Last September, the terrific The Doctor Who Experience exhibit in Cardiff closed down, some five years after it opened. A few more details have now come to light about the deal that saw it arrive in Cardiff in the first place, and a clue as to why it closed down.

Basically: money.

The story at the time of its closure was that its lease was up, and the decision was made not to renew it. It turns out now, though, that Cardiff Council was subsidising the Experience, having originally loaned money to BBC Worldwide to bring it to the area in the first place. The deal, as reported by The Cardiffian, was that BBC Worldwide would then repay the council over five years via a share of ticket sales.

However, those ticket sales it seems didn’t quite add up, leaving a reported £1.147m outstanding on the loan. The council remains responsible for that money, having itself borrowed the original money from the Welsh government to give to BBC Worldwide in the first place.

The council was said to have overestimated the amount of money the Experience would bring in, and is now having in turn to borrow cash to repay the remainder of the loan.

The Council has said that “the council subsidised The Doctor Who Experience – but this was no longer sustainable as the Experience, which was operated by BBC Worldwide didn’t meet the financial targets that they set out in their business model”.

As for BBC Worldwide, it’s reaffirmed that there are no plans to take The Doctor Who Experience to another site elsewhere in the UK. Given the red ink on the Cardiff venture, that would seem to draw a line under the whole project’s chance of a future.

A full report can be read at The Cardiffian, here.