The upcoming colourised version of the first Doctor Who story to feature the Daleks will include new dialogue, written by showrunner Russell T Davies and performed by the original Dalek voice actor David Graham.
The Daleks, which premieres on BBC4 on Thursday 23 November, is an edited, 75-minute version of the Terry Nation classic which has been colourised by a team led by Rich Tipple, accompanied by a new score from composer Mark Ayres.
The intriguing news that new material will be included comes in this month’s Doctor Who Magazine #597, where RTD says he’s “absolutely dedicated to the idea that the back catalogue of Doctor Who should be colourised – that’s my aim, and it has been since day one in the job.”
It’s not clear what form the new scene (or scenes) will take – the fact that the report describes it as ‘new dialogue’ indicates that it could involve the reuse of existing footage cut from the full seven-episode story with new sound added. But it’s not impossible it could be something more ambitious involving new filming. After all, the team behind An Adventure in Space and Time, the 2013 drama on the creation of Doctor Who which will be repeated after The Daleks, recreated scenes from the story.
Whatever it turns out to be, it’s wonderful to think that David Graham, now 98, will once again be heard voicing the Daleks, 60 years after he and Peter Hawkins first took to the microphone to create the iconic sound of the series’ legendary foes.
Viewers in the UK can watch The Daleks on BBC4 at 19:30 on Thursday 23rd November, after which it will be available on iPlayer. A DVD, Blu-ray, and limited edition steelbook is set for release in February 2024.
