Doctor Who history: The first time Daleks went upstairs on-screen

We look back on one of the Daleks’ most shocking moments in Doctor Who history – the first time they showed that stairs were no longer a problem…

One distinctive moment from the 2005 episode Dalek was when the metallic pepper pot faced its greatest enemy: stairs. It had long been a joke that the evilest race in the universe was rather too easily defeated by flights of stairs thanks to their impractical design. Of course, as we all remember, it didn’t prove to be much of a problem after all: with a cry of “ELEVATE!”, the Dalek raised itself from the ground and slowly ascended – naturally killing one more soldier that got in its way.

The general impression in the media at the time was that this was a huge moment in Doctor Who history. In fact, there seemed to be many that treated it like it was the first time that a Dalek had ever been shown to defy gravity at all.

Of course, fans of the Classic Series knew that this was far from true. Admittedly, it only happened once on-screen, but it still happened – specifically, in the Seventh Doctor story Remembrance of the Daleks. It’s a rather effective moment, too: finding himself in a cellar with a Dalek ready to exterminate him, the Doctor hopes to escape it by running up the stairs. Of course, that isn’t enough this time, as you can see in the clip below…

More from Winter is Coming

• For All Mankind finally gives us information in Episode 405, “Goldilocks”
• Watch a stunning VFX breakdown of The Wheel of Time season 2
• Of course Steve Toussaint (Corlys Velaryon) thinks Eve Best (Rhaenys Targaryen) should rule Westeros
• Confirmed: The Last of Us season 2 will air in 2025
• Final season of Star Trek: Discovery will have “a lot of action, a lot of adventure, a lot of fun”

An iconic cliffhanger

Since this story was broadcast the year I was born, I don’t think I can even begin to imagine the impact that this moment had on fans at the time. After twenty-five years, the Daleks had crossed what had for the longest time been a clear and distinct boundary. Perhaps the fact that they had hover capability could have been inferred – after all, being able to conquer the universe and not being able to conquer stairs seems a little unlikely – but it had never been shown on screen before. The closest to it had been when Davros was shown to be clearly hovering in Revelation of the Daleks, and that had been their previous appearance just a couple of years previously.

Writer Ben Aaronovitch also made the smart move of saving this moment as the first episode’s cliffhanger. So not only did fans have their minds blown, but they had to wait a whole week to find out how the Doctor could escape from this nightmarish scenario. And it’s a pretty safe bet that out of everything in the serial’s opening episode, it was the cliffhanger that they talked about the most.

While the special effect of the Daleks’ hovering has since improved thanks to CGI, this moment will always remain absolutely iconic for Doctor Who fans. Along with Ace beating up a Dalek with a baseball bat and the much quieter discussion over a cup of tea, the first time a Dalek is ever seen to go upstairs stands out as one of the best moments from one of the best stories.

Did you manage to watch Remembrance of the Daleks on its original broadcast? What was your reaction to the Dalek going upstairs for the first time? Let us know in the comments below.