 The two @-@ part finale 's epic scale and underlying plot was first conceived in early 2007 as the last regular @-@ series story for departing producers Russell T Davies , Julie Gardner , and Phil Collinson : the fourth series finale is the last story produced by Collinson ; and Steven Moffat and Piers Wenger replaced Davies and Gardner as show runner and executive producer respectively in 2010 . Major concepts were already specified by July 2007 and the script was written in December 2007 ; Davies began on the 7th and finished on the 31st . Filming for the finale took place in February and March 2008 , and post @-@ production finished in mid @-@ June 2008 , only two weeks before the episode aired . To conceal as many plot elements as possible , " The Stolen Earth " ' s title was not disclosed until sixteen days before broadcast , preview DVDs omitted the scene where the Doctor regenerates — the last scene is the Doctor being shot by a Dalek — and the episode aired without a preview trailer for " Journey 's End " . 
