The Renegade Daleks were a faction of Daleks opposed to Davros and his faction of Imperial Daleks during the Imperial-Renegade Dalek Civil War. The Renegade Daleks remained loyal to the Black Supreme Dalek, based on the planet Skaro (TV: Revelation of the Daleks) which the Imperials would later take over. (COMIC: Emperor of the Daleks!, TV: Remembrance of the Daleks)
As well as fighting the Imperials for political reasons, the Renegades loathed the Imperials because, like the Imperials, they adhered to a xenophobic and racist ideology. Davros had altered his Daleks, physically fusing them into their shells and giving the mutants themselves bionics. The Renegades found this unacceptable and believed themselves superior which was proved when — despite being outnumbered — they defeated Imperial Daleks with ease during the battle at Foreman's yard, forcing the Imperials to call reinforcements in the form of the Special Weapons Dalek to swing the tide of the battle. (TV: Remembrance of the Daleks)
By the Shoreditch Incident, the Renegade Daleks were fragmented, with certain factions not engaged in the conflict with the Imperium. The Supreme Dalek at the time hoped to rally them by killing the Seventh Doctor. (PROSE: Remembrance of the Daleks)
Appearance
In stark contrast to the radical white-and-gold livery of the Imperial Daleks, the Renegade Daleks wore more traditional grey-and-black casings - albeit in a lighter shade of grey, with narrower base units and a white band running underneath the weapons platform's slats. (TV: Remembrance of the Daleks)
Technology
While the Imperial Daleks could hover and fly, the Renegades could only hover a short distance off the ground. (COMIC: Emperor of the Daleks!)
While the Imperials utilised time corridor technology for travelling through time, the Renegades used a compact Time Controller device. The Renegade faction also utilised a mental link that slaved a young, imaginative mind to both the Dalek battle computer and the Black Dalek. (TV: Remembrance of the Daleks)
The Special Weapons Dalek originally belonged to the Renegades, but later changed sides to the Imperials. (COMIC: Emperor of the Daleks!) The Renegades later created their own version of the Special Weapons Dalek. (PROSE: War of the Daleks)
History
A Renegade Dalek attacks. (TV: Remembrance of the Daleks)
The so-called "Renegade" Daleks were formed between the events that transpired on Necros (TV: Revelation of the Daleks) and the events in Shoreditch, (TV: Remembrance of the Daleks) but the war may have begun with the events of Davros' cryogenic revival. The Supreme Dalek ordered the destruction of Davros and the Daleks that serve him, and him with it, sparking a rivalry between Davros and the Daleks. (TV: Resurrection of the Daleks)
A Renegade Dalek ship with three Renegades defeated the Prototype Imperial Daleks on Necros and took Davros back to Skaro to stand trial. (TV: Revelation of the Daleks)
En route to Skaro, the ship carrying Davros crashed on the planet Lethe. Davros was rescued. He set himself up as "Professor Vaso", altering the perceptions of the humans on the colony so they would not recognise him as the "Great Healer". He attempted to create a new machine, a Juggernaut based on a Mechanoid design.
Lethe's atmosphere prevented the Supreme Dalek retrieving Davros directly, but its forces intercepted the Sixth Doctor's TARDIS, forcing him to serve as an agent of the Daleks and stop Davros' researches and manipulations. The Doctor discovered two of Davros' Necros Daleks had survived the crash, but were destroyed following Davros' final gambit on the colony and the Supreme Dalek's intervention. (AUDIO: The Juggernauts)
The Renegades declared war on the Imperial Daleks who were led by Davros, posing as a Dalek Emperor. Despite their greater battle experience, the Renegades appeared to be losing the war; they were driven off Skaro, which the Imperials had completely occupied.
Learning that the Hand of Omega was hidden on 20th century Earth, the Renegades and Imperials travelled back through time to 1963, each seeking to claim the Hand for their own. Having discovered that the Imperials had established a Transmat device in the basement of Coal Hill School, Shoreditch, the Supreme Dalek captured and brainwashed a young girl, using her both as the main component of the Renegades' battle computer, and as an "inside agent" at the school. During this time, one of the Renegades came into conflict with a human military group, which in turn drew the attention of the Seventh Doctor, who helped them to destroy it. The Renegades had already made contact with some members of "The Association", and formed an alliance with them, due to their mutual ideas of fascism, and falsely promising to help them "cleanse" Britain of foreigners in return for their assistance.
Through the girl, the Renegade Daleks managed to locate the Hand of Omega and bring it back to their base. The Imperial Daleks followed, and attacked the Renegades. During the battle, the Renegades' human allies, learning that they had been deceived, stole the Time Controller and fled, followed by the girl. The Supreme Dalek was the only member of the Renegades to survive the battle, but, upon learning from the Doctor that Skaro had been destroyed, initiated its self-destruct mechanism, at the same time releasing the girl from its control. (TV: Remembrance of the Daleks)
- For a more detailed account of these events, see Shoreditch Incident.
The Renegades survived this battle and began calling themselves Imperials. They were based on Skaro, with their leader, the Dalek Prime, claiming that the planet the Doctor had destroyed was actually Antalin. A civil war broke out within the Dalek ranks, and the last renegades were apparently wiped out, although at least one may have survived. (PROSE: War of the Daleks)
Some Renegade Daleks survived and were classed as insane and taken to the Dalek Asylum. The insane Daleks died when the asylum was destroyed by the Parliament of the Daleks. (TV: Asylum of the Daleks)
One Renegade Dalek ended up on Skaro, where its mission was to protect Davros until his death. (TV: The Magician's Apprentice) This Dalek (with the other Daleks) was destroyed by the rejuvenated Daleks in the sewers. (TV: The Witch's Familiar)
Alternate Universe
In one timeline, the original Daleks simply abandoned Skaro and Davros rather than try to kill him. These Daleks, which went on to carve out an interstellar empire, were called Renegade Daleks by Davros. (AUDIO: Masters of War)
Behind the scenes
Renegade Daleks are absent in the Main Range release The Curse of Davros, making it the first piece of Doctor Who media to feature Imperial Daleks without the Renegade Daleks.
