 The episode was filmed at the Cinecittà studios in Rome in September 2007 . The filming reused some of the sets from the show Rome . Other locations suggested were in Malta and Wales , but the size of the project , the biggest since the show 's revival , resulted in production taking place in Italy . This was the first time the majority of an episode was filmed abroad and the first time the cast had filmed abroad since 1996 ; the television movie was filmed in Vancouver and pick @-@ up shots had previously been made in New York City for " Daleks in Manhattan " . Cinecittà had accepted the BBC 's request in order to promote the studios , despite the show 's small budget . 
