''Dimensions in Time'' is a charity special crossover between the British

science fiction television Science fiction first appeared in television programming in the late 1930s, during what is called the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary ...

series ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' and the

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...

.'' The special was broadcast in two parts on 26 and 27 November 1993 and was filmed on location at

Greenwich Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...

and the ''EastEnders'' Albert Square set. ''Dimensions in Time'' featured all of the surviving actors to have played

the Doctor The Doctor, sometimes known as Doctor Who, is the protagonist of the long-running BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. An extraterrestrial Time Lord, the Doctor travels the universe in a time travelling spaceship called th ...

as well as many of the character's companions and several of the ''EastEnders'' stars of the time. The special was produced for ''

Children in Need ''BBC Children in Need'' is the BBC's UK Charitable organization, charity dedicated to supporting disadvantaged children and young people across the country. Established in 1980, the organisation has raised over £1 billion by 2023 through its ...

'' following ''Doctor Whos cancellation in 1989 and was the only original story broadcast in celebration of the show's 30th anniversary.

Plot

The Rani has opened a hole in time, allowing her access to the Doctor's timeline. She uses this to cycle through the Doctor's lives, causing him and his companions to jump back and forth between past and present incarnations. Her plan is to capture all of the Doctor's selves in a time loop, trapping him in the East End of London; she has already captured the First and

Second Doctor The Second Doctor is an incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor, the protagonist of the British Science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He was portrayed by actor Patrick Troughton. Out of his 1 ...

s. This causes the Fourth Doctor to send a message to his remaining selves, warning them of the Rani's plan: The

Seventh Doctor The Seventh Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Scottish actor Sylvester McCoy. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-o ...

and Ace are confused when the TARDIS lands in

, near the Cutty Sark, thanks to the Rani's attack on the TARDIS. The Doctor finds a

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

showing the year to be 1973, but before he can make any more conclusions, the Rani causes time to jump. Ace finds herself in Albert Square in 1993 with the

Sixth Doctor The Sixth Doctor is an incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor, the protagonist of the British Science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Colin Baker. Although his televisual t ...

. Local resident Sanjay tries to sell Ace some new clothes from his stall, and when his wife

Gita The Bhagavad Gita (; ), often referred to as the Gita (), is a Hindu scripture, dated to the second or first century BCE, which forms part of the epic poem Mahabharata. The Gita is a synthesis of various strands of Indian religious thought, ...

tells the Sixth Doctor that the clothing is going to be all the rage in 1994, the Rani jumps time again. The Third Doctor and Mel Bush appear from the time jump, and question an older Pauline Fowler and Kathy Beale on ''when'' they are. When Pauline and Kathy reply that it is 2013, another time jump occurs. In 1973, Pauline and Kathy remember the

assassination of John F. Kennedy John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963. Kennedy was in the vehicle with his wife Jacqueline Kennedy Onas ...

, while Kathy tells off a young Ian Beale. The Sixth Doctor and

Susan Foreman Susan Foreman (also known as Susan Campbell in spin-off media) is a fictional character in the British science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. The granddaughter of the Doctor and original Companion (Docto ...

appear, but she wonders what has happened to the First Doctor and her other companions Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright. After another time jump to 2013, Susan changes into Sarah Jane Smith and after chatting to Sharon Watts she meets up with the Doctor who changed from the Sixth to the Third Doctor. They start to piece together what is happening to them, but the Rani releases her menagerie of specimens, including a Cyberman, Fifi, a Sea Devil, an Ogron and a

Time Lord The Time Lords are a fictional ancient race of extraterrestrial life, extraterrestrial people in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Time Lords are so named for their command of time travel technology and their Nonli ...

from Gallifrey in the next time jump. In 1993, the

Fifth Doctor The Fifth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Peter Davison. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord ...

, Nyssa and Peri are attacked by the Rani's menagerie, and after trying to warn Pat Butcher of the danger, the Rani stops them outside the

Queen Vic ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the programme follows t ...

. In 1993, after the Fifth Doctor changes to the Third Doctor in the next time jump, along with Nyssa and Peri changing into Liz Shaw, the Rani takes control of Liz's mind. As

Mandy Salter Mandy Salter is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Nicola Stapleton. Introduced on 12 March 1992 by executive producer Leonard Lewis, Mandy was portrayed as a teenage tearaway. She was featured in storylin ...

tries to stop the Rani, Captain Mike Yates of UNIT arrives in Bessie to save the Third Doctor and take him to the Brigadier who is waiting for them. After another time jump, the Doctor changes to the

and after he says goodbye to the Brigadier time jumps again. In 1993, at the Arches, Phil and Grant Mitchell find Romana looking for the Doctor, but they point her to Dr Legg. As Romana walks past the

, the Rani captures her in front of

Frank Butcher Frank Butcher is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Mike Reid (actor), Mike Reid. Frank makes his first appearance on-screen as a guest character in 1987, but due to a positive viewer reception, he is reintr ...

