i) births and deaths

17 May 1943: birth of David Simeon, who played Private Latimer in Inferno (Third Doctor, 1970) and TV anchorman Alastair Fergus in The Dæmons (Third Doctor, 1971)

ii) broadcast anniversaries

17 May 1969: broadcast of fifth episode of The War Games. The Doctor infitrates the Chief Scientist's laboratory, but Jamie's raid on central control goes badly.

17 May 2008: broadcast of The Unicorn and the Wasp. The Doctor and Donna arrive at a house party in 1926 and, together with Agatha Christie, defeat the Vespiform.

17 May 2011: broadcast of The Custodians, nineteenth episode of the Australian K9 series. "Little Green Men" is a new virtual reality game sweeping the nation, the brainchild of a company with designs on taking over the youth of the world. The game has a hidden secret: a link to a strange telepathic alien who turns humans into his own kind.

17 May 2020: webcast of The Descendants of Pompeii. Evie and Maxine discuss the way their family seems to be protected.