In 1599 London, the beautiful Lilith who haunts the Globe Theatre is really a witch, in league with the grotesque Bloodtide and Doomfinger. They're using supernatural means to control the Globe's resident playwright, William Shakespeare, compelling him to write a new play called Love's Labour's Won. The Doctor and Martha become suspicious when they come across a man who has drowned in the street, and then a woman who dies of fright. They must uncover the true purpose behind Love's Labour's Won before the curtain rises on its first -- and only -- performance.

By 2006, Gareth Roberts had written Doctor Who tie-in media of virtually every possible sort, from novels to comic strips to audio plays. For executive producer Russell T Davies, he had scripted the online TARDISodes which had accompanied each episode of Season Twenty-Eight, as well as the interactive Attack Of The Graske, which was available via the BBC's Red Button Service from Christmas 2005. As such, it was perhaps inevitable that Roberts would be given the opportunity to write a fully-fledged Doctor Who adventure. Word of this assignment reached him on February 3rd, 2006, in a telephone call from script editor Simon Winstone. Roberts' episode would be a candidate for Season Twenty-Nine, but might also be held back to Season Thirty in 2008.

A “celebrity historical” had been included in each of Davies' first two Doctor Who seasons, with the Doctor meeting Charles Dickens in 2005's The Unquiet Dead and Queen Victoria in 2006's Tooth And Claw. The only guideline for Roberts was that he should continue this tradition, with the Doctor encountering none other than William Shakespeare. One of the most celebrated writers in history, the playwright and poet from Stratford-upon-Avon was identified as the author or co-author of thirty-nine plays which had survived from the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, all of them still widely read and performed. Shakespeare had been seen in Doctor Who before, appearing on the Doctor's Space-Time Visualiser in The Chase (1965). He had also been described as an acquaintance of the Doctor's on multiple occasions.

Two catalogues indicated that William Shakespeare had written Love's Labour's Won, yet no work by that name remained extant

As Davies knew, Roberts had a long-held interest in Shakespeare; indeed, the Bard of Avon had been a character in his 2005 Ninth Doctor comic strip A Groatsworth Of Wit for Doctor Who Magazine. Roberts was therefore aware of the belief in a “lost” Shakespeare play: two catalogues dating from 1598 and 1603 indicated that he had written a comedy called Love's Labour's Won, yet no work by that name remained extant. Although some historians believed that it was simply an alternative title for another play -- probably Much Ado About Nothing -- others thought that it was a distinct script, likely a sequel to his Love's Labour's Lost, which was written around 1595. Roberts presented Love's Labour's Won as an ideal hook upon which to hang his Doctor Who script, and Davies readily agreed. The narrative would be set around the Globe Theatre, which was built in 1599 at the behest of the Lord Chamberlain's Men, the acting company of which Shakespeare was a member.

For his villains, Roberts decided to seek inspiration from Shakespeare's own works. He proposed drawing upon either the Three Witches of Macbeth, who beguiled the title character with a prophecy that he would become King of Scotland, or the Fairies of A Midsummer Night's Dream, who committed acts of mischief against four young lovers and a misbegotten actor. It was felt that the former were more iconic; it also meant that Roberts' characters could be inferred as inspiring their counterparts in Macbeth, which was probably written around 1606. A Midsummer Night's Dream, on the other hand, was an earlier play, predating the construction of the Globe. As such, Roberts created the Carrionites -- originally spelt “Karyonites” -- adapting a term which he had originally coined for his 1995 novel Zamper, a Seventh Doctor story which formed part of Virgin Publishing's Doctor Who: The New Adventures range. Lilith was the name of a storm demon in Mesopotamian mythology; she was also mentioned in Judeo-Christian tradition, including in the Apocrypha of the Bible, where she was said to be Adam's first wife, preceding Eve.

Several elements were dropped during the development of Roberts' script, itself called “Love's Labour's Won”. Martha was to audition for the Lord Chamberlain's Men, in a scene that was written as a send-up of the reality series The X Factor. Shakespeare's teenaged daughter, Susanna, was a character at one point, disguised as a boy amongst the Globe players. Peter Streete's demise was envisaged as a more complex affair, with the architect being sucked down into his bed. Until a late stage, Bloodtide -- whom Roberts had named after a song on Marc Almond's 1986 album Violent Silence -- and Doomfinger were Lilith's sisters, rather than her mothers.

Peter Streete did indeed build the Globe Theatre although, in reality, he would not die for another decade

Many of the characters who appeared in “Love's Labour's Won” were genuine contemporaries of Shakespeare. These included actors William Kempe and Richard (Dick) Burbage, perhaps the best-known members of the Lord Chamberlain's Men apart from the Bard himself. Peter Streete did indeed design and build the Globe Theatre although, in reality, he would not die for another decade. Two invented figures were named in honour of Doctor Who fans. The amorous Wiggins referred to Shakespearean scholar Martin Wiggins, who was also a regular contributor to the DVD releases of twentieth-century Doctor Who adventures. Dolly Bailey, meanwhile, was a nod to David Bailey, writer of various Doctor Who short stories, as well a contributor to Big Finish Productions' audio dramas about New Adventures companion Bernice Summerfield.

Roberts littered his script with references to a variety of Shakespeare's plays. Most notably, the fact that the aliens of 2005's The Christmas Invasion shared a name with the Sycorax, a witch in The Tempest, was explained when the Bard overheard the Doctor discussing them. For the playwright's infatuation with Martha, Roberts was drawing upon the belief of some researchers that the unnamed “dark lady” to whom Shakespeare wrote twenty-six sonnets was a woman of African descent. Cheekily, the invented text for Love's Labour's Won included a line from the 1965 Doctor Who serial The Crusade; fan commentators had often likened writer David Whitaker's dialogue to the works of Shakespeare.

