An Adventure in Space and Time is a 2013 British biographical television film, starring David Bradley, Brian Cox, Jessica Raine and Sacha Dhawan.

Directed by Terry McDonough, and written by regular Doctor Who writer Mark Gatiss, it premiered on BBC Two on 21 November 2013, to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the science fiction television series.

Alongside Hartnell, the story also focused on the behind-the-scene events with the production staff, including the involvement of Sydney Newman, Verity Lambert and Waris Hussein.

Newman recruits a former production assistant Verity Lambert (Jessica Raine) to head the programme as its producer, despite the difficulties she faces from others in her new role.

Lambert and Waris Hussein (Sacha Dhawan), the programme's director, recruit William Hartnell (David Bradley), typecasted for army roles, to portray The Doctor, despite his trepidation over how it will aid his acting career.

Concerned over his failure to remember his lines, Newman agrees to his superior's request to replace Hartnell for a new actor, Patrick Troughton (Reece Shearsmith), for the next series.

As filming begins, Hartnell looks across the TARDIS console and sees a brief vision of another actor playing the Doctor decades later,[a] silently acknowledging his work.

Bradley also appeared as the Doctor in a series of audio adventures produced by Big Finish Productions alongside Jamie Glover, Jemma Powell and Claudia Grant as Ian, Barbara and Susan.

[23] Ten years later, for the fortieth anniversary, writer and executive producer Mark Gatiss pitched the idea for the film to BBC Four, unaware of Davies's previous attempt.

For example, the role of original story editor David Whitaker is merged with that of associate producer Mervyn Pinfield; co-creator Donald Wilson and writer C.E.

[11] Scenes featuring dialogue originally used in An Unearthly Child were removed, which many assumed was due to the family of writer Anthony Coburn withholding licensing rights from the BBC.

The website's critics consensus reads "Fun, clever, and eminently accessible, An Adventure in Space and Time offers entertaining viewing for Doctor Who newcomers and diehards alike.

[46][47] In November 2023, Gatiss expressed interest in creating a sequel centred around the events surrounding the 1986 storyline The Trial of a Time Lord, including the programme's nine-month hiatus and the eventual firing of Sixth Doctor actor Colin Baker.