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A Doctor Who superfan has spent more than £30,000 building a full-size Tardis in his back garden.

Brendan Sheppard, 49, built the 1983 replica version of the Time Lord's control room with a group of craftsmen over two years - ensuring complete accuracy.

The massive 10m by 5m set now sits in a purpose-built studio outside his home in South Kyme, Lincolnshire, and has even opened for visitors to take their own trips through time and space.

Speaking about his very own Tardis upon completion, Mr Sheppard said: 'I was quite emotional - a bit teary-eyed.

'The sound, the look, being able to flick buttons. I was really overwhelmed and emotional.

'Joy is the theme that has run through this whole project. It's like bringing my childhood to life.'

First broadcast in 1963, Doctor Who follows an alien Time Lord travelling the universe in the Tardis – a time machine famously bigger on the inside and disguised as a blue police box.

Mr Sheppard first dreamed of owning the console after watching Tom Baker regenerate into Peter Davison in 1981.

Brendan Sheppard pictured outside the Tardis that he built in the back garden of his home in South Kyme, Lincolnshire

The police box door leads into a 10m by 5m Time Lord control set built over two years

Mr Sheppard smiles across the Time Lord's console he built with the help of a team of craftsmen

He later worked on the show's DVD range and commissioned a full-size police box from prop maker Simon Nash five years ago.

Together they plotted the ultimate fan build: the console room from 1983 special The Five Doctors, recreated with every detail.

Mr Sheppard moved to Lincolnshire for the garden space and rang Mr Nash in November 2024 to bring the plan out of the time vortex.

They consulted the original designer and BBC production staff, took exact measurements and found original panels and fibreglass moulds, before apprentice carpenters then helped create the walls and pillars.

Electronics specialist Darryl Harrison recreated the lights, controls and time rotor, spending three months studying old episodes frame by frame so everything flashed in the right sequence.

Mr Sheppard considered using the Tardis set as his office before deciding the creation worthy of Gallifrey was too special to keep hidden.

He said: 'I realised that I couldn't keep it to myself - I wanted to open it to the public.'

Visitors can enter through the police box for a 20-minute interactive adventure featuring Peter Davison, puzzles and familiar friends and enemies.

The 1983 replica set cost more than £30,000 to build and is now open to visitors

Doctor Who's famous robotic companion K9 pictured on Mr Sheppard's Tardis control room set

King Charles III and Queen Camilla wave to the crowd during the opening ceremony of the 2026 Commonwealth Games

The mission ends inside the console room, where would-be companions can play with the controls and imagine the Tardis in motion.

The £20 attraction opened at the beginning of July and is already sold out for this month and next, with bookings being taken for next year.

He continued: 'People are telling us it has been a childhood dream to walk through those doors. One guy was quite teary when he visited.'

Sophie Aldred, who played Ace alongside Sylvester McCoy's Seventh Doctor, officially opened it wearing her character's black bomber jacket.

Covered in badges and patches, it became the trademark look of the rebellious companion during the show's final classic-era adventures.

Mr Sheppard said: 'It meant so much to have the last Doctor Who companion who worked on that set see the finished product.'

He added that the build cost between £30,000 and £40,000, with the roundels and gleaming time rotor among its biggest expenses.

But one of the smallest details became its greatest foe: the curved door handle.

After even considering cutting up a basketball hoop, Brendan bought copper pipe from Screwfix and met a fellow Whovian who bent it into shape over a bollard.

'It was probably the simplest sounding thing that proved the hardest part,' he said.

Asked what his younger self would think, Belfast-born Mr Sheppard said: 'I think the younger me would have wet himself.

'You probably wouldn't see him for three days - he'd be in the Tardis.'

His creation has opened as Doctor Who prepares for another regeneration behind the scenes.

Showrunner Russell T Davies has left, the 2026 Christmas special has been scrapped and production is going out to tender.

Asked what he wants to see from the show next, Mr Sheppard joked: 'I'll take it on! I think Doctor Who will outlive us all.'

Mr Sheppard's Tardis is not the only police box to spring up across the UK this week.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla opened Thursday night's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in the Tardis.

The royals waved and looked out to the crowd before the sports event got underway the following day.