"A very Happy Christmas to the viewers at home!"

Doctor Who is on tomorrow, the first time its ever been on a Sunday, but not the first time its ever been broadcast on Christmas Day. In 1965, there was an episode on Christmas Day. The show was well into a successful third season with William Hartnell, the original Doctor taking on the Daleks in a massive 12 part epic called The Dalek Masterplan. Rather than put the show off until the following Saturday, the BBC decided this was an ideal opportunity to break up said Dalek epic, and give the audience a Christmas episode. This episode was to be called 'The Feast of Steven'. Its a story that has go down in infamy with Doctor Who fans.

It all sounds fine on paper, until your remember that in those early days, editing was technically very difficult, not to mention prohibitively expensive, which essentially means the show was shot 'live' albeit filmed a week or so in advance. In real terms this meant that the programme was made lke a stage show, but with cameras.

Again, all sounds fine, until you throw in a cantankerous lead actor, whose ego was running rampant in one of the BBC's most successful TV shows and felt very strongly, that HE, not the Director, was in charge...

Cue the last few minutes of the episode, set in the TARDIS console room, where the Doctor, still in character, breaks that magical fourth wall, turns to the camera and says -

"And a very Merry Christmas to all you viewers at home...."

Thankfully, it is in the nature of blogging that I am constantly required to address you, my reading public, and so, without fear I can happily say -

HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL MARCHPANE READERS!

(And thanks to those who have contributed in one way or another, over the past few months, look forward to reading your comments in 2006...)