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The dastardly Daleks will be invading Buckingham Palace next week at a reception to mark the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who.

Doctors past and present will join the Countess of Wessex at the Queen's London home for a special celebration of the BBC's long-running hit science fiction show.

The Time Lord's TARDIS will also journey to the royal residence, alongside other props such as costumes worn by the Doctors and a Dalek, the Doctor's arch enemy.

The BBC's Director General Lord Hall will join former Doctors' assistants, programme writers and members of the production team in the Bow Room of the Palace for the reception on Monday 18 November.

The series celebrates its 50th birthday later this month with TV drama An Adventure In Space And Time, followed by an anniversary episode on November 23 called The Day of the Doctor with the current Doctor, Matt Smith, as well as his predecessor David Tennant.

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Naturally, the 50th anniversary episode will pay homage to the show's history. From more recent times, Tenth Doctor David Tennant and his companion Billie Piper will return alongside departing Eleventh Doctor Matt Smith.

Smith's stint as the Time Lord ends this year when he will be replaced by Peter Capaldi.

The Countess will also meet young competition winners from two schools in South Wales where scenes from the 50th episode were filmed. The children will show Sophie their winning drawings of "The Queen's TARDIS".

Doctor Who holds the Guinness World Record for the longest running science fiction series in the world. It began on 23 November 1963, starring William Hartnell as the Doctor and there have been 11 Doctors to date.