The British Academy of Film and Television Arts will be presenting a special event on 17th March; Russell T Davies in Conversation will take place at the Princess Anne Theatre on Piccadilly, and will feature a talk from the writer on "his origins in children's programmes, his thoughts about the audience and his hopes and fears for kids' output in the future - including his view on the BBC's move to Salford."

The evening is co-presented by BAFTA and the Showcomotion Children's Media Conference; further details and ticket booking can be found on the BAFTA website.

(with thanks to cherry@cupcake)

Posted By Brigadier Bill

Today's Sci-Fi Wire reports that IDW will release a special one-shot Doctor Who comic, "The Whispering Gallery," by artist Ben Templesmith and writers Leah Moore and John Reppion.

In "The Whispering Gallery," the TARDIS lands in a maze-like gallery filled with thousands of talking pictures, and the Doctor and Martha discover they've come across a planet where showing emotion has been outlawed. The inhabitants have good reason for their suppression, but it wouldn't be like the Doctor to leave them in fear of truly living.

Married writing team Leah Moore and John Reppion have been fans of Doctor Who and pitched IDW Publishing on their story idea for the classic British sci-fi hero after Leah had a dream about a two-page spread one night.

Today's Sun announced that Doctor Who could be returning to the stage in a new show later this year. The article reports that the stage show will a multi-media light and sound show with 3D-footage, and will feature many of the Doctor's best loved characters, including "flying DALEKS, croaky CYBERMEN and stocky SONTARANS in the family event."

The paper mentions that plans are at an early stage, and that BBC Worldwide will make a decision in a month or so. Venues mentioned include the Birmingham NEC and the London O2.

Says an insider: "The BBC know they’ve got a massive hit show on their hands, so they want to take it to the next level. They want it to be a Doctor Who experience which will blast fans with amazing visuals and music. The emphasis will be on technology so it’s unlikely any of the show’s stars will be on stage. But they are expected to feature in video elements. That said, the idea of using real actors hasn’t been ruled out."

The story has also been picked up by Digital Spy, What's on TV, the Retford Times and the Gloucestershire Forester.


Australia: the Mercury reports that a stage show based on Doctor Who opens this week at the Peacock Theatre in Tasmania; entitled "Who, Knows", the show follows the adventures of Russell Lambert as he becomes the president of the Doctor Who Club of Tasmania. (with thanks to Dwayne Bunney)

Posted By John Bowman

David Tennant has won an award for the RSC production of Hamlet in which he starred.

His return to the stage was named the Theatre Event of the Year at the Theatregoers' Choice Awards this evening.

The play, which was staged in Stratford-upon-Avon then London, also won the Best Regional Production gong. The London dates - at The Novello Theatre - did not qualify for the awards, though, which were voted for by 35,000 people.

The ceremony, held at the Prince of Wales Theatre in London, was co-hosted by Sheridan Smith, who plays companion Lucie Miller in the Big Finish audio dramas.

In addition, Under The Blue Sky, which co-starred Catherine Tate and ran at the Duke of York's Theatre in London's West End, won the Best New Play award.

Tennant had to miss some of the London run of Hamlet because of a back injury but was able to return before it ended.

Last month we reported on the role of producer being advertised for Doctor Who. The BBC has now provided details for another position to accompany the show, that of Interactive Producer.

As the job title implies, the role revolves around the media aspect of the show; in context: "BBC Wales successfully produces a wide range of network commissions such as Doctor Who, Torchwood, The Sarah Jane Adventures, Amazon and Last Chance to See. These productions increasingly include enhanced interactive content for digital TV, online and mobile platforms. The Interactive Producer is dedicated to producing innovative and compelling high quality content across interactive television, mobile and web platforms."

Like the producer's position, this one is once again a 12-month contract. The closing date is 27th February, and full details may be found on the BBC Jobs website.

The BBFC have passed the following extras for release on the forthcoming DVDs for Attack of the Cybermen and Image of the Fendahl.

