Doncaster Doctor Who superfan celebrates show's 60th birthday - in his homemade TARDIS

Sci-fi enthusiast Ricky Butler also recreated the look of the much-loved fourth Doctor Tom Baker and was also surrounded by Daleks and the Time Lord’s robot dog companion K-9 as the BBC One show marked its anniversary at the weekend.

He said: “I was eight years old when the first episode aired with William Hartnell and I’ve been hooked ever since.”

Hartnell played the very first Doctor when the show first aired in November 1963 and Ncuti Gatwa is the 15th incarnation of the time travelling hero who has delighted and terrified generations of children in equal measue.

Earlier this year, Ricky created yet another out of this world sci-fi project in his back garden – this time using a mobility scooter to build a working replica of the Davros chair – the transportation device used by the creator of the deadly Daleks and the Doctor’s nemesis in the long-running BBC television series.

It is the latest in a long line of projects from the semi-retired actor who has previously built life size models of the Doctor’s time travel police box the TARDIS, robot dog companion K-9 as well as Daleks and Star Wars robot R2-D2.

Ricky, who began his sci-fi building projects after suffering a stroke during the pandemic lockdown, said: “It took me about six to seven months to build.

"It is a fibreglass shell built around a mobility scooter.

“I built it specially for the 60th anniversary of Dr Who.”

Ricky, who has spent more than 50 years working in TV and film and rubbing shoulders with the stars and who lives in Askern, launched his career in the early 1970s as Ricky Stardust, DJ and entertainer, and was one of the first DJs working the night clubs of Yorkshire and Lancashire, then Spain and the south of France, touring with the Sweet, Mud, the Glitter Band, Billy Fury, Freddie and the Dreamers, Black Lace and many more.

During his career, he became friends with comedian Bob Monkhouse as well as big names in entertainment such as Ken Dodd, Lulu and Cilla Black.