Doctor Who: 10 Most Unlikely Allies Of The Daleks

8. The Slyther

Ogrons Day of the Daleks
BBC

This lumbering tentacled creature was utilised as an attack dog by the Daleks in 1965's The Dalek Invasion of Earth, and it is often credited as being Doctor Who's 'first monster'.

Another native of Skaro, the Slyther was brought to Earth as part of the invasion force. The Dalek Supreme Controller treated it as a pet and used it to guard the Daleks' operations on Earth.

It was primarily based at the Bedfordshire mine site where the Daleks were tunnelling to the Earth's core in order to hollow it out and replace it with machinery. The bizarre end goal: to pilot the Earth as a spaceship.

Feasting on any slaves or surviving humans who were disobeying Dalek orders, this fearsome creature was eventually killed by a group of resistance fighters led by the First Doctor's companion Ian Chesterton.

In a deadly brawl, Ian managed to get the upper hand and strike it with a rock - sending it stumbling into a chasm to its death.

Due to the series' villains at that point mostly consisting of Daleks, historical antagonists and humanoid aliens, the Slyther is regularly regarded as being Doctor Who's first costumed monster. Where clunky, baggy monsters would become a norm in the series, the Slyther was the first of its kind in Doctor Who.

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Eden Luke McIntyre is a Scottish writer, editor and script consultant, with an MA in TV Fiction Writing. He writes content for TV, radio, stage, and online, and was appointed as a BBC Writers Room Scottish Voice in early 2020. Eden can usually be found rambling about Doctor Who, The Beatles, and obscure things that no one cares about.