Attack of the Cybermen:
00:22:48:18 THE CYBER STORY (FEATURETTE)
00:01:03:17 THE CYBERNETIC AUTONOMOUS DALEK (EASTER EGG)
00:08:06:21 HUMAN CYBORG - THE CYBERNETIC EXPERIMENTS (FEATURETTE)
00:08:09:03 ATTACK OF THE CYBERMEN - PHOTO GALLERY
00:07:47:22 THE CYBER-GENERATIONS (PHOTO GALLERY)
00:03:08:22 DOCTOR WHO (TRAILS AND CONTINUITY)
00:27:25:05 THE COLD WAR (FEATURETTE)

Image of the Fendahl:
00:26:19:01 AFTER IMAGE (MAKING OF)
00:11:26:18 IMAGE OF THE FENDAHL - DELETED AND EXTENDED SCENES
00:05:34:07 IMAGE OF THE FENDAHL - PHOTO GALLERY
00:00:37:07 (EASTER EGG) (LOUISE JAMESON INTERVIEW)
00:00:19:10 DR WHO - NEXT SATURDAY - 6.10 (TRAILER)

Attack of the Cybermen is due to be released on the 16th March, withImage of the Fendahl following later in the year.

The BBC Press Office have confirmed that filming has now begun in the United Arab Emirates for the forthcoming special Planet of the Dead.

Says producer Tracie Simpson: "We rarely take Doctor Who abroad although we did visit Rome for series four's The Fires Of Pompeii which gave us some spectacular footage. The locations in Dubai are a perfect match for writer Russell T Davies's vision of the episode and we expect to film some incredible scenes while we are here."

Additional photos from filming are available on the BBC's offical Doctor Who website for download as wallpaper.

News on filming has also been mentioned in the local Dubai paper The National: "While filming in crippling sandstorms in Dubai this week may have proved troublesome for mere mortals, the cult sci-fi figure the Doctor, hero of the popular BBC programme Doctor Who, emerged victorious over the climatic horrors of planet Earth. Hundreds of production crew descended on the desert around the city this week to film part of an episode of the programme. The location remained a closely guarded secret despite being in the wide open desert, with production company staff and all technical crew from Dubai required to sign confidentiality agreements."

Further media coverage from: CBBC, WalesOnline, Scottish Herald, Daily Record, Evening Post, Press Association, and Arabian Business.

Further to our news article on the Mark Wallinger exhibition taking place at the Hayward Gallery in London over the next few weeks, a lecture has now been announced for Friday 27th February which will feature writer and script-editor Gary Russell talking about the secrets of the TARDIS: "Blackboard lectures unveil the secrets, enigmas and stories behind works and objects featured in Mark Wallinger's show with a wide range of experts including artists, writers, mathematicians or sport and art historians."

Admission to the lecture, taking place at 7:00pm, will be free with an exhibition ticket. Further details are on the Gallery website.

Meanwhile, the Yorkshire Evening Post has reported on the exhibition moving to Leeds and Swansea in the future. It will be at the Leeds Art Gallery from May 16 to June 28 and then the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery in Swansea from July 18 to September 20. It is at the Hayward from February 18 to May 4.

(with thanks to Vin)

The offical Doctor Who site reports that there will be a special Red Nose Day version of The Sarah Jane Adventures. The mini-adventure will feature an old enemy, and the return of K9.

The special is written by Gareth Roberts and Clayton Hickman, and will see Elisabeth Sladen, Tommy Knight, Daniel Anthony and Anjli Mohindra reprising their roles, with special guest Ronnie Corbett. It will be broadcast as part of Comic Relief on the 13th March.

This week, Doctor Who Adventures has a fascinating fact file about the actor who has been chosen to be the Eleventh Doctor -- Matt Smith.

Also, do you suspect your friend is an alien? Some creatures are masters of disguise and it's difficult to tell what they really look like. We've got a feature all about the monsters that look human and are therefore very dangerous.

Also in the magazine:

• What mystery gift will you find inside this week's Doctor Who Adventures? There's something special with every issue.
• Posters: Martha Jones poster and the Doctor and the Gelth from The Unquiet Dead.
• News: Pictures from the Easter special, Planet of the Dead.
• Monsters: The ultimate guide to Sontarans.
• Tale from the TARDIS: DWA readers' favourite scene from The Next Doctor. The CyberKing rises!
• Puzzles: Fun things to work out!
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• Reader survey: Tell us what you think of Doctor Who Adventures!
• Colour it!: The Dalek Sec Hybrid is waiting for you!
• Comic strip: The Doctor and Heather land in the largest supermarket in the universe.
• Subscription offer: Subscribe today and get a Dalek adventure on CD!

Doctor Who Adventures issue 102 is out now.