Hamlet

Hamlet was a play written by William Shakespeare.

The idea for Hamlet was first discussed at the court of Elizabeth I. (DW: The Chase)

The Doctor helped Shakespeare write down the final draft of Hamlet after he sprained his wrist writing sonnets. This manuscript was acquired by Scaroth in the 20th century (DW: City of Death)

The Doctor and Martha Jones inspired Shakespeare to write about father-son relationships, which is the main theme of Hamlet. Shakespeare also confused the name of his deceased son, Hamnet, with Hamlet. This is a nod to the theory that Hamlet's name was inspired from Hamnet. DW: "The Shakespeare Code"

Behind the scenes

 * The play has at least two real-life connections to Doctor Who. In 1980, Derek Jacobi played Hamlet and Lalla Ward played Ophelia in a BBC TV production of the play, opposite Patrick Stewart as Claudius. In 2008, David Tennant took on the role of Hamlet in a Royal Shakespeare Company mounting of the play -- opposite Stewart who once again played Claudius. Tennant's involvement in the play was cited as the rationale behind the BBC deciding to produce 5 specials during 2008-2009 rather than a full season, and it was during his run in the play that Tennant made the announcement that he would be leaving the series.