Doctor Who exhibition

A 1977 promotional image for the Doctor Who Experiences.

You may be looking for the DWU Doctor Who Exhibition.

Doctor Who exhibitions have taken many forms, from simple promotional tours, to exhibits part of other exhibitions to totally dedicated exhibitions given wholly to Doctor Who props and materials.

Covered here are all these, with dedicated exhibitions linked to their own articles. Exhibits where the Doctor Who element was part of a much larger exhibition are covered on this page.

Daily Mail exhibitions

Early in Doctor Who's broadcast schedule the Daleks were extremely popular. In 1964, to capitalise on the success of the Daleks' popularity the Daily Mail newspaper approached the BBC and suggested that Doctor Who be represented as part of the Daily Mail's "Boys & Girls Exhibition at Olympia", this was an annual event held by the paper.

Thus was the first public appearance by the Daleks, the show opened in December 1964. The BBC loaned 2 Dalek props both which had a prerecorded soundtrack accompanying them. It continued to operate through into 1965.

In 1967 and through into 1968, building on the success of their previous exhibition in 1964/5, this exhibition was again part of the Daily Mail's "Boys & Girls Exhibition". However this time it featured a much larger array of aliens from the series with not just the Daleks included this time, but also:

• Yeti
• Cybermen
• Ice Warriors
• Group of Rills
• Mire Beast
• Fungoid

Note: The Mire Beast and the Fungoid were referred to in the exhibition's programme as "the Octopus" and "the Cactus" respectively.

The winning designs from the Blue Peter Design-a-Monster competition were also on display, having already featured on Blue Peter.

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  Cybermen and the Mire Beast

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  Blue Peter competition winner

BBC Special Effects Exhibition 1972-1973

See main article BBC tv Special Effects Exhibition

This was the earliest proper BBC Exhibition to feature Doctor Who and was opened in December 1972 at the Science Museum in Kensington, London.

BBC Exhibition Badge

The Doctor Who Blackpool Exhibition 1974-1985

See main article Doctor Who Exhibition Blackpool

The Doctor Who Longleat Exhibition 1974-2003

See main article Doctor Who Exhibition (Longleat)

Held at Longleat House, the stately home near Warminster in Wiltshire, and home to the Marquess of Bath, which also included Britain's first safari park and garden maze it was open to the public along with other attractions held on the grounds.

The Doctor Who Experience at Madam Tussauds 1980

This special exhibition was part of the Madam Tussauds exhibition in London.

The opening on 29 August 1980 attracted significant press attention at the time, as this was one of the first London-based Doctor Who exhibitions for some time. The time of opening of this exhibition coincided with the beginning of the 18th season of Doctor Who.

When the exhibition opened it was unique at the time as it was the only Madame Tussaud's exhibition with two models of the same individual, the Tom BakerFourth Doctor model and the Meglos version, both sculpted by Judith Craig.

This portion of the Tussauds exhibition had an initial run through to 31 March 1981 but it was greatly extended due to the enormous popularity. However, by 1999 the key features of some of the models (heads and hands) had been placed in storage.

The exhibition was designed by Michael Wright who headed a team from Madame Tussaud's.

The Fourth Doctor wax figure was used for promotional pictures of The Five Doctors.

Exhibits included wax reproductions of:

• Fourth Doctor
• Romana II
• K9
• Davros
• A Blue Dalek
• A Sontaran
• A Nimon
• A Foamasi
• Meglos
• A Marshman

International Garden Festival, Liverpool 1984

In 1984 the UK's first international garden festival was held at Liverpool. It was a "five month pageant of horticultural excellence and spectactular entertainment.

The BBC had a site at this festival, inside a big tent. Within the tent they had a small exhibition of props from various TV shows. While outside the tent (exposed to the weather!) were two Dalek props; one with battle damage, a Police Box prop and a K9 prop.

Doctor Who USA Tour 1986/1987

See main article Doctor Who USA Tour

Following several years in the planning it was a £2 million venture; a co-operation between Lionheart Television International (the BBC USA Distributors) and Monarch International (the BBC's US Exhibition and Promotions Agent) finally came to fruition.

Space Adventure Exhibition 1988-1989

See main article World of Doctor Who Exhibition

This venue's main attraction was a space shuttle simulation ride. When the Doctor Who USA Tour had finished a number of exhibits were moved here.

