Dalek comeback influenced by GM experiments

Doctor Who supremo Russell T Davies has outlined the contemporary influences behind the Daleks' latest return to our screens this weekend.

Davies, the executive producer of the show, told the Radio Times: "The key to it all... is that the Daleks were born out of a genetic experiment, and that makes them great geneticists. And in an age of GM crops and DNA experiments that strikes a chord with all of us. I think we're all slightly afraid of all that stem-cell research. It was time to put the Daleks back where they really belong - in that sphere."

He also explained to the listing magazine why the Daleks' use of genetically engineered 'Pig Men' as their slaves was fitting: "The Daleks do have problems with those suckers, bless them. There's a good tradition in Doctor Who of them having slaves to do their hands-on work. They had the Robomen in the 60s, Ogrons in the 70s, and I just wanted another version of that."

For comprehensive coverage of the new Doctor Who series, including a teaser preview of 'Daleks in Manhattan', click here.