Daleks Lose Place As Top Doctor Who Monsters

The Daleks have lost their place as Doctor Who fans’ favourite monsters according to a new poll by the Radio Times.

The poll by the radio & television listings magazine instead puts creepy moving statues The Weeping Angels as fans favourite monsters from the BBC sci-fi series. The Weeping Angels topped the Radio Times poll with a whopping 49.4% of the votes – in all more than 10,000 people voted.

The Weeping Angels were first introduced in the 2007 story Blink which was penned by Steven Moffat and they will next be seen in Amy (Karen Gillan) and Rory’s (Arthur Darvill) final episode in the forthcoming seventh season.

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The Daleks, who usually win these type of polls, came second with 17% of the votes. The Daleks were created by Terry Nation and appeared in the second Doctor Who story – although they were initially disliked by BBC Drama supremo Sydney Newman. The popularity of the creatures with viewers however secured the show’s success. It goes without saying the Daleks have returned countless times since their original induction and will next be seen in the seventh season.

Another Steven Moffat creation came third in the poll; The Silence. The monsters were seen through the sixth season of Doctor Who which aired last year – they were the main antagonists of the season or the “big bad”. They had the ability to wipe people’s memories and they viewed the Doctor as their deadly enemy.

The Rani & The Master

Renegade Time Lord ‘The Master’ came fourth with 8.6% of the vote; the character was first introduced by Barry Letts and Terrance Dicks in the 1971 story Terror of the Autons. The character has been played by various actors most notable original actor Roger Delgado and subsequent performers have included Anthony Ainley, Eric Roberts and most recently John Simm. Reports of The Master’s return to Doctor Who for next year’s 50th anniversary have been denied – but shouldn’t be ruled out entirely.

The fifth spot on the poll, with 6.81% of the vote, goes to The Vashta Nerada; the third creation of Steven Moffat to be listed. Three of the top five places have been won by Moffat which isn’t an easy feat considering the countless number of monsters that have featured in Doctor Who over the years. The invisible piranha like creatures appeared in the season four two-part story Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead which was notable for introducing the character of River Song (Alex Kingston).

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The Cybermen, who usually perform well in such polls, came sixth with 2.53% of the votes. The cyborg creatures were first introduced in the 1966 story The Tenth Planet which was William Hartnell’s last story in the role of the Doctor. Alongside the Daleks the Cybermen are the most popular returning Doctor Who monsters.

They have returned countless times since their original introduction, most recently in the sixth season of the revived series. Daleks creator Davros won 2.2% of the vote; Davros was created by Terry Nation in 1974 and introduced in the highly regarded story Genesis of the Daleks which explained/re-wrote the origins of the Daleks. The character returned to menace the Doctor in a further four stories in the original series and was revived in 2008 for the two-part story The Stolen Earth/Journey’s End.

The Zygons secured 0.69% of the vote despite only appearing in a single story during the original series. They appeared in 1975’s Terror of the Zygons and proved a hit with fans despite never reappearing. Rumour has it the Zygons will be seen once more in the seventh season but that rumour isn’t exactly new – the monsters have long been mooted by fans as potentially returning to the new series. The Ice Warriors, who polled 0.54% of the vote, are also rumoured to be returning in the forthcoming seventh season.

The inhabitants of Mars were last seen in the 1974 story Monster of Peladon, although they were due to return to Doctor Who in 1985 but the series was unexpected cancelled by Michael Grade.

Robert Holmes creation The Sontarans came 10th in the poll with 0.33% of the vote; the creatures were first introduced in the 1974 story The Time Warrior which introduced the character of Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen). They were last seen in the original series in the 1985 story The Two Doctors which starred Colin Baker and Patrick Troughton. The Sontarans have returned to the revived series and also appeared in spin-off series The Sarah Jane Adventures.