The problem with fans is that we want to know everything. What did Lennon eat for breakfast the day he recorded Imagine? Which colour pencil did the script editor use on our favourite episode of Doctor Who? Did the costume designer on Buffy secretly sneak in Masonic references in that extra's shirt?!?!

There's no trivia so obscure that it won't be referenced somewhere, debated endlessly, and eventually schism'd.

The problem with Doctor Who histories is that the real fans know all there is to know, and the filthy casuals have very little interest in the obscure trivia about how the BBC Electrician's strike was a major turning point in the show.

John Higgs has a difficult job. How can you possibly summarise over a half-a-century of Who and make the history interesting and relevant? The answer is simple - philosophy.

This isn't "Everything I Learned About Kantian Ethics I Learned for Doctor Who" - but a rather more subtle musing about the nature of television, how stories drive their tellers insane, and how the viewing public are complicit in the eventual disintegration of our favourite shows.

This goes from the pre-history (why did Doctor Who the TV show exist) all the way up to the end of Ncuti Gatwa's first series. It covers some well-trodden ground that will be familiar to the people who turn on the DVD trivia tracks - but it adds a bit of bite. This isn't a sycophantic piece of corporate biography; there are some rather distressing and shocking truths about the people who brought such magic into our lives.

There are some odd gaps. While we probably don't need the ins-and-outs of every casting decision, but it is a bit odd to relegate the 1960s' movies to a few sentences. As ever, with books like this, a few photos and illustrations wouldn't have gone amiss - but I suspect rights issues would have scuppered that.

The book really gets going when it leaves the history behind and reflects on the nature of the show.

The question of whether Doctor Who should grow up with its audience or target a new generation of children was one that the programme makers would struggle with many times over the following decades.

It skewers some of the myths which are uncritically repeated by fans who have only a surface-level understanding of what the show is about and why it succeeds.

Just as the Doctor is a trickster who dons the disguise of a hero, Doctor Who is a show that claims to champion science and logic to disguise its innate mysticism.

As it dives in and out of the history, there are some wild revelations and some absolutely WTF moments of both synchronicity and sycophancy. For a book which deals with fans and fandom, it is remarkably brutal in its honesty. No one comes out of Doctor Who unscathed - and the fans are often (self-inflicted) casualties.

[T]he Valeyard [could] be seen as the representation of the darker side of British fandom

Is that true? It is certainly a plausible reading of how the toxic culture of fandom helped sow the seeds of the show's eventual downfall (and, to be fair, resurrection). It is, perhaps, a little portentous and overwrought at times - for example, when talking about Sylvester McCoy's Doctor's regeneration in the 1996 movie:

Seeing him struggling to avoid being anaesthetised and then killed in an expensive, state-of-the-art American medical centre, it was hard not to see the cheap and cheerful British version of the show being held down and put to sleep by the glossy new production team, who didn’t fully understand what they had or why they were about to unintentionally kill it.

Is that a reach? It is certainly a valid if perhaps unintentional reading of the scene.

The book veers between the gossip of the production and the critical appraisal of the object. It never quite settles on whether it is a history, philosophy, or psychological profile of the show. This sums it up best:

The drama backstage leaked into, and ultimately overwhelmed, the drama on screen.

If you're interested in Doctor Who - and don't mind some of your sacred cows being slaughtered - this is a compelling read.

The 2024 Xmas special is fairly light on phones. Right at the end, we see Ruby Sunday calling her mum.

And a shot of the base of the phone.

It looks like it's the same phone as last season albeit now in a bright yellow case.

Probably a Pixel 5

The only other phone-like device is Joy's Mum's iPad.

I've no idea which model iPad that is, but it looks like the case clasp will be covering the camera.

To keep you busy until 2025, you can read all 27 blog posts in the series.

It is an utterly bonkers story which nearly makes sense.

Let's address the elephant in the room first. The "yellow face" isn't acceptable now and shouldn't have been acceptable back then. Kevin Lindsay does an "accent" which is, thankfully, mild. But would it really have been so difficult to have found actors of even vaguely the right ethnicity to play the various Tibetan Monks? It casts a rather long shadow over the production.

The plot is neatly done. Your dad, angry that he has lost his job, turns to spiritualism and tries to destroy the family. Only he's not shouting at your mum, he's summoning demonic spiders from another dimension.

There's an undercurrent of what we might now call colonialism. Plundering foreign resources to enrich ourselves and denying the superior claim of indigenous holders of knowledge.

Similarly the climax centres on the fact that The Doctor has stolen an artefact from its rightful culture. The only way to save the day is to repatriate it. A bit suspiciously woke if you ask me 🙃

The b-plot is straight out of Flowers for Algernon but, sadly, lacks the resolution.

The various chases (Car! Helicopter! Hovercraft!) wouldn't feel out of place in a modern story. Indeed, the recent episode "Empire of Death" has something similar on mopeds.

The spider special effects are occasionally effective, but mostly pretty naff puppetry. It is such a shame that more care wasn't taken over them. Of course, this is decades before home video releases, so very little thought was given to the longevity of episodes.

The info text subtitles are fun (and suitably irreverent) and there's a clutch of special features of the usual variable quality.

It is absolutely worth watching. The development of the Time Lord lore is significant. The early attempt at a multi-story arc is a template for future stories. Oh, and The Doctor watches a stripper with The Brigadier. Which is… something…

And then, right at the end, this:

Cor! Four classic Doctors each with a mobile! This photoshoot was, apparently, done at the Hammersmith Ark which was holding an exhibition to celebrate 30 years of Dr Who. There isn't much information about it online - other than this press cutting⁰ - but there is another photo from the same series:

There's also this set of photos from Getty.

So, what phones are they all using? It's 1993, which means there were only a limited number of handsets.

The birth of the UK's mobile networks was "Phones On The Move" - a 1989 document by the Department of Trade and Industry. It led to the creation of the Mercury one2one and Hutchinson Orange networks - swiftly followed by Racal's Vodafone in July 1992 and Cellnet in December 1993.

McCoy's phone is a big old brick! Probably ancient at the time this photo was taken:

It looks like a Nokia CityMan - the original "Brick". But it has a 3x4 dial pad, and a 3x3 pad underneath - with a conspicuous red button. So it is probably the Motorola DynaTAC.

Possibly the 8500X or 8900X?

It looks like Pertwee and Davison both have the same model phone.

The blue logo at the bottom made me think these are Mercury phones. Although the button layout looks a bit like the Vodafone transportable, the shape of the buttons and speaker aren't quite right for that.

So I think it is the NEC P3.

Colin Baker's phone is a bit obscured:

I think that's the Vodafone / RACAL logo. Judging from the button layout, I'm reasonably confident that's the Panasonic EU 2000 (EB-3810).

