Why are the Daleks so scary?

Generations of viewers have been scared of the Daleks since they made their on-screen debut in Doctor Who in 1963.

Now, Cambridge University academic Dr Robin Bunce has attempted to answer the question of why the Daleks are so scary.

Bunce explains: "The reason the Daleks are evil is because we recognise that they were once better. They are the nightmare future we dread."

"According to their back story, once they were capable of genuine emotion and real moral good.

"Now they are sexless, heartless brains, shut up in machines incapable of intimacy, who have forgotten what it means to laugh and no longer think of themselves as individuals.

"We recognise the Daleks as evil because they have lost all that we hold most dear."

In 2007, they were voted Doctor Who's scariest villains in a poll of 21,000 fans. The Daleks have made regular appearances in Doctor Who over the last 48 years and were last seen in the 2010 series opposite Matt Smith's Doctor.

(Source: Press Association)