (TV: Victory of the Daleks)

The Daleks of the New Dalek Paradigm, Supreme, Eternal, Strategist, Scientist and Drone, were distinct in that their taller grating sections which had no frames, consisting of four black collars. (TV: Victory of the Daleks) The grating section of the Daleks following total event collapse, along with the rest of their casing, was weathered to stone. (TV: The Big Bang)

The bronze "Quasimodo Dalek", which was reconstructed by unfamiliar humans, had a grating section which was ordered with the neck grille atop three horizontal neck rings. (COMIC: The Dalek Project)

The dark green, robotic Proto-Daleks, which were constructed by the British and Germans as part of the Dalek Project during the First World War, had distinct grating sections; the British Proto-Daleks had two thin metal bands wrapped around the grating section, while the German Proto-Daleks uniquely had no mesh, instead just solid metal with several lateral grooves. (COMIC: The Dalek Project)

The Dalek Time Controller was distinguished by its taller upper grating sections, which were diagonally circled by revolving rings. Like the whirling debris fields around a gas giant, they appeared solid from a distance, but a closer look saw them burn with the energy of the Time Vortex unfolded in the open gateway within the section of the casing. (PROSE: The Dalek Generation)

The reconstructed Reconnaissance Dalek's grating section was notably shorter than on standard Daleks and featured a pair of metal rings. In addition, part of the inner grating section would light up red when the Dalek spoke. (TV: Resolution) The robotic Defence Drones had a similar design but with a blue light in their grating sections. When inhabited by cloned Reconnaissance scout Dalek mutants, these lights turned red. (TV: Revolution of the Daleks)

As a target

The Dalek Prime Strategist's damaged grating section. (COMIC: Defender of the Daleks)

Though the common weakpoint of the Dalek casing was understood to be the eyepiece, (TV: Resurrection of the Daleks, Remembrance of the Daleks, Dalek) numerous Daleks were destroyed upon sustaining hits, typically from energy weapons including Dalek gunsticks, directed at their grating sections.

During the Second Dalek War, Space Major Jon Bowman placed the barrel of an ion bolter against the neck grille of Dalek X before proceeding to inflict multiple hits upon the neck section before the weapon was depleted. However, Dalek X survived this assault. (PROSE: Prisoner of the Daleks)

In the Death Zone on Gallifrey, a Dalek inadvertently destroyed itself while attempting to kill the First Doctor within a hall of mirrors, with a beam ricocheting and striking its grating section, blowing apart the top half of its casing. (TV: The Five Doctors)

During the first confrontation between the Daleks loyal to Davros and those loyal to the Supreme Dalek, they destroyed each other by hitting their grating sections, resulting in their casings being blown apart. (TV: Resurrection of the Daleks)

On Necros, Natasha Stengos killed her father Arthur Stengos, at his request, by firing a laser beam at the grating section of the glass casing which housed his mutated form, blowing it apart. Elsewhere, the DJ used an ultrasonic beam to destroy two of Davros' Daleks by striking their grating sections, breaking them apart and blowing off their domes. (TV: Revelation of the Daleks)

After many repeated from the Human-Dalek-Time Lord Hybrids' gunsticks, Daleks Thay and Jast of the Cult of Skaro, were overwhelmed by the firepower and exploded. The final shots to both Daleks were targeted at their grating sections destroying them and their domes, with Thay having its manipulator and gunstick demolished too. (TV: Evolution of the Daleks)

The Hond slowly tore into the grating section of the Dalek Prime Strategist as they attempted to kill him. Though the Dalek was saved by the Tenth Doctor, he was left with a damaged grating section which partially exposed his Dalek mutant form. (COMIC: Defender of the Daleks)

At the Papal Mainframe during the Siege of Trenzalore, rogue Dalek puppet Tasha Lem used the gunstick embedded into her hand to kill three Daleks in quick succession by striking their grating sections, causing their casings to be engulfed in flames. (TV: The Time of the Doctor)

Aboard the Aristotle, Rusty, the "Good Dalek", killed several Daleks by striking their grating sections. (TV: Into the Dalek)

Individual cases

Assuming the role of controller of the Dalek-Humans, Dalek Caan was connected to the military computer of the Cult of Skaro's Transgenic Laboratory via numerous tubes and wires which were connected to the neck grille of his grating section. When the Dalek-Humans rebelled against the Daleks, Caan used his connection to kill them all remotely. Confronted by the Tenth Doctor, Caan abandoned his post at the laboratory via an emergency temporal shift. (TV: Evolution of the Daleks)

As a result of his incursion to retrieve Davros from the time-locked Last Great Time War, Dalek Caan lost the front of his grating section as well as a substantial portion of his casing. (TV: The Stolen Earth)

Behind the scenes

A bronze Dalek as depicted in Fall Guys.

• In the theatrical film Dr. Who and the Daleks, the Black Dalek and the Red Dalek had grating sections with gold frames. Their subordinate Blue Daleks had grating sections with silver frames.
  • In Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D., all Daleks have grating sections with silver frames.
• Curiously, those bronze Daleks dubbed as "Aristotle Daleks" in the Doctor Who: Legacy mobile game are distinguished by white grating sections which do not appear in Into the Dalek.
• In Dalek Hack, the player has the option to change the colour of a Dalek's casing which is divided into three sections, including the dome attached to the grating section.
• Represented by the bronze Daleks, the Daleks depicted in the video game Fall Guys, appear with only two horizontal neck rings as opposed to the usual three.