The Doctor , the Widow and the Wardrobe ( TV story ) The Doctor , the Widow and the Wardrobe was the 2011 Christmas special of " Doctor Who " . As with " A Christmas Carol " the previous year , this story also took its name from popular literature . It marked a relapse for the Doctor , who renounced his choice to travel alone and was reunited with Amy Pond and Rory Williams , ending a two - year absence in their personal timelines . Synopsis . Christmas Eve , 1938 . Madge Arwell comes to the aid of an injured Spaceman Angel , the Eleventh Doctor , who promises to repay her kindness – all she has to do is make a wish . Three years later , Madge escapes war - torn London with her two children for a dilapidated house in Dorset . Crippled with grief at the news her husband has been lost over the English Channel , she wishes to give her children the best Christmas ever . The Arwells are greeted by the Doctor , who acts as their madcap caretaker . However , a mysterious Christmas gift from him leads them into a wintry , magical world . Madge must learn how to be braver than she ever thought possible . . . and that wishes can come true . Plot . A spaceship approaches Earth in 1938 , and prepares its weapons to destroy the planet . Instead , it begins to blow up itself thanks to the Doctor , who is now running for his life to escape the ship . Sealing off the part of the ship that is exploding , the Doctor finds the section he ' s in has fallen apart . The vacuum of space is pulling him out . Seeing a space suit nearby , he tries reaching for it , but it falls out . Using his respiratory bypass system , the Doctor lets go of the ship and falls after the suit , barely missing getting caught in the explosion . Grabbing hold of the suit , he struggles to put it on as he enters the Earth ' s atmosphere . In England , Madge Arwell is riding her bike home when something falls from the sky into a nearby field . She finds a space suit inside a crater as a groan comes from it . Madge opens the visor to find the wearer has the helmet on backwards . She informs him of this when he believes he ' s gone blind . Explaining he " got dressed in a hurry " , the Doctor asks Madge to help him find a police box . Madge returns home to retrieve the keys to her neighbour ' s car , informing her children to tell their dad she is helping a spaceman angel find a police box . When her husband asks where she is going , their son , Cyril , simply says " out " ; her story is obviously ridiculous . After a bumpy drive due to her lack of driving acumen , Madge finds a police box . She helps the Doctor out of the car , as he bumps into a street lamp . She wonders why he hasn ' t taken off his suit . He explains it ' s an impact suit , which is healing him from the fall . The Doctor tells Madge that he will repay her kindness . All she has to do is make a wish . Entering the police box , the Doctor asks if they can try again — it ' s not the TARDIS . Three years later , in the Second World War , Madge ' s husband , Reg is flying his plane blind , looking for a guide to navigate his way . Seeing none , he looks at a picture of Madge and apologises . Madge receives a telegram , informing her that Reg was lost at sea . She does not tell her children , Cyril and Lily , what happened , as she wants to keep them happy at Christmas . Because of the bombing , they are to leave for Uncle Digby ' s country estate . As her children break a wishbone , Madge makes a silent wish for help . They arrive at Digby ' s estate , where the Doctor greets them . He introduces himself as the caretaker . He shows them around the estate , explaining he " repaired " several boring rooms . They have been upgraded with delightful gizmos . He shows the children their room , which has everything a child could want for their hobbies — at the cost of their bed s ( they ' ll have to sleep in hammocks ) . Madge tells the Doctor to stop and sends the children out of the room . She tells him that their father is dead , but then wonders at herself why she keeps shouting at them . The Doctor explains that it ' s because she knows that they will be very sad when she tells them the bad news ; their happiness until then is upsetting her . The reason to let them be happy now is because they are going to be very sad later . Before anything more can be said , they are interrupted by cries of delight from Cyril and Lily . They go to a room where the Doctor has set up an elaborate tree with a large gift box . Madge is shocked by the many toys the Doctor has put in the room . She turns to find him leaving once the children wonder who left them a gift . That night , Cyril decides to open the Doctor ' s present before Christmas . He finds it contains a portal to another world , one covered in snow . A tree sprouts what seem to be ornaments . He grabs one , sees a face on it and drops it to run back . Something hatches from the ornament and walks off . Back in the house , Lily is worried about Cyril . She notices lights from the attic . She finds the Doctor working on the electrics with the TARDIS next to him . He lies that the TARDIS is his wardrobe , painted to look like a police box . The Doctor wonders if Cyril is still in bed once he observes a beeping light he is holding . To prove to the Doctor that Cyril is in bed , Lily takes him to see , but finds the Doctor was right . Cyril is not there . Impressed with Cyril ' s cleverness , the Doctor decides to look for him . They head for the sitting room with the tree and find Cyril re - entering the portal . The Doctor enters and pulls Lily after him , explaining that its a portal to another planet . They have arrived a few minutes after Cyril because of the nature of the portal . The Doctor explains this gift was supposed to be a supervised trip to one of the safest planets he knows , which also has beautiful natural Christmas trees . Meanwhile , Cyril has traced footprints left by the creature which earlier hatched from the " bauble " . They lead