Spectral figures are appearing all over the world, leading many to believe that they're the ghosts of the dead. Suspicious, the Doctor follows their trail to the London headquarters of the enigmatic Torchwood Institute. Led by Yvonne Hartman, Torchwood's remit is to deal remorselessly with alien incursions on British soil. But Torchwood itself has been infiltrated by the Cybermen, who have established a bridgehead between dimensions using the breach caused by a Gallifreyan Void Ship. The Void Ship is now hidden at the top of Torchwood Tower -- and concealed aboard is something even more terrible...

By the end of 1967, the Daleks and the Cybermen had cemented their status as the most prominent members of Doctor Who's carnival of monsters. On December 5th, an approach was made to Dalek creator Terry Nation to see if he was amenable to an adventure in which the two races would appear together. However, Nation hastily vetoed the concept; the Cyberman serial The Wheel In Space was made in its place. Indeed, during the twentieth century, only one story -- the 1983 anniversary special The Five Doctors -- included active roles for both the Daleks and the Cybermen and, in that instance, they did not even meet.

Almost forty years after that first, abortive attempt to pair the Daleks and the Cybermen, the notion was resurrected by Doctor Who executive producer Russell T Davies. In early 2005, he began planning for Season Twenty-Eight, and he knew that the final adventure would have to raise the stakes beyond the large-scale Dalek invasion which had drawn the twenty-seventh season to a close in Bad Wolf / The Parting Of The Ways. Davies already intended to resurrect the Cybermen, and he felt that a confrontation between the two iconic monsters would fit the bill perfectly.

It would take a calamity of cosmic proportions for audiences to accept the separation of Rose from the Doctor

Such an epic conflict would also provide a suitable backdrop for the exit of companion Rose Tyler, made necessary by Billie Piper's decision early in 2005 to leave Doctor Who after her second season. The mid-year adventure Rise Of The Cybermen / The Age Of Steel would plant the seeds for Rose's departure, introducing not only the new Cybermen but also the alternate Earth from which they hailed. Davies had concluded that it would take a calamity of cosmic proportions for audiences to accept the separation of Rose from the Doctor, since killing her off would be antithetical to the spirit of Doctor Who. As such, she would instead become trapped in a parallel universe, to which the Doctor could never return.

The two-part story which would write Rose out of Doctor Who would be scripted by Davies himself, and was initially called Army Of Ghosts. A crucial element of the adventure was the Torchwood Institute, the mysterious organisation which had first been mentioned in Bad Wolf. The name itself was an anagram of “Doctor Who” originally created to camouflage videotapes of upcoming episodes. Davies decided to use Torchwood as the linking element of the 2006 season, serving much the same function as the words “Bad Wolf” in 2005. Torchwood was seen in action in The Christmas Invasion; was referenced on Mickey's computer in School Reunion; appeared on Rose's mobile phone and was mentioned in conversation by Pete Tyler in Rise Of The Cybermen; was namedropped by the policemen in The Idiot's Lantern and by Victor Kennedy in Love & Monsters; was the agency responsible for the mission to the black hole in The Impossible Planet / The Satan Pit (by which time it was known as the Torchwood Archive); and was identified in a television broadcast during Fear Her. Most notably, Tooth And Claw depicted Queen Victoria's decision to create the Torchwood Institute in 1879.

Davies originally intended Torchwood to have its headquarters in Cardiff, on the time rift which had been introduced in 2005's The Unquiet Dead. When a Torchwood spin-off series was commissioned in mid-2005, however, he took the opportunity to base it in Cardiff, with the action of Army Of Ghosts instead shifting to Canary Wharf in London. The head of Torchwood, Yvonne Hartman, was based on a woman of Davies' acquaintance who boasted about her interpersonal skills in spite of her complete lack of empathy. The character's name referred to Yvonne Hartley, a character in Marc Platt's 2002 Fifth Doctor audio play Spare Parts from Big Finish Productions, which had helped inspire Rise Of The Cybermen / The Age Of Steel. Davies briefly considered calling the two episodes “Torchwood Rises” and “Torchwood Falls”, but the first installment later reverted to Army Of Ghosts while the season finale became Doomsday.

