Press Clippings

People

The Guardian (free registration required) has a very thorough profile of Billie Piper: "Pop star at 15, anorexic at 16, has-been at 17, teen bride at 18, Hollywood wife at 19, drama student at 20, single woman at 21, born-again star at 22 ... it's hard to believe that Billie Piper is still only 24."

Following up on the reports from the Sun posted yesterday, Mizz magazine (issue 562) writes that Piper "is a big fan of the spin-off series, Torchwood. 'Watching it makes me scream, "I wanna do that!"' she tells us. Could this mean a Rose comeback's on the cards?"

And the People pries into Piper's personal life, as the tabloids are wont to do.

SyFy Portal names Russell T. Davies as one of its Top Newsmakers of 2006.

Dalek operator and Big Finish stalwart Barnaby Edwards is profiled at icHounslow. Edwards, who is directing a pantomime Cinderella at Dorking Halls in Surrey this Christmas, says that the biggest barrier for Daleks isn't stairs, but narrow doorways. The article also mentions the upcoming Paul McGann audios on BBC7, which Edwards is producing and co-directing.

The Runaway Bride Coverage

The Herald of Glasgow put David Tennant and Catherine Tate on the cover of their weekly magazine section this Saturday. There's an interview with Tate inside; the cover can be seen here.

Broadcasting

John Barrowman is listed to appear at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall on Monday 18 December (7.30pm) to sing 'some of his favourite Christmas songs and hits from the musicals'. (source here)

Barrowman is also a "special guest" on BBC Radio 2's Friday Night Is Music Night on Friday 22 December (7.30-9.15pm). He will sing "some of his favourite Christmas songs and hits from the musicals. His credits include Miss Saigon, Sunset Boulevard, Company, Evita, Hair and Phantom of the Opera.'" (source: DigiGuide)

Christopher Eccleston stars in Perfect Parents (written and directed by Joe Ahearne) on Thursday 28 December on ITV1 (9-11pm).

Adam Sherwin looks at the spin-off phenomenon within the BBC in The Times, considering the role Sarah Jane Adventures will play for Doctor Who, as well as other series off-shoots for shows like Spooks and Life on Mars. SaysJulian Bellamy, BBC Three controller, “To launch a series with the scale and ambition of Torchwood or Rogue Spooks, it makes sense to draw on a known brand with a loyal audience. But it doesn’t mean that we aren’t seeking entirely new titles.” The story is also covered at the Western Mail.

There's an article about The Sarah Jane Adventures from the Western Mail at icWales.

Reviews

Writing in the Guardian (free registration required), Sam Wollaston begins his 2006 television year in review by lamenting, "Oh Rose, thou art gone. And that's a serious shame. We got a splendid new Dr Who in David Tennant, but lost the main reason to tune in - the wonderful Billie Piper. She's been an absolute joy in the role of Rose Tyler, one of the reasons Dr Who has become that rare event these days - a show for all the family." The column also includes comments from Russell T. Davies, who says, "I wish I'd had time to write more Torchwoods, because I only wrote the first one. We're hitting a great stretch now with four scripts in a row by women, which in science fiction is practically unheard of. It's been less than a year since David Tennant became the Doctor. It was scary this time last year: Chris Eccleston was brilliant, then he left and there was this big hole. But have you seen the BBC schedules? It's like a Doctor Who Christmas. I'm very pleased, obviously, but it's a bit barmy." Tamsin Grieg (The Long Game) is also quoted, as is BBC Head of Vision Jana Bennett, who cites Doctor Who among the year's successes.

Also in the Guardian, Charlie Brooker calls Torchwood "the Year's Most Jarring Show". Brooker makes an amusing but disturbing analogy about Torchwood's sometimes inconsistent tone, and concludes that the program is "interesting, but possibly aimed at madmen."

Metro mentions Tripping Over, starring Eighth Doctor Paul McGann, as one of the television "lows" of 2006, due to low ratings. The article is culled from Broadcast magazine's 2006 ratings review.

Miscellaneous Mentions

The MediaGuardian's "Media Monkey" diary column (requires free registration to view) contained a passing reference to yet another instalment in the long-running Michael Grade / Doctor Who saga on December 13th. Says the column: "New ITV chairman Michael Grade could be having a few interesting conversations around the dinner table with his niece, Lesley Land... Lesley, the daughter of Michael's sister and agent Anita, was handed the Doctor Who brief when it was outsourced to PR company Taylor Herring earlier this year. Grade famously axed Doctor Who when he was in charge of BBC1 in the 80s. Monkey doesn't doubt that Land will have more commitment to the show than her uncle did."

Playwright Mark Ravenhill, profiled in the Independent, is asked, "What do you cling on to from childhood?" He replies, "My loyalty to Doctor Who has remained undimmed through the years. I watch all the DVDs of the old Doctor Whos and keep up to date with all the new ones, which are fantastic. And I buy Doctor Who Magazine, which I did then and I still do now. Tom Baker was my favourite Doctor Who, this weird, flamboyant guy, with Elisabeth Sladenplaying Sarah Jane - a classic combination."

The Lancashire Evening Post reports on items for sale at the annual Harris Exhibition, which includes a "giant Dr Who Tardis". The exhibition runs until next Friday.

A "Tardis House of Fun" was one of the suggestions made by young people for the regeneration of Lowestoft and surrounding area, the Lowestoft Journal reports. "Building on the success of the Doctor Who television programme, imaginative youngsters at Meadow Primary School encouraged people to come through the door to 'experience the wonders of Tardis land.' Jacob from the school said: 'Dr Who is my most favourite thing I watch on TV and so I had the idea for little children, not big ones, so that they could play safely.' "

"Aiden added: 'We thought of the Tardis Fun House because loads of people like Dr Who and we thought it would be good to make a play area for kids who can't travel, because they have no transport and they can be left there on their own because the Cybermen would look after them.' "

(Additional material by Paul Hayes, Chuck Foster and Peter Weaver; thanks to "PolyG" of the Outpost Gallifrey Forum.)