- The animated version of the Doctor Who story ‘The Celestial Toymaker’ is now streaming for free on BBC iPlayer
- The ‘lost’ story was originally aired in 1966, with the animation based on motion capture synced to the surviving soundtrack
- The Toymaker returned for Doctor Who’s 60th anniversary, performed by Neil Patrick Harris
All four parts of the Classic Doctor Who adventure, The Celestial Toymaker, are finally free to stream on BBC iPlayer.
With the original footage of this 1966 release wiped, the four instalments of this First Doctor (William Hartnell) saga were animated and available to buy on DVD and Blu-ray in 2023 (to coincide with the Toymaker’s return for the 60th anniversary).
Now, however, fans who have been waiting for it to arrive on iPlayer are in luck.
The quartet of animated episodes – The Celestial Toyroom, The Hall of Dolls, The Dancing Floor and The Final Test – can be found under season three of Doctor Who 1963 – 1996 on the streaming service.
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The adventure follows the Time Lord and his companions, Steven Taylor (Peter Purves) and Dodo Chaplet (Jackie Lane), who ‘find themselves trapped in the Toymaker’s strange domain and forced to play a series of deadly games.’
Each part is around 25 minutes long, with a second version of the finale using the originally recorded footage also available to stream.
Audio engineer Mark Ayres explained the ‘experimental’ approach to bringing these animated versions to life, according to the Radio Times.
He said: This, basically, is all done with motion capture, so they’ve got actors in to act all the parts along to the soundtrack.
‘It’s all synchronised to the soundtrack – sometimes it doesn’t work and I have to tweak the soundtrack where the dialogue hasn’t quite synchronised. But it is a new technique, it is a motion capture technique, and it means the characters are far more fluid.’
For those who revisit this classic story, you’ll be able to jump from the animated restorations all the way to the 2023 60th anniversary specials in which Neil Patrick Harris reprised the role of the immortal villain.
Whovians are being fed plenty of content in recent weeks. The BBC also launched the new spin-off, The War Between the Land and the Sea, which has received positive reviews so far.
Meanwhile, writer Mark Gatiss revealed in a recent interview that a shelved story, The Suicide Exhibition, could be released 17 years on in audio format, which saw the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) fighting Nazis Indiana Jones style.
As for when new episodes of Doctor Who will be back on screen, the BBC and showrunner Russell T Davies have confirmed it will return for Christmas 2026.
Doctor Who adventure, The Celestial Toymaker, is streaming on BBC iPlayer now.
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