Hamlet

Hamlet was a play written by William Shakespeare.

The idea for Hamlet was first discussed at the court of Elizabeth I. (DW: The Chase)

The Doctor helped Shakespeare write down the final draft of Hamlet after he sprained his wrist writing sonnets. This manuscript was acquired by Scaroth in the 20th century (DW: City of Death)

The Doctor and Martha Jones inspired Shakespeare to write about father-son relationships, which is the main theme of Hamlet. Shakespeare also confused the name of his deceased son, Hamnet, with Hamlet. This is a nod to the theory that Hamlet's name was inspired from Hamnet. (DW: The Shakespeare Code)

The Daleks quoted various lines from Hamlet while working on a time machine with Professor Osric. (BFA: The Time of the Daleks)

Doctor Who actors in Hamlet

• In 1947, the first telecast version of the play also saw the television debut of actor Patrick Troughton in the role of Horatio.

• A 1948 film version was the cinematic debut of Patrick Troughton in the role of the Player King. The film also had the first major film role for Peter Cushing who played Osric.

• In 1980, Derek Jacobi played Hamlet and Lalla Ward played Ophelia in a BBC TV production of the play, opposite Patrick Stewart as Claudius.

• In 2008, David Tennant took on the role of Hamlet in a Royal Shakespeare Company mounting of the play -- opposite Stewart who once again played Claudius.