The BBC has announced that the actor Kadiff Kirwan will appear in the new series of Doctor Who.

Since shooting to stardom playing Aaron in hit comedy Chewing Gum, Kadiff Kirwan has gone on to star in hit series after hit series including Black Mirror, Fleabag, I May Destroy You, This Is Going to Hurt, and most recently Slow Horses.

Kirwan can also be spotted on the big screen, with film roles ranging from 2018’s Mary Queen of Scots to 2022’s My Policeman, and on the stage in the Pulitzer Prize winning play The Hot Wing King.

Now, Kirwan is set to blast off into the Whoniverse as he joins the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu) for an intergalactic escapade in the upcoming second season of Doctor Who, launching on 12th April.

Kadiff Kirwan, said:

Russell T Davies, Showrunner said:

Doctor Who is produced by Bad Wolf with BBC Studios for the BBC and Disney Branded Television and will air on 12th April exclusively on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK, and on Disney+ outside of the UK

A new biography of the television scriptwriter Malcolm Hulke, has been published on Lulu. 

Things are not Always What They Seem is the first biography of Malcolm Hulke to be published and draws upon interviews with his friends, family, and work colleagues;  his scripts, novels, and other works;  his letters to friends and family;  and his  MI5 file. It is written by Michael Herbert.

Malcolm ‘Mac’ Hulke (1924 – 1979) was a successful writer for television, film, theatre, and radio from the 1950s to the 1970s. He wrote eight stories for Doctor Who in the 1960s and 1970s creating the Silurians and the Sea Devils for the series. 

Other work included episodes for classic television series such as Pathfinders in Space, The Avengers, Crossroads,  Danger Man, and Sergeant Cork

He also wrote seven Doctor Who novels and four Crossroads novels. His non-fiction work included  The Writers’  Guide 1970;  The Making of Doctor Who co-written with his friend  Terrance Dicks; and the influential handbook  Writing for Television in the 1970s  which brought together all his experience and expertise in his craft.

Malcolm was a founder member of the Writers’  Guild, which campaigned for better pay for writers.

For a time he was a member of the Communist Party, feeding his political views into his work. He wrote to his friend Jean Tate:

The book  may be purchased  from Lulu using this link

The actor Simon Fisher-Becker has died at the age of 63.

Simon Fisher-Becker is best known for his portrayal of the blue-skinned Dorium Maldovar in three episodes of Doctor Who starring Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor, The Pandorica Opens, A Good Man Goes to War and The Wedding of River Song. 

Away from Doctor Who his best-known role was as Tony Fazackerley in Puppy Love, a British comedy television series broadcast on BBC Four. Other TV appearances include Getting On, Afterlife, Love Soup, One Foot in the Grave, Doctors, Sedgfield Park, 99-1, Hale & Pace, The Good Guys, The Bill, Crimewatch Factfile and London’s Burning.  

Films included a role as The Fat Friar in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and appearances in The Great Director (playing the Ghost of Alfred Hitchcock), Pundemic and Les Misérables.

He published three volumes of memoirs, My Dalek Has a Puncture, My Dalek Has Another Puncture, and Let Zygons Be Zygons

Simon Fisher-Becker died in London on 9th March 2025. He is survived by his husband Tony Dugdale. 

Actor Freddie Fox will be jumping aboard the TARDIS with the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu) for an adventure in time and space in the upcoming second season of Doctor Who.

Since his on-screen debut in 2009, Fox has appeared in many TV hits including The Gentlemen, The Crown, The Great, Slow Horses, and most recently as Ser Gwayne Hightower in House of the Dragon.

In 2015, Fox appeared as Freddie Baxter in Russell T Davies’ Channel 4 dramas Cucumber and Banana. In addition to his TV roles, he has also made a big impact on stage, earning a Laurence Oliver nomination for his role as Tristan Tzara in the revival of Travesties at the Apollo Theatre.

Fox is now heading to the Whoniverse, to play a fearsome villain from another planet in an upcoming episode.

Russell T Davies, Showrunner said:

Freddie Fox, said:

Doctor Who is produced by Bad Wolf with BBC Studios for the BBC and Disney Branded Television and will air on 12th April exclusively on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK, and on Disney+ outside of the UK (where available)

The BBC have released a new trailer for the forthcoming second series of Doctor Who starring Ncuti Gatwa, Varada Sethu and Millie Gibson.

