Today marks the 50th anniversary of the first sole credited single release by The Beatles - who would feature in Doctor Who in stock footage in The Executioners (episode 1 of The Chase) - and if he had a time machine Matt Smith would love to see the Fab Four: "I'd go see music - the Beatles at their height, or Woodstock, or Kurt Cobain live. I'd love to see Arcade Fire in a room somewhere. And Sinatra when he was with Dean Martin." [Bust Magazine via Yahoo, 2 Oct 2012] (DWN note: Perhaps Matt got his time trip after all, if this photo that was circulated earlier in the year is to be believed!)

Alex Kingston is to appear in the 10th season of NCIS as a "woman of questionable morals". The actress is to play a character named Miranda Pennebaker, and is described by series boss Gary Glasberg as someone who "deals in everything from high-end weapons sales to priceless gems. Her connections go all the way up the ladder of D.C. politics, and [Major Case Response Team leader Supervisory Special Agent Leroy Jethro] Gibbs needs her for this very disturbing, emotional case." [TVLine, 3 Oct 2012]

Author and long-term fan A. L. Kennedy has expressed an interest to write for Doctor Who: "To go back to things that you are completely open to as a child, and which you allow to be very deeply part of who you are, as an artist, is to get back to that bit of yourself. And Doctor Who is very deeply there in my own work. Every crazy person, lots of the sense of humour, my viewpoint on what human beings are, absolutely. If I wasn’t going to be a writer I was going to be an anthropologist, because that was my thing: what are human beings?" The author will also be talking about Doctor Who when she appears at the Wigtown Book Festival on Sunday 7th October. [Scotsman, 1 Oct 2012]

A rare opportunity to see Sarah Sutton in one of her earliest TV roles is coming up. The BFI is screening the BBC's 1973 adaptation of Alice Through The Looking Glass, which stars Sutton as the eponymous heroine, at its Southbank venue in London on Saturday 17th November as part of its Beyond the Fourth Wall – Experiments in TV Drama season. Directed by James MacTaggart, who was keen to exploit the possibilities offered by the then-new technique of colour separation overlay, the 65-minute play was the BBC's official entry to the Prix Italia competition. Also appearing in it are Geoffrey Bayldon (White Knight), Bruce Purchase (Walrus), and Stephen Moore (Haigha). Tickets go on sale to the public on Tuesday 9th October.

Mark Gatiss will be at the BFI Southbank on Sunday 28th October for a question-and-answer session following a preview of his feature-length BBC Four documentary Horror Europa With Mark Gatiss, which explores European horror cinema and is a follow-up to his BBC Four series A History of Horror. Again, tickets go on sale to the public on Tuesday 9th October. The 90-minute documentary will air on BBC Four towards the end of October.

Billie Piper is moving to Los Angeles with husband Laurence Fox after they both finish their current theatre stints, according to a newspaper interview with Fox, who is appearing with Arthur Darvill in Our Boys at The Duchess Theatre in London until Saturday 15th December. Piper is in The Effect at The Cottesloe, which opens on Tuesday 6th November and runs until Wednesday 23rd January 2013, meaning that for a few weeks their performances will overlap. However, Fox said the two of them didn't compete over their careers. "It's not competitive but I feel like I've got to raise my game a bit. She's really good so it would be nice if I was really good too," he said. [i, 3 Oct 2012]

Meanwhile, Matt Smith and David Tennant bumped into each other at the press night for Our Boys. Also there was Billie Piper to give her support to her husband. [Mail Online, 4 Oct 2012]

Comedian and TV presenter Frank Skinner has told of his failed bid to secure a role in the current series of Doctor Who. In an interview with Absolute Radio, he said: "I got my manager to phone up the Doctor Who people when I heard this series was being filmed. He never mentioned it again so I take it that he couldn't break it to me." [i, 3 Oct 2012]

Comic book writer and playwright Grant Morrison, who penned stories for Doctor Who Magazine in the 1980s, told the MorrisonCon audience in Las Vegas that despite his desire to write for the show and apparent initial interest by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss in him doing so, nothing more had been forthcoming. "Moffat had been getting a lot of tweets from people who were saying, 'You should have Grant write Doctor Who', and I'd really love to write Doctor Who," he said. He added that a friend who had worked with Moffat and Gatiss suggested it to the pair and told him the duo wanted to hear from him. "We tried it four or five times, and he never wrote back," said Morrison. [Comic Book Resources, 1 Oct 2012 - NB: Article contains strong language elsewhere.]

