RIP Ray Cusick: DALEK Co-creator

Whilst it was Terry Nation who created the DALEKS for the BBC show, Doctor Who, it was Ray Cusick who came up with the iconic design. Mr Cusick died peacefully in his sleep last Thursday.

As Cusick was a BBC employee at the time he designed the Daleks, he was on a salary and not paid royalties. Given the large revenue generated by merchandise featuring Cusick's Dalek design, some feel that he should have been paid a royalty (as was script writer Terry Nation, who created the concept of the Daleks but not their design or appearance), but this was not in the terms of his contract. When Cusick left Doctor Who in 1966, unhappy with the lack of recognition he had received for his work on the series, the show's producer and head designer did arrange for the BBC to recognise his contribution with an ex-gratia payment of around GBP ₤100 (around ₤80 after tax) and a gold Blue Peter badge.