As we approach the 60th Anniversary of Doctor Who, revisit the story of Doctor Who, the occasional series written for the 50th Anniversary, explaining the origins of the programme.
Episode 22 - An Unearthly Series - The Origins of a TV Legend: First published 30 Sep 2013
A new biography of David Whitaker is to be published by Ten Acre Films.
David Whitaker in an Exciting Adventure with Television will look at the life of Doctor Who's first story editor. The book, by Simon Guerrier, will be published in November to mark 60 years since the first episode of Doctor Who was broadcast.
Discover the extraordinary, little-known life of one of the series chief architects. As the show’s first story editor, he helped to establish the compelling blend of adventure, imagination and quirky humour that made – and continues to make – the series a hit.
Whitaker commissioned the first Dalek story and fought for it to be made when his bosses didn’t like it. Regeneration, the TARDIS being alive, the idea of Doctor Who expanding to become a multimedia phenomenon in comics, books and films… David Whitaker was all over it. Yet very little was known about this key figure in Doctor Who history – until now. Why did he fall out with Irving Berlin? Was he really engaged to Yootha Joyce? And how did an assignment to Moscow badly affect his career?
Simon Guerrier has written countless Doctor Who books, comics and audio plays. He’s also the author of Sherlock Holmes — The Great War and has produced a number of documentaries for BBC Radio 3 and Radio 4.
The biography will be published on 6th November 2023 and is available for pre-order
The BBC has announced a new behind-the-scenes series on Doctor Who is coming to BBC Three this autumn.
Doctor Who: Unleashed is a brand new access all areas show giving viewers an unmissable insight into the world of Doctor Who.
The 30-minute factual entertainment series is produced by Bright Branch for BBC Studios for BBC Three and BBC iPlayer.
Host Steffan Powell (BBC Gaming Correspondent and former Radio 1 Newsbeat Presenter) has been given the keys to the TARDIS and, after every episode of Doctor Who, viewers can switch over to BBC Three or iPlayer as Powell takes viewers on a journey showing them just how this out of this world drama is made.
With exclusive interviews with the stars in front of the camera, as well as those behind it, Unleashed is described as the ultimate companion to Doctor Who.
Russell T Davies, Doctor Who Showrunner says:
Steffan Powell, Host of Doctor Who: Unleashed says:
Jo Pearce, Bright Branch Creative Director and Doctor Who: Unleashed Executive Producer says:
Fiona Campbell, Youth Audience (BBC iPlayer and BBC Three) says:
The series is the first regular show to delve behind the scenes of Doctor Who since Doctor Who Confidential was canceled in 2011.
Candy Jar Books has announced the third title in its final series of Lethbridge-Stewart novels.
United Nations
Written by Jonathan Blum
It was impossible that the public could ever have missed seeing the giant alien spaceship. But somehow, everyone did.
The US and USSR both want to know how the UK covered the incident up. Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart would quite like to know who actually did cover it up. Old allies from both sides of the Iron Curtain are chasing the answer – but each with their own agenda. Everyone wants the power to make inconvenient secrets disappear.
The search leads Lethbridge-Stewart to the single most normal man on the Isle of Man, and what happens to the world around him when he dies. Lethbridge-Stewart faces death by coincidence, as probability gets turned upside-down.
And as the attacks get closer and closer to home, so does the political fallout. His career, his dream of uniting the worlds’ nations against alien threats, even his family could pay the ultimate price.
United Nations is written by Jonathan Blum, his first Lethbridge-Stewart novel, but by no means his first foray into Doctor Who fiction. During the 1990s he penned several Doctor Who novels with his partner, Kate Orman, for BBC Books, including Vampire Science and Seeing I. Outside of books, he also wrote the seminal Big Finish audio, The Fearmonger.
Range Editor Andy Frankham-Allen said:
I’ve long wanted to work with Jon Blum, having been an admirer of his work since I first read Vampire Science in 1997. It took a while to work out, since Jon is a busy chap and we needed a window that would work for him. A such, his first Lethbridge-Stewart novel comes at the end of the range, and has taken something of a lengthy gestation period. For these last few novels, starting with Spheres of Influence and It Came from the Isle of Man, I made sure the authors worked closely together to build up an ongoing situation, worthy of such a big event as the creation of UNIT.
