1985

On Christmas Eve, 1985, the Ninth Doctor was trapped near a Christmas party at Sally Sparrow's Aunt's house in Devon, when the TARDIS "burped" and jumped ahead in time 20 years. Using her Christmas essay from 2005, the Doctor wrote messages on the walls and in photographs during the party for Sally Sparrow to read and recorded a video instructing her to pilot the TARDIS back to him in 2005. Sally's future self arrived in the TARDIS, telling her to hit the TARDIS reset button to bring her to the Doctor. The Doctor told the Sally in 2005 to write the essay that she would later (from her point of view) give to him first. (PROSE: What I Did on My Christmas Holidays by Sally Sparrow)

Events

Unknown dates

• Lytton contacted the Cybermen in the London sewers. The Sixth Doctor and Peri Brown, searching for a distress signal, were ambushed by the Cybermen, apparently aided by Lytton, and the Doctor was forced to pilot his TARDIS to Telos. (TV: Attack of the Cybermen)
• Barbara Chesterton wrote a GCSE textbook called Journeys Through History: A Sourcebook for GCSE for the Associated Exam Board with Ian Martin in which Lady Jane Grey's nine day reign from 10 to 19 July 1553 was covered. She, the First Doctor and her future husband Ian Chesterton had met Lady Jane shortly after she was deposed by Queen Mary I. (PROSE: The Nine-Day Queen)
• Konstantin Chernenko, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, died. He was succeeded by the considerably more moderate Mikhail Gorbachev. (AUDIO: Protect and Survive)

Alternative timeline

• In an alternative timeline created by the Elder Gods in the hope of destroying Earth, Konstantin Chernenko was succeeded as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union by the militant hardliner Vladimir Khrushgov. This ultimately led to the outbreak of World War III on 9 November 1989 between the Soviet Union on the one hand and the United States and its allies including the United Kingdom on the other hand. Given that nuclear weapons were used by both sides, hundreds of millions of people were killed in the conflict. This timeline was ultimately negated by the Seventh Doctor. (AUDIO: Protect and Survive)

Behind the scenes

January

• 05 - TV: Attack of the Cybermen Part 1 was first broadcast, launching the ill-fated Season 22. Beginning with this episode, the series moved to forty-five-minute episodes and returned to once-a-week broadcasts.
• 12 - TV: Attack of the Cybermen Part 2 was first broadcast.
• 19 - TV: Vengeance on Varos Part 1 was first broadcast.
• 26 - TV: Vengeance on Varos Part 2 was first broadcast.

February

• 02 - TV: The Mark of the Rani Part 1 was first broadcast. This was the first appearance of Kate O'Mara as the Rani.
• 04 - Studio production concluded on TV: Revelation of the Daleks, concluding Doctor Who production for the season just prior to the announcement of 27 February, which appeared to make this the final production session ever. Production resumed more than a year later.
• 06 - Actor Neil McCarthy died from motor neurone disease.
• 09 - TV: The Mark of the Rani Part 2 was first broadcast.
• 14 - PROSE: Doctor Who - Planet of Fire was first published.
• 16 - TV: The Two Doctors Part 1 was first broadcast, marking the return of Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor and Frazer Hines as Jamie McCrimmon. Certain elements in this episode later gave rise to the Season 6B theory among fans and writers of spin-off media.
• 23 - TV: The Two Doctors Part 2 was first broadcast.
• 23 - A Fix with Sontarans was first broadcast as a segment of Jim'll Fix It, and featured a young viewer who got to participate in a short scene with Colin Baker. Janet Fielding returned as Tegan Jovanka.
• 25 - Elisabeth Sladen gave birth to Sadie Miller.
• 27 - The BBC announced it was suspending Doctor Who after the conclusion of the current season, effectively cancelling the series. Fan protest ultimately resulted in the series returning in 1986 after an eighteen-month hiatus.

March

• 02 - TV: The Two Doctors Part 3 was first broadcast. This was the final appearance of Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor. This was also the final episode of the 1963-89 series to be filmed abroad. Discounting the 1996 TV movie, the next story to involve major filming outside the UK was TV: The Fires of Pompeii in 2008.
• 09 - TV: Timelash Part 1 was first broadcast.
• 14 - PROSE: Doctor Who - The Caves of Androzani was first published.
• 15 - "Doctor in Distress", a single recorded by cast members of Doctor Who to raise money for charity and to call upon the BBC not to cancel the series, was released in the UK.
• 16 - TV: Timelash Part 2 was first broadcast.
• 23 - TV: Revelation of the Daleks Part 1 was first broadcast.
• 30 - TV: Revelation of the Daleks Part 2 was first broadcast, concluding Season 22, believed by some to be the show's last. It was the final forty-fve-minute episode until 2005. This was also the final use of the Peter Howell arrangement of the theme music.

