The story marked Julian Glover's second guest appearance on the series. It also featured a guest appearance by former Space: 1999 star Catherine Schell, as well as cameos by comedic actors John Cleese and Eleanor Bron. City of Death had the highest average viewing figure of the Tom Baker era, with a rating of 14.5 million. It also has the all-time highest rating for an individual episode with 16.1 million. However, this rating is somewhat misleading, as the story was transmitted at a time when ITV were on strike, and therefore it transmitted without significant opposition.