Carl Readon's laboratory was where he and his assistant Jane Francis spent years creating Robbie, a robot.
Jane persuaded the Third Doctor to come to the lab to study Readon's notes. When they got there Jane's dog, Scruff caused chaos and was banned from the lab which upset Robbie. The Doctor then looked over Readon's notes and agreed that Robbie was perfect. That night however, Robbie tore a page out of the address book and escaped by making a hole in the wall. The Doctor returned to the lab and discovered from the recordings of the early experiments that Robbie escaped because he was saddened by Scruff's banishment from the lab. (COMIC: Doctor Who and the Robot)