The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe Piers Wenger's tenure as executive producer, and the debut of Caroline Skinner in the same position. Adapting elements of C.S. Lewis's children's novel "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe", Moffat intended the episode to be the most "Christmassy" of the "Doctor Who" Christmas specials, while Blackburn felt there was "magic" in it. It was filmed in September and October 2011, with some scenes taking place in an authentic Lancaster bomber. "The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe" was watched by 10.77 million viewers in the United Kingdom, making it the third most-watched programme on Christmas Day. Critical reception to
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe make a faithful adaptation of the novel set in Britain. ""Harry Potter" came along, and all those cultural or geographical lines were broken," Mark Johnson explained. "When "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" was being developed at Paramount, the imperative was to set it in the U.S., and it just doesn't hold. [...] It's not the book." Guillermo del Toro turned down the offer to direct due to his commitment on "Pan's Labyrinth". Following an Academy Award win for "Shrek", director Andrew Adamson began adapting the source material with a 20-page treatment based on his memories of the book.