sp; The BBCIt's news that many a Who-vian has been dreading. The BBC has confirmed the Daleks will not appear in its new "Doctor Who" series after a failure to agree terms. It seems that talks between the BBC and the estate of late sci-fi writer Terry Nation, who created the Daleks, broke down over issues of editorial control.

A BBC spokesperson said "After lengthy negotiations, the BBC and Terry Nation have been unable to reach an agreement on the terms of the use of the Daleks. The BBC offered the very best deal possible but ultimately we were not able to give the level of editorial influence that the Terry Nation estate wished to have".

Terry Nation's estate on the other hand, aside from saying they were "bitterly disappointed", accused the BBC of ignoring copyright laws and said the corporation was trying to "ruin the brand of the Daleks...We wanted the same level of control over the Daleks that we have enjoyed for the last 40 years".

There is a small sliver of hope - seems the estate would be willing to make a new deal if the BBC accepted the arrangement that had been in place for the last 40 years. However Davies and co. are already indicating though they are disappointed, they're continuing the show anyhow without the metal monsters as all indications were the Daleks role in the new series first season run would've been minimal anyhow.

Thanks to 'Julian' & 'James'