Launched in 1993 - so super modern! You can read the original manual.

What do you reckon? Did I get them right?

Any more?

I've previously written about Doctor Who actors in Mobile Phone Commercials and I've a whole series of posts charting all the in-universe use of mobiles.

But if you've spotted a photo or video that I've missed - please drop a comment in the box.

It was glorious!

Big Finish could have cheaped out - even with a bare set and a cast of newbies, the fans would have flocked to it. Instead, we got this lushly decorated set:

The console pulsed away during the interval. Swirling lights played around the TARDIS when the *Vworp Vworp* SFX played. And the DALEK told noisy theatre-goers that their mobile phones needed to be silenced on pain of… well, you can probably guess!

The cast (a mix of old favourites like India Fisher and Alex MacQueen joined by newbie Gabriel Clark) all bounced on to the stage dressed in their regular, casual clothes. Then in bounded Paul McGann dressed in full Eighth Doctor regalia! Now, perhaps he usually dresses in a full-length coat and knee-high boots - but the audience roared with appreciation.

If you've ever been to a radio recording, it was pretty standard. Cast standing behind the microphones, sitting down and flicking through their scripts when not needed, and only the occasional flub. But, rather magnificently, the music and sound effects were played in for the audience. Sat in a little booth to the side were Nicholas Briggs and Gabriel Clark. Briggs and his magic microphone brought to life the DALEK hoards, effortlessly switching between voices and arguing with himself.

Stealing the show, however, was Gabriel Clark. Not only providing sundry voices, but acting as a one-man Foley Artist. It was mesmerising him bring the sound of Who to life with rubber gloves, paper bags, and a biscuit tin. A joy to both watch and listen to.

The story was fun - plenty of intertextual references, megalomaniacal monsters, and regional accents. There was no great world building, and (spoilers) The Master escaped a little too easily. But all good knockabout adventures.

Joyously, they asked the audience to assist in some of the vocal effects - which we all did cheerfully. Listen closely when the recording is released and you will hear the sound of me drowning. Better add that to my IMDB page 😂

It was an absolute blast - and the audience jumped to a standing ovation. Doctor Who stage plays are something of a rarity - mostly due to technical constraints - but this is an excellent way to bring the stories to the stage.

It's the sort of thing that you can either wrack your brains for, or construct a SPARQL Query for WikiData⁰. I was bored and asked ChatGPT.

The new Omni model claims to be faster and more accurate. But, in my experience, it's wrong more than it is right and is a bit more racist.

I asked "Which Oscar winners have appeared in episodes of Doctor Who?" Here are the results:

OK, first up, those are all entirely accurate! Capaldi is an Oscar-winner Doctor Who. Coleman the only Oscar-winning baddie. And I am happy to spend hours in the pub arguing over whether The Curse of Fatal Death is cannon¹.

But then things get… weird.

John Hurt didn't win an honorary award in 2012. He was mentioned in the memoriam montage in 2017

Ben Kingsley was rumoured to be playing Davros back in 2007 - but it never happened. He did win an Oscar though.

Ecclesdoc was in The Others. It did win many awards. But not a single Oscar. There isn't even an award for "Best Art Direction".

Finally, this is tacked onto the end.

Look, we all love Lynda Baron - and she was excellent in The Gun Slingers, Enlightenment, and Closing Time. I was surprised to find out she was in Yentl - but indeed she was! However the songwriting Oscar went to Michel Legrand and Alan & Marilyn Bergman. Not her.

Why is this racist

This "AI" would rather hallucinate than acknowledge the Black actors who have been in Doctor Who.

Sophie Okonedo plays Queen Elizabeth the 10th in "The Beast Below".

Not only is she "the bloody Queen, mate" - she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for Hotel Rwanda.

She has as much right to be in the list ChatGPT provided as John Hurt. With no disrespect intended to Kingsley, Eccleston, and Baron - Sophie Okonedo is much closer to the original question than they are. This isn't a knowledge cut-off issue either, she was nominated before Oliva Coleman won.

It's not like she's a bit-part. She's not an alien under a mountain of prosthetics. She's literally top of the credits after The Doctor and Amy!

And then, there's the small matter of Planet of the Dead. It isn't a great episode. But it has a nice turn from Michelle Evans and Lee Evans². Oh, and this guy…

That's ACTUAL FUCKING OSCAR WINNER Daniel Kaluuya. He got a nomination for Get Out, but won for Judas and the Black Messiah in 2021.

Again, he isn't an unnamed background artist. He isn't there under his pre-fame stage name. He's an integral part of the show.

What does this teach us?

The query I asked wasn't a matter of opinion. It isn't a controversial question. There aren't multiple sources which could be considered trustworthy. It is a simple question of facts.

So why does ChatGPT fail?

LLMs are not repositories of knowledge. They have a superficial view of the world and are unable to tell fact from speculation. They are specifically built to be confidently wrong rather than display their ignorance.

And, yes, they are as biased as hell.

There is no way that you can explain the exclusion of Sophie Okonedo and Daniel Kaluuya without acknowledging the massive levels of racial prejudice which are baked into either the model or its training data.

The 2024 series is incredible. Lots of plot, not too much exposition, and a whole bunch of mystery. I love it when Doctor Who goes off in a new direction. Let's take a look at the handsets used in these stories.

The Church on Ruby Road

First up, bit of a cheeky inclusion, the police officer is packing a TETRA handset - the Motorola MTH800.

New companion Ruby Sunday has a red-encased phone - at the bottom are dual speakers and a charging port:

It doesn't look like there are any buttons on the side of the phone. In another shot, we see the right of the phone - and it appears to have several buttons:

There's a small square camera cluster. So I think it's the Google Pixel 5 - although it might be a 4a or 5a as well.

Davina's phone is harder to work out. There are multiple buttons to the right of the screen, so it can't be an iPhone:

There don't appear to be any bottom speakers on the rose-gold coloured device. The camera cluster is rather thin:

The long volume button with a power button underneath makes me think Xiaomi - but they tend to have speakers on the bottom. Not much to go on here. Any ideas?

Space Babies

We get the classic "Enable Universal Roaming" sequence with Ruby's phone. From the camera cluster we can see it's the Pixel 4 or 4a.

But what do we see when The Doctor zaps it with the sonic screwdriver?

The front camera cluster shows it is definately the 4 or 4a. But let's zoom in!

Just for a moment, the date flips from December 24th 2023 to 2024! Wonder if that's significant?

Also, the phone appears to have connected to WiFi. Good to know that 802.11 is still the standard in the future 🤣

Incidentally, there's a minor continuity nit here. The Doctor hands Ruby the phone with the USB-C port facing him, but she takes it with the port facing her!

