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 31 - An Unearthly Series - The Origins of a TV Legend: First published 23 Nov 2013
The BBC has released images from the colourised version of the second Doctor Who story, The Daleks, due to be screened on BBC Four on the 23rd of November 2023.
Originally broadcast as seven 25-minute episodes, the Terry Nation story has now been edited down to 75 minutes by Benjamin Cook and the result colourised.
With brand new sound and a new score - created by Mark Ayres - The Daleks has been gloriously updated, whilst ensuring the original classic story remains as thrilling as it was when it was first seen back in 1963.
The colorised version will be released on DVD, Blu-ray, and as a Steelbook next February.
This DVD release also includes the original seven episodes in black & white, as they were first broadcast plus a 15-minute exclusive featurette and all special features from the previous release.
The set can be pre-ordered from Amazon.
The BBC has published images taken from the Press launch of the three upcoming specials starring David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor.
The launch took place at the refurbished Battersea Power station on the south bank of London's River Thames. The former power station was left as a ruin in the 1964 story The Dalek Invasion of Earth but in this time zone has been repurposed as an entertainment and housing centre with high-end apartments for sale.
The screening was attended by many of the cast and crew of the three specials made by Bad Wolf for the BBC and for Disney +
The event was attended by several stars from the classic series of Doctor Who including Doctors number 6 and 7, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy
Carole Ann Ford, who played the Doctor's Granddaughter Susan in the first series of Doctor Who was there along with Wendy Padbury, Janet Fielding, Nicola Bryant and Sophie Aldred.
The first of the three specials will be shown on BBC One on Saturday 25th November 2023 with the following two specials being seen over the following two weeks.
The specials are expected to be made available outside the UK on Disney Plus shortly after they have been seen in the UK.
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Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan is set to trade the ballroom for the TARDIS, as she joins the cast of Doctor Who.
The Galway-born actress has made a huge impact in film and television having starred in roles such as Clare Devlin in the award-winning drama comedy series Derry Girls, Penelope Featherington in the regency-era international sensation Bridgerton, and not to forget one of the Barbies in mega-blockbuster Barbie, alongside the Fifteenth Doctor Ncuti Gatwa.
Coughlan is now set to make a big impact when she takes a trip through time and space in this undisclosed role.
On joining Doctor Who, Nicola Coughlan says:
Showrunner, Russell T Davies says:
Nicola Coughlan will appear in Doctor Who next year
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 is set to blast this year’s BBC Children in Need broadcast into outer space with an exclusive scene.
Ahead of the three specials for the 60th anniversary, the brand new exclusive scene will sees David Tennant star as the Fourteenth Doctor who shares an encounter with a mysterious new character, played by actor and comedian Mawaan Rizwan. It is then that the Doctor uncovers an age-old mystery involving one of his oldest foes…
Written by Doctor Who Showrunner Russell T Davies, this other-worldly special is made specifically for BBC Children in Need, just before viewers hop back into the TARDIS for a brand new set of adventures for three special episodes set to coincide with the show’s 60th anniversary this November.
BBC Children in Need viewers will also get a glimpse at the creation of the scene, as newly announced companion series Doctor Who: Unleashed will also feature a special treat as part of the broadcast with an exclusive behind-the-scenes clip.
David Tennant said:
Mawaan Rizwan said
Russell T Davies, Showrunner says
Tune in to BBC Children in Need at 7 pm on Friday 17th November to see the Fourteenth Doctor in his first adventure on BBC One and iPlayer.
Both the exclusive scene, and an extended look behind the making of it, will also be found in the Whoniverse on iPlayer.
A special Doctor Who themed edition of Bargain Hunt will be screened on the 60th Anniversary of the series.
The daytime antique show, presented by Eric Knowles will be shown at 12.15 pm on the 23rd of November on BBC One.
After encountering a Dalek and escaping into a TARDIS, Knowles is transported to a Carmarthen antiques fair where he meets two teams of die-hard fans, each hoping to exterminate their competitors and find some stellar bargains. Their companions for the day are experts Richard Madley and Kate Bliss, both dressed as two well-known Doctors.
But which team will win the cosmic battle to make the biggest profit at auction?
Knowles also chats to a super-fan with an extraordinary and valuable collection of original Doctor Who props, some of which date back to the show’s early days - including alien outfits, Cybermen masks, and of course a dreaded Dalek.
Issue 597 of Doctor Who Magazine is out today.
Highlights include:
Previews of the new Doctor Who Specials The Star Beast and Wild Blue Yonder.
Tête-à-Tate – Catherine Tate is interviewed (with interruptions from David Tennant!)
A preview of The Daleks in colour.
Madness in the Air – an extensive set report from the recording of The Star Beast, with contributions from cast and crew.
60th-Anniversary poll results – the top 10 revealed.
Neil Patrick Harris is the Toymaker – the man behind the returning villain.
