In 1925 England, a case of mistaken identity leads the Doctor to join a charity cricket match organised by the wealthy Cranleigh family. Nyssa discovers that Lord Charles Cranleigh's fiancee, Ann Talbot, is her exact double. Enchanted with the time travellers, the Cranleighs invite them to a masquerade ball that evening. There, Tegan learns of the tragic loss of Charles' elder brother, George, on a botanical expedition to South America. Meanwhile, the Doctor discovers a dead body hidden beyond a secret passageway. Having stolen the Doctor's harlequin costume, the killer now stalks the party, intent on Ann.

When he became Doctor Who's producer at the end of 1979, John Nathan-Turner decided to dispense with six-part stories, which he felt were too long to hold viewers' interest. For Season Eighteen, he secured a budget for twenty-eight episodes -- two more than had previously been the norm -- so that the year could be comprised solely of seven four-part serials. The same approach was originally intended for Season Nineteen as well. Around the start of 1981, however, Nathan-Turner decided to repurpose the budget for two episodes in order to make A Girl's Best Friend, a one-hour pilot for a proposed K·9 And Company spin-off series. As such, Season Nineteen would instead feature Doctor Who's first two-part adventure since The Sontaran Experiment in 1975.

To fill this slot, Nathan-Turner revived a proposal called “The Beast”, which Terence Dudley had discussed with script editor Christopher H Bidmead circa the previous August. A murder-mystery based on ideas Dudley had originally developed for another programme, “The Beast” had been rejected by Bidmead because it did not fit the mould of strong, science-based narratives that he and Nathan-Turner were seeking. Dudley instead scripted Four To Doomsday but, following Bidmead's departure from Doctor Who at the end of 1980, Nathan-Turner decided to revisit “The Beast”, towards which he felt more enthusiasm. He disliked the title, however, and so it was commissioned as Black Orchid on February 9th.

Black Orchid was the first Doctor Who story without any science-fiction trappings since 1967

One element of Dudley's narrative that Nathan-Turner appreciated was the spotlight it cast on Nyssa. Other Season Nineteen stories were already focussing on her fellow companions, with Tegan crucial to Kinda and Adric meeting his doom in “The Enemy Within” (later replaced by Earthshock). With Doctor Who now boasting so many regular characters, the producer felt that this approach would help the audience relate to each one individually. Nathan-Turner was also keen on the fact that Black Orchid would be the first Doctor Who story without any science-fiction trappings whatsoever since The Highlanders in 1967.

For a time, Nathan-Turner considered directing Black Orchid himself; of Doctor Who's previous producers, Barry Letts had directed several serials during the early Seventies, while Graham Williams had been pressed into emergency service on 1979's Nightmare Of Eden. By the summer, however, it was clear that Nathan-Turner's combined workload on the remainder of the Season Nineteen and K·9 And Company would preclude this possibility. John Black -- who had just completed Four To Doomsday -- was then considered for Black Orchid. But Black was also assigned to direct A Girl's Best Friend and, since it would go into production soon after Black Orchid, it was agreed that he could not feasibly work on both. Finally, it was decided that the brevity of Black Orchid made it an excellent project for a novice director. The task went to Ron Jones, an acquaintance of Nathan-Turner's from his days as a production unit manager.

Jones' first order of business would be location filming, primarily for the scenes outside Dalton Hall. Various manor houses were considered, but the eventual choice was suggested by the production of Castrovalva, which had been recorded immediately before Black Orchid. Much of its location work had taken place on the grounds of Buckhurst Park in Withyam, East Sussex, and the cast and crew had been warmly welcomed by the estate's owner, Earl De La Warr. In late September, Nathan-Turner approached the Earl about using the main residence at Buckhurst Park as Dalton Hall. The Earl was less eager to feature the house itself in Doctor Who, but he ultimately consented on the condition that personal photography was strictly controlled.

First, however, Jones' team spent October 5th at Quainton in Buckinghamshire. The roadway material was filmed on Quainton Road, while the police station was actually an abandoned house on the same thoroughfare. Cranleigh Halt was in fact the Quainton Road Railway Station, which had been closed in 1963. Although Jones planned his shots to keep Nyssa and Ann Talbot from appearing together as much as possible, this was not always feasible. Vanessa Paine was therefore hired to double as either Nyssa or Ann, as appropriate -- although Sarah Sutton was disappointed that the actress did not resemble her more closely.

The next four days were spent at Buckhurst Park. On October 6th, the stunt in which George Cranleigh plummetted off the roof went awry: stuntman Gareth Milne missed his cushioned target and struck the ground with his legs, although he escaped injury. The dance sequences were the main focus on the 7th and 8th, much to the delight of Sutton and Janet Fielding. Matthew Waterhouse was less enthusiastic; he suggested that Adric should be more interested in the food, so that he would not have to participate in the choreography. October 9th was devoted to the cricket match, which was staged at a pitch used by the Withyam Cricket Club, on the grounds of Buckhurst Park.

Black Orchid was accorded just two studio days: October 20th and 21st, at BBC Television Centre Studio 3 in White City, London. The first day dealt with all of the material in the TARDIS, Nyssa and Tegan's guest bedroom, the secret corridor and the small annex. Jones also recorded some scenes in the drawing room, George's cell and the landing. He completed this work on the second day, together with sequences on the stairs, in the Doctor's guest bedroom, and in Ann's room.

Unfortunately, taping on the 21st was badly delayed due to industrial action by the electricians' union. Although Jones worked quickly and Nathan-Turner authorised a costly one-hour overrun, two scenes in Ann's bedroom -- in which George spied on his former fiancee -- had to be abandoned. Jones subsequently tried to repair the damage by using shots of George which had been recorded the previous day. Nonetheless, Nathan-Turner was impressed by how Jones had handled such difficult circumstances. He was immediately offered the season finale, Time-Flight, which had just lost its intended director.

• Doctor Who Magazine #298, 13th December 2000, “Archive: Black Orchid” by Andrew Pixley, Panini Publishing Ltd.
• Doctor Who Magazine Special Edition #1, 2001, “Prince Charming” by Andrew Pixley, Panini Publishing Ltd.
• Doctor Who: The Complete History #35, 2018, “Story 120: Black Orchid”, edited by John Ainsworth, Hachette Partworks Ltd.
• Doctor Who: The Eighties by David J Howe, Mark Stammers and Stephen James Walker (1996), Virgin Publishing.
• Doctor Who: The Handbook: The Fifth Doctor by David J Howe and Stephen James Walker (1995), Virgin Publishing.
• In·Vision #59, August 1995, “Production” edited by Anthony Brown, Cybermark Services.