Carla's phone is wrapped in an anonymous case.

73 Yards

Ifor Jones - who is The Only Gay Goth In The Village - has an fairly generic looking phone:

Not much detail in the close up. Probably a Samsung?

Again, not much to see on Carla's device:

Kate is rocking a dual screen (non-foldable) Android - much as UNIT's Shirley Anne Bingham did in Star Beast.

Looks to be a Microsoft Surface Duo 2

As you can see from the close-up, the graphic is being loaded from the gallery - hence the delete and sharing icons at the bottom.

Oh, and you see that QR code? If you fill in the missing corner square, it leads you to the production designer's website! Brilliant little Easter Egg.

Future Ruby has a delightful prop-phone with a vestigial camera popping out of the top. There's a little bit of detail on the side, but nothing which says what real-phone it is modelled on. Interestingly, there's a little bit of detail on the phone's screen in close-up. "LEOW11" perhaps?

The Legend of Ruby Sunday

OMG! Brilliant episode!

In Ruby's shoebox, is this little candybar:

It's hard to find much detail about pre-smartphones. There's a headphone jack at the top and a chunky D-Pad. That describes a hundred handsets. I think it is a Nokia 1280 but feel free to correct me

Mel shows The Doctor a video on a foldable handset:

Yup! Our old friend, the UNIT-standard-issue Microsoft Surface Duo 2! I wouldn't have thought UNIT trusted Microsoft 😆

Empire of Death

A stunning end - and with a couple of phones, which makes it even better. Obviously!

Louise Miller - who is spoilers Ruby's mum - has an older iPhone.

But what's the other phone? There's a glimpse behind Ruby inside the memory-TARDIS:

What is it? ZOOM! ENHANCE!

(OK, I grabbed that from Doctor Who Confidential Unleashed.)

It's the Nokia N73 that The Doctor handed Inston-Vee Vinder in Once, Upon Time.

And next?

This show just gets better and better. Onwards to Series 15. Or 2. Or, if you're into the UNIT Dating Controversy, Season 41.

While you're waiting, you can read all my Doctor Who phones posts.

You'd be wrong.

In 1965, it was clearly established by a canonical source, that the world DALEK stands for:

• Destroy without pity
• Attack without fear
• Live without conscience
• Eliminate without worry
• Kill, kill, kill, kill!

I ain't even lying!

WTAF?

A few years ago, I picked up a copy of this - The DALEK World. A 1965 tie-in book published by the BBC. I've taken the liberty of scanning it and sharing a few images.

It is bonkers. And contains loads of facts for DALEK fans:

There are also some pretty good stories - most of which don't feature Doctor Who, but do contain some brilliant future-gazing.

I love the fact that someone in 1965 predicted pirating movies and home projectors!

But, back to DALEKs. There's this brilliant bit of continuity busting:

Doctor Who wouldn't meet the Yeti for another two years - where it was established they were controlled by The Great Intelligence. Although, as the story is missing perhaps there is some retcon that we're missing?

Of course, there's no metric system in the future:

There are also some quite baffling claims:

A year after publication, Doctor Who had a full colour movie which featured this - presumably invisible - DALEK.

The artwork is gorgeous - albeit with a rather limited colour palette:

What else do we know about the DALEKs? Well, for a start, they're communists!

Blimey! Luckily, the best way to defeat the DALEKs is... to implement planetary communism.

You think some of today's stories and tie-ins are a bit weird? The DALEK World is a wonderful little time capsule which shows what kids were devouring just a couple of years after Doctor Who first aired. If you can find a copy, I thoroughly recommend having a ruffle through it.

Macca is unusual because we could, theoretically, call him and ask what it was like meeting The Doctor⁰.

So, how many times has The Doctor met a historical figure who is alive in the viewers' time?

Not many, by my count. There are a few people who play themselves (like Brian Cox and the band McFly) but don't actually meet The Doctor. There are many people who are real, but dead (like Agatha Christie). If I stick to the main TV series, I think the contenders are...

Ncuti Gatwa's Doctor saved the life of Davina McCall in 2023's The Church on Ruby Road, and met Paul McCartney in 2024's The Devil's Chord.

Peter Capaldi's 2017 Extremis features The Doctor meeting The Pope. Now which Pope is a matter for dispute. But he sure looks like Francis.

Matt Smith's Doctor meets Patrick Moore (died 2012) on a Zoom call in 2010's The Eleventh Hour .

Sylvester McCoy's 1988 story The Silver Nemesis sees him sort of meet both the musician Courtney Pine and almost Queen Elizabeth II (died 2022). The Queen mentions knowing The Doctor towards the end of 2007's The Voyage of The Damned

We do not talk about Colin Baker's 1985 story A Fix with Sontarans!

William Hartnell's Doctor meets Bing Crosby and Charlie Chaplain (both died 1977) in the 1965 story The Dalek's Master Plan which, sadly, is lost to the ages. While there are photos, I don't think a clip survives.

Are there any others that I missed? Stick a note in the comments!

2025 Update: As mentioned by Dale Smith the civil rights attorney Fred Gray appears in "Rosa". But only Ryan, the companion, meets him. The Doctor doesn't.

The joy of Doctor Who is that we - the viewers - are the constant companion. We might be able to take a little break now and again - but the Doctor is always waiting to take us on another adventure. There is no way that we would voluntarily leave. Given half the chance, I dare say most of us would jump in the TARDIS without even saying goodbye to our families.

The classic era of Doctor Who treats the characters as amnesiacs. Very rarely do they learn or develop from one story to the next. There is hardly ever a character arc and so, it seems, companions wander off with no real motivation⁰. In some cases, they literally say "Well, time for me to be going then!" and head off into the universe.

Part of me thinks this is because a lot of the men who wrote Doctor Who didn't really understand that other people are people. If you're the sort of person who loves sci-fi and hates dealing with reality, it's easy to miss that your friends are changing. When they announce one day that they're not coming round to watch TV and, instead, they're going out with a girl it can come as quite a shock.

In the modern era of Doctor Who, the characters are a bit more fleshed out. They grow as the series progresses and, for the most part, have somewhat believable reasons for leaving.

I'm slowly working my way through the episodes of the 20th century TV show that I missed. So here's a quick look at the companions and why they left. It only looks at the companions who leave during a TV show. I've also ignored those who come back for specials, or who only stay for a couple of episodes. It's the classic era because Captain Jack Harkness is too complicated. And River Song is complicateder.

Where possible, I've linked directly to the companion's exit scene.

