The script originally called for the Doctor to threaten one of the tribesmen with a knife. Tom Baker refused to threaten someone with a weapon and instead substituted it for a jelly baby, much to Philip Hinchcliffe's annoyance who wasn't present at the day's filming.
Robert Holmes suggested that Leela possess some sort of supernatural powers, which he thought might be inherited from a witch-priestess grandmother. Chris Boucher was not fond of this idea, and instead opted to grant her a sort of sixth sense for danger.
This episode was watched by 10.7 million viewers on its original transmission.
Tom Baker greeted Louise Jameson frostily as they started working together: he objected in general to being saddled with a new companion, but in particular to a character who wore a distractingly brief costume and exhibited violent tendencies that he felt were inappropriate in the series. Baker grudgingly accepted Jameson when he was told that Leela was only due to appear in a trio of stories.