It's the finale! I wanted to do something really simple and stark for this, which was absolutely in no way dictated by stringent embargoes and a lack of advance plot info.

I love Rorschach-style inkblots, not least because they look like 1960s Doctor Who title sequences, and they dovetail nicely with the symmetrical shapes of the Cybermen.

It only occurred to me afterwards that the whole image is loosely influenced by Daniel Kleinman's amazing title sequence for Skyfall – if you're going to steal, steal from the best. I expect it's how the opening titles to the new exciting spin-off series Missy Master will look…

Doctor Who, BBC One, 01 November 2014

Complaint:

We received complaints from some viewers who were unhappy with a storyline about death and cremation.


BBC Response:

Doctor Who is a family drama with a long tradition of tackling some of the more fundamental questions about life and death. We were mindful of the themes explored in ‘Dark Water' and are confident that they are appropriate in the context of the heightened sci-fi world of the show.

The scene in which a character reveals 3W's unconventional theory about the afterlife was preceded by the same character warning the Doctor and Clara several times that what they were about to hear could be distressing. When the Doctor does hear these claims, he immediately pours scorn on them, dismissing them out of hand as a "con" and a "racket". It transpires that he is correct, and the entire concept is revealed to be a scam perpetrated by Missy.

With Cybermen on the streets of London, old friends unite against old enemies and the Doctor takes to the air in a startling new role.

Can the mighty UNIT contain Missy? As the Doctor faces his greatest challenge, sacrifices must be made before the day is won.