TARDIS Report: Weekend Press CoverageBookmark and Share

Monday, 10 April 2006 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

There was literally a ton of press coverage over the weekend and late last week, so to get started we focus on reports from the weekend. The Outpost Gallifrey news page will on Tuesday carry more from last week's other press and magazine mentions (the editor's still getting caught up with the backlog!)

This Weekend's Launch

The official Doctor Who website has been updated with a front page now themed like the first new episode, New Earth.

Also, says the site, "BBC One's brand new series Totally Doctor Whostarts on Thursday 13 April at 5pm, as part of Children's BBC. Hosted by Barney Harwood and Blue Peter's Liz Barker, Totally Doctor Who will give younger viewers a glimpse of the thrills and spills coming up in the new series. "

Tooth and Claw

There's lots of coverage of episode two of the new season, Tooth and Claw, the past few days. BBC News says that "The latest Doctor Who series, starring David Tennant, will see BBC One's time traveller and his sidekick Rose tackle predators including a werewolf. The second episode sees the Doctor face the creature - a man transformed into a wolf - in Scotland in 1879. Tennant had his first outing in the role for last year's Christmas episode. The new series begins on Saturday. He and co-star Billie Piper attended a Glasgow preview of the werewolf show although it was filmed in Wales."

The Sunday Herald says that "On-set in Cardiff, Tennant is nervous energy personified. While waiting to film a scene, he jumps up and down on the spot and waggles his fingers, then attempts the dance routine from the latest Rachel Stevens video. Today, they are filming the second episode of the new series -- Tooth And Claw, which is set in the Scottish Highlands. In it, Queen Victoria's train derails and she seeks shelter in the mansion of a former friend of Prince Albert's. Unfortunately, the grand country pile has another house guest -- a werewolf. The Doctor and his travelling companion Rose are around too, a Tardis malfunction seeing them fetch up in 1879 when they were actually attempting to attend an Ian Dury gig in 1979. 'It's a bit confusing today,' says Tennant, while waiting for the cameras to roll. 'Lots of running up and down corridors. You tend to forget which you are in. But it's a Doctor Who tradition, running up and down corridors.' He's wearing the brown pinstripe suit that is his Doctor Who outfit ('Jarvis Cocker had this look 10 years ago'), and leaning up against the scenery. There's a deer skull screwed to the wall above him, and a candelabra nearby. One woman has the job of keeping the candles lit, which is bad news for Billie Piper -- Rose in the show -- who sets her hair on fire while running past, but quickly pats it out. 'I've got so much hairspray on as well!' she cackles, clearly amused. She walks around, getting the cast and crew to smell her singed locks. 'Mmm,' says Pauline Collins, who is playing Queen Victoria. 'I love the smell of burning hair.' Such incidents offer much-needed excitement on-set. While it's thrilling to watch, Doctor Who is gruelling to make. Filming began on this new series in July 2005 and continued until the end of March. Cast and crew work 12-hour days, and much of today is taken up with simply running up the corridor towards the camera. There isn't even a werewolf chasing them. That's a special effect which will be put in later. In the meantime, to give the computer animators a guide to work towards, the cast are pursued by a man in body-hugging white Lycra, complete with hood. He looks exactly like one of the sperms from Woody Allen's film Everything You Wanted To Know About Sex But Were Afraid To Ask. During a break in filming, David Tennant sits down with a cup of tea to talk about starring in Doctor Who. He has been a fan since he was a child growing up in Renfrewshire and is one of those people who know more about the show than is strictly healthy (his earliest memory is of seeing Jon Pertwee regenerate into Tom Baker), so to actually become his boyhood hero has been rather overwhelming. 'It's a bit surreal,' he nods. 'It doesn't seem plausible that you should suddenly get your own Tardis. It seemed fantastically unlikely when they asked me to do it. I just laughed.' When Christopher Eccleston agreed to play the Doctor it was a leap of faith -- one of Britain's most serious actors opting to portray a character who had become a kitschy, culty joke, smelling of cheese and mothballs. Tennant, on the other hand, faces a different kind of pressure -- meeting the high standard set by his predecessor. 'I owe Chris a lot because he was part of creating a phenomenon last year, and his very presence gave the show a mark of quality which some people didn't expect,' he says. 'My problem is I have to live up to that and not be the reason that this year it falls to bits. So it's not so much a leap of faith for me as a leap of hope. I've got much further to fall now that the show is such a big hit. It is intimidating. You think, 'What if I'm the George Lazenby of this?' But then you think, 'I can't not take it on.'' ... In fact, by far the most disturbing moment of the previous series of Doctor Who was the least grisly -- The Empty Child, a two-parter in which the gas mask-wearing ghost of a little boy killed in the Blitz haunts his gymslip mother. Something of its skin-crawling spirit looks to have been captured in New Earth, the first episode of the new series, in which a cats dressed as nuns seek antidotes to diseases by testing them on captive humans. Written by Davies, the episode is a spin on MRSA and animal vivisection (with un-intentional shades of the recent drugs-trial horror) and demonstrates his alchemical knack for turning headlines into plot lines. Under his influence, Doctor Who has become enjoyably liberal, featuring an inter-racial relationship and an alien whose extreme horniness has no regard for gender or indeed species. 'One of the great pleasures of the first series is that we did manage to do that at seven o'clock on a Saturday night and nobody batted an eyelid,' says Phil Collinson . 'Five years ago, if we'd put a bisexual character in a series that has a huge children's following there would have been a massive storm of protest, and I think it is a genuine reflection of our times that that is not the case now. As a society we are more liberal and accepting, and I think what Russell's writing does brilliantly is reflect real life. Even though this is science fiction, we are dealing with real people with real emotions.'"

