Terrifying Childhood Memories to Cherish

Peering out from behind the sofa was a weekly treat even if I was only five years old. Too terrified to watch yet I didn’t want to miss a second. Dr Who was a favourite in our house when it first hit our television screens back in 1963. Yes really, 1963, hard to believe to some of us oldies.

The day before the first ever episode went out the assassination of JFK had taken place so apparently this was the reason given for running ten minutes late.

The electronic theme tune, now iconic, used to send me scurrying off behind the sofa and I’d spend the next twenty-five minutes trying to watch through my trembling fingers.

The big mystery of all though had to be the Tardis. It never ceased to amaze my young imagination how all these people could go into a telephone box and fly off to another planet.

I loved the Doctor, played by William Hartnell and over the years and after many replacements he remained my favourite.

The changing face of Dr Who

· William Hartnell 1963 – 66

· Patrick Troughton 1966 – 69

· Jon Pertwee 1970 – 74

· Tom Baker 1974 – 81

· Peter Davidson 1982 – 84

· Colin Baker 1984 – 86

· Sylvester McCoy 1987 – 89

· Paul McGann 1996, 2013

· Christopher Eccleston 2005

· David Tennant 2005 – 10

· Matt Smith 2010 – 13

· Peter Capaldi 2014 – 17

· Jodi Whittaker 2018 - present

Aliens

The Dalek was this aggressive alien who would haunt my nightmares and when the Doctor and his friends would try to overpower them by damaging their ‘eye’ the repetitive metallic voice of ‘exterminate’ would ring through my ears for days to come or even until the following weeks episode.