Derby Doctor Who fan builds TARDIS in their back garden

An 18-year-old Doctor Who fan has built a life-sized TARDIS in their back garden.

Willow Millard, of Allestree, Derby, has been building recreations of Doctor Who’s fictional time machine at their home since they were two years old.

They began work on the life-sized replica of the TARDIS with their grandmother, Diana, who died in 2021.

Like its on-screen likeness, Willow’s TARDIS is bigger on the inside than it appears on the outside.

Willow completed the TARDIS in their garage, in tribute to their late grandmother.

Willow said: “She was an inspiring woman. She built most of this with me. I always come in here to remember the times we had building and exploring.

“The Doctor often talks to the TARDIS and will interact with it and it’s like the TARDIS is alive.

“To me I feel like that’s very relatable because it’s as if she’s with me still through this.”

Willow built parts for the TARDIS out of scrap material and found items from charity shops, antique shops, and car boot sales.

Willow said the series had been a big part of their life since they were young.

“Doctor Who has meant the world to me for a very long time. I think that Doctor Who is all about imagination and rejecting all reason and having a sense of adventure and wonderment”, they said.

The 14th series is the first to feature the newest Doctor, Ncuti Gatwa.

“Ncuti is an incredible Doctor,” Willow said.

“I heard someone say that he’s a casting choice akin to Tom Baker and I think I would agree. He’s so charismatic and charming.”