The scene where the child surprises the Doctor, Rose, and Jack in Room 802 was voted television's "Golden Moment of 2005" by viewers, as part of the BBC's "2005 TV Moments" programme. In a poll conducted by "Doctor Who Magazine" in 2009, the two-part story was ranked the fifth best episode of "Doctor Who". "The Daily Telegraph" named the story the fourth best of the show in 2008. In 2011 before the second half of the sixth series, "The Huffington Post" labelled "The Empty Child" and "The Doctor Dances" as one of the five essential episodes for new viewers to watch.