Blum said:
Setting up UNIT is a large part of these final books. Frankham-Allen continued:
Blum explained:
We were most of the way through the story, when suddenly Flux established that UNIT was being set up years before Lethbridge-Stewart even came on board [despite countless previous references to his importance in the founding of UNIT]. But then if you look at what actually happens in Flux, it turns out there’s a very good reason why the original UNIT was strangled at birth, and needed our heroes to breathe life into it. And suddenly we see some things the Brigadier’s superiors did earlier in the book series in a rather different light…
Thirty years ago now, I made my student film Time Rift, and Marsha Twitty played Adrienne Kramer, commander of UNIT USA. And her part kept getting bigger, because her performance really jumped off the screen. Marsha became a lifelong friend, and Kate and I wrote General Kramer into our Eighth Doctor novels. Then the Lethbridge-Stewart team asked if they could feature a younger Kramer in their series (Times Squared). But when Marsha passed away in 2019, I decided I wanted to write for her once more as a tribute. Somehow that snowballed into being the big founding-of-UNIT story! I talked with Marsha’s friends, her mother and her boyfriend, and really tried to dig into the truth of what it would be like for a young Black woman officer working at the UN in those days. She was a joy to write for – a take-charge woman who’s also really good at keeping things to herself, and having more up her sleeve than you think. And we see very different sides to her in these books. Even after all these years, she was still able to surprise me!
The final two books in this Lethbridge-Stewart series will be Intelligence Taskforce by Jonathan Blum, and the series epilogue, The Lost Son by Andy Frankham-Allen.
You can order United Nations from the Candy Jar website, and it is part of any subscription to the book range.
The BBC has released a new trailer for the three 60th Anniversary Specials which will be broadcast later this year.
Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Specials | Doctor WhoDestiny isn’t done with them just yet… The Doctor and Donna return for three special episodes ❤️❤️➕🔷
The brand new trailer features Neil Patrick-Harris waltzing onto the scene, as it is now revealed that he will play the Toymaker, an all-powerful enemy last seen in 1966 - but what is it that brings the Doctor face-to-face with this enemy from his past?
Also shown, UNIT is back with a bang! Jemma Redgrave reprises her iconic role as Kate Lethbridge-Stewart alongside David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor.
Russell T Davies, Showrunner said:
Doctor Who returns in November 2023 with three special episodes with David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor to coincide with the 60th anniversary. Ncuti Gatwa’s first episode as the Fifteenth Doctor will air over the festive period.
Doctor Who will premiere exclusively on the BBC for the UK and Ireland. Disney+ will be the exclusive home for new seasons of Doctor Who outside of the UK and Ireland.
Doctor Who Magazine, Issue 595 features returning companion Bonnie Langford on the cover.
Highlights in the magazine include:
Highway to Mel – in her first major interview with DWM since her return to Doctor Who was announced, Bonnie Langford talks exclusively about reprising the role as Melanie Bush opposite Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor.
Letter from the Showrunner – Russell T Davies shares his reactions as he watches the finished version of The Star Beast, the first of this year’s Doctor Who Specials.
We Need to Talk About Mel Bush – a compelling argument as to why Mel is the most underrated companion of all time.
Dread Right Hand – what makes a great sinister assistant in Doctor Who, and how do they get their dirty work done? DWM investigates…
Web Slingers, Surfers and Time Lords – acclaimed comic-book writer Dan Slott on his debut Doctor Who graphic novel, Once Upon a Time Lord.
The Butterfly Effect – DWM talks to Emily Cook and finds out how a virtual event during lockdown snowballed into something that would change the course of Doctor Who history.
Game designer Gavin Verhey and art director Matt Cavotta reveal how they combined fantasy trading card game Magic: The Gathering with Doctor Who.
Production Diary – script editor Scott Handcock files his latest report, direct from Doctor Who’s HQ.
Welcome to Aladdin’s Cave – brand asset manager Jonathan Davies on how it feels to have 60 years’ worth of Doctor Who props, costumes and assets at his fingertips.
Liberation of the Daleks Part Twelve – the adventures of the Fourteenth Doctor continue in the epic comic-strip adventure written by Alan Barnes and illustrated by Lee Sullivan.
60 Objects, 60 Years – the latest instalment of the series that tells the story of one object from every year of Doctor Who’s history.
The Fact of Fiction unlocks the secrets of the Sixth Doctor’s final episodes, The Trial of a Time Lord Parts Thirteen and Fourteen.
Gallifrey Guardian – all the latest official news.
Other Worlds – the essential guide to new stories in Doctor Who’s expanded universe.
Previews, reviews, prize-winning competitions, Time and Space Visualiser and more.
Doctor Who Magazine Issue 595 is on sale Thursday 14 September from panini.co.uk and WH Smith priced £7.99 (UK).
Also available as a digital edition from pocketmags.com priced £6.99.
The Doctor Who podcast will return next week with six new episodes to celebrate the show’s 60th anniversary.
The second series of Doctor Who: Redacted, made by BBC Studios for BBC Sounds, will be available from 18th September.
