Change the channel like a true Time Lord: Doctor Who's Sonic Screwdriver becomes reality as a TV remote (just in time for the new series)

Doctor Who is back this Saturday - and if you are quick (or have access to a suitable Tardis), you might just be able to change the channel to BBC1 like a true Time Lord.

For the Doctor's faithful Sonic Screwdriver, which can operate on pretty much any object in the Universe except wood, is now available to the humans of Earth, in the form of a humble television remote.

The device, which started life as a Dragon's Den product - eschews boring buttons for gestures, allowing you to swipe, jab and point at your television - presumably while muttering about jelly babies or shouting 'Geronimo!'

Doctor Who's faithful Sonic Screwdriver - a science-fiction gizmo which the time-travelling  doctor uses as a lock pick, a medical scanner and even a weapon- has become reality

Doctor Who's faithful Sonic Screwdriver - a science-fiction gizmo which the time-travelling doctor uses as a lock pick, a medical scanner and even a weapon- has become reality

Chris Barnardo from Lindsell, in Essex, appeared on Dragon's Den and - with a £200,000 investment - brought the Sonic Screwdriver to life

Chris Barnardo from Lindsell, in Essex, appeared on Dragon's Den and - with a £200,000 investment - brought the Sonic Screwdriver to life

Matt Smith, AKA The Doctor, using the real Sonic Screwdriver

Matt Smith, AKA The Doctor, using the real Sonic Screwdriver

The Sonic, which is based on the 11th Doctor's design (because, like the Doctor, there have been many incarnations of the screwdriver), can learn up to 37 commands.

To program it, all you need do is point your old remote at the Sonic, tell it to learn the command, and then assign it an action - such as jabbing the Sonic forward to turn the television on (or off, if you happen to be behind the sofa), or swishing it in the air to turn the volume up.

It can be programmed to control TVs, stereos, iPod docks, DVD players - and any other appliance which uses a remote control.

The life-like screwdriver, which also plays 13 different sounds from the Doctor Who Universe, is already predicted to be among to top toys requested by families this Christmas.

Doctor Who: Asylum of the Daleks is on the BBC this Saturday, and kicks off a brand-new run of Doctor Who, culminating in the 50th anniversary next year

Doctor Who: Asylum of the Daleks is on the BBC this Saturday, and kicks off a brand-new run of Doctor Who, culminating in the 50th anniversary next year

Full on: Any Time Lord worth his salt will have to read the documentation

Full on: Any Time Lord worth his salt will have to read the documentation

The remote started life as Dragon's Den investment.

Entrepreneurs Chris Barnardo and Richard Blakesley accepted a £200,000 offer from tough-talking Duncan Bannatyne for their Kymera Wand on the hit show Dragon’s Den in 2010.

The Dragons offered a combined total of £900,000 but Chris and Richard, from Bishop’s Stortford, accepted £200,000 from Bannatyne - the largest deal made by one Dragon in 57 episodes.

After success with the nifty gadget’s success the pair’s Wand Company Ltd was approached by the BBC and challenged to create a real, working sonic screwdriver.

The Sonic Screwdriver has been a faithful companion to the doctor ever since Patrick Troughton, the Second Doctor, first produced it from his jacket.

Nick Robatto, who made the original prop for the hit BBC sci-fi TV series, claimed the latest toy is a 95 per cent accurate replica of the original device.

The BBC show Doctor Who, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year, will launch the seventh series on Saturday at 7:20pm.

The Sonic Screwdriver Universal Remote will be launched in the UK and America the same day.

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