One expensive sequence removed from the script for Doomsday involved the Doctor and Rose in the Jathaa Sun Glider

One expensive sequence removed from the script for Doomsday at the development stage involved the Doctor and Rose ascending to the top of Torchwood Tower in the Jathaa Sun Glider -- described as a “space canoe” -- which had been mentioned in Army Of Ghosts. It was replaced with the much simpler action of Jake summoning them into a lift. The notion of the Genesis Ark needing to be activated by a time traveller was devised to give the Daleks a reason to keep Rose and Mickey alive for so long at the start of Doomsday. Davies also thought that it provided an implicit motive for the Daleks to emerge in twenty-first-century London, since it was a likely time and place to find the Doctor or one of his associates. He decided against stating this outright, however, since it would pile too much grief upon the Doctor in what was already a tragic story, implicating him in the many deaths.

A key point of debate regarding the script for Doomsday was the climactic moment in which Rose was saved from plunging into the Void. Davies and fellow executive producer Julie Gardner felt that her rescuer should be Pete, since this would emphasise his acceptance of Rose as his surrogate daughter. However, some thought was given to assigning the role to Mickey, a position unsuccessfully championed by producer Phil Collinson and actor Noel Clarke.

In an intentional break with tradition, the four Daleks of the Cult of Skaro were given the names Sec, Thay, Caan and Rabe; the latter was amended to Jast at a very late stage because it was felt to sound too much like “Ray”. As written, all four were standard bronze Daleks. It was production designer Edward Thomas who encouraged the application of a black livery for Sec, recalling other Black Daleks in positions of command dating back to 1964's The Dalek Invasion Of Earth. This role wound up being played by the original Dalek casing from 2005's Dalek, suitably repainted. Thay and Rabe were the additional Daleks built for Bad Wolf / The Parting Of The Ways, while Caan was a new construction. Meanwhile, Davies also indicated that the Cyber Leaders should have black handles on their helmets -- another design element which was in keeping with Doctor Who tradition.

For Clarke and Shaun Dingwall (Pete Tyler), the making of Doomsday would be the culmination of their on-screen association with Doctor Who. To ensure their availability, it was decided that both episodes would go into production alongside the year's other Cyberman story, Rise Of The Cybermen / The Age Of Steel, in which both actors also appeared. Directed by Graeme Harper, this epic recording block would be the season's third, and the longest attempted since Doctor Who's revival. Cast as Adeola was Freema Agyeman, who had previously auditioned to play Sally in The Christmas Invasion. Despite losing that role to another actress, Agyeman had made an impression on the production team, who had kept her in mind for subsequent opportunities.

The existence of the final pages of Doomsday was carefully kept secret from most of the cast and crew

Davies completed his first draft of the serial on September 27th. From that stage, and right on through to the end of production, even the existence of the final pages was carefully kept secret from most of the cast and crew. As far as they were concerned, Doomsday ended as the Doctor walked away from the Torchwood lever room. The remainder of the script was distributed only to the most essential personnel, in the hope of safeguarding the contents of both the final conversation on Bad Wolf Beach and the cliffhanger ending, which would lead into the 2006 Christmas special, The Runaway Bride.

On November 1st, cast and crew travelled to London, initially recording scenes for Rise Of The Cybermen / The Age Of Steel. Their attention turned to Army Of Ghosts / Doomsday the next day, with the Brandon Estate in Kennington posing as the Powell Estate for the last time. Shots of Westminster Bridge were also taken on the 2nd. On November 16th, the interview with purported psychic Derek Acorah, the host of Most Haunted, was recorded at Tredegar House in Newport, while the material involving the police commissioner was taped at the regular Doctor Who studio space of Unit Q2, also in Newport. The Tyler estate on the parallel Earth was actually Coedarhydyglyn, a private residence in St Nicholas. Shooting there took place on the 21st, and also included the “Ectoshine” advertisement.

