THE WORLD’S most famous time travelling police box has taken time off from cruising the galaxies to land in Sunderland’s shopping centre.
A replica of Dr Who’s TARDIS has currently taken up residency at the Bridges, where it will stay until the end of the month (Feb).
And that means that fans of the hit BBC show will get a rare opportunity to visit and take a selfie with one of the most well-known forms of space and time travel.
The city also has a lesser known connection with Dr Who – as the first ever police box in the UK was put in place at Sunderland’s Kayll Road in 1923.
The replica was commissioned by Sunderland City Council for an event last summer which highlighted the heritage in the west of the city.
“Dr Who is such a massively popular programme with generations of people enjoying it over the years,” said Andy Bradley, Centre Director of the Bridges.
“We’re sure fans of the show will love the opportunity to come and get their picture taken with it. It’s great for this iconic piece of tv history to be getting a second outing and we hope that lots of people will come and see it.”
10 TOP DR WHO FACTS
- The character of Doctor Who was inspired by Sherlock Holmes.
- The distinctive TARDIS sound effect was originally created by rubbing the bass strings of a piano with a key.
- Doctor Who is BBC Worldwide’s best-selling show.
- There have been 12 doctors.
- The TARDIS has a broken “Chameleon circuit” which is supposed to enable it to disguise itself to blend into any environment. However in the first ever episode An Unearthly Child, viewers discover that the circuit is broken and the TARDIS is stuck in the shape of a police box.
- Dr Who is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest running sci fi series in the world.
- TARDIS stands for Time and Relative Dimension in Space. It is also bigger on the inside than on the outside.
- The original Daleks were controlled from the inside by small operators who had to manipulate their eyestalks, domes and arms, as well as flashing the lights on their heads in sync with the actor’s voices.
- Doctor Who is from the planet Gallifrey.
- The first episode was broadcast in 1963 – 40 years after the first police box was installed in Sunderland.