to a tower - like structure . Back in the house , Madge feels uneasy and looks around for the others , only to find them gone . She finds the portal and enters the forest herself . She encounters three harvest ranger s , who hold her at gunpoint . They explain that the forest is private property , and she ' s in danger because of the acid rain coming to melt the trees down into fuel . They do a scan of her , finding that she is not from their era . The portal lead to the future . Madge begins crying from the stress and shock of what ' s happening . Deciding Madge will trust them if they are unarmed , the three do so , asking if they can interrogate her now . Madge then turns the tables on them by pointing a gun at them , telling them she ' s from the time of the Second World War . Cyril has entered the structure and made his way to the top . Inside are wooden statues of a king and a queen . When Cyril sits on a throne in the top of the tower , the Wooden Queen comes to life and puts a crown on him . At the same time , the Doctor and Lily arrive and ascend the stairs . The Wooden King comes to life and follows them up . Finding Cyril , the Doctor then questions the Queen and King . They are trying to evacuate the forest ' s life force before the Androzani tree s are melted . They lured Cyril to them , but he is too weak to carry their life force off the planet . To the Doctor ' s chagrin , he is also too weak . Lily " is " strong , but too young . Madge is taken to the harvest rangers ' vehicle , where she has all but the female member of the trio tied up to get some answers ; Madge trusts her more than the men . The female ranger says they can scan for her children and set up a radio feed to receive any voices within the area . However , as soon as this is set up , a warning about the acid rain sounds and the rangers are teleported away . Madge hears Cyril over the radio , saying he will wait at the tower until she comes as she " always " comes . Worried for the child ' s life , the Doctor tries explaining to Cyril that the portal they used to get to this planet will close soon , and they have to leave right away if they have a chance of avoiding the acid rain . However , the child is adamant and the rain begins ; the tower won ' t hold up for long . They notice the ground shaking . Outside , the rangers ' vehicle , a giant robot , is being piloted poorly towards the tower . The Doctor recognises the driving style : Madge . She tells the Doctor he is fired as caretaker , before crashing the robot next to the tower . The Doctor rushes her inside , where the Wooden Queen and King decide she is both strong and old enough . The Doctor realises they are saying that all life comes from the " mother ship " , and thus are insisting on a female host . The forest ' s life force enters Madge as the room separates from the tower and launches itself into the time vortex . On the Queen ' s instruction to think of her destination , the Doctor tells her to think of all the memories and emotions of home until it hurts . Complying , Madge begins thinking of her husband , and how he followed her around all the time until she promised to marry him . She then sees a display of her husband ' s plane , lost at sea . Not wanting to see her husband crash , Madge asks the Queen and King not to show her that . Lily and Cyril realise she ' s been keeping a secret from them . In a flash of light , everyone is transported to Digby ' s lawn . The Doctor explains that the trees ' life force , the Wooden Queen and Wooden King have left and are now out in space . Madge tries hugging her children , but they ask what she meant about their father dying . The Doctor excuses himself . When he steps outside , he rushes back to tell Madge to come out . Somehow , Reg landed right behind them . The Doctor explains that her love led him into the time vortex , and he used the light from the escape pod as a guide to follow . Reg wonders what happened , until he is told it ' s Christmas . He puts aside thought to enjoy the holiday with his family . Later , Madge enters the attic as the Doctor prepares to leave . Seeing the TARDIS , she realises the " caretaker " was the spaceman she helped years earlier . She asks him to stay and enjoy Christmas , but he tells her he cannot . Madge thinks he has loved ones of his own , but the Doctor says that they think he died . Madge orders the Doctor to go see them . They shouldn ' t think he ' s dead at Christmas . As he enters the TARDIS , the Doctor tells Madge that if she ever needs his help again , she should make another wish . Reg enters as the TARDIS dematerialises . Madge explains the Doctor has returned to the time vortex , which she thinks is a lovely place . In the 21st century , the Doctor arrives at Amy and Rory ' s . Amy answers the door with a water gun , thinking it is Christmas carollers again . He greets her awkwardly , wondering how long it has been since they last met . Amy tells him that it ' s been two years , and spritzes the Doctor with water as payback for yet another long wait . She says River told them the truth , that he didn ' t really die . They each then assert that they will not hug first . After they hug , she invites the Doctor in , calling Rory to see who ' s at the door . Rory tries pretending to be surprised , but Amy tells him that they ' re past that . The Doctor asks if they have room for one more . They tell him that they always set a place for him . As Amy and Rory head in , the Doctor leaks a few tears , to his own surprise . He wipes his eye and smiles , noticing that he ' s got a bit of " humany - wumany " in him , then joins his friends for Christmas dinner . Story notes . Filming locations . Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre East Kirkby Airfield , East Kirkby , Near Spilsby , Lincolnshire , PE23 4DE - Used for filming of Avro Lancaster NX611 " Just Jane " . Filming took place overnight on 2nd and 3rd October 2011 with Alexander Armstrong present .