Meanwhile, Davies had been contemplating the further adventures of Rose Tyler. He wanted to establish that her exploits continued on the parallel Earth, where she became a part of that world's version of Torchwood. The day after finishing the script for Doomsday, Davies suggested to Gardner that they should develop a ninety-minute telefilm, which came to be called Rose Tyler: Earth Defence. BBC Drama commissioned the project and assigned it a substantial budget, with a planned airdate on the May Bank Holiday in 2007. If it was successful, consideration was already being given to a subsequent spin-off series. By late November, however, Davies had become convinced that Rose Tyler: Earth Defence would undercut the drama of Rose's separation from the Doctor. With forthcoming Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures spin-off series, plus the factual Doctor Who Confidential and Totally Doctor Who strands, he was also concerned about over-saturating the television market with Doctor Who-related content. Rose Tyler: Earth Defence was cancelled; Piper had never formally committed to it. All the same, Davies began to contemplate other avenues by which Rose Tyler might be seen again...

Army Of Ghosts / Doomsday became the principal focus of the production block beginning on November 29th; this was the start of four consecutive days at Unit Q2, running through December 2nd, during which Harper concentrated on material in and around the Sphere Chamber. On December 6th, the Tyler family drove through rural Norway at Heol Spencer in Bryncethin. The next day, the nearby Brackla Bunkers in Bridgend played host to various Torchwood corridor scenes. December 8th and 9th saw the start of work on the Torchwood Tower lever room set at Unit Q2. Agyeman made her debut on the second day, and the production team quickly recognised that she had the potential to succeed Piper as the Doctor's companion. On December 10th, street scenes -- situated in both England and Japan -- were completed at Mount Stuart Square in Cardiff. Further work in the lever room then took place at Unit Q2 from the 12th to the 15th.

The Doctor Who team's first day back to work after the Christmas holidays was January 3rd, 2006. Harper began the year by completing the lever room material at Unit Q2, running through to the 5th. Also taped on the 4th was the Ghostwatch material with television presenter Alistair Appleton. January 6th was spent at HTV Wales Studios in Cardiff, to film scenes in the disused Torchwood Tower corridor. Shots of Londoners being attacked by the airborne Daleks was captured at Mount Stuart Square on the 7th.

January 9th, 10th and 13th found Harper's team at RAF St Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan, recording scenes in the Torchwood hangar alongside green screen work for Rose being sucked into the Void. In between, on the 12th, additional material set around the Powell Estate was recorded at Canal Park in Cardiff. Elements of the conflict between the Cybermen and the British military were filmed on January 15th at the Cardiff Docks. The same day, further sequences in the Torchwood Tower corridors were captured at the Capitol Arcade in Cardiff.

On January 16th, Southerndown Beach was the location of Darlig Ulv Stranden: Bad Wolf Bay

On January 16th, only essential crew made the journey to Southerndown Beach, at Southerndown in Ogmore Vale. In addition to posing as the alien planet seen in the opening flashbacks of Army Of Ghosts, this was also the location of Darlig Ulv Stranden: Bad Wolf Bay. Although Piper still had five episodes left to film, it was nonetheless a highly emotional shoot, made even more so by the fact that this was the last day of recording for both Clarke and Dingwall. Two days at Unit Q2 followed on January 17th and 18th, with the first day emphasising TARDIS scenes while the second day involved material in the Tylers' flat, plus pick-up shots covering various areas of Torchwood Tower. Work on the 19th began with filming at a residence on Broadstairs Road in Cardiff for the sequences involving the Cybermen terrorising a family, and concluded with the flashback to seventeen-year-old Rose on the bus, recorded at The Hayes in Cardiff. January 20th was spent back at Unit Q2 for various effects shots and inserts.

The clip from Trisha, a talk show hosted by Trisha Goddard since 1998, was taped on January 27th at Teddington Studios in Teddington, London following a regular installment of the programme. Barbara Windsor subsequently filmed a faux EastEnders scene for Army Of Ghosts, in character as Peggy Mitchell, at the BBC Elstree Centre in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire. More inserts were recorded at Unit Q2 on March 9th.

Meanwhile, on February 15th, Agyeman had indeed been cast as new companion Martha Jones. However, Davies wanted to hold off introducing the character until the start of the 2007 season. Instead, The Runaway Bride would pair the Doctor with a one-off character -- at this point known only as the Bride -- who would be played by a well-known actress. This role eventually went to comedienne Catherine Tate. Davies was adamant that her casting should come as a complete surprise to the audience, and so not even Harper was informed of the content of Doomsday's final scene until the last possible minute. It was recorded on March 31st at Unit Q2, again with a skeleton crew, while the Doctor Who wrap party was getting under way. The Bride's introduction would be the last work on the programme at the Newport facility; after the break between seasons, Doctor Who would be relocating to a dedicated studio home at Upper Boat, near Pontypridd.