Susan - The Dalek Invasion of Earth🔗

This one kind of disproves my thesis! The Doctor's grand-daughter falls in love after spending a brief amount of time with a rebel fighter. But, crucially, she doesn't choose to leave. It is The Doctor who locks the doors of the TARDIS and, essentially, forces her to go. Perhaps, he thinks, as a Gallifreyan¹ she will eventually regenerate and / or build her own TARDIS?

Their parting is oddly touching. The Doctor knows immediately that this is the end of their journey. Barbara too spots the romance. Only blundering Ian is oblivious; just like all boys are to the feelings of their female friends.

"Don't make me choose between you and him. Please!"

Susan's heartbreak is evident. If only all other companions got the emotional farewell she did. Susan sets the template for how hard it must be to leave. Just like her, we've grown up with Doctor Who. And all of us eventually need to grow out of the show and forge our own way in the world.

Ian and Barbara - The Chase

There's no particular reason for Ian and Barbara to leave. This is an adventure like any other; they're in no more peril than normal. Ian nearly prat-falls off a tower, as does Barbara, but that's about it.

"Ian, do you realise... we could get home?" It comes out of nowhere. It isn't built up, it just happens.

The Doctor is explosive in his fury:

Doctor: You'll end up a couple of burnt cinders flying around in space. You idiots! You are absolute idiots!"

Barbara: We are not idiots! We want to go home!

The 1st Doctor is a grumpy sod, but this is on another level. It is abuse, pure and simple.

The Ian♥Babs montage at the end is particularly lovely. We also get a glimpse of the pain felt by The Doctor. Not at his actions, oh no! His pain is about his personal grief. Other people are toys - handed back once they're no longer fun.

When fans decide to leave, The Doctor discards them. If we don't enjoy the ride any more, he certainly isn't going to change in on our behalf.

Vicki - The Myth Makers

In the improbably titled "Horse of Destruction" - a missing episode - Vicki leaves us. A girl from the 25th century falls in love with 8th century BCE warrior Troilus. Reinforcing the Doctor Who stereotype that girls are fickle-friends who will run off with an unsuitable boy at a moment's notice. They always go for rough boys who probably play football, rather than the quiet and sensible boys who watch Doctor Who.

At least Vicki's romance develops throughout the story, it isn't sprung on us.

Steven: You'd better go. In any case, Troilus will die of jealousy if he knows you're with me.

Vicki: And what is that supposed to mean?

Steven: Oh, come off it Vicki. The way you two were carrying on...

Vicki: Troilus has been very kind to me and I'm very fond of him. And if all you can do is make fun...

She never actually gets to say goodbye to anyone, which is a pity.

Katarina - The Daleks' Master Plan

Literally no-one remembers Katarina! She starts out thinking The Doctor is a God and, but a few episodes later, is killed off. Again, the episode is missing, but there are audio versions.

Katarina fucks up. There's no other way to put it. She's trapped in an airlock with her hostage-taker. She momentarily breaks free and, rather than opening the door back to the ship, she spaces herself and her captor.

That's our greatest fear, isn't it? We're too primitive to travel with The Doctor. We know that we'd constantly be asking annoying questions and we'd screw up massively.

The Doctor allows himself - and us - a brief moment of delusion:

Steven: She pressed the wrong button, Doctor.

Doctor: She may have wanted to, dear boy. She wanted to save our lives.

A moment later, he confesses the truth:

Doctor: She didn't understand. She couldn't understand.

He is utterly irresponsible.

Steven - The Savages

In his first appearance, Steven says:

Help yourself to a piece of eternity.

• Steven, The Chase

And that is where his character now rests. The Savages is another one of many missing stories. There is a brief clip on the Lost In Time DVD box set with some off-air audio mixed with a snippet of 8mm footage, so we get a tantalising snippet of his departure.

It does rather feel like The Doctor tricks Steven into staying. Steven spends most of the previous episodes moaning and complaining. So The Doctor disposes of him, much to Dodo's distress. She knows - and we know - exactly what fate awaits her.

Dodo Chaplet - The War Machines🔗

Dodo is our contemporary. She's a girl from the Swinging Sixties. And she is discarded like a ragdoll.

Partway through the story, she is hypnotised by WOTAN. The Doctor figures this out and deprograms her. He knows that she is now a liability and sends her away. He flings her off the country, never to be seen again. It's eerily similar to what happens to Donna much later.

Towards the end, Polly brings word from Dodo saying she'd rather stay home thank-you-very-much. The Doctor makes a great show of pretending to be upset. He has dispatched her effortlessly. Doctor Who relentlessly drives away those who aren't able to handle it.

Polly & Ben - The Faceless Ones🔗

Polly & Ben are both drugged and frozen for the majority of this story. And then they just walk away. Because they've landed in London in the 1960s and:

Ben: It's good to feel normal again.

It's a neat out. They've returned to the same date that they left. They are older and wiser, but the world hasn't moved on without them. Is that when you'd choose to go? You survived the terror and have a chance to restart your life from where you left off. Perhaps they are sensible.

Ben sums up their dilemma:

Ben: We won't leave Doctor. If you really need us.

But The Doctor doesn't need them. He's spent several episodes without their help and, apparently, not really caring much about where they are.

Ironically, it's Jamie who has a touch of romance which looks just for a second like it might cause him to stay.

Victoria Waterfield - Fury from the Deep🔗

Again, like Katarina and Jamie (and Leela to come) she's a girl from the past. Adorably, her screams are so piercing that she can drove away the monsters!

Which is just as well as that's pretty much all she gets to do in this story.

Oh? Like you'd do any better?

In the end, she is traumatised. She has spent weeks ripped out of time and being terrified.

Victoria: I'm always frighted! Oh Doctor, I can't!

The Doctor is very tender with her. Far more than he has been in the path. He even repeatedly chides Jamie that Victoria has to make her own decision.

Jamie McCrimmon & Zoe Heriot - The War Games🔗

Jamie is a throwback to Katarina. The modern show has never had a "historic" companion - and for good reason! It does become tiresome having The Doctor explain the simplest bit of technology to a companion who doesn't even understand electricity.

Zoe is another girl-from-the-future. Together they make an uneasy cipher for the viewers' desires.

Transported to (the as-yet unnamed) planet of Gallifrey, theirs is one of the cruellest exists from the show. Jamie and Zoe are exiled from heaven by a set of cruel gods. They repeatedly beg the Time Lords to let them continue the adventure.

And that, in its own way, is the perfect ending. We, the constant companion, don't want Troughton to leave us. Change is far too scary. Of course, we didn't like him a first - but we've grown to love the shambling little clown. And now it is over.

Doctor: Well, goodbye, Jamie.

Jamie: But Doctor! Surely we could...

Doctor: [Firmly] Goodbye, Jamie.

Jamie: I won't forget you, you know?

...

