Writer Frank Cottrell-Boyce had been a fan of Doctor Who for many years, his favourite era being that of the Third Doctor when accompanied by Jo Grant. He liked Earthbound stories where familiar surroundings were invaded by some alien presence.
He once worked with Russell T Davies and had spent some years writing for UK soaps, but his big break came when he was chosen to write the opening ceremony for the London 2012 Olympic Games. Davies recommended him to Steven Moffat and he was asked to submit a story idea for Series 8.
He looked back to the Pertwee era and decided that his episode would see London invaded, but in an unusual way. He opted to have it overrun by trees, as these could neither be dealt with through technology or through negotiation. They were simply wood, which even the sonic screwdriver had no effect on.
The Doctor would be placed in an almost impossible situation as to how to resolve the crisis.
A father of seven and a writer of children's books as well as TV scripts, Cottrell-Boyce decided that kids would play a prominent part - feeling he knew their language well.
A school-trip sleepover seemed like a good starting point.
He also began looking at the forest in fairy tales, where it is often a scary place wherein wolves and witches lurk. Hansel and Gretel and Little Red Riding Hood, for instance, see children threatened in seemingly idyllic forest settings.
(Note how Maebh wears a red coat with a hood).
On waking, Clara initially thinks that the group must have been asleep for 100 years, just like in the original Sleeping Beauty tale La Belle Au Bois Dormant.
The principal child character - Maebh Arden - derives her surname from the Forest of Arden in Warwickshire, close to Shakespeare's home and an inspiration for some of his works such as A Midsummer Night's Dream and the actual setting for As You Like It.
Her first name is Irish, deriving from an ancient warrior queen named Medb. It can mean "she who rules" or "she who intoxicates", as it is related to the word mead - the drink enjoyed by the Doctor in The Time Meddler.
Schoolgirl Ruby was named thus as she was the person who spotted the bright red tree-ring in the museum, alerting the Doctor to the fact that this had happened before.
The episode title comes from William Blakes's 1794 poem The Tyger. The opening lines are "Tyger Tyger, burning bright, In the forests of the night..." - an allusion to the animal's fiery orange coat.
It was only natural that Cottrell-Boyce would then place a tiger in his narrative. With London overrun by trees the cages of the zoo at Regents Park might well have been breached, allowing the animals to escape.
The school sleep-over takes place at the Natural History Museum in South Kensington, and at one point we see Danny, Clara and the children passing a stuffed tiger. Early drafts used the Science Museum as the opening setting.
The other main location is Trafalgar Square, as Nelson's Column provided a tall landmark for characters to aim for and it is regarded as a central point for the city - as well as being useful shorthand for London. The Column rising above the trees reminds us of an image Bob Baker & Dave Martin wished to include in The Sontaran Experiment - itself inspired by astronaut Taylor's finding of the Statue of Liberty at the conclusion of The Planet of the Apes (1968).
At one point the script was going to have Maebh pass on to the Doctor a message from the Here - the little light creatures. This was "You are not alone" - signposting the imminent return of the Master in another incarnation, having first been spoken by the Face of Boe in New Earth.
Moffat decided the reference was too obvious and dropped it. We do see the mysterious woman who has been popping up all series once again - watching the solar flare being deflected by the forests on her tablet.
Next time: UNIT and Cybermen at St Paul's Cathedral - but it's not The Invasion. And yes, the Doctor will discover, once again, that he is not alone...
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