Peter Hamilton, a long-time film cameraman with the BBC who worked on a variety of Doctor Who serials, died on March 1, due to unspecified reasons. Hamilton worked on many stories including "The Reign of Terror," "The Dalek Invasion of Earth," "The Web Planet," "The Crusade," "The Myth Makers," "The Daleks' Master Plan," "The Moonbase," "The Macra Terror," "The Tomb of the Cybermen," "The Dominators," "The Time Monster" and "Carnival of Monsters." Funeral services are planned for March 9 in Brixham. Also, Leonard Trolley, who played Superintendent Reynolds in the Patrick Troughton story "The Faceless Ones," died at the end of February; he was 87. (Thanks to Kevin Lyons, Neil Marsh)

While there's nothing confirmed, a report on the usually very reliable DVD Times website notes that the new series may be getting a DVD release in October. "It seems the BBC want to get the first series on to the shelves in time for Christmas," says the report. Again, there's no word on anything official, but this does match the rumors that Outpost Gallifrey has been hearing the past few weeks. (Thanks to Greg Deeter)

Product Enterprises and Scificollector have joined forces to bring the long awaitedTalking Davros toy to light, after repeated delays and production cancellations, as an exclusive at the Scificollector website. "There will only ever be one limited edition production run and there will be no more than 10,000 units produced," says the press information, which also notes it will be out in September 2005. See the website for further details. (Thanks to Steven Scott)

A general roundup of some of the press coverage from the past two weeks (courtesy Paul Engelberg, Paul Hayes, Mark Irwin, Steve Stratford and Roger Anderson):

Billie Piper is in this week's Arena magazine in a photo shoot, where she also discusses the new series and her husband, Chris Evans, from whom she is separated. "Chris is a genius and anyone who spends time with him is lucky," she told Arena. "I always thought it was weird, exes that hung out. But now I'm doing it myself I understand it. We've been through a lot. There's been no pressure. It's almost nicer now because there are no harboured feelings, no resentment. We're still best buds. More pictures and the full feature appear in the April issue.

Over budget and behind schedule? That's what March 2's issue of The Sun says. "The show ... will struggle to meet its scheduled March 26 debut date. A source said: 'There were ten extra days of shooting with special effects and that cost a fortune.'"

It's apparently all about the Daleks, according to the Liverpool Daily Post on March 2, in preparation for the new series. "EXTERMINATE! Exterminate! Dalekmania threatened to take over the universe. After giving Dr Who a lot of bother and forcing Britain's under-10s to quiver behind the sofa, these weird alien invaders became the thing to have, whether in toys, comics, books or on television. They even had their own comic strip series which ran in TV Century 21 for 104 issues - not bad for what were essentially dustbins on wheels."

Drama is to play a greater role in BBC daytime television, according to The Stage. The BBC's new drama unit in Birmingham is producing a series of ten short stories from up-and-coming writers due to broadcast later this year called Brief Encounters, which "aims to give new talent an opportunity to develop their scripts with the help of experienced mentors" including EastEnders writer Tony Jordan, Andrew Davies, who adapted Pride and Prejudice, and... new series producer Russell T Davies. The report also notes that Head of Daytime, Alison Sharman, is "tipped as favourite to become controller of BBC1, after Lorraine Heggessey resigned from the position to take over as chief executive of independent production company TalkBack Thames". Heggessey, of course, is the BBC1 Controller whose comments to the media in September 2003 were the first official word that Doctor Who was returning.

John Barrowman ("Captain Jack Harkness") will be appearing in the Royal National Theatre's revival of Anything Goes, which is scheduled to play Los Angeles' Ahmanson Theatre later this year, with John Barrowman repeating his London role of Billy Crocker. "And it's not hard to imagine the production moving on from there to New York," says Broadway.com.

Attitude Magazine, magazine for "gay professionals," recently featured a large article on Doctor Who, headlined with Who's the Daddy. It covered the age old topic of why Doctor Who is a 'gay pastime' and it also covered the programmes appeal in general.

