Following its move from London’s Earl’s Court, thousands of fans  who have pre-booked their flight in the TARDIS this weekend began descending on  the Doctor Who Experience today as it officially opened its doors to the public in Porth Teigr, Cardiff Bay. The first visitors to the attraction were met by some of Doctor Who’s most famous monsters: a Dalek, Cyberman, Silent and Silurian.

And one brave young local fan of the show, 8 year-old Elis James from Blackwood in Caerphilly, officially opened the attraction by cutting the red ribbon dressed as the Doctor, despite the menacing presence of a Dalek.

The Doctor Who Experience is the first ever interactive Doctor Who exhibition that invites visitors to star in their very own Doctor Who adventure. Arriving at the venue they step through a crack in time to become the Doctor’s companion, taking on the challenge of reuniting the Doctor with the TARDIS whilst fending off threats from some of his most fearsome foes.

What better way to celebrate such an event but with the appearance of a few interested parties from the BBC?

Philip Murphy, Managing Director of BBC Worldwide Live Events:

“The atmosphere here today is electric, both visitors and staff are thrilled to be at the launch of the Doctor Who Experience as it opens in its new long term home in Porth Teigr, Cardiff Bay. The city itself is almost an extension of the Experience as so many places will be familiar to fans of the series, it’s the perfect setting for the Experience.”

Cardiff Council Leader Heather Joyce:

“I am delighted that the Doctor Who Experience is opening its doors to the public on Friday. This is another world-class attraction for the city and will provide a great opportunity for families to come to Cardiff Bay and experience something very special indeed. Doctor Who is now synonymous with Cardiff and the council is very proud that it has been able to construct this building in Porth Teigr to house the Doctor Who Experience, offering fans of the show the opportunity to star in their very own adventure and to see up close many of the props, monsters and costumes from the show.  We wish BBC Worldwide every success with running this exciting venue.”

Mark Hallett is the Development Director for igloo, the team behind Porth Teigr:

“The opening of the Doctor Who Experience is a landmark moment for Porth Teigr, and is a fantastic example of successful public/private co-operation between igloo, BBC Worldwide, Cardiff Council and the Welsh Government.  We have been encouraged by increased footfall at Porth Teigr and an increase in commercial enquiries, and are excited about the benefits that the Doctor Who Experience will bring to the wider region in terms of visitor numbers, new jobs and investment.”

Regular readers will know that we’ve been following the migration from London to South Wales with interest – we’re going to have to find something else to do with our spare time from today!

The Doctor Who Experience celebrates the incredible heritage of the world’s longest-running sci-fi series with an incredible array of costumes, props and the opportunity to learn about the creative work behind the scenes. In the exhibition visitors are able to get up close to iconic Doctor Who sets including authentic TARDIS sets from the eras of David Tennant, Peter Davison and the current Doctor, Matt Smith and a full size replica of the Silence spaceship’s control room from the last series.