The Cybermen are a fictional race of cyborgs principally portrayed in the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who. The Cybermen are a species of space-faring cyborgs who often forcefully and painfully convert human beings into more Cybermen in order to populate their ranks while also removing their emotions and personalities. They were conceived by writer Kit Pedler and story editor Gerry Davis, and first appeared in the 1966 Doctor Who serial The Tenth Planet.