 Tom MacRae, the writer of the episode, had previously written the two-parter "Rise of the Cybermen" / "The Age of Steel" for the second series, which featured the return of the Cybermen. As bringing back the Cybermen had limited plot opportunities and put MacRae in the "second seat" as a writer, he was pleased that he had the opportunity to do whatever he wanted. MacRae was proud of the finished script, calling it his "most accomplished piece of plotting ever". The original title of the episode was "The Visitors'Room". This was changed to "Visiting Hour" and then "Kindness". The episode, contrary to some reports, was never at any point titled "The Green Anchor". "The Girl Who Waited" is a title that has been used to refer to Amy after she waited 12 years for the Doctor to return in "The Eleventh Hour". Executive producer Beth Willis insisted that Amy's speech about how Rory was the most beautiful man she had ever met make it into the final version.