Zoe: Goodbye, Doctor. Will we ever meet again?

Doctor: Again? Now, Zoe, you and I know, time is relative, isn't it?

...

Doctor: (To the Time Lord) They'll forget me, won't they?

Will they? Yes. It is only when you rewatch Doctor Who that you realise just how little of it you remember.

Liz Shaw - Inferno

Doctor Who's first in-colour companion. She's feisty! She's a scientist! She's capable of so much!

She doesn't even get a send-off.

Dr Shaw is everything the fan wants to be. If we were a companion, we'd be just as good as Miss Shaw. She's able to understand the technobabble and willing to stand up to the Brigadier. So would we!

And at the start of the new season, she's gone. I don't think Pertwee's Doctor ever mentions her again.

Jo Grant - The Green Death🔗

Jo is the opposite of Liz. She's a ditz. I remember when the "fans" started squawking about how Billie Piper was too girlie to be a companion - they obviously didn't remember Jo.

Unlike earlier companions, Jo isn't thrown through time 'n' space on her adventures. It is perhaps rather charming to think that her work with UNIT is just a job to her.

At least Jo's love affair doesn't come out of nowhere. She does spend a lot of time being a nursemaid to a man she known for a handful of days. She seems distraught that her incompetence might have caused the whole sorry mess. Perhaps it is guilt that drives her away?

The Doctor looks genuinely confused at her announcement. How could anyone give up a life of excitement for the boredom of domestic bliss?

Jo: You don't mind, do you?

The Doctor takes the English farewell of leaving without saying goodbye. He too is tired of the trope of girls leaving the game to go and play with boys.

Harry Sullivan - Terror of the Zygons / The Android Invasion🔗

Harry just... nopes out. He's offered a return trip in the TARDIS with The Doctor and Sarah Jane and simply says:

Harry: I think I'll stick to Intercity this time, Doctor.

And that's it. He shows up a few stories later in yet another body-snatcher story. He gets untied by Sarah-Jane and is never seen again.

How many of your friends just drift out of your life? You say "see you later" and then never see them again. It is the way of all adult relationships - work colleagues who leave you there number, but you never call.

At the end of The Android Invasion, Sarah-Jane appears to mock Harry's former exit:

SJS: I'm going home. And I'm going by taxi!

Doctor: I'll make you an offer; I'll take you home.

SJS: How can I refuse?

It's an uncharacteristic and mean little jibe. Harry deserved better.

Sarah Jane Smith - The Hand of Fear🔗

SJS's departure is often mis-remembered as being another character who doesn't want to go. She - like so many others - is traumatised. Towards the end of the episode she says:

SJS: I must be mad. I'm sick of being cold and wet and hypnotised left right and centre. I'm sick of being shot at, savaged by bug-eyed monsters, never knowing if I'm coming or going or been ... Oh, and boy am I sick of that sonic screwdriver! I'm going to pack my goodies and I'm going home. I said, I'm going to pack my goodies and I am going home!

She literally packs her things and is prepared to storm out. The Doctor, who hasn't really been listening to her, is recalled to Gallifrey and has to abandon her - like an unwanted puppy. At that moment, Sarah-Jane is distraught. She was only having a tantrum, she didn't expect consequences.

SJS: I was only joking, I didn't mean it.

It is grimly pathetic. It isn't the way any of us would want to go. She is kicked out without warning. She's done nothing wrong. The Doctor just has somewhere better to be.

Leela - The Invasion of Time🔗

Leela joins a long line of girls who just want to settle down with a man. The Doctor is a boy having adventures - adventures which absolutely do not including kissing.

The problem is; Leela is thick. But, to The Doctor, all of his companions are barely above the level of savages anyway. So her motivations makes sense within the confines of this story. She doesn't understand the game that we're playing and wants to play with someone else now.

At least K9's explanation for leaving - to look after Leela - makes a funny sort of sense

Leela: Will he be lonely, K9?

K9: Insufficient data, mistress.

Romana - Warriors' Gate🔗

Romana's leaving is such a disappointment. As I wrote in my review of Warrior's Gate, Romana's story comes to an abrupt end. Her frustration at being recalled to The Division Gallifrey could have been an important emotional arc for her. As could her abhorrence of the Lion-Folk's enslavement. Instead, she just says "Byeeeeeeeeee!"

There's a whole arc of stories which could have been a build up to her expressing her frustrations with The Doctor. Or her slow descent into resentment. Or she could have opposed the way The Doctor dealt with the situation. But there's nothing.

Adric - Earthshock🔗

The hate directed to Adric is directly proportional to the loathing nerds have for seeing themselves presented accurately on screen. He is Wesley Crusher - a plain mirror to reflect our neuroses.

Adric is, I think it is fair to say, bullied and derided by the other companions. Adric chooses to stay behind on a spaceship as he's the only one who can unlock the controls. He is too slow. You can dress up his exit as noble self-sacrifice - but it is probably suicide. He'd rather die on a crashing ship than return to the constant humiliation on the TARDIS.

Adric: Just leave!

His death does reverberate around the companions and The Doctor. Their guilt at his exit is directly proportional to their complicity.

Nyssa - Terminus🔗

Nyssa's defection happens in the background - literally. She has a tête-à-tête with Tegan in the background while The Doctor is moralising.

Her departure almost makes narrative sense. She is a scientist who is frustrated at not being able to do proper science on the TARDIS. She gets a chance to practise her craft on... a derelict space-station full of the murderous and infectious!

Just as in previous departures, it is the other companion who feels the loss more keenly. The Doctor makes a half-hearted effort to check she understand the ramifications, but there is no talking sense into her. She trades the universe for a minor clerical position.

It is a deeply disappointing end to her story.

Tegan Jovanka - Resurrection of the Daleks🔗

Tegan wasn't even supposed to be here today! She is the opposite of a Doctor Who fan. All she wants is to go home. She is desperate to escape from this madman who kidnapped her. Tegan's arc is one of trauma. She is suffering from PTSD and one day the damn breaks.

Tegan is the closest we ever see to the horrors inflicted on the companions. As such, hers is one of the few departures that makes narrative sense.

Tegan: I think I'm sick of it

Doctor: You think I wanted it this way?

Tegan: No. It's just that I don't think I can go on [...] It's stopped being fun, Doctor.

That's how fans leave the show too. When the story outpaces what we can stand, we quit.

For once it seems The Doctor is saddened by the departure. Not for the loss of his companion, but because of what he has lost of his identity. All he can say is "It seems I must mend my ways". Which, of course, is how the show survives. Casting off old fans and reinventing itself for a new generation.

Vislor Turlough - Planet of Fire🔗

I wish the modern series would have a "baddie" companion. Someone to make the audience boo their screens.