Behind the Sofa 1991-1992

See main article Behind the Sofa

Exhibited at the Museum of the Moving Image (MOMI), this exhibition had many unique features such as a walk-in Dalek where one could pretend to be a Dalek operator, a recreation of a 1960s living room and the opportunity to see a Krarg an alien created, but never seen on TV for the story Shada.

Doctor Who Experience, Llangollen, Wales 1995-2003

See main article Doctor Who Experience (Llangollen)

This was the largest exhibition to date with a permanent display of all the remaining costumes and props from the television series

Doctor Who Exhibition, Brighton Pier 2005

See main article Doctor Who Exhibition (Brighton Pier)

This exhibition ran from May to November 2005 and included several new series props and costumes, but also costumes and props from the original 'classic' series of Doctor Who.

Doctor Who Up Close

There were several exhibitions run under the "Doctor Who Up Close" name. The Cardiff Bay exhibition was the largest of these exhibitions, however smaller exhibitions have been run across the country since Doctor Who re-appeared on television in 2005.

The Up Close Exhibitions are all run by Experience Design.

• Doctor Who Up Close (Cardiff Bay) (2005)
• Doctor Who Up Close (Land's End) (2007-2011)
• Doctor Who Up Close (Earls Court) (2008-2009) 23 March 2008 to 7 January 2009
• Doctor Who Up Close (Manchester) (at MOSI) (2007-2008) 31 March 2007 to 6 January 2008
• Doctor Who Up Close (Spaceport) Merseyside (2006-2007) 30 September 2006 to 4 January 2007
• Doctor Who Up Close (Leicester 2005) at National Space Centre 22 November 2005 - 8 January 2006
• Doctor Who Up Close (Leicester 2007) 12 November 2007 to 6 January 2008
• Doctor Who Up Close (Coventry) 13 March 2009

Here for You 2007

A BBC Wales roadshow featuring some of its programmes, including some Doctor Who props and a TARDIS interior set built for the occasion. This console was repurposed as being the War Doctor's one for TV: The Day of the Doctor.

• Here for You in Lampeter (2007)
• Here For You (Wrexham) (2008)
• Here For You! (Cwmbran) (2009)
• Here for You (Pwllheli) (2009)

The Art of Doctor Who 2008-2009

See main article The Art of Doctor Who

This exhibition at the Spaceport, Merseyside built on the success of its previous exhibition returning twice the size and ran from 23 May 2008 to 1 March 2009.

Doctor Who Experience, London & Cardiff 2011-2017

See main article Doctor Who Experience (London/Cardiff)

With an interactive element and the largest to date exhibition of both props and costumes from the 1963 and 2005 onwards series. It was relocated from London to Cardiff in 2017, where it ran until 9 September 2017.

Doctor Who Worlds of Wonder 2022-2023

See main article Doctor Who Worlds of Wonder

Starting from 27 May 2022, the Doctor Who Worlds of Wonder exhibition was held at the World Museum in Liverpool until 6 November 2022. It later reopened at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh between 9 December 2022 and 1 May 2023. The exhibition focussed on Doctor Who links with science and contained many props and costumes.

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  Exhibition Banner

Science Fiction: Voyage to the Edge of Imagination 2022-2023

Starting from 6 October 2022 and originaly running until 4 May 2023 but then being extended until 20 August 2023, the Science Fiction: Voyage to the Edge of Imagination exhibition was held at the London Science Museum. In the exhibition, visistors would take part in a story where an AI (A.L.A.N.N.) brings them to a spaceship in order to explore and investigate the genre of science fiction and how it links to real science. The exhibition featured a number of props, costumes and replicas from a variety of science fiction shows and movies, including Doctor Who. There were also actual historic scientific equipment and inventions alognside video clips, photos and artwork.

A replica of a Dalek design used between 1965 and 1967 was present in the entrance hall to the museum. This Dalek formed part of the museum's "Science Fiction Trail".

A replica Dalek, seemingly built from the 1973 Radio Times plans, was present in the queue to the enter the exhibition.

A third Dalek replica was present in the "Exploration Deck" portion of the exhibition.

An actual 1998 Cyberman costume from Silver Nemesis was present in the "Bio Lab" portion of the exhibition. This costume had seemingly been moved from the separate "BBC at 100" display which ran from 27 July 2022.

Among other items, the shop included a Doctor Who poster and copies of Dr. Who and the Daleks: The Official Story of the Films by John Walsh.

Other exhibitions

to be added

Gallery

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  Exhibition poster

External links

• Doctor Who Exhibitions
• Doctor Who Exhibitions - Site of photos from multiple exhibitions
• The Doctor Who Exhibitions Archive