1956

January

 * 30 - Elvis Presley recorded "Blue Suede Shoes", a version of which was later heard on the planet Necros. (TV: Revelation of the Daleks)

June

 * 25 - Edward Grainger celebrated his 50th birthday. The Eighth Doctor and his companions Samson and Gemma Griffin arrived at his house to get rid of a ghost which had been haunting the family. (PROSE: Dear John)

Unknown dates

 * France granted the North African colony of Kebiria its independence, but civil war quickly erupted in that country. (PROSE: Dancing the Code)
 * Elvis Presley perfomed on The Ed Sullivan Show. The Tenth Doctor and Rose Tyler attempted to travel to this date to view this event, but ended up being detoured to 1953 London. (TV: The Idiot's Lantern)

Alternative timeline

 * In an alternative timeline accidentally created by the Fifth Doctor, the RMS Lusitania did not sink on 7 May 1915 and a petty criminal named Eric Charles Vincent (who died in the sinking of the Lusitania in the proper timeline) killed Alexander Fleming in a botched robbery attempt in December 1927 before the biologist discovered penicillin. Without the protection offered by penicillin, Earth fell prey to new strains of meningitis and pneumonia in 1956 and the survivors never developed a space programme. Consequently, the Knights of Velyshaa were not defeated by the Earth Alliance in 3562 as they otherwise would have been. (AUDIO: The Sirens of Time)

January

 * 9 - Imelda Staunton, who voiced the Interface in TV: The Girl Who Waited, was born.
 * 30 - Jeremy Gittins, who played Lazlo in TV: Warriors' Gate, was born.

February

 * 7 - Bhasker Patel, who played Jival Chowdry in TV: Turn Left, was born.

March

 * 13 - Dione Inman, Elena in TV: The Twin Dilemma, was born.

April

 * 18 - Eric Roberts, who portrayed the Master in the 1996 Doctor Who television movie, was born in,.
 * 26 - Ron Donachie, who played a steward in TV: Tooth and Claw, was born.
 * 27 - Kevin McNally, who played Hugo Lang in TV: The Twin Dilemma, was born.

August

 * 18 - John Debney, the composer for the TV movie, was born.

September

 * 18 - Tim McInnerny, who played Klineman Halpen in TV: Planet of the Ood, was born.
 * 24 - The Adventures of Sir Lancelot debuted in the United States. One of the first UK-produced series to air in the US, the series brought stardom to its lead actor, William Russell.

October

 * 8 - James Coombes, voice of the Krargs in Shada and Paroli in TV: Warriors of the Deep, was born.

November

 * 8 - Richard Curtis, writer of TV: Vincent and the Doctor, was born.
 * 16 - Karl Zwicky, who directed several episodes of K9, was born.
 * 16 - Lorraine Heggessey, a controller of BBC One, was born.

December

 * 29 - Bernard Padden, who played Tylos in TV: Full Circle, was born.