In the Forest of the Night ( TV story ) In the Forest of the Night was the tenth episode of the eighth series of " Doctor Who " produced by BBC Wales . It was notable for employing a fairy - tale style of storytelling and a menagerie of child actors . This episode has no real antagonist or villain , one of only a handful of such stories . Synopsis . One morning , in every city and town in the world , the human race wakes up to face the most surprising invasion yet . Everywhere , in every land , a forest has grown overnight and taken back the Earth . It doesn ' t take the Doctor long to discover that the final days of humanity have arrived . . . Plot . A little girl is running through a forest , when she comes across the TARDIS and knocks on the door . The Twelfth Doctor opens the door , and the little girl explains that something told her to look for a doctor . Taking the girl inside , the Doctor goes on about how he ' s having trouble with the TARDIS not landing where he wants to be . After a takeoff attempt , a GPS voice says the Doctor has arrived at his destination , London ; he argues that it ' s wrong . However , the little girl tells him that the device is not wrong , she takes him outside and points up , explaining they are in Trafalgar Square . The Doctor is left surprised by this , as a pullaway shows all of London ' s filled with wild trees filling every open area possible . In a museum , Clara and Danny have taken " special " students on a museum sleepover class trip . After dealing with some annoyance one student was causing , they gather up the class to leave . One student stops to stare at a cross - section of tree on display , noticing that it has a single thick red ring in the rings depicting how many years it grew . Clara , not knowing what it means , simply guesses " must have been a good year to be a tree . " The security guard attempts to unlock the door to let them out , but finds it jammed . After the guard ' s futile attempts to open the door , Danny and the children push the door open . Everyone is left shocked by the sight of the trees , leaving Clara to think of answers . Danny goes to the roof to have a look ; initially imagining they must have been involved in a " Sleeping Beauty " scenario , Clara soon struggles to account for the various inaccuracies of her theory . All around the world , people are panicking from the sudden appearance of the trees . The British Government announces its plan to burn away trees to clear paths for people to get around . Believing that the Doctor may already be in the area to investigate the situation , Clara runs off to find him . Danny and the children stay at the museum waiting for her to return . Clara phones the Doctor , learning that one of the children she and Danny were supposed to be looking after is in the TARDIS with him ; they arrange to meet up at Trafalgar Square . Clara returns to the museum where Danny finds out she has been in contact with the Doctor who has Maebh , this results in an argument that confuses the children since they have been told by Ruby , one of the children , that Danny and Clara are " madly in love " . Ruby explains that arguing is what you do when you are madly in love . They organise and set off for Trafalgar Square . Once everyone meets up , Ruby brings a strange fact to the Doctor ' s attention ; a branch from one of the trees she found has no rings of growth in it . The Doctor concludes that the trees sprang up overnight . Danny wonders how this is possible , with the Doctor pointing out it ' s a similar scenario to the Ice Age , joking " welcome to the Tree Age . " The Doctor then lets everyone into the TARDIS for safety ; this proves to be a bad idea as he constantly has to shout at the children to leave the controls alone . Surprised by the remarkable lack of intelligence displayed by the group , the Doctor asks Clara what ' s wrong with the children . After she explains , flashbacks show the children in her and Danny ' s classes , misbehaving and asking stupid questions . Danny notices folders of homework assignments that Clara previously left onboard . As he begins to look through them , he is suddenly stopped by the Doctor . He sees a series of drawings depicting the growth of the trees and an impending solar flare ( strong as the one he recently encountered , which destroyed the Bank of Karabraxos ) . He demands to know who drew the pictures , learning that it was Maebh Arden . He searches the children , asking for Maebh . However , Ruby says that Maebh is not with them . Clara informs the Doctor that Maebh is fragile and hears voices since her sister went missing last year . When asked what the voices say Clara says she does not know , Maebh takes medication and the voices go away . This angers the Doctor who says " If a child is speaking , listen to it . " The Doctor uses the sonic screwdriver to get a reading on Maebh ' s phone and he and Clara leave the TARDIS . The Doctor and Clara take off to find Maebh , while the children convince Danny that he needs to go after Clara to help and protect her ; however , he annoys them with his choice of words . In the meantime , Maebh is leaving a trail of her belongings ; she stops upon hearing