Designer of the Dr Who character the Dalek dies THE MAN who designed the daleks has died. Half a century ago, Ray Cusick transformed a brief description in a Doctor Who script into one of the most feared sci-fi villains of modern times, a killing machine that squawked "exterminate." "People say I was inspired by a pepper pot," he said in a documentary. I always think, if that's all it takes to become a designer then it's a doddle. In fact, he had invited a "special effects chap" to lunch, and used the pepper pot to show how the daleks should move with no visible means of support. It could just have easily been the salt cellar.