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Our dad built us a real-life Tardis

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Looking inside the front room of the Williamses' home, you may be forgiven for thinking you had walked straight into a Doctor Who episode. The family have toys, gadgets and souvenirs from the hit sci-fi television series. But they also boast something very special - their ownT ardis. Every night while his two sons were asleep, dad Gareth crept outside into the cold, secretly working on the five foot replica.

The 34-year-old spent about 70 hours perfecting the Tardis to give Doctor Who fans Daniel, three, and Joshua, five, the best present ever.

Gareth, a self-employed kitchen fitter, of Whitchurch, Cardiff, said: "I spent many hours at 11pm on the driveway on my knees with blue fingers freezing to death. I had to wheel it out of the garage because there wasn't room inside to work on it. It was a bit bigger than I anticipated

"But it was a real labour of love, definitely worth it."

The Tardis was built as a home for the boys' Doctor Who toys, but the pair are too excited to keep it as a toy box.

Gareth said: "Most of the time the toys are dragged out and they travel into another dimension.

"They play in it from the time they get up to the time they go to bed."

Mum Elizabeth Garrido-Williams, 27, added: "For them, it's a playhouse, they're in and out of it. If Daniel had the chance he would sleep in it."

The boys were given their very own keys on a Doctor Who keyring to open up their Tardis and their parents even bought them a Doctor Who driving licence from the internet so they can "drive" it.

Gareth said: "I set up the Tardis the night before Christmas and turned on all the lights. Then when we went downstairs together in the morning their faces were a real picture. It was a joy to see."

Elizabeth, a legal cashier, said: "Gareth modelled it on a Tardis money box to get all the details right. It has the flashing lights on the top and he put a light and posters inside. Everything had to be perfect.

"We're all absolutely Doctor Who mad, especially Daniel. It's Doctor Who this and Doctor Who that. He's the Doctor and one day I'm Martha and the next I'm Rose.

"When they saw it they were ecstatic, they couldn't believe it."

Joshua, an Eglwys Wen Primary School pupil, said: "It's big and cool. My friends haven't got a look at it yet but I told them about it in school." Daniel is such a big fan, he has converted the nurseries at Eglwys Wen and Little Cherubs Day Nursery into Doctor Who zones. He said: "I play Doctor Who in the Tardis. "It's my favourite. I play in it every day."

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  • APA 6th ed.: Wright, Laura (2008-01-15). Our dad built us a real-life Tardis. South Wales Echo p. 3.
  • MLA 7th ed.: Wright, Laura. "Our dad built us a real-life Tardis." South Wales Echo [add city] 2008-01-15, 3. Print.
  • Chicago 15th ed.: Wright, Laura. "Our dad built us a real-life Tardis." South Wales Echo, edition, sec., 2008-01-15
  • Turabian: Wright, Laura. "Our dad built us a real-life Tardis." South Wales Echo, 2008-01-15, section, 3 edition.
  • Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Our dad built us a real-life Tardis | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Our_dad_built_us_a_real-life_Tardis | work=South Wales Echo | pages=3 | date=2008-01-15 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=29 March 2024 }}</ref>
  • Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Our dad built us a real-life Tardis | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Our_dad_built_us_a_real-life_Tardis | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=29 March 2024}}</ref>