Doctor Who/The Celestial Toymaker

The Celestial Toymaker
Season 3, Serial 7
Airdate	April 2, 1966
Production Number	Y
Written by	Brian Hayles
Directed by	Bill Sellars
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Doctor Who — Season Three

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The Celestial Toymaker is the seventh serial of the third season of Doctor Who, and the twenty-fourth serial overall.

The Celestial Toyroom: William Hartnell (Dr. Who), Jackie Lane (Dodo), Peter Purves (Steven), Michael Gough (The Toymaker), Campbell Singer (Joey), Carmen Silvera (Clara)

The Hall of Dolls: William Hartnell (Dr. Who), Jackie Lane (Dodo), Peter Purves (Steven), Michael Gough (The Toymaker), Carmen Silvera (The Queen of Hearts), Campbell Singer (The King of Hearts), Peter Stephens (Cyril), Reg Lever (The Fool), Beryl Braham, Ann Harrison, Delia Lindon (The Dancing Dolls)

The Dancing Floor: William Hartnell (Dr. Who), Michael Gough (The Toymaker), Peter Purves (Steven), Jackie Lane (Dodo), Beryl Braham, Ann Harrison, Delia Lindon (The Dancing Dolls), Campbell Singer (Sergeant Rugg), Carmen Silvera (Mrs. Wiggs), Peter Stephens (Cyril)

The Final Test: William Hartnell (Dr. Who), Jackie Lane (Dodo), Peter Purves (Steven), Michael Gough (The Toymaker), Peter Stephens (Cyril)

Trivia

The Show

• The fourth episode, "The Final Test", remains the only one from this serial to have been recovered. However, it is not technically complete, as it's missing the "Next Episode" caption.

• The 2024 animated version ends each of the first three episodes with the Toymaker's riddles before the closing credits.

• Despite being set up to become a recurring antagonist, the Toymaker would not return to the series until the 60th anniversary special "The Giggle" 57 years later.

Behind the Scenes

• Brian Hayles receives sole credit for the serial, even though it went through numerous rewrites and the final story bore virtually no resemblance to what he had originally written. This was due to then script editor Donald Tosh doing rewrites since Hayles was unavailable. As Tosh was set to depart from the show, he agreed with Hayles to take the writer's credit with Hayles being credited for the ida. However, when Gerry Davis became script editor, he was forced to make additional rewrites due to budget shortfalls, which led to Tosh refusing to be credited as he didn't approve of said changes and Davis was unable to receive credit due to being the current script editor.

• Ever since John Wiles took over as producer, he had endured an adversarial relationship with William Hartnell. He and Donald Tosh were also aware of Hartnell's declining health, which was robbing him of energy in the studio and impairing his ability to accurately recall his lines. Wiles and Tosh felt that the story's fantastical nature presented an opportunity to recast the Doctor, especially since it coincided with the expiry of Hartnell's contract. The serial had been structured so that the Doctor would be mute and mostly invisible for much of the narrative. It was suggested that, when he reappeared at the end of the story, he could be played by a different actor, who would then take over the series from Hartnell with lingering doubt being left in the minds of Steven and Dodo (and the viewers) as to whether this was really the Doctor or part of another of the Toymaker's ploys. However, this was vetoed by Wiles' superiors and Hartnell was subsequently given a contract extension.

• In "The Hall of Dolls", while deciding which of the seven chairs to choose, the King of Hearts recites a version of the children's counting rhyme "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe", which includes the "nigger" in the second line. The use of this word was still considered acceptable by the BBC at the time of the story's original 1966 broadcast. Although the rhyme is still present on BBC Audio's CD release of the story's soundtrack, it has been obscured by Purves's narration to correspond to modern views on the use of the word. On the 2024 DVD release, the audio track is briefly muted after the first line of the rhyme to remove the use of the word, both in the animated and photographic reconstructions.

• Hartnell was on holiday for the recording of "The Hall of Dolls" and "The Dancing Floor", so the Doctor's appearances during the Trilogic game scenes is limited to prerecorded dialogue for the former and a disembodied right hand portrayed by extra Albert Ward for both episodes.