10 Doctor Who Episodes That Had The Balls To GO THERE

Stepping into the domain of absolute cosmic horror disguised as a children’s game, The Celestial Toymaker sends the First Doctor, Steven and Dodo into a pocket dimension ruled by an omnipotent entity known as the Toymaker, one of the most surreal Doctor Who villains in the show's entire history.

This 1966 serial forces the Doctor’s companions to play lethal games of blind man’s buff and TARDIS hopscotch, while the Doctor himself is rendered invisible, playing a high-risk game of his own against the Toymaker.

The serial was a huge swing for the show at the time, removing the Doctor from much of the action and stripping away the familiar sci-fi safety nets to present a surreal, abstract nightmare that proves Doctor Who could cross into sheer, unadulterated fantasy whenever it felt like it. It's no wonder the Toymaker was brought back for the 60th anniversary.

The story's original ambitions were even more daring too. Due to William Hartnell's health issues and his strained relationship with the producers, it was originally conceived that the invisible Doctor would return with a different face, with a new actor cast to replace Hartnell!

This didn't happen of course, but it does mean that The Celestial Toymaker laid the foundations for the concept of regeneration, making it one of the most important stories in the show.