Richard Curtis was mentioned in the Eighth Doctor Adventure novel The Tomorrow Windows as one of the many celebrities who attended the opening of the Tomorrow Windows at Tate Modern. His first work in the Doctor Who franchise was as the executive producer of the official BBC parody, The Curse of Fatal Death. Steven Moffat once credited Curtis with inviting him to write the spoof, Moffat's first televised work for Doctor Who, and suggested that he was "returning the favour" by commissioning Curtis to write Vincent and the Doctor. (Doctor Who Magazine #417)