Out on March 9 is SFX's Doctor Who Special,, reprinting most of SFX's Doctor Who interviews and articles throughout the years including interviews with
Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, Elisabeth Sladen, Nicholas Courtney, Deborah Watling, Frazer Hines, Carole Ann Ford, Katy Manning, Michael Craze, Anneke Wills, Sarah Sutton, Terrance Dicks, plus Couch Potatos with Sylvester McCoy and Mark Strickson, aticles including "Doctor Who û The Inbetween Years," the making of the TV movie, a new Russell T Davies interview, "at a glance" guide to the new series with new photos, Paul Cornell writing about his episode, a rare photo archive, Doctor Who on vinyl, every DVD reviewed and rated and much, much more! Below is the cover illustration. (Thanks to Steve O'Brien, Ian Berriman)

Meanwhile, TV Zone issue 187 will also contain Doctor Who content. "We go behind-the-scenes on the BBC's revival of Doctor Who, talking to Russell T Davies and the key players behind the new series, including Mark Gatiss, Steven Moffatt and Julie Gardner! Plus! - All the latest developments on Doctor Who in our News section. And! - Who author Lance Parkin shares his Deep Thoughts on the end of Star Trek - and what lessons the franchise can learn from Who's return..." It's out on March 8.

Already on sale is Dreamwatch issue #127. "He's back -- and it really is about time! As the new series' debut rapidly approaches, dreamwatch takes an episode-by-episode look at the return of Doctor Who." The news and reviews columns are extra-long this month, too, covering the latest developments in the SF and fantasy genre. The cover illustration is below.

BBC Four will be broadcasting a documentary on new series producer Russell T Davies in mid-March, around the same time as Davies' series Casanova begins on BBC Three; according to DWM and other sources; it will include interviews with Christopher Eccleston. Davies will also be interviewed by Sian Williams BBC2 Wales Digital on Thursday 17 March at 9pm. The program he appears on is an irregular interview series regarding Welsh celebrities discussing their life and works. (This doesn't appear to be the same as the program airing on BBC4 as this format is usually studio based chat with a few 'career' clips, though it's possible it is the same one getting a BBC Wales-first transmission.) The BBC2 digital regional variation is available on satellite only. (Thanks to David Brunt, Steve Tribe)

A BBC Press Office document now in circulation states that the forthcoming Project Who? two-part radio show airing on March 22 and 29 on BBC Radio 2 will "feature newly recorded interviews with the cast and creative team behind Doctor Who. With exclusive excerpts from the new series, starring Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper, the programmes examine how the format of the show has been developed and shaped for a new audience, how the character of the Doctor was cast, and how the series will be launched and marketed around the globe." The opening installment, "Bigger On The Inside," takes listeners back (without the aid of a Tardis) to September 2003, when Lorraine Heggessey, Controller of BBC One, announced that a new series of Doctor Who was being planned with Russell T Davies at the helm. The programme considers how the creator of Queer As Folk and The Second Coming approached the task of recreating one of the most popular and enduring formats on television." The document also notes that the new series will be complemented by BBC ThreeÆs "Doctor Who Confidential" documentary and the BBC Two Doctor Who night special. The BBC Radio 2 broadcast will happen on those days ôat approximately 8.33 pmö, with an extended double-CD release on May 2. DWM reports that Russell T Davies, Julie Gardner, Mal Young, Jane Tranter, Mark Gatiss, Nicholas Briggs, Clayton Hickman and Dave Golder (of SFX magazine) are among those interviewed. (Thanks to Tim Harrison, David Whittam)

According to the official Doctor Who site today, to mark the launch of the new series, BBC Two will celebrate Doctor Who with a special television night. "In a one-off Mastermind Doctor Who Special, four Doctor Who aficionados will be put through their paces by Mastermind host, John Humphrys, to find out who will be crowned the UK's top Doctor Who fan. The prize will be presented by the new Doctor, Christopher Eccleston. Some Things You Need To Know About Doctor Who will be packed full of Doctor Who trivia, plus there is another chance to see The Story of Doctor Who - a nostalgic archive documentary about the longest running TV drama series."

