diff --git a/aio/src/app/shared/toc.service.spec.ts b/aio/src/app/shared/toc.service.spec.ts
index 8b19fc9371..f3af3d071c 100644
--- a/aio/src/app/shared/toc.service.spec.ts
+++ b/aio/src/app/shared/toc.service.spec.ts
@@ -291,23 +291,20 @@ describe('TocService', () => {
     });
   });
 
-  describe('TocItem for an h2 with anchor link and extra whitespace', () => {
+  describe('TocItem for an h2 with links and extra whitespace', () => {
     let docId: string;
-    let docEl: HTMLDivElement;
     let tocItem: TocItem;
-    let expectedTocContent: string;
 
     beforeEach(() => {
       docId = 'fizz/buzz/';
-      expectedTocContent = 'Setup to develop <i>locally</i>.';
 
       // An almost-actual <h2> ... with extra whitespace
-      docEl = callGenToc(`
+      callGenToc(`
         <h2 id="setup-to-develop-locally">
-          <a href="tutorial/toh-pt1#setup-to-develop-locally" aria-hidden="true">
+          Setup to <a href="moo">develop</a> <i>locally</i>.
+          <a class="header-link" href="tutorial/toh-pt1#setup-to-develop-locally" aria-hidden="true">
             <span class="icon icon-link"></span>
           </a>
-          ${expectedTocContent}
         </h2>
       `, docId);
 
@@ -331,7 +328,7 @@ describe('TocService', () => {
     it('should have bypassed HTML sanitizing of heading\'s innerHTML ', () => {
       const domSanitizer: TestDomSanitizer = injector.get(DomSanitizer);
       expect(domSanitizer.bypassSecurityTrustHtml)
-        .toHaveBeenCalledWith(expectedTocContent);
+        .toHaveBeenCalledWith('Setup to develop <i>locally</i>.');
     });
   });
 });
@@ -352,13 +349,20 @@ class TestDomSanitizer {
 }
 
 class MockScrollSpyService {
-  $lastInfo: {
+  private $$lastInfo: {
     active: Subject<ScrollItem | null>,
-    unspy: jasmine.Spy
-  };
+    unspy: jasmine.Spy,
+  } | undefined;
+
+  get $lastInfo() {
+    if (!this.$$lastInfo) {
+      throw new Error('$lastInfo is not yet defined. You must call `spyOn` first.');
+    }
+    return this.$$lastInfo;
+  }
 
   spyOn(headings: HTMLHeadingElement[]): ScrollSpyInfo {
-    return this.$lastInfo = {
+    return this.$$lastInfo = {
       active: new Subject<ScrollItem | null>(),
       unspy: jasmine.createSpy('unspy'),
     };
diff --git a/aio/src/app/shared/toc.service.ts b/aio/src/app/shared/toc.service.ts
index a321f9b9fb..df5f50b94f 100644
--- a/aio/src/app/shared/toc.service.ts
+++ b/aio/src/app/shared/toc.service.ts
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ export interface TocItem {
 export class TocService {
   tocList = new ReplaySubject<TocItem[]>(1);
   activeItemIndex = new ReplaySubject<number | null>(1);
-  private scrollSpyInfo: ScrollSpyInfo | null;
+  private scrollSpyInfo: ScrollSpyInfo | null = null;
 
   constructor(
       @Inject(DOCUMENT) private document: any,
@@ -53,15 +53,25 @@ export class TocService {
 
   // This bad boy exists only to strip off the anchor link attached to a heading
   private extractHeadingSafeHtml(heading: HTMLHeadingElement) {
-    const a = this.document.createElement('a') as HTMLAnchorElement;
-    a.innerHTML = heading.innerHTML;
-    const anchorLink = a.querySelector('a');
-    if (anchorLink) {
-      a.removeChild(anchorLink);
+    const div: HTMLDivElement = this.document.createElement('div');
+    div.innerHTML = heading.innerHTML;
+    const anchorLinks: NodeListOf<HTMLAnchorElement> = div.querySelectorAll('a');
+    for (let i = 0; i < anchorLinks.length; i++) {
+      const anchorLink = anchorLinks[i];
+      if (!anchorLink.classList.contains('header-link')) {
+        // this is an anchor that contains actual content that we want to keep
+        // move the contents of the anchor into its parent
+        const parent = anchorLink.parentNode!;
+        while (anchorLink.childNodes.length) {
+          parent.insertBefore(anchorLink.childNodes[0], anchorLink);
+        }
+      }
+      // now remove the anchor
+      anchorLink.remove();
     }
     // security: the document element which provides this heading content
     // is always authored by the documentation team and is considered to be safe
-    return this.domSanitizer.bypassSecurityTrustHtml(a.innerHTML.trim());
+    return this.domSanitizer.bypassSecurityTrustHtml(div.innerHTML.trim());
   }
 
   private findTocHeadings(docElement: Element): HTMLHeadingElement[] {