Doctor Who’s robot dog K9 has been brought back to life by a Scots student.

Gary Taylor – a keen fan of the sci-fi series – came across the damaged, clapped-out shell of the robot in a university lab last September.

The computing science student rebuilt it into an “autonomous obstacle-avoiding mapping robot” controlled from his smartphone.

Gary, 25, who is a student at Abertay University in Dundee, said: “I love robotics, I love programming, I love dogs and I love Doctor Who.

“It’s a good mix of everything – it kept me really invested in the whole thing throughout the whole project.

“He had a lot of water damage from a roof leak so all the electrics in him had just fried. He was just a shell.”

K9 made its first appearance in Doctor Who in 1977, travelling across time and space in the Tardis. It was a companion to several Doctor Who’s, including Scot David Tennant.

The K9 model that Gary restored is believed to be an original from the show which the university bought during the 2011-2 academic year when around a dozen were sold off.

To rebuild it, the student wrote almost 15,000 lines of computing code and fitted out the robot with a gyroscope, ultrasound sensors and new boards, motors, shields and drives.

Gary added: “It all started just as an honours idea. It was pitched to me by a bunch of supervisors. As soon as I heard the idea, I was so keen to get on to it. I emailed the supervisor that day. saying, ‘I have got to do this’.|

The student, who is originally from Kirriemuir, said: “It was a lot of work. If it wasn’t for the university lecturers helping me and guiding me along the way, I’d be nowhere near finished.”

The restored K9 will be unveiled by Gary at Abertay’s Digital Graduate Show tomorrow.

The second episode of the video game Doctor Who Infinity will be The Orphans of The Polyoptra.

The new episode will be released together with the first episode, The Dalek Invasion of Time, when the game launches on PC and mobile this spring. Four additional stories are slated to launch in 2018, with more adventures to follow.

Designed by Tiny Rebel Games and Seed Studio, each adventure features its own unique cast, art style and author.

The Orphans of The Polyoptra – featuring the third Doctor – is narrated by Katy Manning, reprising her role as companion Jo Grant (or technically Jo Jones, since the character’s telling the story from the present day!).

Manning will also voice the story’s villain, the Zarbi Supremo! As Doctor Who classic series aficionados will know, the insectoid Zarbi first appeared in 1965 TV story ‘The Web Planet’, going up against the first Doctor (William Hartnell).

The Orphans of the Polyoptra is being written by Gary Russell, author of a number of Doctor Who novels and audio plays and former editor of Doctor Who Magazine.

The game’s art has been drawn by David Roach (inker of comic strips for Doctor Who Magazine) and coloured by Dylan Teague (Doctor Who Magazine, DC Comics).

You can preview the game here, via Steam.

As announced in March, The Dalek Invasion of Time will be the first episode on the Doctor Who Infinity platform.

That game is being narrated by Michelle Gomez, who reprises her role as Missy; Ingrid Oliver, who reprises her TV series role as Osgood; and Game of Thrones star Bella Ramsey, who voices a new villain character named Freya.

A DALEK that has roamed the streets of Portsmouth for years has made the transition across the harbour. Dalek Ray, as he was affectionately known as, was owned by replica puppet maker Duncan Willis, from Whiteley. The 60-year-old had not only built Dalek Ray, but taken him to a number of charity events across Portsmouth. But as Duncan looked to downsize his home and move further afield, he was forced to part ways with his alien friend.

Now though, Dalek Ray is safe and sound in his newfound home – at The Refill Centre in Stoke Road, Gosport. Duncan said: ‘I bought Dalek Ray back in 2010, and it took me 14 weeks to build.

‘I got his name after one of the people who originally designed the Daleks – I have watched Dr Who all my life and was hooked on the Daleks as soon as I saw them. ‘Since then, I’ve been fortunate enough to take him to loads of different charity events across Portsmouth and the surrounding area, like the Mad Hatter’s Party ADVERTISEMENT in Cosham.

‘Owning Dalek Ray and taking him round to all these events has been great fun.’ But as Duncan downsizes and moves to Wales, he had no choice but to find a new home for the Dr Who villain. He said: ‘From where I’m downsizing it was literally a choice between me and the Dalek. ‘It is a real shame to get rid of it, but I am very pleased to know that is has gone to a good home.

‘I am so pleased to know that the Dalek will be put to good use – Grahame told me that Dalek Ray will still be attending a lot of charity events, which I am very happy about. ‘To know that one of the scariest villains of all-time is doing good work puts a smile on my face.’ Grahame March from The Refill Centre said: ‘I saw the advert for it come up and thought it would look great here in the shop. ‘It has certainly attracted quite a bit of attention – a lot of people seem to be surprised to see a Dalek on the shop floor. ‘Some people have even made trips just to see the Dalek. I am glad I have it here.’

Grahame says that the Dalek fits the theme of his shop perfectly, and is a welcome addition to shop security after a man smashed his shop window in February this year. He said: ‘I’m not a huge fan of the show myself, but it fits right in with the geeky nature of the shop It’s definitely nice to have the shop’s security beefed up a little bit as well.’