The Western Mail says that "With its speed, thirst for blood, menacing eyes and evil looking teeth and claws, this is the enemy the Doctor must face in one of the scariest episodes ever. The sight of a werewolf trapping the Doctor is guaranteed to send children fleeing for the safety of the back of the sofa during episode two. Fans of Doctor Who, which returns next Saturday, are used to being scared by the likes of the Daleks, Sea Devils and the Zygons. But the realistic nature of the CGI werewolf, the main monster in the episode Tooth and Claw, could rival a Hollywood horror movie. The episode, starring Pauline Collins, sees Rose and the Doctor transported back to Scotland in 1879. Collins' Queen Victoria meets the pair while en route to the Torchwood Estate, but when they arrive they discover that a group of monks - skilled in martial arts - are hiding a dark secret. Written by Russell T Davies, the episode takes on a sinister bent when the secret is exposed to be a werewolf who wants something belonging to the Queen. For 45 minutes the beast stalks the corridors of the estate, which is Craig-y-Nos Castle in disguise, at one point trapping Rose and the Doctor in a drawing room while it claws at the woodwork. With the beast's thirst for blood, Davies admits it's 'as scary as we ever get'. But the new Doctor, David Tennant, insists it's all in the programme's tradition. He said, 'Being scared is part of growing up. That's what Doctor Who has done since 1963 and I'm glad to see it continue. The show has had horror for as long as I can remember.'"

David Tennant has told of his delight at playing a Scot in the new series of Doctor Who. A feature piece for the UK's Press Association, circulated for Scotland only, runs as follows: "Doctor Who actor David Tennant has spoken of his joy at getting to play a Scot in one episode of the new series. The star was in Glasgow for a preview of episode two from the second series. The episode, entitled Tooth and Claw, sees Tennant time travel to Scotland during Queen Victoria's reign and save the monarch from a werewolf on a Highland estate with help from his companion Rose, played by Billie Piper. The 34-year-actor, who trained at Glasgow's RSAMD, ditched his Scots accent to take on the role of the Doctor at the request of writer Russell T Davies. But he gets to use his own accent in the new episode as he pretends to be a doctor trained in Edinburgh. Although the filming was still done in Wales, Tennant said he found the valleys used in the episode were remarkably similar to landscapes of Scotland. Tennant, who grew up in Paisley, attended the viewing with Piper and also took the chance to meet up with his father, former minister Sandy McDonald. He said he had enjoyed the last nine months filming the series in Cardiff and was looking forward to a welcome break before returning for the third series of the BBC Wales production. On getting to play Doctor Who in his own accent, Tennant said: 'It wasn't a specific ambition, I think it's just great to bring in a Scot for personal reason. Also storywise, it is nice to keep moving it around, taking the character to different places. 'Obviously it's filmed in Wales, so Cardiff has had a shot so I was quite keen that Scotland got a shot and that obviously has some personal ramifications, it's nice. 'I wasn't disappointed at not getting to use my Scottish accent, that was what I was asked to do. It didn't bother me one way or another. I've always felt that part of working as an actor is being happy to take on different roles. 'It doesn't make me feel any less Scottish because I don't always work in a Scottish accent but it was nice to know that we got this one episode with the doctor slipping into the accent.' On getting to play the role of the Time Lord, the self-confessed fan said: 'I'm delighted to be here, it's a huge privilege to be here. I'm having a ball.' "

