Doctor Who brought to life for visually impaired fans

The world of Doctor Who has been brought to life for blind and visually impaired people thanks to a fundraising campaign by a fan from Bradford.

Louis Moorhouse, 22, lost his sight as a child as a result of complications from cancer.

The lifelong Whovian raised nearly £25,000 for charity Living Paintings to help create tactile images and accompanying audio of the show's world.

Mr Moorhouse said it was "amazing" to know other fans would benefit.

The charity has created tactile and audio resources for blind and visually impaired children and young people to help them "create a picture in their mind and 'see' through touch," a spokesperson said.

Mr Moorhouse approached the organisation with the idea of creating a Doctor Who series in 2021 and thanks to his fundraising efforts, the charity was able to launch the guides.

"I've been a Doctor Who fan for as long as I can remember, but I've never fully met the weird and wonderful characters, aliens, monsters and devices until now," he said.

"In my own way, I'm able to see the Tardis, the Daleks, Cybermen and so much more. Knowing that this will benefit so many other fans, and maybe inspire new ones, is amazing."

The packs are free and include audio descriptions to help people guide their fingers over raised images of the show's iconic characters, props and sets.

The resources feature audio by actors Tom Baker, Sir Derek Jacobi and Katy Manning, as well as Nick Briggs who voiced the Daleks and Cybermen.

Liz Davies, publishing manager at Living Paintings, said it had been "an honour" to work with Mr Moorhouse on the project.

"Beyond his incredible work raising the funds to make the project happen, he's also been involved in the production process every step of the way," she said.

"His wealth of knowledge and infectious passion have been invaluable to us.

"What we've created together has been a labour of love and we're so incredibly proud to release it into the world during the show's 60th anniversary celebrations."

Further packs featuring more characters would be released next year, she said.

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