10 Doctor Who Episodes That Were Banned Or Censored

10. The Empty Child

Doctor Who’s 2005 revival was a steep learning curve for everyone, from the rushed and chaotic production, to the level of scares and horror the show could get away with in the 21st century.

Both The Unquiet Dead and Dalek had been deemed scary and violent enough to earn a 12 rating from the BBFC, and a small degree of pearl-clutching in the tabloid press.

In those cases, the Doctor Who production team stuck to its guns and chose not to remove the offending material, preserving the episodes as broadcast. It was a different case for Steven Moffat’s The Empty Child however, which was deemed slightly too horrific for Saturday teatime.

Specifically, the scene where Richard Wilson’s Dr. Constantine transforms into a gas mask zombie was toned down in the lead-up to broadcast. Originally, the visuals of the unsettling transformation were accompanied by bone-cracking sound effects, but these were swiftly given the boot.

At the time, producer Phil Collinson said the sound was “too visceral” and so they removed it at the BBC's request. Though interestingly, Steven Moffat suggested on a DVD commentary that the sound effect was never supposed to be used in the first place.

Whatever the case, the scene is chilling enough as it is.