Calling Shropshire Daleks - your time has come in new Doctor Who

Do you have a Dalek? Dave Saunders, from Ellesmere, has three . . . and is set to help the BBC with the new series of Doctor Who.

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Dave-will-exterminate! Dave-will-exterminate! But first, it's time for some Dalek practice . . .

See more photos to the right

Moving a plunger and a laser gun with his left arm and elbow, while wobbling the sci-fi monster's eye with his free hand, the technique quickly comes back to former TV Dalek operator Dave Saunders, from Ellesmere, the proud owner of three Daleks.

And the fact that he has not forgotten the knack of bringing them to life is just as well. Because the BBC is calling on owners of all Daleks to lend them back – because the broadcaster doesn't have enough for the creation of an epic battle scene in the next Doctor Who series.

And as well as his Daleks, of which he has two from the 1960s television series – the days of William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton – and a replica of one from the 1965 Peter Cushing film Doctor Who and The Daleks, Dave is even prepared to offer his deadly operating skills, should the Beeb require them.

With their alien voices and ability to exterminate human beings with laser beams, the Doctor Who foes have for almost 50 years scared the pants off kids and grown-ups alike, sending them scurrying off to squirm behind the sofa.

And Dave could be just the man to pick up where he left off in the 1980s, when he operated Daleks which battled the Doctor, played at that time by Sylvester McCoy.

"My uncle was a Dalek operator in the 1960s, and I took over in the 1980s," says Dave, now aged 52.

"It was tremendous fun. I had to sit inside the Dalek on a wooden platform and operate it all with my feet and hands. The Dalek was on wheels and you would make it move by moving your feet, very much how you would make an office chair move.

"We also had to do 'agitated'," he adds, wobbling all of his limbs violently to illustrate.

It was a feat of skilled co-ordination, especially given that Daleks were driven 'blind'.

"During rehearsals you had to follow dotted lines that were put on the studio floor and then remember the moves when they were taken away for the action scenes.

"You also had to wear a black hood so you could not be seen through the mesh of the Dalek's head."

Other Shropshire-based Daleks are also showing their mettle by stepping up to the plate.

BBC Radio Shropshire DJ Paul Shuttleworth bought his black 1978 Dalek for £2,500 from the props department at Elstree Studios in London.

The original shell was modified and mounted on a powered wheelchair base, enabling Paul to drive the monster around – and judging from the reaction he got from trips to the cashpoint in Shifnal, he knows that a requisitioned Dalek army would still be a match for today's Doctor, Matt Smith.

He says: "I think it would be brilliant – they are still pretty frightening and from having owned one I know this.

"They had two arms – one had a plunger on the end and the other, the 'laser' arm, was basically just a metal tube.

"We used to do promotional days for Kodak and we would use the laser arm to fire a blast compressed air. It would scare the pants off people and they would run a mile!"

His monster was also fitted with a voice simulator which enabled him to sit inside and frighten people even more.

But despite having the air of a killing machine, in reality some of the earlier models would barely cut it against the sophistication of a Time Lord with a fancy woolly scarf.

Paul explains how originally his Dalek would have been fitted inside not with a seat and a motor but with a wooden bench and a pair of handles.

"So when the actor wanted to move they would have to pick the whole shell up!" he says. "I think they did get a bit more sophisticated towards the end."

For battle scenes in the new Doctor Who TV series, replica Daleks are also wanted by the BBC.

North Shropshire-based Gary Stevens of Shropshire Scale Modellers has a full-size copy made from plywood and aluminium, almost ready to spring to life.

"If they were in charge of the country there would be no trouble!" says Gary, 50.

"Daleks are a fascination I have had for years, since I was a kid – it is the escapism and the style of them. I think they look wonderful.

"Mine is the grey one with the black balls from the days when Tom Baker was Dr Who."

And Jason Wardman, 40, from Wellington, spent several months painstakingly constructing a full-size replica of a 1960s genesis Dalek, which he made from fibreglass, MDF and plywood. It is even fitted with a voice simulator and has an electric wheelchair inside.

Last year he also built a copy of Davros, the king of the Daleks, which he takes to sci-fi shows.

"I would send my Daleks if they were called into action, why not? They are still pretty frightening."

Terry Smith of the Daleks-for-hire organisation Dalek Charity Squad, which shows at the Shropshire Modellers' Show at RAF Cosford, adds: "If the BBC get stuck for Daleks, then they can always ask us for help. Well we aren't called the Charity Dalek Squad for nothing!"

* Do you have a Dalek from the BBC series, or a replica which the producers might want to use? Email benbentley@shropshirestar.co.uk or call the features desk on (01952) 242424.