Juno Dawson returns as the lead writer, alongside stars Charlie Craggs, Lois Chimimba and Holly Quin-Ankrah.
Series two welcomes a host of guest stars from the world of Doctor Who and beyond including: Freddy Carter, Anjli Mohindra, Dervla Kirwan and Alexander Armstrong.
Lead writer Juno Dawson says:
Last year the podcast led them to save the world from a killer-psychic-virus, with the help of a mysterious alien called The Doctor. But now, only Cleo has any memory of those events. She knows there’s something out there, which is why she’s going spare – yes, she’s repaired her relationship with her mum, but her life hasn’t caught fire. Meanwhile her best friends, Abby and Shawna, have coupled up and Cleo can’t help but feel like the third wheel. She’s focusing on the important questions in life such as, ‘are giant rats invading East London?’
Then an enigmatic spaceman lands into Cleo’s life, and it’s not The Doctor this time. Apex Costa has it all; style, good looks, teleportation device. But is he all he seems?
Doctor Who: Redacted will be available weekly on BBC Sounds from 18th September.
Lovarzi has added four new Doctor Who-related bags to its range of merchandise associated with the show.
The TARDIS Cross Body Bag is a companion to the popular TARDIS Laptop Bag, which launched the line of top-quality bags in 2019. It takes its inspiration from the Doctor’s Type 40 Space-Time Ship, with a repeated TARDIS design inside and out – and complete with a glow-in-the-dark Police Public Call Box patch on the front.
Open it up and you’ll find a large main section with an additional zipper pocket, plus another large organiser section on the front to keep your pens, smartphone, and sonic screwdriver in.
Looking for somewhere secret to hide your slightly-psychic paper? There’s another pocket on the back of the bag, with a magnetic strip to keep things from easily falling out.
Made from a blend of Polyester and Nylon, this versatile and lightweight bag comes with an adjustable shoulder strap, meaning it’s ideal for traveling or everyday use! (In fact, at 28 x 24 x 9.5cm, this is a great size for hand luggage, just in case you find yourself exploring the world without a TARDIS.
The TARDIS Cross Body Bag launches alongside a set of three exclusive premium canvas tote bags, each sporting a different eye-catching design.
The first bag features the Fourth Doctor and Leela, played on screen by Tom Baker and Louise Jameson, with the loveable sidekick, K9. The illustration is by Mike Collins (2000AD; Uncanny X-Men), who served as the storyboard artist on numerous Twelfth and Thirteenth Doctor stories including Under the Lake/ Before the Flood, The Doctor Falls, and Kerblam!, although he’s perhaps best known for his work on the Doctor Who Magazine comic strip.
The second bag, meanwhile, is emblazoned with an equally-iconic pairing: the Tenth Doctor and Donna Noble. With David Tennant and Catherine Tate returning for three 60th anniversary specials in November 2023, it felt the perfect time to highlight one of the most memorable storylines from Series 4: The Stolen Earth/ Journey’s End – so this design also features Daleks plenty, with their maniacal creator, Davros (Julian Bleach) and the terrifying Supreme Dalek.
The art on this second bag is by the excellent Anthony Dry, whose striking work, inspired by the much-missed Chris Achilléos, adorns the modern-day Target novelisations, including City of Death, Rose, The Waters of Mars, The Day of the Doctor, and The Witchfinders.
Rounding out this triptych of totally terrific totes is the pop art-inspired TARDIS cubes bag, which shows off the world-famous Police Box in a colourful repeated pattern.No, you don’t have to choose between these designs: they come together as a set!
Each canvas bag is 38.5cm high and 34.5cm wide,
The TARDIS Cross Body Bag and set of three tote bags are available to buy from LOVARZI
Until 23rd August readers of Doctor Who News can enjoy a 10% discount on the order by following the link above.
A newly remastered Blu-ray boxset of Series 1-4 of Doctor Who is to be released by the BBC
Newly upscaled versions of sixty Doctor Who episodes from the Ninth and Tenth Doctor eras are to be released to help mark Doctor Who's Sixtieth Anniversary.
This collection includes every episode and special from the first four series, upscaled to high definition using the latest technology, plus the Tenth Doctor specials and existing bonus features
A new specially shot extra, A LOOK BACK THROUGH TIME AND SPACE with Russell T Davies and David Tennant is included in the 18 disc set
These new episodes are now available to pre-order in one Blu-ray set.
The limited edition box set of Season 20 is to be released on the 18th of September 2023.
The latest release in the Doctor Who Collection series was announced in July but the release date has only just been confirmed. It features the six stories from the Fifth Doctor's second season as well as the twentieth Anniversary story The Five Doctors.
The box set is available for pre-order on Amazon
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