The two minute trailer features a host of guest stars who will appear during the eight episodes, including Rylan Clarke (playing himself as the co-host of the Interstellar Song Contest), Alan Cumming (the voice of villainous cartoon character, Mr Ring-a-Ding), Caoilfhionn Dunne, Christopher Chung, Evelyn Miller, Ariyon Bakare, Julie Dray and Jonah Hauer-King. It also sees the return of regulars Anita Dobson, Bonnie Langford and Jemma Redgrave, 

Rylan Clarke:

Evelyn Miller:

Ariyon Bakare:

Caoilfhionn Dunne:

Julie Dray:

Season Two Trailer on YouTube

Season Two launches on Saturday, April 12th on BBC and BBC iPlayer in the UK and Disney+ outside of the UK (where available).

Doctor Who Magazine Issue 614 is published today. 

Inside this issue

• We have an introductory chat with VARADA SETHU alias new companion Belinda Chandra.

• Back to terrorise the universe: SACHA DHAWAN on finding hidden depths to the Master!

• We celebrate the 20th anniversary of the return of Doctor Who in 2005 withRUSSELL T DAVIES, JULIE GARDNER, JANE TRANTER, ROB SHEARMAN & PAUL CORNELL.

• A very personal interview with Doctor Who’s first director WARIS HUSSEIN…

• …We also take a look at missing story MARCO POLO, which was also directed by Waris.

• STEPHEN WYATT and RICHARD UNWIN on Me and Him and Who – a play that reflects on the life and legacy of eighties producer JOHN NATHAN-TURNER.

• Actor PAUL GRIST speaks about playing Bill Filer in The Claws of Axos.  

• We visit the Propstore to see the Doctor Who costumes and props that are being auctioned in aid of BBC Children in Need.

• COLIN BAKER and NICOLA BRYANT are among the guests at an anniversary screening of 1985’sVengeance on Varos.

• We investigate the strategies of the Doctor’s plastic antagonists – the Autons.

• Gary Gillatt takes us on a voyage to the fiery surface of the planet Venus…

• Back to 1997… We reflect on the mystique of New Adventures novel Lungbarrow.

• Sorting fact from fiction in Twelfth Doctor adventure Robot of Sherwood!

• Join Beatie and the Hypnotising Cat in this issue’s comic strip!

Regular features

• Gallifrey Guardian – our news round-up including the announcement of new adventures for the NINTH DOCTOR and ROSE TYLER .

• Shelf Life – featuring reviews of the latest home video and audio releases.

• Other Worlds – the essential guide to new stories in Doctor Who’s expanded universe.

• Prizes to be won including Blu-rays of The Collection – Season 7! 

Doctor Who Magazine Issue 614 is on sale Thursday 27 February 2025  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 Propstore auction concluded last night having raised £245,243 in net proceeds for BBC Children in Need

Over 2000 fans and collectors worldwide took part in the biggest Doctor Who auction, bidding on 170+ lots bundling iconic props and costumes and memorabilia from the series.

The money will be donated to the charity which is committed to being there for children and young people across the UK who are facing challenging circumstances and to make sure they receive crucial support when they need it most.

Among the biggest lots sold were, a screen-matched Traitor Dalek, which sold for £16,380 and a Mondasian Cyberman Costume and Parts, which fetched £15,120.

Other notable sales included a screen-matched An Adventure in Space and Time TARDIS, which sold for £12,600, a Stonehenge Cyberman Photo-matched Head (£10,540), and the Thirteenth Doctor's (Jodie Whittaker) Costume, which sold for £9,920.

Tommy Nagra, Director of Content at BBC Children in Need said:

 Vanessa Hamilton, Doctor Who Brand Director, BBC Studios said: 

Stephen Lane, CEO, Propstore said:

Fans in the US will get a further chance to experience the Whoniverse when the Doctor Who Worlds of Wonder: Where Science Meets Fiction exhibit debuts at the Comic-Con Museum in San Diego on 15th March.

The BBC has confirmed that Doctor Who will return to screens worldwide on Saturday 12th April 2025.

The eight-part series will be screened on BBC One and Player in the UK and on Disney + worldwide. It stars Ncuti Gatwa as The Doctor and Varada Sethu as Belinda Chandra

It has also been confirmed that the Scottish actor Alan Cumming will feature in the second episode as the voice of Mr Ring-a-Ding. Cumming previously played King James in the 2018 story The Witchfinders.

Mr Ring-a-Ding is a happy, funny, singalong cartoon, who lives in Sunny Town with his friend Sunshine Sally. However, in 1952, after years of repeats in cinemas across the land, Mr Ring-a-Ding suddenly looks beyond the screen and sees the real world outside - and the consequences are terrifying.

Russell T Davies, Showrunner said:

The new season also stars Millie Gibson as Ruby Sunday as well as previously announced guest stars Rose Ayling-Ellis, Anita Dobson, Christopher Chung, Michelle Greenidge, Jonah Hauer-King, Ruth Madeley, Jemma Redgrave, and Susan Twist.