voices , which belong to men in protective suits about to burn the trees blocking the road . Frightened , Maebh takes off in a different direction . The Doctor and Clara reach the same spot shortly afterwards , only to be ordered to vacate the area for their own safety . Kept from advancing , the Doctor and Clara watch in amazement as the trees will not burn even using flamethrowers ; the Doctor explains that trees control oxygen , and therefore can prevent themselves from being burnt by depriving fire of air . Showing Clara the drawings , the Doctor explains that Maebh predicted the appearance of the trees , and has even written down the date ; they have to find her because she ' s connected in some way to the trees . They continue searching for Maebh , only to be shocked still by the howl of a wolf . Clara is in disbelief since they ' re in London , a big city ; however , the Doctor points out that the trees may have likely broken the gates of the zoo and let out the dangerous predators inside it . They find Maebh , who is being pursued by wolves , but find themselves on opposite sides of a fence . Maebh sees a gate and joins the Doctor and Clara on the other side of the fence . The Doctor instructs them to stay huddled together , hoping to scare off the wolves by pretending to be a monster . The wolf pack jump the fence , but run past them whimpering . The Doctor believes his plan has worked however , Clara flatly asks him " What are wolves frightened of ? " A tiger slowly approaches from the other side of the fence , ready to attack ; however , Danny arrives and scares the beast away . Maebh begins swatting the air with her hands , saying there are too many . Clara and Danny think its a fit and Maebh needs her medication ; however , the Doctor stops them as the child is communicating with something related to the trees . Maebh runs off again and everyone pursues her . She goes to an area that looks like a circle of bushes that are covered in cobwebs . Using the sonic screwdriver , the Doctor makes what Maebh is swatting at visible as sparks of light . The lights become still and use Maebh to communicate ; they tell the Doctor that they are the lifeforce of the trees , which have been and will always be there , and that a powerful solar flare is coming . The lights then leave , freeing Maebh . Clara urges the Doctor to use the TARDIS as a lifeboat to save the children , Danny , and herself ; they head back to the TARDIS , where the Doctor is ready to take everyone onboard . However , Clara tells him that the children will always want their parents , and that her idea was a ruse to get the Doctor back to the TARDIS for his own safety . Not wanting to be alone , the Doctor tells Clara that Earth is his planet too ; however , she sends him away ironically telling him that she does not want to be the last of her kind ( see : Doctor Who ) . Alone in the TARDIS , the Doctor comes to a sudden realisation : this scenario with the solar flare and trees has happened before ! The Doctor ushers everyone back into the TARDIS , where he explains the solar flare ; to his surprise , Clara kept the news from the children . Regardless , the Doctor then explains that the trees are benevolent ; they have been protecting life on earth for centuries , and have sprung up all over the world to keep it safe from the solar flares . A child points out that the governments are still planning to destroy the trees with a defoliant ; a horrified Doctor realises they have to quickly spread the word about the trees ' purpose around the world . Maebh offers to convey the message since she was the first to receive the news ; the Doctor agrees . The children work together to compose a speech while the Doctor hacks into every communication device in the world . Maebh ' s speech is heard around the world , advising everyone to be calm and that the trees are to be left alone as they serve a benevolent purpose and ends by asking her sister to come home . Everyone then leaves the TARDIS , where Maebh is greeted by her mother , who has been searching for her . The Doctor offers the group the rare chance to watch a solar flare from space , but everyone turns down the offer ; Clara will join the Doctor after the children are returned home . She and Danny then share a kiss , which the children laugh at as the rumours about them dating have been proven true . Later , the Doctor and Clara watch the Earth from the open TARDIS doorway . The solar flare hits Earth , but the trees protect the earth from harm . Elsewhere , also watches the event on her tablet , commenting " Now that was surprising . I love surprises . " Back at her apartment , Clara and the Doctor watch from the balcony as the trees covering London crumble away . She wonders what will be told about the trees in the future , but the Doctor tells her that the entire event will have been forgotten as it ' s the human superpower to forget . Elsewhere , the Ardens are returning home , when Maebh notices something looking at them through a hydrangea bush . The hydrangea ( variety " Annabelle " ) withers away , revealing Maebh ' s lost sister , Annabelle . Story notes . Ratings . 6 . 92 million ( DWM 481 ) External links . " to be added "