This rare Doctor Who prop sold for more than £5,000 (Picture: Chris Balcombe)

Who’s the dummy now? A grinning head used by children as a dressing-up toy turned out to be a rare Doctor Who alien – and has fetched £5,154 at auction.

The fibreglass prop featured in the 1971 adventure Terror Of The Autons.

Owners Tim and Chris Smith, from Luton, were given the object by their father who had received it from his manager.

Doctor Who has included many props over the years (Picture: BBC)

‘In the seventies, my father worked for Studio Transport, who moved kit for the film and television industry,’ said Tim, 45.


‘On the shelf above the manager’s desk sat the bizarre Auton head.

‘One day the boss told my dad, ‚ “You’ve got kids. Why don’t you have this and scare them with it”.’



Tim added he and his brother loved playing with the prop and had no idea it was worth so much.

The head was sold to an Australian buyer through an online auction.