While filming the scene where The Doctor, Wolsey and Will Chandler arrive in a horse-drawn cart at the false lych gate, the horse was reluctant to approach the lych gate because his mare was grazing in a field nearby. The mare was brought inside the churchyard - out of shot - to encourage the animal to behave properly. Unfortunately, the horse became so excited that, on the take, it proceeded to follow the actors through the lych gate, destroying it in the process. Luckily, the shot up to that point could still be salvaged for use in the finished episode.
John Nathan-Turner liked the character of Will Chandler a great deal and seriously considered keeping him on as a companion. However, it was eventually concluded that Chandler's childlike character would quickly wear thin and lacked any clear path of development, so Nathan-Turner dropped the idea.
This episode was watched by 6.6 million viewers on its original transmission.