Doctor Who: 12 Cool Details Russell T Davies Just Revealed About New Earth & Gridlock

10. The Hospital Design Had To Be Approved By Lawyers

Doctor Who New Earth David Tennant
BBC/Twitter: @russelldavies63

Shortly after arriving on New Earth, the Doctor eyes up a nearby hospital, remarking that someone inside Ward 26 wants him to pay them a visit.

We don't actually see much of the hospital's exterior in the episode, but even so, those few brief glimpses we get of the majestic building were still quite tricky to implement - from a legal perspective, that is.

Davies tweeted that lawyers representing a "billowing-sail hotel" in Dubai actually got in touch with the Doctor Who team to ensure that the design of the New Earth hospital wasn't infringing on any copyrights.

Presumably, Davies is referring to the Burj Al Arab, which opened in 1999. And yes, it does look remarkably similar to the New Earth hospital. Thankfully though, Doctor Who passed this legal hurdle with flying colours!

Burj Al Arab hotel Dubai
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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.