Doctor Who: 20 Things You Didn't Know About The Day Of The Doctor

7. The War Doctor's Regeneration Was Added At The Last Minute

Doctor Who Christopher Eccleston The Day of the Doctor
BBC Studios

The episode concludes with the War Doctor effectively shedding the guilt of the Time War and giving himself a new lease of life - quite literally - by regenerating into a brand-new form.

It's a crucial moment in Doctor Who history that shows us the previously unseen birth of the Ninth Doctor, but amazingly, it wasn't always part of Moffat's script.

In fact, he only added Hurt's regeneration at the last minute, at the same time he was writing The Night of the Doctor.

While it was disappointing that we didn't get to see War fully turn into Nine, it's always good to see a regeneration scene, and with Murray Gold's fantastic score and director Nick Hurran's sweeping aerial camera move, this was a solid one.

 
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Sometimes you hear my voice, sometimes you see my face and sometimes you read my words! But I’m usually away with the faeries and timelords! ?‍♀️

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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.