Doctor Who: 10 Things You Never Knew About Series 3 Of NuWho

4. Before There Was Blink...

...there was 'What I Did on My Christmas Holidays'. The classic Series 3 episode, which is widely regarded as the best Doctor-lite story episode of the bunch (although when it's up against the likes of Series 2's Love & Monsters, there isn't really much of a competition, is there?), was based on a short story which Steven Moffat had previously contributed to the 2006 Doctor Who Annual. The festive tale, presented as a homework essay, was told from the perspective of Sally Sparrow as a 12 year old girl who had encountered evidence of the Doctor's presence from the past, including messages under the wallpaper, during a visit to her aunt's house. It served as the foundation for Steven's critically acclaimed televisual adaptation and Sally communicating with the Doctor through the means of a pre-recorded videotape (it's called an 'ontological paradox', if you want to get technical) was one of several elements which survived the journey from page to screen. The character of Sally 'Companion Who Never Was' Sparrow was much older in the episode, however, as she was played by Carey Mulligan who has since gone onto appear in hit movies such as Drive, The Great Gatsby and Inside Llewyn Davis. This is probably as good a time as any to mention Andrew Garfield, too, who guest starred as Frank in the Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks two-parter before swinging into action as another New York resident for his titular role in The Amazing Spider-Man movies. Back to Blink, though, and a brand new creation for the episode was, of course, the Weeping Angels, as devised by the Grand Moff after he was spooked by an angel statue in a graveyard. They have since joined the ranks as one of Doctor Who's most iconic and universally feared adversaries with the Doctor's accompanying catchphrase "Don't blink" becoming one of the most iconic quotes in TV history. The episode also introduced us to the phrase "wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey" so fans have got a lot to thank it for, really. They're less grateful that it made them terrified of blinking, of course, but sometimes you've just got to take the good with the bad.