The Celestial Toymaker

The Celestial Toymaker is the seventh serial of the third season of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who. Written by Brian Hayles and directed by Bill Sellars, it was broadcast on BBC1 in four weekly parts from 2 to 23 April 1966. In the serial, the First Doctor (William Hartnell) and his travelling companions Steven Taylor (Peter Purves) and Dodo Chaplet (Jackie Lane) are pitted against a powerful adversary called the Toymaker (Michael Gough), who separates them and forces them to play a series of games.

Hayles had submitted several story ideas to Doctor Who's production team before The Celestial Toymaker was accepted. Script editor Donald Tosh redeveloped the scripts at Hayles's approval to fit within the programme's budget and means; after he resigned from the BBC, the scripts were rewritten by his successor, Gerry Davis, which Tosh disapproved. The Celestial Toymaker was Innes Lloyd's first credited work as Doctor Who's producer. Hartnell was largely absent from the second and third episodes for a holiday; the production team considered replacing him with a different actor in his absence, but his contract was renewed. Filming took place at Riverside Studios from March to April 1966.

The Celestial Toymaker received an average of 8.3 million viewers across the four episodes, an increase from the preceding serials. Contemporary reviews were mixed, though retrospective reception was generally positive, with praise for the designs, surrealism, and Gough's performance. The serial's film prints and videotapes were wiped in the 1970s, though the fourth episode was recovered in 1984; the first three episodes remain missing. The Celestial Toymaker received print and audiobook adaptations, and was released on VHS and DVD with reconstructions of the missing episodes using off-air recordings; an animated version was also released on DVD and Blu-ray.