Doctor Who stamps mark 50 years of the Time Lord

GBH has designed a set of Doctor Who-themed stamps for the Royal Mail celebrating 50 years of the science fiction TV series.

GBH – which is rostered by the Royal Mail – won a three-way pitch in July 2011 and was asked to design the stamps and all supporting products including Presentation Pack, Prestige Stamp Book, First Class Definitive stamp sheet, and First Day Covers.

The set of 11 stamps features each actor to play the Time Lord set against graphics taken from opening credits and the relevant logo for the show.

William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton, the first two Doctors, are pictured in black and white to reflect the broadcasting of the time.

The stamps will be available in March when an additional five-stamp miniature sheet will also be released.

This will feature the Doctor’s time travelling machine The TARDIS and four of his most infamous enemies: a Dalek, an Odd, a Cyberman and a Weeping Angel.

Die-cut boarders on the minature sheet mean the characters break out from their stamp perforations when removed from the self-adhesive backing.

Jason Gregory, GBH co-creative director says, ‘The set communicates the constant visual evolution of the show and the ongoing regeneration of the Doctors into new and distinct personalities.’

A GBH team looked through the BBC archive at footage and stills to capture each Doctor ‘and great care was taken to remaster the selected source material across all of the products,’ according to Gregory, who says, ‘The main focus was always to represent the show as a whole and pay tribute to the extensive and diverse history of Doctor Who and his adventures’.

The design has been led by GBH co-creative director Mark Bonner, and designers Harry Edmonds and Dave Wood.

Meanwhile the Royal Mail has announced its stamp programme for 2013 showcasing the ‘best of British’ starting with designs celebrating the London Underground, which will be released this month.

Other sets will cover, Jane Austen, Doctor Who, Football Heroes, British Auto Legends, Merchant Navy, Christmas Stamps, and dinosaurs, (presumably British ones).

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