Peter Davison has stated that The Visitation is one of his three favourite serials from his time on Doctor Who (1963). The others are Earthshock: Part One (1982) and The Caves of Androzani: Part One (1984).
The cast and crew found themselves filming below a Heathrow Airport flight path and the noise of approaching aircraft regularly disrupted recording. However, an air traffic controller's strike put an end to these disturbances, and they were able to make up for the time they had previously lost.
Although this was the fourth story aired this season, it was actually the second to be produced, after Four to Doomsday.
Eric Saward originally created the character of Richard Mace for several radio plays broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in the 1970s. In these, the character is still an eccentric actor, but the plays are set around the 1880s (Jack the Ripper is mentioned).
This episode was watched by 9.1 million viewers on its original transmission.