Turlough goes home. The Doctor doesn't seem at all interested either emotionally or intellectually about the departure. As for our interest, well, like Tegan it makes narrative sense. He is no longer an outcast at home and can start his life again.

Peri Brown - Mindwarp / The Ultimate Foe🔗

There are two ways to look at Peri's exit. In Mindwarp Peri is beaten, tortured, and has her mind wiped. She is utterly destroyed. It isn't a noble or self-sacrificing death. It is the realistic fate of all who travel with The Doctor.

The devastation felt by The Doctor is evident. First Katarina, then Adric, and now Peri.

And then "The Ultimate Foe" plays on the producers' worst instincts; Peri got married. Yes, we're back to this old trope. I guess most of us would prefer being hitched to Brian Blessed rather than death. But it seems a bit of a narrative cop-out.

Mel Bush - Dragonfire🔗

Mel's exit makes no sense. She decides to go off with Sabolom Glitz - a man with whom she quarrels endlessly. Perhaps this is the writer not understanding why some people stay in toxic relationships? Why do girls stop playing with us and go off with ruggedly handsome boys? Mel is buzzy and happy, and not overly traumatised by her experiences. But she acts like this departure has been a long time coming. It's just baffling.

She literally says:

Mel: Well, I suppose it's time.

Doctor: Time? Funny old business, time. It delights in frustrating your plans. All Kane's bitterness and hatred thwarted by a quirk of time.

Mel: No, I meant I suppose it's time I should be going.

Mel is the casual fan. Getting to the end of one season and going "That was all well and good, but I've better things to do. What's on ITV?"

Ace

Perhaps it is for the best that we never see Ace leave. She lives on in our memory. It is impossible to watch the old Doctor Who once you've been exposed to the new ones. It is ploddingly slow and the characters have very little motivation other than to move the plot forward. Are the sets and special effects a bit dicey? Yes, but that doesn't excuse the fact that the companion - our cipher - is constantly treated with disdain.

Ace's immortality allows us to believe (just for a second) that we can stay with "our" Doctor forever and nothing will change.

And now?

Perhaps I was too harsh. In my memories, the companions leave because they're bored. But true-fans like us can never really get bored, can we? As we grow older we recognise the horror of being a companion. That's something the modern era does much better - we see the trauma inflicted on the companions and their families.

Imagine the TARDIS materialised in your back garden. Would you enter it? Would you willingly allow yourself to be abducted knowing the fate of the average companion, the brushes with death, the studied indifference of The Doctor, the pain it would cause?

Because she is 15. Because this is 1991 and Russell T Davies has written one of his first proper dramas for the telly. Albeit Children's BBC - but we've all go to start somewhere, right?

While watching the fabulous "Imagine" documentary on RTD, I learned about "Dark Season". The CBBC show which, arguably, kickstarted his career. I probably saw it the first time around but, alas, the ravages of time had erased it from my memory. It is very much of its time. Filmed in the summer holidays with a bunch of drama-school kids and a healthy disregard for adult supervision.

Victoria Lambert plays... well... The Doctor as if she were a schoolgirl. She has long marvellous speeches about the nature of reality, she browbeats her teachers, and has a couple of plucky companions (including Kate Winslet) who she leads on a merry dance through time and space suburban England. There's some superb technobabble, megalomaniac plots, and cameos from old sci-fi shows. It features scientists in hiding, explosions, people with glowing hands, computers which suck out your brains, shadowy corporations and eldritch horrors. It fully acknowledges its clichés and contains lots of snappy dialogue. Even the title sequence has shades of Doctor Who.

Is it any good? Well, look, if you were the target audience for it in the 1990s then yes. It is a lovely piece of nostalgia. If you are a Doctor Who obsessive who wants a glimpse at what a revived Dr Who could have looked like, it's amazing. It contains many of the prototypes of the 21st Century version As a piece of media in its own right... the DVD is available 2nd hand from all good auction sites!

Delightfully, there is a sequel with a grown-up Kate Winslet available as a Big Finish audiobook.

And - most importantly of all - it contains a mobile phone!

I'm not talking about the Walkie-Talkies which are non-functioning props. I'm talking about this beauty:

(From Episode 2)

There's also a shot of it being used by Blue Kang:

But could that be just a regular phone with a long cord?

There's a clearer shot when the Chief Caretaker is disposed of:

And a slightly sideways angle:

It looks like there are buttons on the back of the handset - the opposite side from the speaker and microphone. Most touch-tone phones that I remember had the buttons on the same side. Here's the Argos catalogue from 1987 to prove my memory isn't faulty:

So I think this is a carphone. Specifically, the Panasonic VM1 which was used to launch Vodafone in 1985.

It has the same physical shape - with the angled mouthpiece. The button configuration is the same - 6 rows of 3. Above the buttons looks like like the display grid. And the bottom appears to have a white logo.

Here's a couple of crappy composites.

The "Send" and "End" buttons on the top row are slightly darker on both. You can see more shots on the product page for the EB-6301. Various photos of the phone show it with Racal branding.

The phone model is relatively famous; it was used by Ernie Wise as part of Vodafone's launch.

I think that might be the only commercially available carphone used by The Doctor in the original series. There are some non-cannon appearances - but I'll keep my eyes pealed for more.

In the meantime, you can browse through the Mobile Phone of Doctor Who archives.

The 2023 shows were an absolute blast. Some classic stories and a whole lot of running around. But were there any phones? Oh yes!

The Star Beast

First up, we get a gaggle of extras filming and taking selfies with the spaceship hurtling towards Cardiff London.

All a bit blurry, but there are some iPhones in the mix.

Shaun Temple's taxi has this phone in a cradle:

Nice mock-up of a taxi app - but I'm not sure that's an accurate map of Camden! The circular signal strength indicators are from an iPhone pre 2017's iOS 11. So it's either an old iPhone, or Shaun doesn't update his devices, or just something drawn on the screen by the art department. The battery symbol is vertical - whereas the iPhone's is horizontal. The volume buttons are on the right - but iPhones have them on the left. So I'm going to say it's not an iPhone.

The back doesn't give us many more clues. A small camera on the left. But, as the device is in a case, we'll have to see if it makes another appearance before definitively identifying it.

Fudge has an anonymous black rectangle. Not really enough detail to go on there.

But, on to the main event! UNIT's Shirley Anne Bingham has this beauty which (for once!) is handled by The Doctor That's a pretty easy spot (also for once!) - the dual screen foldable is the Microsoft Surface Duo 2. The big camera bump on the back marks it as different from the original Duo.

Let's take a look at the gorgeously detailed prop-work:

There's a lovely discussion in the episode's commentary about how the device and how it was used to save money on CGI shots.

