The Curse of Fatal Death is a Doctor Who special made specifically for the Red Nose Day charity telethon in the United Kingdom, and was originally broadcast in four parts on BBC One on 12 March 1999 under the title Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death. Later home video releases are formatted as two parts and drop the "and" in the title. It follows in a long tradition of popular British television programmes producing short, light-hearted specials for such telethon events.

It has a special status amongst Doctor Who-themed charity productions. It has twice been featured on the cover of Doctor Who Magazine – an unusual feat even for a regular episode of the programme. It is the only Comic Relief story to be covered by "DWM Archives", a section of DWM normally reserved for discussion of past episodes of the regular series. Similarly, it is the only parody to be given an extensive behind-the-scenes article on the BBC official website, and its own video release through BBC Video. It is also the only BBC-commissioned live-action Doctor Who production between the Doctor Who television movie in 1996 and "Rose" in 2005.

Finally, it serves as a production bridge – if not a narrative bridge – between the 1963 and 2005 versions of the programme. Most notable amongst the many connections between "old" and "new" versions is the fact that it showcases the first televised Doctor Who script by Steven Moffat, the first post-production work of The Mill on the programme, the only time a woman produced an episode of the programme between Verity Lambert and Susie Liggat, and the final performance by the longest-serving Dalek vocal artist, Roy Skelton. Executive Producer Richard Curtis later wrote the 2010 episode "Vincent and the Doctor". Richard E. Grant, who plays the alternative Tenth Doctor, later appeared on the actual show as the main antagonist of the seventh series, the Great Intelligence, after performing the voice of an alternate version of the Ninth Doctor in an animated webcast serial Scream of the Shalka.