The Dalek Audio Annual

Terry Nation

Terry Nation was born in Llandaff, near Cardiff, in 1930. As a child, he loved reading and making up stories. On leaving school, he became interested in the theatre, writing and appearing in plays for his local theatrical society.

In the early 1950s, he moved to London and attempted a career in stand-up comedy. Finding he lacked performing skills, he took his material to a local agency seeking comedy scriptwriters. Associated London Scripts hired him to write a 13-week comedy radio show called All My Eye And Kitty Blewitt, launching his writing career. Throughout the 1950s, he produced over 200 scripts for comedians such as Terry Scott, Eric Sykes, Harry Worth, and Frankie Howerd.

His television breakthrough came in 1963 when he wrote several episodes for Tony Hancock’s ITV series Hancock. The same year, he was asked to write the second serial for the newly-launched BBC science fiction series, Doctor Who, and the Daleks were born.

Nation’s inspiration for the Daleks came partly from a television program. He realized the creatures had to look alien, and “In order to make it non-human what you have to do is take the legs off. That’s the only way you can make it not look like a person dressed up.” After watching the Georgian State Dancers perform, he realized how this could be achieved. He explained: “the girls do this wonderful routine. They wore floor-brushing skirts and took very tiny steps and appeared to glide, really glide across the floor. That’s the movement I wanted for the Daleks.” He once said the name ‘Dalek’ came from the letters DAL-LEK on the spine of an encyclopedia, but later admitted this was an attempt to satisfy journalists. When asked the reason for the Daleks’ phenomenal success, Nation answered simply, “Kids love to be frightened.”

He went on to write several more Dalek stories for Doctor Who, including “The Dalek Invasion of Earth” (1964), “The Chase” (1965), “The Daleks’ Master Plan” (with Dennis Spooner, 1965-1966), and “Genesis of the Daleks” (1975). He also penned two non-Dalek episodes: “The Keys of Marinus” (1964) and “The Android Invasion” (1979).

As well as Doctor Who, Terry Nation’s television work includes The Saint, Department S, The Persuaders, and The Avengers.

He also created two other sci-fi cult hits. Survivors began as a novel, published in 1970, and was televised five years later, running for three series between 1975 and 1977. A 2008 remake was broadcast by the BBC in 2008. Blake’s 7, described by Nation as “Robin Hood in space,” ran for four series from 1978-1981. It was an international success and continues to have a huge fan following.

Terry Nation died in Los Angeles in 1997.

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