2013 (production)

2013 was a comparatively light production year for the DWU, when viewed in terms of the number of full-length episodes entirely produced within the year. Only two such episodes were made in the year, but the Doctor Who production office significantly shifted focus in this year, resulting in a still busy production schedule. Some post-production on some episodes of series 7 was undertaken at the very beginning of the year. Production on the year's major fictional event, The Day of the Doctor, was made more difficult than usual by the perceived need to make it in 3D. Consequently, it was more akin to a theatrical movie shoot than that of an ordinary episode of Doctor Who.

Also, big behind-the-scenes changes were afoot during the year with the departure of Matt Smith from the production team, and the desire to accommodate his filming schedule outside the programme. Part of the production year was thus concerned with recasting the Doctor, and figuring out optimum strategies for unveiling the choice. Indeed, the preproduction staff was unusually busy during much of 2013 paving the way for a a brand new Doctor, since production began on the "Capaldi era" late in the year.

Much production energy was also spent this year on the 50th anniversary. The Doctor Who production office worked with BBC Events Production, Doctor Who Brand Management, and several other branches of the British Broadcasting Corporation in order to effect the genuinely global promotion of the 50th anniversary of the programme. Their efforts were eventually acknowledged by Guinness World Records, as The Day of the Doctor became the most-watched television program on a single day in world history.

Many one-off specials on television and radio were also on the production team's docket this year, such as An Adventure in Space and Time, The Night of the Doctor and The Science of Doctor Who, to name but three. Although such ancillary programming is common in almost every production year, the number of individual programmes of this ilk was extreme in 2013.