Doctor Who: 10 Things You Didn't Know About The Toymaker
5. The Celestial Toymaker Was Almost A Regeneration Story
The Celestial Toymaker was the seventh serial in William Hartnell's final Doctor Who season. By this time, Hartnell's relationship with the new production team was strained, and his own health was failing. Producer John Wiles and script editor Donald Tosh considered replacing him with another actor.
In the original plan, the Toymaker would've changed the Doctor's appearance, facilitating the casting of a new lead. Something similar was done to cover Frazer Hines' absence in The Mind Robber, with the Second Doctor choosing the wrong facial features when reconstructing a cardboard Jamie.
57 years later and the Toymaker may well be responsible for the Thirteenth Doctor's change of appearance. Did the trickster give the Doctor their old face back? Will the Fourteenth Doctor's regeneration be triggered by the machinations of the Toymaker?
With a being of such cosmic power and a showrunner like Russell T Davies, anything is possible!