The Mobile Phones of Doctor Who - The Motherlode of Props

If you're a Doctor Who fan - I promise that this post is going to please you greatly!

The Internet is a weird and delightful place. For years now, I've been running a blog series about the Mobile Phones of Doctor Who. I went through every episode and painstakingly identified every mobile the cast used. People chipped in with their suggestions if I wasn't able to definitively state which phone was on screen. Hey, don't go yucking my yum, OK?

Anyway, a few days ago, someone emailed me out of the blue. They'd purchased a job-lot of props from the sale of the Roath Lock Doctor Who Studios. A bunch of set dressings, artwork, etc.

Oh, and a BIG BOX FULL OF MOBILE PHONES!

Was I interested in seeing it? Let me think...

OMGWTFBBQTTFN!

Here's a clearer shot of all of them:

Wow! So, with their kind permission, this is my attempt to match the phones in the box to the ones I've seen on-screen. Some I am 100% confident of. Others are still a mystery to me. If you want to buy any of these props, I've linked to their eBay auction page. Note, I may receive a small commission if you buy through my links.

Let's go through them in broadcast order:

S04E05 - The Poison Sky - Evil Clone Martha Jones - Freema Agyeman - Acer n300

One of only a few PDAs which are in the show. This is from Series 4.

And this is it, ready to be auctioned:

S05E01 - The Eleventh Hour - Amy - Karen Gillan - Nokia 7100 Supernova

When we're introduced to Kissogram Amy, she's got this pink number:

At some point the character replaces it - whereupon it was dropped into a prop box never to be seen again. Until now.

Oh, that's cute! They mocked up a "TARDIS Calling" graphic.

Say... I wonder if there are any other media files on this old abandoned prop...?

OMFG!

Yup! That's the photo Amy takes of The Silence as see on screen in The Impossible Astronaut!

That's not the last surprise these phones have for us.

S06E10 - The Girl Who Waited - Amy - Karen Gillan - Samsung

Remember when Amy built her own Sonic Screwdriver?

It's a Samsung C3050. And the original prop is available for sale:

Shall we have a little peek in the photo gallery? Perhaps there will be something interesting?

OH! JUST A SELFIE OF KAREN AND MATT! NOTHING SPECIAL!!!

End of Time - Minnie / Oliver - June Whitfield / Barry Howard - Nokia 6111

The The Silver Cloak of pensioners take a group photo with The Doctor using this distinctive model:

And, yeah, there's a photo of June Whitfield. And a short video where, presumably, Barry Howard hit record by accident!

The phone is available to buy from eBay.

S07E12 - Nightmare in Silver - Angie - Eve de Leon Allen - Samsung Ch@t335

This Neil Gaiman written episode has a phone which is eaten by the Cybermen's little critters:

The full phone is present - as is a skeleton which I assume was used for some of the special effects?

And, yet again, a bunch of videos on there! One of which appears to be the same as that used on screen.

This phone was used by Clara to take photos of Artie and Angie playing in antigravity

There are also several behind the scenes photos from November 2012.

You can buy the phone on eBay.

S08E08 - Mummy on the Orient Express - Clara - Samsung Galaxy S III Mini

Remember Clara calling The Doctor? Here's a quick reminder:

Say... I wonder... What would happen if someone were to plug this old abandoned prop into a USB power supply? You don't suppose...?

:MELTING FACE EMOJI WITH EXPLODING EYEBROWS:

The Grasshopper image is seen on screen - but the others, including the photo of Capaldi aren't. I'd love to know what that video is of? I wonder if it was recorded on set?

S09E10 - Face the Raven - Rigsy - Joivan Wade - Lumia 535

Joivan Wade seems to be making a name for himself in the USA. But, prior to that he graced our screen in Doctor Who - rocking this smart Lumia.

That's in the collection too and - don't worry - it still has that media file on it!

As you can see, the crack on the phone (an important plot point) is an exact match for what's seen on TV. The other phone is an identical make and model but, it would seem, the props team smashed it a little too hard!

S10E07 - Pyramid at the End of the World

As I discussed last week There's an iPhone in this episode:

That exact phone is in the collection - with several graphics stored on it:

S13E01 - War of the Sontarans - Dan - John Bishop - Xperia Z3

At the time I said that I was confident Dan was holding an Xperia of some sort - but couldn't identify the model.

Well, this clears it up!

This one isn't for sale. Because it is now in my possession!

Unknown

There are a few phones which appear to have been used on-screen. But I can't place them. If you think you know where they're from - stick a comment in the box.

First, is this iPhone with a ВХОДЯЩИЙ ВЫЗОВ (INCOMING CALL) screen. I presume from Pyramid?

Next are these three Android phones. They have some "green screen" media files on them. So they were probably used on-screen at some point. But I'm struggling to work out where.

That white phone might be from Fugitive of the Judoon. What do you think?

Finally, this Samsung isn't smashed. It is a fake phone and the lines have been etched into it. Again, I can't work out where it could come from.

The others?

I'm working through the others. Some from the haul I simply don't recognise as having appeared on-screen. Perhaps they are in deleted scenes. Or they might just be "lost and found" from the cast and crew.

Some of the anonymous black rectangles and iPhones might have appeared in episodes, but they're all so identikit that it's hard to tell.

If you end up buying one of the devices - please let me know if you find anything interesting on it 😄

Thanks

Huge thanks to Collectors Props Wales for sharing this incredible find with me - and letting me share it all with you. You can visit their ebay store for a frankly ridiculous number of Doctor Who props.

If you're interested in purchasing any of these phones - contact them directly.