We’re very proud to announce that this year’s Bedford Who Charity Con, an event organised by our very own Simon Danes, raise more than £17,000 for charity!

In fact, it raised an astounding £17,101.

That’s over £6,000 more than its previous record, meaning the convention is going from strength to strength.

And no wonder: this year’s sported an incredible array of guests including Eighth Doctor, Paul McGann; Daphne Ashbrook, who played Grace Holloway in The TV Movie; Kate Stewart actress, Jemma Redgrave; visual effects supremo, Mike Tucker; and the voice of the Third Doctor for Big Finish, Tim Treloar.

Of course, it’s all wonderfully put together by Simon, assisted by an amazing crew of people including his brother, Frank Danes, also of the DWC.

And if you want to hear just how great the convention is, Paul McGann praised it on BBC Radio, saying how much he liked it over the “pretty commercial” conventions he’d done otherwise, and adding:

“It’s been lovely, it’s been friendly — we can literally look each other in the eye, I prefer that!”

And Simon told the BBC:

“We were expecting about 10k but we weren’t expecting it to be as high as that… Next year is our 10th anniversary, so we’re hoping to do something even more special, don’t ask me what is yet.”

The £17,101 is being split between three places, including the homeless charity, SMART, and FACES, which supports local families in crisis.

Numerous members of the DWC were there on the day, so stay tuned to hear more from Ida Wood very soon!

And congratulations to Simon, Frank, Andrew, and all the crew behind the scenes for not only breaking their own records and doing great work for good causes, but also for giving fans such a wonderful event.