12:00pm Friday 15th April 2011
By Mike Wilkinson
Fantasy villains became heroes when they raised charity cash in Corsham on Saturday.
Daleks, Stormtroopers, Cybermen, Xenomorphs, Davros and Darth Vader were among the 75 wacky characters that made an appearance at the third annual Corsham Sci Fi Day.
More than 1,400 people piled into the Corsham Community Centre at the charity event which has this year raised more than £4,000 for the charities British Heart Foundation, Marie Curie Cancer Care, and PHAB in Chippenham.
Visitors were also treated to a guest appearance by Danny John-Jules, who played The Cat in the TV series Red Dwarf, who signed autographs and posed for pictures with fans.
Mr John-Jules said Red Dwarf would be making a comeback after its original cast agreed to start filming from November. It will air next year on digital TV channel Dave.
He said: “It is great to get out to the fans because at the end of the day it is them who have kept Red Dwarf on the TV. Corsham is a small town but you only need to see how many people have turned out to see just how big an influence sci fi has on people’s lives.”
Doctor Who lookalike Matt Holden, 28, from Ipswich, in Suffolk, said: “I started dressing up as the Doctor in 2008 after a very drunk girl came up to me to say that I looked like David Tennant. After a while I thought I would try it and it seemed to work. Now I’m going to these sorts of festivals week in, week out.”
Father-of-two Ajay Sloan, from Chippenham, was among the visitors with his wife Charlotte and sons Peter, five, and Oliver, three. She said: Mr Sloan said: “It is our first time here. Some of our friends live locally and recommended that we come down. I’ve got to say we are really impressed and our children have really enjoyed themselves.”
Christina Freeth, 18, travelled from Bristol with a tardis costume that she had created herself a day earlier. She said: “It is just a bit of fun. My friends had been here before so I thought I’d come too. I spent a day making a Doctor Who phone box from a cardboard box.”
Devizes sci fi author David Johnson also joined the event, signing advance copies of his latest book.
Wiltshire councillor for Corsham Alan Macrae said: “This event puts Corsham on the map for something very different.
“It is great for the kids because they get to see their heroes like Doctor Who and at the same time it raises a hell of a lot of money for charity.”
Organiser Matt Booker, who runs Automattic Comics, on Pickwick Road, said: “From young to old people were there and turned out in force. We were absolutely astounded at just how many we got through the doors.”
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