Opposite page: Making the headlines in 1965 were (clockwise from top left) Zarbis (from The Web Planet), a Chumbley (from Galaxy 4), a Mechonoid (from The Chase), Dr Who (played by William Hartnell) and, of course, the Daleks.
Doctor Who and the Daleks were rarely out of the newspapers in 1965. They provided a long line of puff pieces for the tabloids and even the broadsheets took occasional note of the cultural phenomenon that was Dalekm ania.
The programme’s greatest media exposure resulted from a number of prominent, pre-arranged press calls. Usually designed to introduce forthcoming monsters, these events were largely the work of the BBC’s licensing agent Walter Tuckwell, who was always on the lookout for a new Dalek rival that would prove equally sellable.
The photocall for The Web Planet at the BBC’s Ealing Studios on 5 January produced the most column inches, with the Daily Sketch running a double-page spread headlined “Zarbies … the new monsters in Dr Who’s life”. The paper’s TV correspondent, Shaun Usher, wrote: “BBC chiefs, thrilled by the way the Daleks drew viewers, wanted a fresh family of monsters to carry on the good-bad work.” The Daily Mirror also ran a large picture spread, while amusing photos of a Zarbi queuing for a bus appeared in the Daily Express and The Sun. Even The Daily Telegraph declared “6ft Ant is BBC’s Latest TV Monster”.
The photocall inspired two satirical cartoons. In London’s Evening Standard, a scene on the planet Vortis by ‘Jak’ (Ray Jackson) bore the punchline: “The thing on the left just ate Dr Who!” Still more bizarre, a Daily Mirror cartoon by Franklin referenced the era’s racial tensions, with Daleks graffiti’ing the phrase “Keep Monsterland White” on a wall as black Zarbi looked on.
The press corps returned to Ealing on 14 April as the Daleks’ new arch enemies, the Mechonoids, were unveiled ahead of the following month’s serial The Chase. “Mechanoids [sic] challenge the Daleks” announced the Daily Mirror, with the article underneath explaining that “The next mechanical monsters to invade BBC-TV’s Dr Who series are enough to make even the Daleks break out in a rust rash.” In addition, the Daily Mail and the Daily Express both ran photos; the Shepherds Bush Gazette and Hammersmith Post went so far as to put the story on page one.
The photocall for The Web Planet at the BBC’s Ealing Studios on 5 January produced the most column inches.
Above and below left: The Daily Mirror (above) and the Daily Sketch introduced their readers to the creatures from The Web Planet on 6 January.