Father ' s Day ( TV story ) Father ' s Day was the eighth episode of series 1 of " Doctor Who " . It introduced Rose ' s father , Pete , and established much of the back story for the Tyler family that would be used in future stories . Furthermore , this story hugely contributed to one of the show ' s most omnipresent topics : the consequences of time travel , specifically meddling with fixed points in history . This story demonstrated one of the consequences of preventing / delaying a fixed occurrence in someone ' s timeline , with death being used as an example for this episode . It also introduced the idea that one ' s actions also counted as fixed events and therefore could not be undone . The latter contribution did away with the question of why the Doctor never bothered to go back in time and undo his mistakes . Through these contributions , the show was able to firmly establish some of time travel ' s cardinal rules , which would clarify many events in previous episodes and set limitations for the rest of the show . From a production standpoint , it was significant for being writer Paul Cornell ' s first contribution to televised " Doctor Who " . Synopsis . Pete Alan Tyler , the father of Rose and husband of Jackie , died on 7 November 1987 , the day of Stuart Hoskins and Sarah Clark ' s wedding . Rose was just a baby at the time , Jackie told the young Rose that nobody was there for Pete when he died and that the hit - and - run driver was never found . . . Now grown up , Rose asks the Ninth Doctor to take her to see him alive , but on a whim , ends up changing his fate , not realising the consequences of such a paradox . After all , the Doctor has saved so many lives . . . what could the real consequences be over a man alive in the world who wasn ' t alive before ? Plot . " " Peter Alan Tyler , my dad . The most wonderful man in the world . Born 15th September 1954 . " " When Rose was growing up , her mother would tell her about Pete Tyler , her father who was killed by a hit - and - run driver when she was only a baby . The driver was never found , and Pete died on the street alone before the ambulance could arrive . In the TARDIS , Rose hesitantly asks the Doctor if they can go to see her father , Pete , before he died . The Doctor says that he can do this , but he is concerned Rose may not be able to handle it emotionally . He tells her to be careful what she wishes for . He takes her to Jackie and Pete ' s wedding , where they witness Pete get Jackie ' s middle names wrong during the vows much to her irritation . Back in the TARDIS , Rose then asks the Doctor for her to be there for him on the day he died , as she doesn ' t want him to have to die alone . The TARDIS materialise s in 1987 on the street where Pete died . They stand on the pavement , Rose describing what happened as they watch it . Pete was late getting the wedding gift for Stuart Hoskins and Sarah Clark , and when he stepped out of his car to cross the road , an oncoming car rounded the corner and ran into him , killing him almost instantly . When this happens , the Doctor tells Rose to go to Pete , but she is unable to approach her father ' s fallen body . By the time she recovers , the ambulance has arrived and he is already dead . She asks the Doctor if she can try again , and while he looks doubtful , he agrees . Travelling back to the same moment , they wait around the corner from their earlier selves . The Doctor warns Rose to wait until her earlier self has left before going to see her father , lest it create a paradox . However , as Pete steps out of his car and the other car comes hurtling around the corner , Rose pulls away from the Doctor , passing their startled earlier selves and knocking Pete out of the way . The earlier Doctor and Rose vanish , and while Rose is overjoyed at having actually succeeded in saving her father , the Doctor looks on aghast . Rose introduces herself to Pete , who remarks on the coincidence of her name being the same as his daughter ' s . When Rose says she is attending the Hoskins - Clark wedding , Pete offers her and the Doctor a lift . Above the city , unseen creatures scan the area hungrily with alien eyes . At Pete ' s flat , Rose looks around and remarks on all the various bits and pieces of entrepreneurship that her father is involved in , including health drinks and solar power panels , which he will now have the opportunity to exploit . The Doctor is angry with Rose , implying that she had planned this from the moment she heard that the TARDIS was a time machine . Rose says there was no plan , that she just saw a chance to stop it and did so , and questions why it is all right for the Doctor to save people but not for her to save her father . The Doctor calls her a stupid ape , another person who