This toilet’s proximity to two BBC studios has led to it being irrevocably linked to the TV series Doctor Who, as the programme’s creators originally intended the Tardis to be a toilet cubicle that the Doctor could use to teleport to any public convenience in the universe. However, BBC bosses decided that the opening sequence of a dandyish gentleman looking furtively over his shoulder before entering this public lavatory was not in keeping with the corporation’s image, so the Tardis was changed to the now-iconic police box.
The convenience did, however, feature in a 1970s episode of the show in which Tom Baker runs into it to escape from Davros, the despotic leader of the Daleks; Davros unwisely follows him, only to tumble down the stairs and fall out of his Dalek exterior. Seizing the moment, the Doctor grabs his helpless nemesis and holds his head in a toilet whilst repeatedly pulling the chain. After a few minutes of this Davros reluctantly agrees to cancel his planned invasion of earth and retreats in humiliation, but it was as a result of this that Davros redesigned the Daleks so they could negotiate staircases, something later cited by fans as a key moment in the show’s history.
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