The UK's Press Association filed a story to media headlined "Doctor Who saves Queen Victoria - from a werewolf' In it, showbusiness editor Anita Singh wrote: "Doctor Who must rescue Queen Victoria from a werewolf's clutches in the Time Lord's latest adventure. The Doctor (David Tennant) and sidekick Rose (Billie Piper) end up landing their Tardis in the Scottish Highlands in 1879. There they encounter Queen Victoria, played by Pauline Collins, and join her for a stay at the Torchwood Estate. But a mysterious creature is lurking in the cellar - and the Doctor battles to save the Queen from a nasty fate. The episode, called Tooth and Claw, is the second of the new series which begins later this month. Tennant and Piper attended a special screening in Glasgow. Although set in Scotland, the episode was actually filmed in Wales. Tennant, 34, grew up in Paisley but ditched his Scottish accent for the role of the Doctor. He gets to use it in this episode as he pretends to be a doctor trained in Edinburgh."

The Evening Times discusses an appearance by David Tennant and Billie Piper in Glasgow, discussing the debut of the second series. "But Tennant, the Paisley boy who attended the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow, proved as enigmatic as the iconic television character he is playing. He neatly dodged inquiries about his girlfriend, actress Sophia Myles, who played Lady Penelope in the movie Thunderbirds. And he was a little guarded about the fact he doesn't use his own accent when playing the Doctor. But he did reveal that when he was offered the part his first reaction was not to take the job because of the profile it carries. 'I thought 'Oh no!' A show like this does attract so much attention. But a couple of days later I changed my mind. And now I think it's a huge thrill and a huge privilege to play the character. I am having a ball.' Billie Piper blushed when asked whether David or previous star Christopher Eccleston was the best Doctor. She said: 'David's is more emotional while Christopher's was more intense - but I've had great fun working with both.'" In another report, Tennant says that "the Windsors were turned into big, bad werewolves after Queen Victoria was attacked by a bloodthirsty hound. The Doctor lands his tardis in the Queen's residence of Balmoral to help save the day after it emerges that the tainted blood could be passed on to future generations, even the current monarchy. But cheeky Tennant, 34, said he wasn't worried about a royal backlash. He said: 'They are werewolves aren't they? Maybe we will be done for treason, but I hope they don't get too upset.' And his sexy sidekick said she was sure the Queen would see the funny side. Billie, 23, said: 'I've heard the Royals are fans of the show and I hope they still are, even after this episode.' ... In the second episode, set in the 18th-century Highlands, Tennant gets to speak with his Scottish accent for the only time in the series - the Doctor normally has more of a London twang. But the actor said he was not bothered that his Dr Who is not Scottish. He said: 'I was asked to do a certain accent and that is what I did. I don't think it is important really. I was just happy that this episode has a Scottish flavour for my own obvious personal reasons.'"

The Independent says that "British drama is in 'genuinely good health', the writer behind the revised version of Doctor Who believes, but if there is a problem, it is writers who are to blame. 'If there's a paucity, I think it's the fault of the writers, because the commissioners are desperate for good material,' says Russell T Davies. 'The greatest censor at work is the writer sitting at home saying, they'll never accept that on BBC1 or ITV. ... It's daft to say you won't watch anything at nine o'clock. Those people running at nine o'clock now were us 15 years ago. They might have to write a Midsomer Murders to get to where they need to be in the industry to have a bit of clout. 'I got The Second Coming on to ITV, about the return of the son of God, at the end of which God was killed and atheism conquered the world. I was very lucky to get that made. But then again, luck is just hard work a lot of the time.' ... As chief scriptwriter on Doctor Who, overseeing the work of fellow scribes of the calibre of The League of Gentlemen's Mark Gatiss and Coupling creator Stephen Moffat, Davies has, true to his word, removed the shackles from his imagination. A sinister race of catwomen, an encounter between Queen Victoria and a werewolf, the devil and a terrifying squid-like monster all feature in the second series. Alongside action-packed adventure sequences, Davies also explores the Doctor, now played by Scottish actor David Tennant, and his assistant Rose Tyler, played by Billie Piper, on a more intimate level. 'Stephen Moffat has written what is practically a love story for the Doctor in episode four. That's never been seen. It's very understated, very beautifully done, but it's nonetheless a Time Lord falling in love and Rose's reaction to him falling in love with someone else.' Elements of the old Doctor Who, including the Cybermen and K9, make a comeback in series two, following the reappearance of the Daleks in the first series, when Christopher Eccleston brought a wry northern charm to the part of the Doctor. Davies is a great believer in the backstory. 'If you're doing Dracula, you want the crucifixes and the brides and the bats and the howling wolf. Every science-fiction series has its race of robots on the rampage, so you might as well use the Cybermen.' ... A lifelong fan of Doctor Who, Davies refuses to pander to others who share his addiction. He fears a lot of science-fiction writers, particularly in America, pay too much attention to what is written on fan websites. 'I think it's a huge mistake. If you came to me and said 'You've made a brand new programme, I'd like to run it past a focus group of 2,000 people,' I'd say, 'No way, no good drama has ever been made that way.' He has even less time for professional television critics, believing they fail to engage with television as popular culture because they watch shows like Doctor Who on a VHS tape on Tuesday morning, rather than at the point of transmission on Saturday night, making for a completely different atmosphere. ... He hopes to do just that with Torchwood, which is set in Cardiff in 2006 with a strong Welsh cast and crew - although there are also some English actors, including Burn Gorman, fresh from playing Mr Guppy in BBC1's Bleak House. "The more you can get that accent on screen, the more normalising it is," he explains. Is it an attempt to get more Welsh voices on to network television by stealth? He lets out another of his trademark huge guffaws. "It is a stealth campaign," he agrees gleefully. "Stealth Welsh."