For his final TARDISodes of the year, writer Gareth Roberts initially wanted to profiles of the Doctor and Rose to accompany Army Of Ghosts and Doomsday, respectively. The former would have consisted of clips from a Torchwood training video, while the latter was to involve Jackie discussing her daughter. Roberts' first idea for the Doomsday TARDISode culminated with the Doctor laying flowers at what are revealed to be Rose's and Jackie's graves; later, he conceived the notion of having the TARDISode take the form of a dating service advertisement, with the man watching it ultimately attacked by a Cyberman.

On April 11th, the last filming for Season 28 took place at Enfys Television Studios in Cardiff

In the end, however, the fifty-eight-second TARDISode for Army Of Ghosts featured a reporter delving into the history of Torchwood, only to be betrayed by his editor and committed to an asylum. Its Doomsday counterpart, also fifty-eight seconds long, showed a news anchor reporting on the Cyberman invasion, climaxing with a Dalek attack on her studio. Both TARDISodes were recorded on April 8th at BBC Broadcasting House in Cardiff. Three days later, on April 11th, the last filming for Season Twenty-Eight took place at Enfys Television Studios in Cardiff, and included a variety of pick-up shots for Army Of Ghosts / Doomsday.

Sadly, one of the season finale's big surprises was effectively spoiled at the BAFTA Awards on May 7th. The organisers had arranged for the involvement of two Daleks in the proceedings, including one which would burst onto the stage as Davies, Gardner and Collinson accepted Doctor Who's trophy for Best Drama Series. To the three producers' horror, however, it was not a bronze Dalek which emerged to greet them as expected, but instead the black-liveried casing -- telegraphing the fact that the Daleks would be returning during the 2006 season. On June 15th, another of the story's twists was revealed -- this time, intentionally -- when the BBC ended months of speculation by confirming that Piper would indeed be leaving Doctor Who.

Astonishingly, both Army Of Ghosts and Doomsday were accorded covers of the Radio Times. Indeed, the finale was even promoted with the choice of two images -- Daleks or Cybermen -- each with a football theme to tie in with the broadcast of the 2006 World Cup. This brought to an astounding four the number of episodes granted Radio Times covers during the 2006 season, following the premiere, New Earth, and Rise Of The Cybermen.

As usual, the TARDISodes for Army Of Ghosts / Doomsday were available one week prior to the episode they prefaced. With football dominating broadcast television, Army Of Ghosts led into an unusually weak schedule on July 1st, in the form of the 2002 adaptation of The Hound Of The Baskervilles -- the BBC effectively conceding that most of the Doctor Who audience would be switching over to ITV for a World Cup semi-final between Brazil and France. Then, on July 8th, Season Twenty-Eight drew to a close as Doomsday was positioned between the charity competition Only Fools On Horses and the World Cup third-place match between Germany and Portugal. Doctor Who's timeslot would next be occupied on a regular basis by the reality programme How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?; a familiar face amongst its judging panel was John Barrowman, who had played Captain Jack Harkness during Season Twenty-Seven.

The Doctor Who revival's sophomore year had managed to maintain the popularity of its inaugural season, despite the fact that the entire regular and recurring cast introduced in Rose had departed by the time the credits rolled on Doomsday. Modern audiences seemed to have smoothly accepted a new Doctor. The question now raised was whether they could grow accustomed to a change in the companion -- the very character who represented their window into the universe of Doctor Who...

• Doctor Who Magazine Special Edition #14, 9th November 2006, “Episodes 12 & 13: Army Of Ghosts / Doomsday” by Andrew Pixley, Panini Publishing Ltd.
• Doctor Who: The Complete History #53, 2016, “Story 177: Army Of Ghosts / Doomsday”, edited by Mark Wright, Hachette Partworks Ltd.
• Doctor Who: The Inside Story by Gary Russell (2006), BBC Books.