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Lifelong Doctor Who collection fetches £49,000

Tom MacDougalland
Molly Smith,North East and Cumbria
News imageMolly Smith/BBC Fred Wyrley-Birch, a man with dark hair and spectacles, wearing a suit and tie, stands in front of a series of tables bearing boxed toys. He is smiling at the camera.Molly Smith/BBC
"You can enjoy almost a museum of Doctor Who," said auctioneer Fred Wryley-Birch

One man's lifelong collection of Doctor Who memorabilia, including original artwork and a replica car, has gone under the hammer, fetching almost £50,000.

The extensive collection belonged to former Workington football club chairman Dale Brotherton, from west Cumbria, who died in 2024 and worked on the long-running BBC show when he was younger.

Auctioneer Fred Wyrley-Birch, of Newcastle-based Anderson and Garland, described the trove of memorabilia as "almost a museum of Doctor Who".

All but two of the 142 lots found buyers, with Bessie, the replica yellow Edwardian-style car, driven by the Third Doctor, Jon Pertwee, fetching the highest individual price, at £4,200.

News imageMolly Smith/BBC The replica Dalek - one of Doctor Who's most memorable villains.Molly Smith/BBC
A replica Dalek was among the key items up for sale, fetching £1,700

The Siva Edwardian Tourer kit car was lovingly recreated by Brotherton and carries the registration plate WHO 244, as well as being registered with the DVLA - meaning, in theory, it is legal to drive.

Ahead of Wednesday's auction, Wyrley-Birch described how Pertwee had written a letter to Brotherton, praising the replica as "better" than the original. Correspondence from the actor accompanied the lot.

A costume from the Warriors of the Deep serial sold for £2,210, as did a prop handgun, with a full-size replica Dalek fetching £1,700.

The memorabilia included toys, costumes, models and original artwork, and was particularly focused on the period covering Pertwee's tenure through to Sylvester McCoy's turn as the Seventh Doctor, from approximately 1970 to 1989.

News imageMolly Smith/BBC A collection of Doctor Who toys laid out on a table with a royal blue surface. Everything is in its own box: the toys include a number of different sonic screwdrivers, a mini talking dalek and a mini tardis.Molly Smith/BBC
Brotherton amassed a collection of Doctor Who toys from across the eras
News imageMolly Smith/BBC Two pieces of artwork. One is a sketch-style drawing possibly of a promotional poster, with character portraits positioned around the Tardis. The other artwork is in colour and features a scarf-clad Tom Baker as the doctor, alongside one of his many nemesis.Molly Smith/BBC
Original artworks were among the items being auctioned

The sale took place on the day the BBC announced the 2026 Christmas special has been cancelled as plans for the next phase of the sci-fi show are developed.

Showrunner Russell T Davies also confirmed he will leave the programme, having returned to oversee the show during the most recent two series starring Ncuti Gatwa as the Doctor.

The finale aired in May 2025 with Gatwa's Doctor apparently regenerating into Billie Piper, who previously played the Doctor's assistant Rose Tyler on the show.

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