10 Doctor Who Moments That Broke The Fourth Wall

7. Happy Christmas! (The Daleks' Master Plan)

Doctor Who The Shakespeare Code witch
BBC Studios

Though it was Doctor Who's 2005 revival that made the show a Christmas Day staple for millions of fans, the Doctor himself had been celebrating this festive period for many decades prior.

In fact, the First Doctor loved Christmas so much, that he once decided to break the fourth wall to share some festive joy with the people watching him on the telly.

During the seventh episode of the 1965 - 1966 serial The Daleks' Master Plan, the Doctor forgets about all that Dalek mayhem and takes a moment to enjoy a Christmas toast with his friends. Turning to the camera, he then cheerfully states "Incidentally, a happy Christmas to all of you at home!" before the episode ends.

Because they knew this episode would be airing on Christmas Day, the BBC reportedly aimed to make it a bit lighter, a bit of a breezier watch for all the viewers who were stuffed full of turkey and booze.

This then led to the Christmassy ending, which, in turn, led to Hartnell's fourth wall break - one of the first (and most famous) in the show's long history.

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Danny has been with WhatCulture for almost nine years, and is currently Doctor Who Editor and WhoCulture Channel Manager, overseeing all of WhatCulture's Whoniverse coverage. He has been writing and video editing for 10+ years, and first got a taste for content creation after making his own Doctor Who trailers and uploading them to YouTube (they're admittedly a bit rusty by today's standards). If you need someone to recite every Doctor Who episode in order or to tell you about the making of 1988's Remembrance of the Daleks, Danny is the person to ask.