The British Board of Film Classification has refused a PG certificate to the series because of torture techniques applied to the Time Lord’s mortal enemy.

Censors ruled that the sequence sets a bad example to children because it implies that the only way to resolve disputes is through force allied with cruelty. A spokesman for the board said: “However cross one might be with a Dalek, being cruel is not the way to deal with the issue. Some children might take it into the playground.”

Shops cannot sell the DVD to children under the age of 12. The same restriction applies to an episode featuring Victorian killer zombies, which attracted complaints from 100 parents after it was screened on BBC One. The BBC expects the Doctor Who DVDs to become an international hit and a wave of merchandise will hit stores before Christmas.

The first DVD, which includes another controversial episode, The Unquiet Dead, is to be released today. Fans will pay about £100 for the complete collection, including a Tardis-packaged boxed set.

Dalek will be released in June but the BBC will not cut the episode for children. It depicts the last Dalek in the universe imprisoned and chained by a billionaire, who tortures the creature with drills. The Doctor taunts the impotent Dalek, boasting that he has wiped out its race.

But he is also terrified and demands that the weakened Dalek be killed in his lust for revenge. The Dalek eventually kills itself after acquiring human traits.

These scenes set a bad example, censors ruled. A spokesman said: “We were concerned at the use of violence to resolve problems. The Doctor is a role model for young children but he takes out his anger on the Dalek. A good role model should not use torture to satisfy his desire for revenge. It is not an acceptable way to deal with problems of power. The DVD must not be supplied to anyone under the age of 12.”

The BBC has previously said that Doctor Who was not suitable for viewers under the age of eight, before changing its mind during the furore surrounding The Unquiet Dead. Censors said that the supernatural element of that episode, in which a coffin-bound dead woman strangles her grandson, would be “unsettling” for under-12s because the tone was darker than the Doctor’s traditional escapades. Under the board’s rating system, 12-rated DVDs are allowed “sustained, moderate threat and menace. Occasional gory moments only”. A PG is awarded to films and programmes that “should not disturb a child aged around eight or older”.

The return of Doctor Who has been a major hit for BBC One and obliterated its Saturday-night competition when it was launched two months ago. It has secured around 7.5 million viewers a week. ITV1 has pulled Celebrity Wrestling — its latest challenger — off screens after just four weeks.

The BBC is selling the new Doctor Who to international broadcasters and has signed up David Tennant to replace Christopher Eccleston next year.

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