1985

Timeline

• Lytton contacts Cybermen in the London sewers. (DW: Attack of the Cybermen)

• The second and sixth Doctors prevent the Sontarans from gaining time travel. (DW: The Two Doctors)

• 10th October - Orson Welles dies

Real World

January

• 05 - DW: Attack of the Cybermen Episode 1 is first broadcast, launching the ill-fated Season 22. Beginning with this episode, the series moves to 45-minute episodes and returns to once-a-week broadcasts.
• 12 - DW: Attack of the Cybermen Episode 2 is first broadcast.
• 19 - DW: Vengeance on Varos Episode 1 is first broadcast.
• 26 - DW: Vengeance on Varos Episode 2 is first broadcast.

February

• 02 - DW: The Mark of the Rani Episode 1 is first broadcast. First appearance of Kate O'Mara as The Rani.
• 04 - Studio production concludes on DW: Revelation of the Daleks. At this point, this appears likely to be the final Doctor Who production session ever.
• 06 - Neil McCarthy (George Patrick Barnham in DW: The Mind of Evil and Thawn in DW: The Power of Kroll) dies from motor neurone disease.
• 09 - DW: The Mark of the Rani Episode 2 is first broadcast.
• 14 - DWN: Doctor Who - Planet of Fire is first published.
• 16 - DW: The Two Doctors Episode 1 is first broadcast, marking the return of Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor and Frazer Hines as Jamie McCrimmon. Certain elements in this episode later give rise to the Season 6B theory among fans and writers of spin-off media.
• 23 - DW: The Two Doctors Episode 2 is first broadcast.
  • A Fix with Sontarans is first broadcast as a segment of Jim'll Fix It, and features a young viewer who gets to participate in a short scene with Colin Baker. Janet Fielding returns as Tegan Jovanka.
• 27 - The BBC announces that it is suspending Doctor Who after the conclusion of the current season, effectively cancelling the series. Fan protest would ultimately result in the series returning in 1986 after an 18-month hiatus.

March

• 02 - DW: The Two Doctors Episode 3 is first broadcast. Final appearance of Patrick Troughton as the Doctor. This is also the final episode of the 1963-89 series to be filmed abroad. Discounting the 1996 TV movie, the next episode to involve major filming outside the UK would be DW: The Fires of Pompeii in 2008.
• 09 - DW: Timelash Episode 1 is first broadcast.
• 14 - DWN: Doctor Who - The Caves of Androzani is first published.
• 15 - "Doctor in Distress", a single recorded by cast members of Doctor Who in order to raise money for charity and to call upon the BBC not to cancel the series, is released in the UK.
• 16 - DW: Timelash Episode 2 is first broadcast.
• 23 - DW: Revelation of the Daleks Episode 1 is first broadcast.
• 30 - DW: Revelation of the Daleks Episode 2 is first broadcast, concluding Season 22, believed by some to be the show's last. Final 45-minute episode until 2005. Also final use of the Peter Howell arrangement of the theme music.

April

• Severn House publishes Doctor Who Book of Space, a hardcover version of Doctor Who Quiz Book of Space aimed at libraries.
• 11 - DWN: Doctor Who - Marco Polo is first published.
• 30 - George Pravda, who appeared as Alexander Denes in DW: The Enemy of the World, Jaeger in DW: The Mutants and Castellan Spandrell in DW: The Deadly Assassin dies.

May

• Doctor Who Magazine publishes its 100th issue.
• REF: Doctor Who: The TARDIS Inside Out is first published.
• 16 - REF: The Doctor Who Cookbook is first published.
  • REF: The Doctor Who Monster Book is republished nearly 10 years after its first issue. A poster included in the first release is omitted in the reprint.
• 17 - Hugh Burden dies.

June

• Doctor Who 1985 Summer Special Classic, a reprinting of Doctor Who Magazine comic strips, published by Marvel Comics.
• 11 - Norman Claridge, who played the Priest in DW: The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve, dies in London.
• 13 - DWN: Doctor Who - The Awakening is first published.
• Mid-June - An original Doctor Who radio play, DW: Slipback, is recorded for BBC Radio, with Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant reprising their roles.
• 24 - Valentine Dyall dies after recording a role for the upcoming radio play BBCR: Slipback.

July

• Severn House publishes Doctor Who Book of Science, a hardcover version of Doctor Who Quiz Book of Science aimed at libraries.
• 7 - Ewen Solon, who played Chal in DW: The Savages and Vishinsky in DW: Planet of Evil, dies in Addleston, England.
• 11 - DWN: Doctor Who - The Mind of Evil is first published.
• 25 - BBCR: Slipback Episodes 1 and 2 are 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

• Doctor Who Annual 1986 published. This is the final annual to be published by World Distributors, ending a series that began in 1965. The annual format would be revived by Marvel Comics in the 1990s.
• 8 - BBCR: Slipback Episodes 3 and 4 are first broadcast on BBC Radio.
• 22 - BBCR: Slipback Episodes 5 and 6 are first broadcast on BBC Radio.
• 29 - Patrick Barr, who played Jack Hobson in DW: The Moonbase, dies in London.

September

• 12 - DWN: Doctor Who - The Myth Makers is first published.
  • REF: Doctor Who: The Illustrated A-Z is first published.

October

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

November

• 14 - DWN: Doctor Who - The Krotons is first published.

December

• 05 - DWN: Doctor Who - The Two Doctors is first published. First Sixth Doctor novelisation. Promoted as the 100th Doctor Who novelisation by Target Books. Although the TV series logo has been modified slightly for the new Doctor, the Target line leaves the logo unchanged.

1984

20th century 1980s

1986