Doctor Who is produced by Bad Wolf with BBC Studios for the BBC and Disney Branded Television.

The BBC has announced that the actor Christopher Chung will be joining the Whoniverse, meeting the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu) in the upcoming season of Doctor Who.

Chung is an Australian actor most recently seen as the tech-savvy M15 agent Roddy Ho in spy thriller Slow Horses, where he’s been appearing alongside Gary Oldman since 2022. He has also recently starred as Fred in Steve McQueen's BLITZ. His West End credits include Kurt Kelly in Heathers: The Musical.

Russell T Davies Showrunner said:

Christopher Chung, said:

The series is produced by Bad Wolf with BBC Studios for the BBC and Disney Branded Television, and will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK, and exclusively on Disney+ outside of the UK where available.

The archive of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop will be made available for the first time for use by musical artists and producers, passing on a legacy that helped invent electronic music and sampling.

The Radiophonic Workshop was created in 1957 by the BBC to provide music and audio for Radio and Television. Delia Derbyshire created the original Doctor Who Theme music at the workshop in 1963 working from a score by Ron Grainer. It was responsible for most of the special sounds used in the original series and a sizable chunk of the incidental music. It was closed by the BBC in 1998.

In collaboration with Spitfire Audio and BBC Studios, an unprecedented package of samples will now be released from the Radiophonic Workshop. 

From scraping pianos and hitting lampshades to manipulating tape loops with milk bottles, the Workshop's unconventional methods produced a distinctive sonic signature that continues to inspire artists. Its work paved the way for much of the popular music of the 21st century and has been cited as an influence by everyone from Brian Eno to Orbital to Hans Zimmer. The sample library will now be available to musicians and producers, preserving an important musical heritage for generations to come.

Composer, sound designer and Radiophonic Workshop archivist Mark Ayres said: 

With exclusive access to the Workshop's archives, tools, and hardware at the legendary Maida Vale Studios, and guidance from Radiophonic Workshop archivist Mark Ayres and other Workshop members, Spitfire Audio has captured the essence of this sonic playground. The library features sounds from the original tapes, as well as new recordings and experiments by Workshop members and associates, including Mark Ayres, Kieron Pepper, Bob Earland, Dick Mills, Paddy Kingsland, Roger Limb, Glynis Jones and Peter Howell.
 

Mark Ayres said: 

One of its biggest customers was schools programming, where graphs and diagrams came alive in experimental audio – a rich source of inspiration for artists such as Boards of Canada. A new generation was hearing the wonders of an electronic sound that was experimental, but also relatable – built on the manipulation of real sounds.

Mark Ayres said:

Reanimating this legacy, the machines, performances and archive sounds of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop are now available in the first sample-library VST (Virtual Studio Technology) to capture the Workshop’s essence – with unprecedented access to its home of 40 years: London’s Maida Vale studios.

Harry Wilson, Spitfire Audio’s Head of Recording, said:

While the Workshop was a physical place where the artists got their hands and ears dirty, the archive materials will be available in Spitfire Audio’’s Solar engine. Musicians will be able to use modern techniques of bending, stretching and morphing to create something new, as well as having access to a variety of microphones, the EMT turntable and Rogers loudspeakers made especially for the BBC, including the Maida Vale plate and spring reverbs, modular synthesizers, tape machines, EMS Vocoder, Echo chamber, Roland Vocoder SVC-350 and Eventide H-3000. The package is divided into Archive Content, Found Sounds, Junk Percussion, Tape Loops, Synths and a Miscellany.

Dominic Walker, Global Business Director for BBC Studios said: 

Key Features include

• Authentic sounds from the BBC Radiophonic Workshop archives.
• Deeply sampled one-shots, loops, and multi-samples.
• New recordings and experiments by Workshop members and associates.
• Spitfire Audio’s powerful SOLAR engine with gate sequencer and vast effects suite.
• Wide range of sounds, including archival content, found sounds, junk percussion, tape loops, and vintage synthesisers.
• 13 different signal chains used for sound capture.

The Spitfire Audio BBC Radiophonic Workshop VST gives musicians and producers a collection of samples that they can use when making their own music. It includes vintage synthesisers, tape loops, found sounds, iconic archives and new performances from Workshop members.

The Spitfire Audio BBC Radiophonic Workshop VST will be available for £149/€179/$199 from 19 February 2025 at http://spitfireaudio.com/bbc-radiophonic-workshop/. An introductory price of £119/€143/$159 is available until 6 March 2025.

Spitfire Audio - BBC Radiophonic Workshop