Interviewed in the latest issue of DWM, executive producer Julie Gardner says that both she and Russell T Davies want to do a second series of Doctor Who with Christopher Eccleston, should it be commissioned, and that they were having a meeting at the start of February to talk about what they'd do if they got the go-ahead. "We're already behind [because] to go again with the same number of episodes [...] we'd need to start filming at the same time as we did last year. On the first series, we were having those conversations in December [... but] I think there are lessons from the first series that we could implement to speed things up." Davies also mentions in his Production Notes that he and Gardner discussed his outline for 13 episodes for Series 2 during a train journey to London. "If Series Two ever exists, then these scripts will happen." Importantly, Russell prefaces this with "Of course, Series Two isn't commissioned yet - I suspect we won't know until a good few weeks into transmission of Series One - but we've got to plan ahead regardless." It's also noted that the BBC Four documentary on Davies shot footage of Russell and the production team watching "our very first viewing of The Long Game". So there is a chance that clips from that episode might be shown several weeks ahead of its actual broadcast (the documentary being scheduled for mid-March). For more on this, pick up Issue 354 of DWM, now on sale.

The latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine reports that "the exact date of transmission can't yet be confirmed - schedules can change up to a fortnight in advance - [but] it is still likely that the new series will begin transmission on Saturday 26 March." Both the BBC and BBC Worldwide are said to be "gearing up for a major launch of the show this Spring." This includes UK press screenings in early March, probably Tuesday 8 March, "which will coincide with the start of major television advertising campaign", with photographs and interviews following in UK newspapers and magazines. There may be a specially written television trailer, as well as radio trailers and a nationwide poster campaign. ChildrenÆs BBC will run "special behind-the-scenes reports" on both Newsround and Blue Peter.

Joe Ahearne has been confirmed as the director of episode 11, which bears the confirmed title "Boom Town"according to DWM, confirming Outpost Gallifrey's report last month that Ahearne had signed on to the additional episode. Episode 11 is therefore no longer a separate block from 12 and 13, as "it made sense for Joe to cover the whole thing", according to producer Phil Collinson. The magazine also confirms "The Doctor Dances" as the title of episode 10, again confirming the reports made online some time ago.

Regarding casting, some new updates: Episode 10 has Vilma Hollingberry as Mrs Harcourt. Episode 11 includes Aled Pedick as Idris and Will Thomas (previously seen on television in Belonging) as Mr Cleaver. Episodes 12 and 13 starPaterson Joseph as Rodrick, who apparently "shares some very unusual scenes with Rose Tylerà but will he live to tell the tale?" The same story includes Jamie Bradley as Strood and Abi Eniola as Crosbie, with Sebastian Armesto, Kate Loustau, Dominic Burgess and Karren Winchester in unconfirmed roles. Episode 13, The Parting of the Ways, also sees the return of Camille Coduri as Jackie Tyler and Noel Clarke as Mickey Smith.

The issue gives details for Episodes 4 to 7 of Doctor Who Confidential, which match the information given on the SFX site and reported here last week. One small additional detail is that Episode 5, Life on Earth, as well as looking at the DoctorÆs links to Earth, also "examines the new seriesÆ first cliffhangerà" See also the BBC website news below. There's also a foretaste from James Goss of the changes coming to the official website, a "teaser version" of which will launch in early March, with the full site beginning "with the first episode". The site will include "an astonishing amount of video û including 30 short films about the making of the showà WeÆre looking at clearing Doctor Who Confidential as well." There will also be broadband clips from the original run, desktop wallpapers, screensavers, sound files, hundreds of behind-the-scenes pictures, including "design sketches and photostories showingà how the TARDIS was built" and "some great games û including one where you get to drive a Dalek and anotherà how Monopoly would be if it were set in space, had tentacles, big weapons and a sense of humour. Some of itÆs written by Gareth Roberts". Also promised: "Some surprises".

There is a competition open to readers of DWM to see one of three exclusive preview screenings of the first episode on Monday 21 March in London. Entrants need to fill in a form on page 7 of the magazine and send it in; subscribers can e-mail their entries, giving their subscription numbers. The closing date and draw is on Wednesday 16 March. And the next issue, DWM 355à will include previews of The End of the World, The Unquiet Dead and Aliens of London, a set report on Rose, an interview with Simon Callow and behind-the-scenes on the creation of the TARDIS. ItÆs published on Thursday 31 March.

For further information on all of this, plus several exclusive interviews and all the regular features, pick up DWM 354 now on sale!