Dr Who success is out of this world

WHEN a Doctor Who exhibition was staged in the city there was no hiding behind the sofa.
Instead, thousands of sci-fi fans thronged to Peterborough Museum eager to step into the Time Lord's TARDIS and hear the immortal word "exterminate" yelled by a Dalek.At one point yesterday, museum staff had to restrict the number of people coming through the doors as a 100-metre queue stretched along Priestgate and around the corner into Trinity Street.Amazingly, the exhibition could prove to be the most successful event ever held at the museum. More than 16,000 people have visited in the first seven days, and the exhibition still has two more days to run.Enthusiasts found out how a family would have viewed the first Dr Who episode in 1963 and were confronted by a Sycorax, Clockwork Droid and an Ood.There was even a chance to look into the TARDIS – the famous police telephone box, which doubles as a transportation device.All that was missing was the Time Lord himself, actor David Tennant.When The Evening Telegraph visited the queue, excitement had reached fever-pitch.Andrew Tibbles (9), from Wimblington, near March, bounced up and down as he explained his passion for Doctor Who.Turning round to show off his Dr Who rucksack, he said: "It's brilliant. This is my second visit this week."Andrew's mum Donna said: "As soon as he came home from seeing it first time, he told his brother Kyron and, of course, he wanted to go too."Sarah and Andy Dunn, from Eastfield, Peterborough, brought along their four children, nine-year-old twins Lucy and Joe, Phoebe (4) and Maddie (1).Mrs Dunn said: "We all try and sit down and watch Dr Who every Saturday, even though the younger ones
find it a little scary."Marketing and events officer Stuart Orme said visitors had come from as far afield as Gloucestershire, Yorkshire and Kent.Mr Orme added: "It is set to be one of the most popular events ever held at the museum. We haven't seen anything like it since 1993 when, because of Jurassic Park, dinosaur fever was sweeping the nation."Then, the museum received 20,000 visitors in nine days, and when this exhibition closes on Sunday, I would have thought we would have beaten that total."The Doctor Who exhibition has been running all through half term week, but anyone who has so far missed out can grab a piece of the action at the weekend.Tomorrow, charity organisation Hyde Fundraisers will be dressing up in Dr Who monster costumes from the current series, while the exhibition will also run on Sunday.n For more information, call the museum on 01733 343329.

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