. Back in 1973, the Third Doctor explains to Victoria who the Rani was and thinks that her control is breaking down, as they return to the TARDIS. After the Seventh Doctor lands the TARDIS in 1993, Leela escapes from the Rani, after being cloned in the form of Romana. This results in an additional

brain imprint being left on the computer inside the Rani's TARDIS instead of the human one she needed, which gives the Seventh Doctor, Ace, and K9 the edge needed to rig up a device to overload it, sending the Rani into the time tunnel where she had trapped the First and Second Doctors and freeing the Doctors' other selves from the loop. As the Seventh Doctor and Ace leave in the TARDIS, the Doctor observes "Certainly, I – I mean, we – are difficult to get rid of."

Episodes

Continuity

The array of aliens summoned to Walford by the Rani included: an Aldeberian (Zog), an Argolin, a biomechanoid dragon, a Cyberman, a Mawdryn mutant, Lord Kiv, a Mogarian, an Ogron, a Plasmaton, the Sandminer robot D84, a Sea Devil, a Stigorax (Fifi), a Tetrap, a

, a Tractator, a Vanir and a Vervoid.

Production

Cast notes

*This was the final official appearance of

Jon Pertwee John Devon Roland Pertwee (; 7 July 1919 – 20 May 1996), known professionally as Jon Pertwee, was an English actor. Born into a theatrical family, he became known as a comedy actor, playing Chief Petty Officer Pertwee (and three other roles) in ...

as the Third Doctor; Pertwee died three years later. *

Tom Baker Thomas Stewart Baker (born 20 January 1934) is an English actor and writer. He is best known for having played the Fourth Doctor, fourth and longest-serving incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the science fiction television ...

returned to the role of the Fourth Doctor on television for the first time since leaving 12 years previously, though he had recorded links for the video release of the incomplete '' Shada'' the year before. Baker would later return to the series in 2013's " The Day of the Doctor" in which he appears as "The Curator". *This special marks the first time that

Peter Davison Peter Malcolm Gordon Moffett (born 13 April 1951), known professionally as Peter Davison, is an English actor. He made his television acting debut in 1975 and became famous in 1978 as Tristan Farnon in the BBC's television adaptation of Jame ...

returned as the

. He would later reprise the role in the 2007 mini-episode broadcast for Children in Need, " Time Crash", alongside his future son-in-law

David Tennant David John Tennant (; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He is best known for portraying the Tenth Doctor, tenth and Fourteenth Doctor, fourteenth incarnations of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the science fiction series ''Docto ...

as the Tenth Doctor; in 2022 as a "Guardian of the Edge" in " The Power of the Doctor"; and in 2023 in " Tales of the TARDIS" alongside Janet Fielding as Tegan. *This was the final appearance of Colin Baker as the

until 2022, when he appeared as a “Guardian of the Edge” to the Thirteenth Doctor alongside the First, Fifth, Seventh and Eighth Doctors, and in 2023 in " Tales of the TARDIS" alongside Nicola Bryant as Peri Brown. *This is the last appearance on television of Caroline John as Liz Shaw (John died in 2012) and Deborah Watling as Victoria Waterfield (Watling died in 2017). *In February 1993, Sophie Aldred had guest-starred in a two-episode arc on ''EastEnders'' as Suzi. She appears in ''Dimensions in Time'' as Ace, her character from ''Doctor Who'' and the final companion of the classic era. The character would not appear on television again until 2022 in "The Power of the Doctor" as the Thirteenth Doctor's companion alongside former companion Tegan, although Ace would appear in a

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

video on the official ''Doctor Who'' YouTube channel made to promote the

Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...

re-release of Season 26. Aldred later reprised her role as Ace in Tales of the TARDIS in 2023 alongside Sylvester McCoy as the Doctor. *This marked the only time that the Brigadier appeared with the

on-screen; they also met in the Big Finish audio drama " The Spectre of Lanyon Moor". *This marked the second time Carole Ann Ford returned as Susan Forman. The first was ten years previously in twentieth anniversary special '' The Five Doctors''. It was Ford's last onscreen appearance as Susan until she reprised the role thirty two years later in 2025 episode The Interstellar Song Contest. *This marks the most recent on-screen appearances of Sarah Sutton as Nyssa, Lalla Ward as Romana and

Louise Jameson Louise Marion Jameson (born 20 April 1951) is an English actress with a variety of television and theatre credits. Her roles on television have included playing Leela (Doctor Who), Leela in ''Doctor Who'' (1977–1978), Anne Reynolds in ''The O ...

as Leela. *This marked the final appearance of Kate O'Mara as The Rani. O'Mara died in 2014. *

Samuel West Samuel Alexander Joseph West (born 19 June 1966) is an English actor, theatre director, and narrator. He has directed on stage and radio, and worked as an actor in theatre, film, television, and radio. West was nominated for the BAFTA Award f ...

