The final story of Season Fourteen, writer Robert Holmes and director David Maloney's The Talons of Weng-Chiang blends elements of Sherlock Holmes, Jack the Ripper, and The Phantom of the Opera into what is widely regarded as the greatest Doctor Who story ever made.

Set in 1890s London, the plot concerns two fugitives from the 51st Century: war criminal Magnus Greel, who manipulates stage magician Li H'Sen Chang into organising the search for his lost time machine; and pig-brained cyborg the Peking Homunculus, masquerading as Chang's ventriloquist dummy "Mr Sin" while awaiting opportunities for murder.

The costume designer on The Talons of Weng-Chiang was John Bloomfield, and he designed and constructed the Mr Sin masks for the story. The walking and talking version of Mr Sin was played by actor Deep Roy, with a "body double" dummy used in scenes where Mr Sin is inactive or has to be carried by other actors.

My new Mr Sin is made up of four components:

a facemask;
made of papier-mâché, painted, with a gold metal earring, hair glued on for the moustache and eyelashes, and translucent beads in place of eyes

a chinpiece;
made of papier-mâché, painted, with hair glued on for the beard

a wig;
plaited strips of hair stitched on to a net cap, with a large bunch at the crown, loosely hanging lengths of hair at the back, and a long ponytail tied with cloth

a headblock;
solid white polystyrene, carved to fit tightly inside the mask, with a round wooden section inserted into the base.