Supermarkets across the UK must have seen a sudden increase in cereal sales during the second quarter of 1975, and maybe even farmers faced a run on wheat, as kids from Dover to Dundee demanded more breakfast biscuits than had previously been thought possible. Why? Because a Weetabix promotion, between April and June, gave away four illustrated Doctor Who character cards in each pack – with six sets to collect.
Illustrated by regular Weetabix artist Gordon Archer, the cards included two versions of the Fourth Doctor, Sarah Jane Smith, six different Daleks and a number of other alien monsters, mostly from the Third Doctor’s era. The Monster of Peladon (1974) featured heavily, with an Ice Warrior and Ice Lord, Alpha Centauri and Aggedor, and a Cyberman seemingly based on the one featured on the cover of the Radio Times tentth-anniversary special (1973). But the 1974-75 series did sneak in, courtesy of the Giant Robot. In addition, Weetabix packets included a cut-out action setting comprising a moonscape, the TARDIS interior and a vividly detailed swamp.
The first wave of Doctor Who Weetabix cards in 1975 included Alpha Centauri and Aggedor (both recently seen in The Monster of Peladon, 1974), ‘Dr Who 2’ and Sarah Jane.