Letter from the Showrunner – Russell T Davies on the Great Seismic Shifts in Doctor Who.
Production Diary – script editor Scott Handcock files his latest report, direct from Doctor Who’s HQ.
Taster Before the Feast – a look forward to tales of Tales of the TARDIS.
Liberation of the Daleks Part Fourteen – the adventures of the Fourteenth Doctor conclude in the epic comic-strip adventure written by Alan Barnes and illustrated by Lee Sullivan.
The Fact of Fiction unlocks the secrets of the acclaimed Twelfth Doctor episode Heaven Sent.
60 Objects, 60 Years – the final instalment of the series that tells the story of one object from every year of Doctor Who’s history.
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 597 is on sale Thursday 9 November from panini.co.uk and WH Smith priced £8.99 (UK).
Also available as a digital edition from pocketmags.com priced £7.99.
To mark the 60th Anniversary of Doctor Who, the makers of Doctor Who Magazine are publishing 60 Moments in Time, a special publication marking the series' anniversary
Over the course of 60 years, Doctor Who has transcended the realm of popular entertainment to become ingrained in popular culture.
How did it achieve this remarkable feat?
And how should Doctor Who Magazine – a faithful chronicle of that journey for the last 44 years – celebrate this very special birthday?
The makers of DWM present their biggest-ever publication – a lavishly illustrated journey through the lives and times of the world’s greatest science-fiction program.
This deluxe bookazine goes beyond the familiar stories, highlighting 60 landmark moments and exploring the many facets of a television legend on its diamond anniversary.
This 224-page limited edition features all-new articles illustrated with rare and previously unseen images. The publication is packaged in an exclusive slipcase.
Doctor Who: 60 Moments in Time is on sale Thursday 9 November from panini.co.uk and WH Smith priced £19.99 (UK).
Also available as a digital edition from pocketmags.com priced £18.99.
A new audio musical drama, Children of the Circus, is reuniting the cast of the seventh Doctor story, The Greatest Show in the Galaxy for a unique special.
The limited edition CD set will be released on December 14th, 2023, exactly 35 years to the day that the first episode of The Greatest Show in the Galaxy was broadcast on BBC One.
Once upon a time, there was a circus.
A Psychic Circus, to be precise. A glorious haven for the misfits of the universe.
But then, as is so often the way, it was hijacked by a trio of malevolent Gods.
Things grew unpleasant.
Now, years later, the Gods are gone, but the scars of those who survived the Circus remain. After all, you can't change the past.
Unless you're the Children of the Circus... and you're willing to sing.
Based on the Season 25 story by Stephen Wyatt, Children of the Circus is a brand-new, original, musical play on audio from AUK Studios; written by Kenton Hall (with songs by Christopher Guard) and based on an idea by Barnaby Eaton-Jones.
The special features the return of Sylvester McCoy (the Seventh Doctor) and Sophie Aldred (who played the Doctor’s traveling companion, Ace). But not as you’d expect. McCoy plays the High Poet; all befuddled charm and with a whisper of duplicity and danger. Aldred gives two magnificently different characters in the form of Captain Gren (the gruff owner of a Time Ship) and AJ (a sentient piece of rust, who navigates the Time Ship).
McCoy himself sums it up
To return to the worlds of Stephen Wyatt's imagination, but as a wholly new character called the High Poet, means I get to be involved with the Psychic Circus rather than fighting against it! As a lover of the circus myself, juggling this new role was a joy (though I'm sad I didn't get to play the spoons).
What fun to be reunited with all the wonderful cast from 'The Greatest Show in the Galaxy' again, 35 years later, and I hope you'll all enjoy this time-sliding, sidestepping sequel from Barnaby Eaton-Jones and his bunch of clowns!
Ever since producer/director Barnaby Eaton-Jones saw the original broadcast of The Greatest Show in the Galaxy, he was fascinated by the world that Stephen Wyatt had created…
Like most swinging, modern people, I receive a daily deluge of emails that begin with the fateful words “would you be interested in…” As a result, I have developed a tendency to give them, at best, a brief, withering glare.
In this case, however, it read “would I be interested in playing in the sandbox of Stephen Wyatt’s marvellous ‘The Greatest Show in the Galaxy’?”
Does the lesser spotted gumblejack smell faintly of cinnamon?
Spoiler: the answer to both questions is yes.
Songwriter, Christopher Guard, who played Bellboy in the original TV serial, added…
As with all the best things in life, I don't remember quite how or when it began. I think I'd sent some of my songs - recent and ancient - to Barnaby just as he was dreaming up a sequel to ‘The Greatest Show in the Galaxy’. It was more a shooting star than a light bulb moment. Irresistible synchronicity had struck, and ‘Children of the Circus’ was a THING!
It was just a question of time. Or timelessness.