The Giggle

The Doctor zaps one of the UNIT phones with the Sonic:

The teardrop notch and thick bottom means it is almost certainly a Samsung. Possibly the A32 but, as with so many of these devices, it could be anything.

The Doctor - and the rest of UNIT - have these identical tablets:

There's a good shot of the front:

Not much to go on from that shot (what does the inscription say?) but there's a clear shot of the back of Donna's one:

Small round camera next to a headphone socket? It's a Huawei MediaPad - probably the T3.

Behind The Scenes

As there's not many phones in this series, I thought I'd also delve into the behind the scenes action. In Doctor Who Confidential Unleashed we get a quick glimpse of Catherine Tate taking a selfie:

That's the camera cluster from the iPhone Pro - but could be any model from 11 - 15.

As part of the 60th celebrations, there are some retrospective articles on the BBC - including this lovely piece "I rescued Kylie Minogue as David Tennant double".

There's a selfie of the actor taken in a mirror:

That's (almost) The Doctor holding a Sony Ericsson K750.

Let's Go!

I can't wait for the new Doctor. Ncuti Gatwa is such an astonishing actor.

But, until the new series airs, you can enjoy reading about the phones in all the episodes and specials on this blog!

Today's edition - The Poisoned Sky.

As the Sontarans choke the Earth, the Doctor and UNIT battle to keep both Martha and Donna alive.

A large plot point is Evil Clone Martha stealing a UNIT PDA and using it to HACK THE MAINFRAME.

At various times she prevents missiles being launched:

And disrupts UNIT's abilities to defeat the Sontaran menace:

That original PDA is now in the hands of Collectors Props Wales after they bought it from the BBC studios where, no doubt, it has languished in a cupboard for a dozen years. After finding a charging cable, the owner was kind enough to send me these photos of some of the media saved on the device:

It's interesting to see that the display seen on TV was designed to be animated, rather than static.

There are also some pictures on there which don't appear to have been used in the episode (do correct me if I'm wrong).

Some of the graphics are quite different from what's shown on screen. I assume they mocked-up various graphics and went with whatever looked best.

The phones are available to buy on eBay but do contact them directly if the phone you want isn't yet available.

A collector has recently acquired a load of old Who prop phones - and I'm working with them to identify which episodes they're from.

You might remember Series 8's "In the Forest of the Night. It's the kid-heavy episode with lots of unidentified phones.

At the time, I wasn't able to get a clear enough view of the phones to work out what they all were. Thankfully, the props team gave the kids real working phones. And you know what kids do with phones, right? No - not TikTok. Photos!

(Excuse the blurry shots.) I'm pretty sure that's Harley Bird - AKA the voice of Peppa Pig.

That's not all the phone has on it. According to the description, there's a bunch of photos and videos. And...

The scene in the tardis where the doctor has lost Maebh and Ruby says she’s gonna die. The cheeky kid recorded the audio on the phone, complete with behind the scenes conversations and actual different versions of the same scene. “Action - take 3” …..”cut” etc etc it’s all saved forever on the actual phone used in the actual scene. Amazing

You can buy the phone on eBay.

There's also this little Android:

Yup! A selfie with the actor Samuel Anderson who plays Danny Pink. In fact, the phone is full of on-set photos!

But I think we can do one better than that, right?

Woo! In amongst all the photos on there is a cheeky snap of the interior of Capaldi's TARDIS 🤯

As I've said, I don't own these phones - I've very kindly been given a sneak peek of their contents. The phones are available to buy now on eBay. If you do find anything exciting on them, please do share with the fan community.

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.

For a few years now, I've been running a blog series about the Mobile Phones of Doctor Who. I'm only human⁰, so I occasionally miss some of the devices.

A reader contacted me to say I'd missed three phones from the Series 10 episode Pyramid at the End of the World.

Firstly, a boring one. Erica's husband/boyfriend/housemate smashes her glasses because he's busy on his phone. It's a one-frame shot, so not much to go on.

Next up, U.S. Colonel Brabbit is seen chatting on this satellite phone: Again, it's a brief shot and the phone is heavily encased. I'm tempted to say the button shapes are reminiscent of a Motorola, but I can't find anything close. Do you know what it is?

Finally, the interesting one. The Secretary-General answers a phone call from the above Brabbit whose name appears on the phone's screen: That's fairly obviously an iPhone. As it happens, I now know the the exact make, model, and IMEI of that phone. How?

Because a collector has purchased it.

Along with many other Doctor Who phones.

But, how did they know that this specific phone was in this specific scene?

Oh, that's easy. Because its photo gallery contains a mocked-up screenshot of the "General Brabbit Calling" screen...!

I'm working with this collector to match each phone to its on-screen appearance. Which is made easier by the fact that lots of them contain graphic files, animations, photos, and - get this - videos shot by the actors on set!

Look, this isn't "collector finds missing episode in Nigeria" territory. But if you're interested in behind-the-scenes Doctor Who stuff, this is going to blow your mind.

The Doctor Who Props are for sale on eBay¹. There are a load of interesting pieces there. When the phones are all verified, I'll publish a new blog post explaining exactly what has been found.

Subscribe to my blog to get instant email notifications - or use the RSS feed.

I can't wait to show you what's been found - proper nerd-heaven stuff.

Eve of The Daleks

Classic time-loop episode where - for once - a mobile phone saves the day!

Sarah

Sarah's mammy keeps video-calling Sarah's Samsung. Thankfully, the props team haven't attempted to obscure it, so we get a clear view of the front:

The camera array looks like the Samsung S6 or possibly the A9 Pro.

But take a look at the back panel:

There are three cut outs. That's usually camera, flash, and either a rear finger-print sensor or speaker. To be honest, it could be any one of a dozen semi-similar Samsung phones.

At the end of the episode - after the poor phone was used to trigger an explosion - she's rocking a newer phone with a teardrop camera:

With this rear camera cluster:

Again, we're in the identikit Samsung territory. It's probably the A03s, A12, A31.

Karl

Who?

Yup! Karl was chased by the baddie in Jodie's first story. Only fitting he should be in the final crop of episodes.

Here's a bit of a close up:

You can just about see the Apple logo through the case. There's the classic volume button + silence switch combo. Lenses are in the top corner. So it could be anything from the original iPhone up until the iPhone 8.

Legend of the Sea Devils

I thought this would be a phone-free episode (and Doctor Who needs a phone like a Sea Devil needs a bicycle) - but, right at the end Dan and Di have a bit of a chinwag. And, for once, we get a nice clear shot of the phone with no obfuscation!

Blimey! A Nokia! We haven't seen one of those for a while. And, do you see in the top corner - "Universal Roaming". Just like the early days of the show.