would later play the renegade Time Lord '' Morbius'' in the Big Finish audio drama " The Vengeance of Morbius" *''The Dimensions of Time'' and ''3-Dimensions of Time'' were the working titles for this story. David Roden convinced producer John Nathan-Turner not to use either title, and instead settled on ''Dimensions in Time''. *This was David Roden's first professional script. Roden's original draft featured the Seventh Doctor meeting the Brigadier on route to a UNIT reunion – and becoming involved in a battle with a crashed spacecraft full of Cybermen. The script was entitled ''Destination: Holocaust'', and featured the Seventh Doctor and Brigadier trapped in a burning church, trying to fight off the advancing damaged Cybermen. This original idea, written by David Roden, was vetoed by Nathan-Turner after it became apparent that Children in Need wished for the story to be a crossover with ''EastEnders''. Despite loving the originally proposed script, Nathan-Turner also had concerns about the cost, which would have included several lengthy night-shoots and a much larger special effects budget. * Allegedly, Anthony Ainley was approached by Nathan-Turner to play the part of the Master in this story, but he turned it down. Ainley, however, denied this, insisting that if he were asked, he would have had no hesitation in appearing. Michael Gough was later approached to reprise the role of the Celestial Toymaker, and again Nathan-Turner was turned down. Finally, Kate O'Mara was asked if she would like to reprise her role of the Rani – a request to which she agreed. O'Mara was joined by

, who played her companion Cyrian (named after the original intended actor, Sir Ian McKellen). *The special was one of several special 3D programmes the BBC produced at the time, using a 3D system developed by American inventor Terry D. Beard that made use of the Pulfrich effect. The technology required spectacles with one darkened lens and one transparent one; these were sold in shops to the public, with the proceeds going to Children in Need. *The Daleks were supposed to appear, but the segment was scrapped after a disagreement with Dalek creator Terry Nation over payments. The Dalek segment would have seen

facing up against them again in the streets seen in the 1984 serial ''

Resurrection of the Daleks ''Resurrection of the Daleks'' is the fourth serial of the 21st season in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in two weekly parts on BBC1 between 8 February and 15 February 1984. The serial w ...

''. *All actors and crew gave their services especially for Children in Need, and waived their fees on the condition that ''Dimensions in Time'' would never be repeated or sold on

home video Home video is recorded media sold or Video rental shop, rented for home viewing. The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD and Blu-ray. ...

for profit. For the same reason, the story has and never will be released on DVD or appear as an extra on home video. Nevertheless, a short clip of Kate O'Mara from this special was used in the 2025 television episode '' Wish World''.

Broadcast

* Part One was broadcast as part of the 1993

telethon A telethon (a portmanteau of "television" and "marathon") is a televised fundraising event that lasts many hours or days, the purpose of which is to raise money for a charitable, political or other cause. Most telethons feature heavy solicitatio ...

. It was introduced by

Noel Edmonds Noel Ernest Edmonds (born 22 December 1948) is an English businessman, and former television presenter, radio DJ, writer and producer. Edmonds first became known as a disc jockey on Radio Luxembourg before moving to BBC Radio 1 in the UK, pres ...

in a short live sketch with

, in character as the Third Doctor. * At the end of Part One, viewers were asked to phone in and vote for which ''EastEnders'' character would save the Doctor at the start of Part Two. Two versions of the scene were filmed, one featuring Mandy and the non-speaking character Sylvia Weng-Chung and the other featuring Big Ron. The £101,000 raised from phone calls went to Children in Need. The result of the vote was announced prior to the screening of Part Two. The version featuring Mandy was broadcast after it won 56% of the vote. * Part Two was broadcast as part of popular UK programme '' Noel's House Party''.

Reception

''Dimensions in Time'' has received almost universally negative reviews and is often highlighted as a particular low point of the Wilderness Years: the period between ''Doctor Who's'' 1989 cancellation and the 2005 revival. Criticism has been aimed towards the gimmicky nature of the ''EastEnders'' crossover and the 3D effects; Tom Baker's limited involvement; the low-budget nature of the overall production; and the special's confusing relationship with the show's main continuity. ''Dimensions in Time'' holds an average fan rating of 4.3/10 on ''Doctor Who'' ratings aggregator TheTimeScales.com. Licensed reference book ''Doctor Who The Handbook: The Second Doctor'' gave the special a 0/10 and referred to it as ''"a dreadful travesty of a Doctor Who story".'' ''Dimensions in Time'' has been likened to the similarly-maligned '' Star Wars Holiday Special'', due to both productions being low-budget TV specials with questionable canonicity in relation to their main series, and due to similar perceptions of overall extremely poor quality.

Ratings

''Dimensions in Time'' achieved viewing figures of 13.8 million viewers for the first part and 13.6 million for the second part, making them two of the most highly watched episodes of ''Doctor Who'' ever produced. The highest single audience figure was for Part Four of '' City of Death'', at 16.1 million viewers.

References

External links