Stephen Wyatt blessed us, Kenton Hall seized his cosmic pen, and the rest is mystery. Unravelled. With music.
How amazing to act and sing with so many of the original cast, to slip into Bellboy's loons once more, and to travel seamlessly beyond our wildest dreams.”
Starring Christopher Guard as Bellboy, Dee Sadler as Flowerchild and Ella, Sophie Aldred as Captain Gren and AJ, Toyah Willcox as The Band of Infinite Harmony, Ian Reddington as Delios and the Chief Clown, and Sylvester McCoy as the High Poet.
With Daisy Dunlop, Verity White, Kim Jones, Kenton Hall, Barnaby Eaton-Jones and Ian Kubiak.
Special guest appearances by Ricco Ross as The Ringmaster, Jessica Martin as Mags, Chris Jury as Deadbeat, Deborah Manship as Morgana, Gian Sammarco as Whizz Kid, Daniel Peacock as Nord, and Dean Hollingsworth as the Bus Conductor and Station Announcer.
Produced and directed by Barnaby Eaton-Jones, for AUK Studios.
A preview can be heard here
Limited Edition CD available to pre-order now:
The BBC is to broadcast a colourised version of the second Doctor Who story, The Daleks, to mark the show's 60th Anniversary.
As part of the celebrations, one of the show’s most renowned tales, the one that introduced the Daleks to the world, is to be screened on the 23rd of November, 60 years after Doctor Who began.
Originally transmitted from December 1963 to February 1964, The Daleks soon became one of the Doctor’s most formidable and enduring foes. The story follows the very first crew of the TARDIS as they land in a petrified forest on an alien planet. Determined to explore, the Doctor (William Hartnell) leads his companions into the metal city, where they discover danger at every corner and what will become his deadliest enemy, the mutant Daleks.
These seven original 25-minute episodes have now received a makeover, having been colourised and weaved together into a 75-minute blockbuster to appeal to today’s modern audiences.
With brand new sound, a brand new score - created by Mark Ayres - The Daleks has been gloriously updated, whilst ensuring the original classic story remains as thrilling as it was when it began in 1963. And, whilst viewers can enjoy watching the colourised version of The Daleks when it arrives on 23rd November on BBC Four, it will also sit within The Whoniverse where viewers can also watch the seven-part story in its original form.
Phil Collinson, Executive Producer says:
The Daleks colourisation is produced by Bad Wolf with BBC Studios for BBC Four and iPlayer.
Executive Produced by Russell T Davies, Jane Tranter, Julie Gardner, Phil Collinson, and Joel Collins. Lead Colourisation Artist is Richard Tipple and Edited by Benjamin Cook.
This special episode is one of the many highlights set to commemorate Doctor Who’s outstanding 60-year anniversary,– shortly before David Tennant takes back the reigns of the TARDIS for three highly anticipated specials.
This week marks the launch of The Whoniverse, the place where British Doctor Who fans can find resources on every era of the programme.
From the 1st of November, The Whoniverse will become the official name, and dedicated home, for all shows within the orbit of Doctor Who which will live on BBC iPlayer. With over 800 episodes of Doctor Who content already in the back catalogue, The Whoniverse will launch with a brand new logo, and every piece of Doctor Who content will carry a brand new ident, instantly bringing all the Doctor Who worlds together in one place and it will continuously expand.
One story likely to be missing from The Whoniverse will be the first-ever story of Doctor Who, An Unearthly Child. A dispute between the BBC and the estate of Anthony Coburn, the credited writer of the story, means that the four episodes of this story will not, for now, appear on the service.
The first exclusive content to land in the Whoniverse will be Tales of the TARDIS a brand new six-part series that reunites beloved classic Doctor Who duos, as they board a very special TARDIS on a nostalgic voyage through space and time.
Reprising their roles as the Doctor and companions to go on a timey-wimey spin down memory lane in these unmissable adventures are; Maureen O’Brien and Peter Purves, Frazer Hines and Wendy Padbury, Katy Manning and Daniel Anthony, Peter Davison and Janet Fielding, Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant, and Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred.
These Doctor Who legends step back into character to reflect on their adventures and in the process they discover something new, leaving viewers with a new insight into the story of each timeless pair.
Over six parts, each episode of Tales of the TARDIS features a different duo, with brand new scenes woven together with classic episodes to create a feature-length omnibus episode.
With new scenes written by Showrunner Russell T Davies and previous Doctor Who writers Phil Ford and Pete McTighe, Tales of the TARDIS allows fans to rediscover the stories they love whilst inviting new viewers to explore the vast mythology of the Doctor.
Russell T Davies, Doctor Who Showrunner says:
Dan McGolpin, Director of iPlayer and Channels added:
Viewers can discover Tales Of The TARDIS when The Whoniverse launches on 1st November, with the extensive back catalogue of Doctor Who.
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