It took me a moment to realise - this is not an Android. See those icons at the bottom of the screen? They're from Windows Phone!

This is probably the Nokia Lumia 735 - based on the speaker and camera placement. He's rocking a phone from 2014. Time to upgrade Dan!

What about Di?

Hmmm… Could be anything. The camera array looks a bit like Sarah's phone from earlier in the series. Any ideas gang?

The Power of the Doctor

Tegan

OMG! Here's what we saw in the episode preview:

And here's the front from the episode itself:

That slim camera cluster looks like one of the (many) Nokia Androids - but the front camera placement means it is almost certainly the Nokia C1 2nd Edition.

Ace

OMG²! Again, only a quick glimpse in the preview:

Not much to go on there. What about the front?

A black fondleslab with a headphone socket on the left. Anything else? Let's ZOOM and ENHANCE the bottom of the phone:

Given the thin camera bar on the back, the headphone jack, and the front camera - I'm confident this is the BlackBerry Leap from 2015.

There's also a blink-and-you'll-miss-it shot of the back, with the BlackBerry logo in full view.

Inston-Vee Vinder

Yes! Inston-Vee is back! This phone is a call back to last year's Once, Upon Time.

And, yes, it appears to be exactly the same N73 as last time. Well done props team!

And next?

I'll be honest, it's getting harder and harder to tell the difference between phones these days. They're usually just anonymous black rectangles. But, as long as Doctor Who has mobile phones, I'll keep going with this daft series of posts.

As ever, if you think I've made a mistake - or if you've spotted a missing phone - drop me a note in the comments.

Onwards to 2023!

Archives

Enjoyed this post? Here are the other seasons of Doctor Who:

• S01
• S02
• S03
• S04
• Specials
• S05
• S06
• S07
• Day of The Doctor
• S08
• S09
• S10
• Classic Who
• S11
• S12
• Bonus Rose
• Revolution of the Daleks
• S13: Flux
• 2022 Specials

Nestled at UNIT HQ - just by Bond Street station - is an brilliant immersive theatre experience. This isn't like Secret Cinema - too many people in desolate wasteland queuing up for over-priced drinks from bored vendors. Instead, it's a cosy and tightly controlled experience, where the whole cast take their roles very seriously. Even the cloakroom attendants were dressed in UNIT regalia! (Note, you don't have to stow your coat, but it does get very warm.) If you ever went to the Alien War experience in Trocadero, it's like that - but better.

The plot - such as it is - involves you wandering around UNIT base, chatting with the scientists. And then... OK, no spoilers, sweetie, but the audience are effectively split up between different strands of the story and guided around various set-pieces. The sets are fabulously dressed - full of props, posters, and little touches to grab your attention. Each group gets a guide who shepherds you between the scenes on various quests - it's a bit Crystal Maze with lots of rushing between missions to watch actors drip-feed you plot points.

The cast are brilliant - they seemed to know all the trivia, and were delightful to interact with. The costumes are perfect, they all blend together to make something quite magical. The monsters - all your favourites - are used sparingly but effectively. And, yes, it is a little bit scary. But good scary.

Alongside the physical cast are various video clips - lots of familiar faces (and voices) have cameos.

There's an interval - with plenty of seats after all that rushing around. Bar prices were reasonable for Central London, and the live singers were an absolute delight.

The whole things builds to an excellent and suitably melodramatic conclusion, with kids and adults all cheering. Behind the face masks were lots of smiles.

Nitpicks

It is very noisy and chaotic. I wasn't able to hear everything that was going on - and I sometimes got worried that I'd lost my group. It doesn't really matter though - the plot is very much "A THING HAS HAPPENED! LET'S RUN OVER HERE!". And the cast were very good at keeping teams together - although I suspect it wouldn't have mattered if you'd drifted off to another stream.

Because it is so crowded, and because of the narrowness of some of the doorways, it can be a little slow moving between zones. So the sense of urgency is somewhat muted.

There are some GLARING continuity problems with the dates around UNIT's establishment. I mean, come on! 😉

Verdict

For £15 per ticket, this is amazing value for money. And I can see why people return again and again to see the different storylines - all fourteen of them - and to spot all the Easter-eggs.

Yes, it is a bit silly and chaotic. But that's an authentic reflection of the show, right? It is an excellent experience. All of your favourite monsters and heroes together in an immersive show. Fantastic fun!

Covid Security

It seems a bit weird to write this bit. At The Ocean at the End of the Lane, most audience members were sat in masks - reasonably distanced from each other and the performers. Here it's a lot more dynamic. Everyone had to show their Covid Certificate at the door. Plenty of people wore masks - although not the actors. But it did feel uncomfortably crowded at times. Due to the number of people and the size of the rooms, there isn't much social distancing.

All that said, I felt safe and secure going. But we'll see over the next few days what lurgy I've managed to pick up!

Drawing on unseen and iconic material from the BBC archive and private collectors, The Vault is an unforgettable journey through 50 years of Doctor Who, via carefully selected photographs, props, costumes designs, production memos, letters, scripts and more. This is the full and official story of Doctor Who, from the first pre-production memos in 1963 to the most recent props created for the 2013 series, including interviews with key contributors and scores of prop photos, design sketches and behind the scenes stills from every decade of the show's production. Taking you year by year through the world's longest running science fiction series, Marcus Hearn explores the show's groundbreaking innovations as well as its impact on popular culture through books and comics, magazines and toys, merchandise and ephemera. The Vault is a collector's dream and the ultimate celebration of Doctor Who.

Amazingly, this hefty tome is only about £3 on eBay. It is the perfect "coffee table book". You can dip in and out of it. Lazily flick through the pages until something catches your eye. Hone in on your favourite season or episode.

If you are a long-time Doctor Who nerd, there probably isn't anything in there which is a stunning revelation. But it is nice to have a compendium of behind the scenes photos, anecdotes, and little things you might not have seen before.

Particularly amusing to me where all the 20th Century merchandising! Tooth-rotting breakfast cereal with free Dalek transfers! Candy cigarettes(!) emblazoned with The Doctor's face. Dalek bubble bath.

A few of the letters and cartoon strips are printed quite small, which can be a bit of pain to read. No, I'm not getting older - print is getting smaller! It also ends rather abruptly with a couple of pages about "The Day of the Doctor".

But, for less than a fiver for over 300 pages of photos and trivia, it seems churlish to complain.

There are some great little observations. The BBC has never really given the show the budget to thrive - yet it just won't die. Fans have always complained about how rubbish the new producer is. And actors have always worried about being typecast by the show. The more things change, eh?

The book was released to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the show - and we're coming up to the 60th. Perhaps it will be re-released with some more behind-the-sofa-scenes material. That'd be nice!