was more concerned with seeing what the universe could do for them . He explains that he knows what he is doing while she does not ; the presence of two sets of them made that location a vulnerable point . They argue , more and more heatedly , until the Doctor demands the TARDIS key back and leaves , telling her she ' s getting left behind . Rose hands over the key but tells the Doctor she knows he ' ll never leave without her . Pete looks out of the kitchen at this point , thinking it a lover ' s quarrel . Pete and she go to the wedding . At the wedding , the church is only a quarter full as Stuart Hoskin ' s dad tries to persuade him not to go through with it . Outside the bride arrives with Jackie and baby Rose , but is asked to drive around the block due to all the people who haven ' t turned up . Across the city , the unseen alien creatures are seen from their vision to be stalking and attacking several people . As the Doctor walks back to the TARDIS , he senses that something is wrong . When he gets back to the TARDIS and unlocks it with his key , he finds it an empty box . In the meantime , Rose and Pete are driving to the church . Rose is puzzled when " Don ' t Mug Yourself " , a piece of hip - hop music from the 21st century , plays anachronistically over the car radio , and her mobile phone voice mail is filled with copies of the message , " Watson , come here , I need you , " the very first thing said over a telephone by Alexander Graham Bell . They are almost at the church when a car nearly collides with them and abruptly vanishes , a car Pete recognises as the same car that almost ran him down earlier . As their car runs off the road , Rose reflexively calls Pete " Dad " , but brushes it off when Pete asks her what she meant by that . At the church they meet Jackie , carrying the younger Rose . Jackie eyes the adult Rose suspiciously . Jackie and Pete get into a shouting match , and Rose realises that their marriage was far from perfect ; it emerges that he ' s cheated on her in the past , and she is despairing of his constantly failing get - rich - quick schemes . . . it seems the two are well on the way to divorce . It is at this moment that a young Mickey — who has witnessed all the children in a local play park disappear — runs around the corner , yelling about monsters . The Doctor runs towards Rose from the opposite end of the street , shouting for her to get in the church . Rose looks up and screams as she sees the creatures materialise in the sky above as winged reptilian monsters with multiple arms . The creatures swoop down , devouring the vicar and the groom ' s father before the Doctor ushers the rest into the church ; the walls of the church are old and will stop the creatures for a while . When Jackie demands to know what is going on , he explains that there has been a wound in time and the creatures are like bacteria taking advantage of it , to sterilise the wound by consuming everything in sight . With great satisfaction , the Doctor orders Jackie to do as he says and make sure all the doors and windows are secure . Rose asks if this is her fault , and the Doctor does not answer . Pete overhears this . Outside , the creatures continue to devour every human they come across , and Pete notes that the lack of other activity outside indicates that the creatures are probably everywhere . The Doctor looks out the back window of the church , and sees the car supposed to run Pete down appearing and disappearing as it circles the church , the driver repeating the actions he never got to complete . Pete notices the car . The Doctor tells him quickly not to worry about it . Pete talks to Rose , and wonders aloud why he instinctively seems to trust her . He remembers she called him " Dad " and deduce s she is really his daughter , all grown up . They tearfully embrace as the creatures continue to batter against the church doors , trying to get in . The Doctor is ensuring that the church doors and windows are sealed when he is cornered by Stuart Hoskins and Sarah Clarke . They recognise that he is the only person in the church who knows what is going on and nervously enquire whether he can save them . Sarah , who is obviously pregnant , insists that they are nothing important , but the Doctor begs to differ once he hears the story of how they met . He has never had the lives these two people have ; they are two ordinary people with a potentially happy future , and that makes them special . He promises he will do everything he can to save them . Pete is delighted at how Rose has turned out . They talk in the vestry about the future and time travel , but Rose is strangely vague about what he is like in the future . Jackie comes in with the young Mickey , and is jealous again . Pete tries to explain who Rose is , but Rose tells him not to let Jackie know . In the basilica , the Doctor is looking after the infant Rose . The adult Rose shows up . The Doctor apologises for snapping . He was not really going to abandon her , but confesses that he has no idea what to do and that nothing will stop the creatures forever . When the Time Lord s were still around , paradoxes like this could be repaired , but now there is nothing to stop the creatures , who are continuing to sterilise the entire Earth of human life until pockets of survivors in old refuges like this become all that ' s left of the human race . Rose is tearful and insists that she never meant any harm . The Doctor ' s asks her to say sorry and warmly hugs her when he sees the apology is genuine , completely forgiving her . The TARDIS key glows hot in the Doctor ' s pocket , and the Doctor realises it ' s still connected to the TARDIS , sparking hope . Although the TARDIS ' interior dimensions were thrown out of the wound in time , the ship is still linked to the key and he can summon it back . The Doctor uses a mobile telephone battery in conjunction with the sonic screwdriver to charge up the key . The shadowy shape of the TARDIS begins to materialise slowly around it . He tells everyone not to touch or disturb the process — once the TARDIS has fully materialised , he can try to repair the damage . Pete has another talk with Rose , asking her whether he was a good father . She tells him that he was always there for them , told her bedtime stories every night and took them on picnics in the country on weekends . Pete realises she ' s lying ; he knows he ' s the kind of man who will constantly let her down instead of the man who is there for her all the time . The Doctor tells Rose that when time is sorted out again , everyone will forget what has happened , but what Rose changed will remain changed . Pete has realised that he is supposed to be dead and his survival is jeopardising everything . Rose tells Pete that the fault is hers , but Pete replies that he is her father — it is his job for it to be his fault . Jackie overhears Pete , who tells her who Rose is , but Jackie does not believe him . Pete takes the infant Rose from Jackie to get her to compare the features . Before the Doctor can stop him the infant Rose is thrust into the adult Rose ' s arms , causing a paradox and one of the creatures to materialise within the church . It devours the Doctor , then chases the remaining people around the church until it collides with the still - materialising TARDIS . This causes the creature to disappear , however the TARDIS is also lost forever . When they meet , they blink out of existence . Rose runs to the key , which is now dead , and is left stunned and distraught at the Doctor ' s death as Pete tries to comfort her . All hope is now lost , and everyone is left waiting in the church for the end to come as the church grows weaker against the creatures . Pete watches the car repeating its movement around the church through the window . He tells Rose that the Doctor had figured out that Pete ' s death could stop what is happening and tried everything to avoid putting her through it again , but now there ' s no more options . . . to set things right , he has to die like he was supposed to . Rose begs him not to sacrifice himself , but he tells Rose that he ' s happy he had these extra hours with her , and now he ' s going to do what a father is supposed to do to . He shows Rose to Jackie properly and Jackie finally recognises Rose as the grown up version of her daughter . Pete tells Jackie that she has to live to raise Rose , and the three embrace . Pete grabs the wedding gift and runs out of the church , watching for the car as it materialises in its never - ending loop , and steps in front of it just as a creature starts towards him . As Pete crumples to the street , the creatures screech and vanish . The Doctor , restored to life with everyone else the creatures devoured , tells Rose to go to Pete , and she does so . By the church , the congregation , including Stuart ' s restored father , rushes out to see the aftermath of the accident . Rose cradles Pete ' s head and holds his hand as the driver of the car watches on , and Pete smiles up at her as he expires . The Doctor and Rose walk , hand in hand , back to the TARDIS . In the end Rose , did manage to change history a little . Jackie tells the young Rose that the driver , a young man , stopped and waited for the police . It was not his fault — for some reason Pete just ran out in front of the car . There was also a young girl there who stayed with Pete when he died , and then left . Nobody ever learned who she was . " " Peter Alan Tyler , my dad . The most wonderful man in the world . Died the 7th of November , 1987 . " "