10 Notorious Doctor Who Urban Legends
2. The Contractual Obligation Of The Daleks
Barely a series of Doctor Who goes by without the Daleks making an appearance, whether in a small cameo, or as the main villain of a story.
Over the years, fans have attributed this constant use of the Daleks to one weirdly specific reason: namely, that the creatures are contractually obligated to appear in every single series of Doctor Who, due to some sort of agreement between the Terry Nation (the man who created the Daleks) estate, and the BBC.
But the thing is, whenever fans discuss this topic, nobody ever seems to be able to find a solid source, making the idea of the Daleks having some sort of annual contract feel like a classic case of internet Chinese whispers: somebody might've mentioned it as a joke 20 years ago, and since then, it's just been passed on, and passed on, and passed on some more, cementing itself within the fandom.
But on the other hand... it could also be true.
Let's look at some cold hard facts. The Daleks have not had their own main episode in every single series of the revived show: for example, in Series 6, they were reduced to a cameo appearance at the start of The Wedding Of River Song. And then, there's the fact that Steven Moffat once outright debunked the notion that the Daleks are contractually obligated to appear as frequently as they do.
Now, is Moffat going to publicly reveal some sort of private contract between the BBC and the Nation estate? Of course not. He could easily be lying, and maybe the Daleks - cameo or otherwise - simply must appear every so often.
Realistically, the only way we're going to get an answer here is if the Daleks disappear for a year or two. Until then, this particular urban legend will continue to persist.