20 Cancelled Doctor Who Episodes You Need To Know About

Before arriving at The Next Doctor, RTD considered various storylines for the 2008 Christmas special, including one set in a deserted London.

This was inspired by the night he spent in the capital following the premiere for Torchwood Series 2. Walking around his hotel in the early hours, Davies was struck by how empty it felt, leading him to ponder: what if I was a dad who returned to his room to find his family gone?

This idea was revisited in 2009, by which time the dad character had evolved into a gran who’s gone away for Christmas with her family. Helen Mirren and Judi Dench were considered for the role, having (remarkably) both expressed interest in appearing in the show.

Meanwhile, the creatures responsible for the disappearance were set to be eight-legged, centaur-like aliens who have frozen Earth in a single second in order to stage a carnival.

The storyline was abandoned but elements of it ended up elsewhere – the notion of the Doctor teaming up with an older woman inspired Adelaide in The Waters of Mars, and the premise became the basis for The Sarah Jane Adventures story The Empty Planet.