The Sun says that "A howling man turns into a werewolf and threatens to take over the world in a scary new episode of Dr Who. The Doctor (David Tennant) and assistant Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) encounter the beast on a time-travelling trip to 1879 Scotland. They find the werewolf kept in a cage by monks and soon realise it is out to get Queen Victoria (Pauline Collins). The pair rush to protect her -- but find themselves trapped in a room as the hairy monster scratches at the walls. Dr Who creator Russell T Davies said of the episode — part of a new BBC1 series which begins next week: 'It's very British — that Oliver Reed, Hammer Horror thing.'" The Sun also has some photos from the second episode.

People

David Tennant will be interviewed on Virgin Radio on Wednesday April 12 on the "Christian O'Connell Breakfast Show".

Says the Sunday Mail, "Doctor Who star David Tennant has revealed his scariest TV moment - an on-screen cook-off with his dad. Tennant faces terrifying monsters when the new series of the sci-fi drama starts this week. But he said going on Ready, Steady, Cook with his dad, Sandy McDonald, was scarier. The 34-year-old actor said: "Our episode of Ready, Steady, Cook is going out on Wednesday. You genuinely do it in 20 minutes. I was surprised because whenever I've seen it I think they do it in four hours and then cut it together. It was the most tense 20 minutes I have ever spent in my life. I was with Brian Turner and my dad was with Nick Nairn, so they did the whole Scottish thing. The worst part is when Ainsley starts talking to you. The chef will go, 'Chop them into thin strips,' and I'm desperately trying to get this right while Ainsley wants to chat about Daleks. I wanted to say, 'I can't multi-task like this! I am really tense right now.' And all the time I'm also worrying about whether my dad's going to embarrass me.' ... He said: 'It's really tricky - your brain clicks into one way of thinking and it's hard to switch. There is one scene where I am talking about a telescope and I turn round to Rose and speak in the doctor's voice. Then I turn round again and speak in a Scottish voice. It was confusing and I had to run through that in my bedroom a few times.'"

The Mirror says that Christopher Eccleston will return to the TV in an ITV1 thriller called "Perfect Parents."

The Mirror says that "If Doctor Who sidekick Billie Piper had a real-life time-travelling Tardis, she'd probably spend some more time with her boyfriend. Poor old Amadu Sowe. His gorgeous girlfriend spends nine months of the year in Cardiff filming one of Britain's most popular TV shows with a desirable young actor, and he sees her about as often as the viewing public will do - once a week. But his loss is our gain as the former wild child throws her energy into her much-loved portrayal of sidekick Rose Tyler, back on our screens on Saturday with the new Doctor, David Tennant. 'I see David more than I see my family and my boyfriend,' confesses the 23-year-old beauty. 'Amadu visits me quite a lot - not as much as I'd like - but enough. This year I'm in a hotel with room service every night. We work 12 to 13-hour days, so there's not much chance to do anything after work.' And her weekends are little different. There are no wild parties for her and Amadu when she returns to the London flat they share. 'I just sit on the sofa for two days. I don't really want to talk to anyone at the weekends. I like to sit in my flat and be completely selfish. I watch TV, eat far too much and drink some beers.'" Also reported by The SunChannel 4ITVITNAnanova,FametasticFemale First.