It was ultimately decided that “Love's Labour's Won” should be included in Season Twenty-Nine, and it was positioned as the second episode, representing Martha's first trip in the TARDIS. It was paired with the season premiere, Smith And Jones, to form the year's second recording block under director Charles Palmer. It quickly became apparent that the scale of Roberts' script exceeded the other recent historical adventures, each of which had been confined to a small setting with a limited cast. It was agreed that there was no suitable venue in Wales to stage the action, so the production team instead approached the management of the new Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in Southwark, London. Opened in 1997, this was a faithful reconstruction of Streete's original edifice, which had been destroyed by fire in 1613 (and rebuilt in 1614, only to be closed by the Puritans in 1642 and torn down in 1644). Doctor Who became the first television drama to be granted permission to film at the new Globe, although recording would be limited to nighttime hours in order to avoid interference with the regularly-scheduled performances. Roberts' script was duly revised to reflect this, introducing an element of anachronism into the narrative which was felt to be a reasonable exchange for the heightened atmosphere which would result.

There was originally an elaborate swordfight between the Doctor and Lilith, culminating in his fall to the street below

The first material filmed for “Love's Labour's Won” involved the set for the Carrionites' lair, erected at Doctor Who's usual studio space in Upper Boat. This work spanned August 23rd to 25th, and was originally intended to include an elaborate swordfight between the Doctor and Lilith -- which had earlier been conceived as taking place on the building's roof -- culminating in his fall to the street below. However, recording was brought to a halt when the stuntperson playing Lilith inadvertently injured the eye of David Tennant's stunt double. Davies hastily rewrote the scene so that the duel was no longer necessary.

“Love's Labour's Won” was then dealt a terrible blow when it appeared that contractual difficulties would scupper the planned filming at the Globe Theatre. With few alternatives, the production team contemplated overhauling Roberts' script to relocate the action to the countryside. Fortunately the issues were resolved in time for the cast and crew to leave Cardiff for their first location, Coventry in the West Midlands. On August 28th, scenes on the London streets were filmed at both Ford's Hospital -- an almshouse built in 1509 -- and Cheylesmore Manor House, parts of which dated back to the mid-thirteenth century. The 29th and 30th were spent at Lord Leycester Hospital in nearby Warwick, Warwickshire. More sequences on the streets of London -- including the materialisation of the TARDIS -- were completed at this venue, which had been developed between the twelfth and fifteenth centuries. Exteriors of the Elephant were also recorded there.

Work at the Globe Theatre itself then took place from August 31st to September 2nd. This included the material involving Queen Elizabeth I, which Davies requested after being inspired by The One Doctor, a Sixth Doctor audio play which Roberts had co-written with Clayton Hickman. The 2001 Big Finish release included a race called the Sussyurats of Chalzon, who sought to persecute the Doctor for his perceived crimes against them. Davies had enjoyed the revelation that the Doctor had never actually met the Sussyurats, and that the events they described took place in his future.

The team then returned to Upper Boat, where September 5th and 6th were devoted to scenes in Shakespeare's room. Next, on the 7th, the cellar of the Newport Indoor Market in Newport served as Bedlam. Given the limited time he had been afforded at the Globe Theatre, Palmer had concentrated on wider shots which would take advantage of the location. This left a number of close-ups to be completed, as well as sequences in confined areas such as Lilith's box. Cast and crew focussed on these elements over the next several days at Upper Boat, beginning on September 8th, and then continuing after the weekend on the 11th and 12th. Part of the latter two days was also spent on the sets for the TARDIS, the landing at the Elephant, and the Carrionites' lair. The team remained in the studio on September 13th to record scenes in the Doctor and Martha's room at the Elephant. Some consideration was given to the Doctor obliviously undressing down to his underclothes as he and his companion prepared to lay in bed together.

Shots of the Globe patrons were captured at the Colchester Avenue Industrial Estate in Cardiff on September 14th and 15th, to be mixed together by the visual effects team in order to swell the size of the audience. An insert of Shakespeare handwriting his new play was taped at the Market Tavern in Pontypridd on October 2nd. This footage was deemed unacceptable, and so it was remounted alongside other pick-up shots at Lloyds TSB in Cardiff on October 13th.

By now, enthusiasm for the name “Love's Labour's Won” had diminished. It was briefly changed to the more traditional “Theatre Of Death” before The Shakespeare Code was chosen instead. This title spoofed Dan Brown's enormously popular 2003 adventure novel The Da Vinci Code; its movie adaptation, starring Tom Hanks, had just been released to theatres in May. Meanwhile, the set for the Carrionites' lair would be preserved and gain unanticipated prominence when it was redressed as the attic of 13 Bannerman Road. This was one of the key locales in The Sarah Jane Adventures, a new Doctor Who spin-off starring Elisabeth Sladen as former companion Sarah Jane Smith, which was announced on September 14th. It would debut on New Year's Day 2007 with Invasion Of The Bane, a pilot episode co-written by Davies and Roberts.

• Doctor Who Magazine Special Edition #17, 22nd November 2007, “Episode 2: The Shakespeare Code” by Andrew Pixley, Panini Publishing Ltd.
• Doctor Who: The Complete History #54, 2017, “Story 180: The Shakespeare Code”, edited by John Ainsworth, Hachette Partworks Ltd.