List of design competitions
The following is list of competitions held for Doctor Who fans (namely children) to design a new aspect for the series.
1960s
In 1967, Blue Peter held a competition to design a monster that could defeat the Daleks. The judges were Blue Peter hosts Valerie Singleton, John Noakes, and Peter Purves as well as Patrick Troughton. The three winners were:
- The Aqua Man, created by 13-year-old Stephen Thompson.
- The Hypnotron, created by 8-year-old Paul Worrall.
- The Steel Octopus, created by 4-year-old Karen Dag.
While these monsters never appeared in the series, they were "brought to life" by the BBC Visual Effects Department. Years later, they received an in-universe acknowledgement in the 1996 novel The English Way of Death.
1970s
The Ugrakks were created by Ian Fairnington, the winner of a TV Action competition to design an original comic strip foe for the Doctor. The judges were Dennis Hooper, Barry Letts, Terrance Dicks, Jon Pertwee, and Roger Perry. The winner was announced in TV Action #72, along with 25 runners-up. The Ugrakks were featured in COMIC: The Ugrakks in 1972.
1980s
Scott Sauber won the Doctor Who Casting Competition with a Doctor based on Brian Blessed, a companion named Maggie based on Meryl Streep, and a Master based on John Hurt.
Wanda Sue Morain and Mike Acord jointly won the following Doctor Who Design Competition with their artwork based on Sauber's casting choices. This art was featured in the Winning Designs feature in DWM 131 in 1987.
1990s
The Vortexians were created by 16-year-old Paul Fisher for Doctor Who Magazine's Design a Monster competition. As the winner, the Vortexians got to be the featured villain in Land of the Blind, which featured elements from Fisher's notes on the Vortexians. (DWM 224)
There were three runners-up in the competition. All three had cameos in Land of the Blind:
- The Zrontaks, designed by 18-year-old Richard Burnell
- The Insoids, designed by 14-year-old Jason Powdrill
- The Pharaohs, designed by 18-year-old Justin Askham
2000s
The Abzorbaloff was created by nine-year-old William Grantham, an entrant to a Blue Peter competition to design a monster for Doctor Who. The on-screen Abzorbaloff remained mostly faithful to the drawing. The drawing had depicted the Abzorbaloff as about the size of a "double-decker bus", rather than the human size it was depicted as in TV: Love & Monsters
Sao Til was the created by Tim Ingham, who won a costume contest held by Tonight's the Night in 2009. Ingham played Sao Til in a a sketch mini-episode on the program.
The console Junk TARDIS was based on a design by Susannah Leah, the winner of a 2009 Blue Peter TARDIS console design competition. It would ultimately be featured in TV: The Doctor's Wife in 2011. (CON: Bigger on the Inside)
2010s
The Screamer was created by Jessica Rickarby, the winner of the Doctor Who Adventures Design-a-Monster Competition in 2011. It was featured in COMIC: Screamers! and had a model displayed at the Doctor Who Experience.
The Maritimus Carcharias was created by Joe Dutton, the winner of the Doctor Who Adventures design competition in 2012. It was featured in COMIC: The Shark Shocker and had a model displayed at the Doctor Who Experience.
Blue Peter had a competition to design sonic devices for the Paternoster Gang in 2013. The three devices appeared in TV: Deep Breath:
- Madame Vastra's sonic hat-pin was designed by a 13-year-old named Connor
- Jenny Flint's sonic gauntlet was designed by a 7-year-old named Amber
- Strax's sonic lorgnette was designed by an 11-year-old named Arthur
The Krakanord, created by Hugh Brown, was the winning entry of the Doctor Who: Lockdown! monster-designing contest in 2021. It was featured in WC: The Genuine Article.