Various quotes from Billie and David at the press launch last week can be found in the Sunday Mail, the Cleveland Plain Dealer,

The Mirror also notes that "Doctor Who boss Russell T Davies has banned ex-Time Lords from appearing on the show. The writer has vowed former Doctors will never come back for the sci-fi drama's anniversary specials as they have done in classic BBC episodes. It means that Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann and Christopher Eccleston won't return to the show. Davies, 42, said: 'I don't like past Doctor adventures. I've never liked it when Doctors met other Doctors because I think it's an actors' parade. You're not watching the Doctors, you're watching party pieces - so it won't happen.' ... Christopher Eccleston was unlikely ever to accept any approach after he fell out with the BBC over his departure. All the same, some fans are outraged at the ban. Graeme MacIntosh, 37, from Glasgow, said: 'I grew up watching Tom Baker and Peter Davison. Russell has done a brilliant job in resurrecting the show, but he's also a fan and knows an old Doctor's return is event TV.' A spokesman for official fanclub the Doctor Who Appreciation Society said Da vies was correct, though a lot of die-hard followers would be disappointed. He said: 'I'm sure a lot of fans would like to see multi-Doctor stories. But we agree with Russell. Viewers new to the show can feel excluded by references to 20 years ago. We'd rather see more adventures with the new Doctor, David Tennant.' Writer Davies also defended the return of old companions Sarah Jane Smith and robot dog K9 in the new series. Billie Piper's character Rose gets jealous, thinking Sarah Jane is the Doctor's old flame. 'We brought back Sarah Jane and K9 to tell a Rose story, and it works fantastically well.'"

icWales says that "David Tennant has turned his sex symbol status on its head by admitting he wore saggy Steptoe thermals while filming in Wales! The 34-year-old actor - who should be used to the cold seeing as he hails from Scotland - has revealed he wore two layers through the Cardiff winter, which left him feeling more than a passing resemblance to Albert from Steptoe & Son. Timelord Tennant said: "It's something to do with the way the crotch on the second pair drops wearily towards your knees and the strange silky material rucks across your chest to give the impression of scrawny, tired flesh." He confesses he's even taken to wearing tinted moisturiser to beat the weather: "In Baltic February there is more need for a bit of tinted moisturiser at the start of the day!"

Quick Season Two Bites

icWales says that "the days of wobbly sets and cardboard aliens on Doctor Who are long gone. Instead, kids really will have a reason to hide behind the sofa when they see this snarling werewolf in the new series of the sci-fi drama. But even though it's been a ratings hit, there are whispers of disapproval inside the Beeb, with some suggesting Swansea producer Russell T Davies has been seduced by special effects - and betrayed the spirit of Doctor Who. While Tom Baker took on the low-tech Daleks and aliminium foil Cybermen in the 1970s, the return of the Timelord in the 21st Century has seen state-of-the-art computer generated imagery. The terrifying werewolf, which comes to your living room in Tooth & Claw, the second episode of series two, which starts on Saturday, is just one of the fantastic special effects which have transformed the Doctor into BBC One Wales' prime-time thriller. But all may not be well in the Tardis. Tongues were wagging last week when Russell raised the curtain on the new season at a VIP premiere attended by Doctor David Tennant and his co-star Billie Piper, who plays Rose. Some of the show's crew members questioned whether a hairy, scary creature was a step too far. As guests partied into the small hours at Cardiff's plush Holland House Hotel, some asked whether Russell was too flash, taking the show far away from its original family concept. The criticism came after he defended his decision to raise the show's fear factor, saying: "The werewolf is vile to look at but even Harry Potter has a werewolf in it now. It's the temperature of modern family film. This is the scariest it gets. There is no blood. You don't see a single drop of blood anywhere. It looks scary and feels scary but never terrifying. We don't want to scare kids. That's a bad state of mind to get into. We are careful with it. We would be daft not to because mum and dad would switch off and that's the last thing we want. You have got to be responsible. You have to very mindful of kids watching." BBC Wales declined to comment."