April

• Severn House published Doctor Who Book of Space, a hardcover version of Doctor Who Quiz Book of Space aimed at libraries.
• 11 - PROSE: Doctor Who - Marco Polo was first published.

May

• Doctor Who Magazine published its hundredth issue.
• REF: Doctor Who: The TARDIS Inside Out was first published.
• 1 - Actor George Pravda died.
• 16 - REF: The Doctor Who Cookbook was first published.
• 16 - REF: The Doctor Who Monster Book was republished nearly ten years after its first issue. A poster included in the first release was omitted in the reprint.
• 17 - Actor Hugh Burden died.
• 21 - Actor Calvin Dean was born.
• 28 - Actress Carey Mulligan was born.

June

• Doctor Who 1985 Summer Special Classic, a reprinting of Doctor Who Magazine comic strips, was published by Marvel Comics.
• 11 - Actor Norman Claridge died in London.
• 13 - PROSE: Doctor Who - The Awakening was first published.
• 14 - Actor Graham Leaman died.
• Mid-June - An original Doctor Who radio play, AUDIO: Slipback, was recorded for BBC Radio, with Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant reprising their roles.
• 24 - Actor Valentine Dyall died after recording a role for the upcoming radio play AUDIO: Slipback.

July

• Severn House published Doctor Who Book of Science, a hardcover version of Doctor Who Quiz Book of Science aimed at libraries.
• 7 - Actor Ewen Solon died in Addleston, England.
• 11 - PROSE: Doctor Who - The Mind of Evil was first published.
• 25 - AUDIO: Slipback Parts 1 and 2 were first broadcast on BBC Radio. The first radio play based upon Doctor Who and the first original audio drama since Doctor Who and the Pescatons a decade earlier, this serial was produced as a stopgap during the enforced hiatus for the televised series.

August

• The Doctor Who Annual 1986 was published. This was the final annual to be published by World Distributors, ending a series that had begun in 1965. The annual format was revived by Marvel Comics in the 1990s.
• 8 - AUDIO: Slipback Parts 3 and 4 were first broadcast on BBC Radio.
• 18 - Actor Reg Lever died.
• 22 - AUDIO: Slipback Parts 5 and 6 were first broadcast on BBC Radio.
• 29 - Actor Patrick Barr died in London.

September

• 09 - The BBC launched "Children's BBC", a dedicated block of programming aimed at children. Later rebranded CBBC, beginning in 2007 the block became the broadcast home for the spin-off series The Sarah Jane Adventures.
• 12 - PROSE: Doctor Who - The Myth Makers was first published.
• 12 - REF: The Doctor Who Illustrated A to Z was first published.

October

• The US edition of REF: Doctor Who: The TARDIS Inside Out was published.
• REF: Doctor Who: Timeview was first published.
• 10 - PROSE: Doctor Who - The Invasion was first published.
• 14 - REF: The Third Doctor Who Quiz Book by Nigel Robinson was first published. It was the final book in the series.

November

• 14 - PROSE: Doctor Who - The Krotons was first published.
• 22 - Numerous Doctor Who actors reunited for a special appearance during the annual Children in Need appeal, including Colin Baker, Patrick Troughton, Peter Davison, Jon Pertwee, Nicola Bryant, Nicholas Courtney, Janet Fielding, Carole Ann Ford, Richard Franklin, Adrienne Hill, Louise Jameson, Caroline John, John Levene, Ian Marter, Maureen O'Brien, Peter Purves, Elisabeth Sladen, Mark Strickson and Matthew Waterhouse.
• 28 - Actor Ryan Sampson was born.

December

• 05 - PROSE: Doctor Who - The Two Doctors was first published. It was the first Sixth Doctor novelisation. It was promoted as the hundredth Doctor Who novelisation by Target Books. Although the TV series logo had been modified slightly for the new Doctor, the Target line left the logo unchanged.