‘I asked my wife if I was allowed to’: Doctor Who TARDIS replica built in Brisbane yard

The TARDIS from Doctor Who is one the most well-known references in pop culture, and a replica of the mystical blue box has been built in Brisbane’s southwest.

An icon of British television has landed at a Brisbane home, with a replica of Doctor Who’s TARDIS now taking pride of place in the yard in the city’s southwest.

The famous blue box has been a central part of the Doctor’s adventures over the years, and building his own version at his Graceville home was a labour of love for Who fan Derek Forbes.

“I built a red English telephone box in 2016 which was placed in front of our house and is used as a street library,” Mr Forbes said.

“I used plans from the internet and saw that they also had plans of a TARDIS and I thought it would be cool to make as well. I asked my wife if I was allowed to and she said no, it’d make our house look like a theme park.

“Channel 7 interviewed us when they were doing a story about street libraries and the owners of Spicers Retreats saw the interview and got in contact and asked, ‘oh do you want to make a Tardis for us to go in one of our hotels?’

Derek Forbes has built a Doctor Who TARDIS at his Graceville home. Picture: Brad Fleet

“Initially I said no as I knew it was a lot of work.”

Mr Forbes started working on the TARDIS in August last year, and 400 hours of labour later, the famous blue box now stands outside his house.

In Doctor Who, the TARDIS is known for being bigger on the inside than what it appears, and the same can be said for Mr Forbes’ replica.

“Spicers asked me to put like theme park mirrors on the inside walls… so when you walk inside of it, it looks bigger on the inside than on the outside just like Doctor Who’s TARDIS does,” he said.

While his daughter is “deeply embarrassed” by the TARDIS, neighbours seem intrigued.

“People in our street stop and look at it because I’ve been building it in the front yard basically, so people have been watching its progress with interest.

“There’s a couple of little kids who come around almost every Saturday to look at it.”