The Norfolk Eastern Daily Press has a story about Elisabeth Sladenwho "was in Norwich yesterday for a fans' convention - answering questions and signing autographs for devotees of the long-running BBC series. The actress gave tantalising hints about an episode of the new series this month - starring David Tennant as the Doctor and Billie Piper as his assistant - in which she appears along with another Dr Who favourite of yesteryear, the robot dog K9. So how does the new Doctor compare to Jon Pertwee and the scarf-clad Tom Baker? 'David brings a whole new generation with him,' Ms Sladen said. 'This Doctor Who is far more for a youth culture that's been brought up with today's television. Even down to the training shoes the Doctor wears. David is the cool Doctor.' The new episode, due to be screened on April 29 and called School Reunion, brings together Ms Sladen and Billie Piper - so how do the Doctor's assistants get on? 'I think you're going to have to wait to see that,' she said. Ms Sladen was also coy about whether her return to the series is a one-off or whether Sarah Jane Smith will be joining the Doctor on further adventures. ... Ms Sladen was joined at the convention by Terry Molloy, who played the creator of the Daleks, Davros, in the 1980s when the Doctor was played by Peter Davidson, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy. But Mr Molloy is also familiar as the voice of milkman Mike Tucker in The Archers. 'Dr Who has become part of the British psyche - the Doctor is like an intergalactic Biggles who solves things with a bit of sticky tape,' Mr Molloy said. 'The adventures aren't solved by hi-technology, it's by derring-do and good old grit and determination. It's just tapped into the consciousness of the nation. It's great that there's a new series bringing along a new generation who will grow up watching the show from behind the sofa during the scary moments just like their parents did.' So is Mr Molloy going to return to the nation's TV screens as Davros in future episodes of the series? 'You might think that, I couldn't possibly comment,' he said with a smile."

Sci-Fi Wire (the news service of the Sci-Fi Channel) says that the second season "builds on the strengths of season one (currently airing on SCI FI Channel Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT) . 'A lot of it was 'more of the same,'' Davies -- who plotted out the entire season as well as writing half of the episodes himself -- said in an interview. "The temptation of the format is to keep being too different, but it's easy to forget that for a lot of people, it's a brand-new series. Even for the oldest, most dedicated fan, it's a new series. So we've got some new elements and some new elements that I want to become regular elements, including what I call the 'celebrity historical.' Doctor Who always did historical stuff, so last year, we met Charles Dickens [in the episode 'The Unquiet Dead'], and this year, we meet Queen Victoria [in episode two, 'Tooth and Claw']. Next year, there will be another one of those stories, because I really love that Dickens episode, and I absolutely adore the Queen Victoria one this year. So that's a little format within a format.' ... Davies added: 'There's also the big end-of-season climax, which seems built into every show these days, and even though it's a much less British thing to do that, we've kept it very much the same.'"

Broadcast magazine says that "Visual effects outfit Mill TV has once again provided the special effects for the forthcoming series of Doctor Who, which kicks off on Easter Saturday (15 April). The company used Maya, Shake 4 and Flame to create the effects for characters such as the Werewolf and the Krillitanes - bat-like creatures who masquerade as teachers in a school. As well as being commissioned to do the effects for the third series of Doctor Who, Mill TV is also working on the upcoming spin-off series, Torchwood, starring Captain Jack (John Barrowman) from series one. The 13 x 50-minute series will air after the watershed due to its darker content and sexier storylines, and starts in the autumn on BBC3. "

The Daily Star says that "Doctor Who is set to become a cosmic Casanova. New Time Lord David Tennant, 34, has already played the 18th century lover in a BBC drama last year. And he said: 'Of course, there's much less s**gging in Doctor Who. But we may change that. Stay tuned. We'll have some interplanetary s**gging.'"

Miscellaneous

Hemel Today says that "Just a week before the new Dr Who series starts, another clue has come in as to why two of the original Daleks visited Hemel Hempstead in 1964. The mystery started last month after a researcher into the Daleks found a picture in Hemeltoday's local history section of a Dalek at a children's Christmas party in the town in 1964. He identified it as one of the 'original' Daleks from the 1960s Dr Who series and is trying to find out what happened to the original six. This weekend an email brought more information on Hemel's link with Dr Who. Another 1960s picture showed the actor William Russell who appeared in the series pictured with Hemel schoolchildren and the Dalek they had made. Our emailer identified the schoolchildren, their school and says Mr Russell's daughter went to the school. "

icWales has more from the initial press launch, including questions put to David Tennant and Billie Piper; SyFyPortalcovers the broadcast of the TARDISodes on mobile phones; brief mentions of season two about to start at About.com.

(Thanks to Paul Engelberg, Steve Tribe, Peter Weaver, Assad Khaishgi, John Bowman)




FILTER: - Russell T Davies - Series 2/28 - Press - Radio Times