 The story was extensively rewritten by former story editor Donald Tosh and then, due to a budget shortfall, by Gerry Davis. However, Donald Tosh was unhappy with the rewrites and refused to be credited, while Gerry Davis could not take a credit because he was the show's Story Editor. As a result of this, Brian Hayles was the sole credited author on the final story, despite the fact that the final scripts bore little to no resemblance to what he originally wrote.
This was the first story produced by Innes Lloyd.
William Hartnell was on holiday during episodes two and three. Pre-recordings of his voice were heard in episode two and Albert Ward was a hand double for scenes where the mostly invisible Doctor played the Trilogic Game throughout the story.
William Hartnell almost left Doctor Who at this point, though not by choice - he was nearly forced out by the production team, until this was vetoed by the BBC; The Doctor would have become visible again (after sitting out an episode invisible) in the guise of another actor. Ultimately, however, this did not come to pass.
Carmen Silvera would return to Doctor Who to play Ruth in the 1974 Third Doctor story, "Invasion of the Dinosaurs". Carmen Silvera is more famous for her role as Edith Artois in the BBC comedy series Allo, Allo.
Michael Gough, who plays The Toymaker, was once married to actress Anneke Wills (who played later companion Polly Wright). He would return to the programme to play Time Lord Councillor Hedin in the Fifth Doctor story, "Arc of Infinity". He was also due to reprise his role as The Toymaker in a story called "The Nightmare Fair", which was to begin Season Twenty Three before the show was put on a hiatus by then BBC Controller Michael Grade. When the hiatus was over, all of the original stories for Season Twenty Three were dropped in favour of the 1986 The Trial of a Time Lord season-long series of stories. Michael Gough is now best known to international audiences as butler Alfred Pennyworth in the successful Batman film franchise.
The Toymaker also reappeared in the BBC Books The Past Doctors Stories novel "Divided Loyalties" by Gary Russell (which reveals that The Toymaker is of the Guardian alien race), and in Doctor Who Magazine's first Eighth Doctor comic strip "End Game".
"The Nightmare Fair" was later released in May 1989 as a novel under the same title. It is due to be released as an audio story by Big Finish Productions, featuring the original television cast.
Peter Stephens' portrayal of Cyril is very much in the style of the popular Billy Bunter character created by Frank Richards. This reportedly brought a complaint from Richards' representatives – prompting the BBC to transmit a voice-over announcement following the story's last episode disclaiming any intentional similarity between characters in the story and existing fictional characters.
Joey's use of a horn to communicate is reminiscent of Harpo Marx.
A picture of Clara the clown appears on Sarah Jane Smith's laptop in The Sarah Jane Adventures episode "The Day of the Clown".
Flashbacks to earlier Doctor Who episodes were employed for the first time. In this instance, scenes of Steven Taylor from "The Daleks' Master Plan" and "The Massacre of St. Bartholomew's Eve" appeared on the monitor in the toy robot's chest.
Gerry Davis' novelisation of the story was co-authored by his wife, television screenwriter Alison Bingeman.
Unfortunately only the final episode currently exists in the BBC Archives. All four episodes were reported missing from the BBC Film and Videotape Library following an audit in 1978. However, the fourth episode, "The Final Test", was returned, in February 1984, from ABC in Australia (although the print originally came from RTS in Singapore in or around 1974).
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The Firsts:
The first (and only) appearance in the show for The Toymaker played by Michael Gough.
The first Doctor Who story to be partially written by Brian Hayles.
The first Doctor Who story to be directed by Bill Sellars.
Innes Lloyd's first involvement in the show as Producer.
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(Position = 64 out of 159)
(Position = 151 out of 200)
