10 Doctor Who Deleted Scenes That Should Have Been Left In
9. “You Don’t Like Christmas?!” (The Time Of The Doctor)
Frustratingly, few deleted scenes have been released from the Eleventh Doctor’s era – but we do have a short clip from his final story to enjoy.
The scene in question comes from the beginning of the episode, and takes place outside Clara’s block of flats (which, fact fans, was one of the locations used for Rose Tyler's home at the Powell Estate). It bridges the gap between Clara’s reunion with her “boyfriend” in the TARDIS, and the moment she introduces him to her family.
On the surface it’s pretty superfluous, offering nothing more than a few extra jokes about Clara’s Christmas dinner and the Doctor being naked. But on closer inspection, this scene has lots going for it.
For one thing, it contains the only reference to Christmas crackers in the first half of the story, laying the groundwork for the role they’ll play in the third act.
It also features some pretty impressive directorial flourishes, such as the unusually low opening shot, which frames Matt Smith’s sonic screwdriver flick against the sunny skies.
Above all, it’s a lovely moment between the Eleventh Doctor and Clara. Given how little time they spend together during the rest of the story, and how short their time in the TARDIS was overall, we can’t help but wish this had been left in.