10 Biggest Doctor Who Conspiracy Theories

Like many other classic Who creations, the copyright of the Daleks rests with the writer who invented them – in this case, Terry Nation. As such, the BBC isn't allowed to use the Daleks without the permission of the Terry Nation estate.

It’s well-known that this agreement caused problems in the early 2000s, and the Daleks very nearly didn't appear in the 2005 revival at all.

But due to their prominence in the years since, fans have speculated that an additional clause was added at that point, stating that the Daleks must show up at least once in every set of episodes (including festive specials and minisodes).

To give this conspiracy theory some credit, that has actually happened in every season (or season equivalent) so far, even when there hasn’t been a Dalek story.

The 2009 specials had a Dalek appearance in The Waters of Mars, Series 6's was in The Wedding of River Song, 2016's was in the Bill Potts introduction video Friend from the Future, and the 60th anniversary specials had Destination: Skaro. 2024 hasn’t had anything yet, but there’s still plenty of time.

RTD and Moffat have both gone on record to say that this Dalek agreement isn't real. But then again, why would they confirm the details of a confidential contract?

Basically, if a Dalek pops up in Joy to the World, we won't fall out of our chairs.