In a two-page feature in the new Radio Times, Steven Moffat describes how he struggled to find the proper ending for Amy and Rory. "How and why would they leave? And would they live or die? I wrote and rewrote. I had a completely different ending and threw it away. So many times over those mad few days, the fate of the Ponds changed. Alive, dead, alive, dead . . . Nothing felt right. Nothing felt inevitable." [Radio Times, 3 Oct 2012]

Sheridan Smith - companion Lucie Miller to the Eighth Doctor in the Big Finish audio dramas - is the latest signing to BBC In-House Comedy's production of Mr Stink. As previously reported, the children's novel by David Walliams stars Hugh Bonneville as the eponymous tramp and has been adapted by Walliams and Simon Nye. Smith, who will play the overbearing mother of lonely 12-year-old Chloe who befriends Mr Stink, said: "David is such a brilliant writer, and the character just jumped off the page when I read it." [BBC Media Centre, 4 Oct 2012]

The following round-up includes interview discussion of the current series which may be considered spoilers for future episodes.

With his current co-stars departing, Matt Smith insists that he hasn't been tempted to hang up his bow-tie any time soon: "There are absolutely things I'd like to do. I'd have to go to the States and do a film but for the moment, I've more than enough to keep me busy, and it's work I love. I don't think there's any point in concerning yourself with what you might be doing if you weren't doing this. This is an amazing, extraordinary job and it would be madness - total madness - to be wishing it away when it's such a gift." [Radio Times, 29 Sep-5 Oct 2012]

With the deparature of Arthur Darvill and Karen Gillan, media attention now focuses upon Smith's next co-star, Jenna-Louise Coleman. The actress has already made her mark on readers of The Sun who, in spite of her yet to appear in the series as a side-kick to the Doctor, have voted her as his sexiest sidekick! Half of those participating in the poll placed the actress's character Oswin Oswald, who appeared in Asylum of the Daleks as their favourite, with Gillan's Amy Pond coming in second with 30%. [The Sun, 6th Sep 2012]

Steven Moffat talks about her 'proper' arrival at Christmas: "Looking ahead to Doctor Who with the new companion, we’ll be telling a very different story. You probably already know that from Jenna’s surprise appearance at the beginning of this series – but there are lots more twists to come. He’s never met a girl like this one." [Daily Record, 29 Sep 2012]

Matt Smith also commented on his new co-star's arrival: "In the Christmas special he meets his new chum, or someone he thinks is his new chum. The episode will deal with the arrival of Jenna as companion and the subsequent adventures with the Doctor thereafter." [Wall Street Journal, 27 Sep 2012]

Both of the recent co-stars offered their advice, with Karen Gillan saying: "I just want her to experience it because it's the most incredible thing, it's like just jumping in at the deep end and I don't think anyone can really prepare you for that. But I'd probably just say 'Don’t Google yourself!'". Arthur Darvill said: "Jenna’s a really wonderful actress," he told BBC America, "I think she's gonna be absolutely amazing. My tip would be to enjoy it... and she's got to own it, make it her own, which I know she will because she's brilliant." [Radio Times, 2 Oct 2012]

Tom MacRae talks about Jenna-Louise Coleman's audition tapes: "She just had this amazing energy. She's actually a couple of years older than Karen but she seems younger - she seems more of a teenager and bouncy. She's fantastic. It's really hard to take over from any companion that's loved like Amy and Rory are, and she's just going to be so different whilst still being a Doctor Who companion. It's a very good choice from the producers." [Digital Spy, 26 Sep 2012]

The discussion of director Peter Jackson being interested in Doctor Who has led to a comment by executive producer Caroline Skinner: "It is beyond wonderful that Peter is a fan of the show and it's beyond flattering that he'd even think about it. I'm absolutely sure that we couldn't afford him but, you know, we can always negotiate. His enthusiasm is just fantastic of course." And on filming in New Zealand: "I'm with Matt, of course at some point we'd love to bring Doctor Who Down Under... it won't be possible until at least a year after the 50th anniversary" [Waikato Times, 24 Sep 2012]

Make-up designer Neill Gorton talks about some of the work he's recently undertaken: "I usually get a loose brief. A writer will often write 'an eight foot-tall green monster' - it can be as broad as that. So I look at the script, and work out from what is going on how I am going to approach it. That can dictate the look. Other times, it's a fairly set brief. For example, for Dinosaurs On A Spaceship, which was broadcast a couple of weeks back, we built the triceratops that the Doctor and his companions ride. Now we all know what a triceratops looks like, so I couldn’t really change that." The designer's company Millennium FX also designed The Gunslinger and Shakri, but it is the subtle work that Gorton is most proud of: "For me, it's often about the things people see and don’t even realise - you see an Ood in Doctor Who and you go, 'Oh that's got to be special effects or prosthetics', but when people watch something and just don't notice... well, that's why I love doing old-age make-up. Something very subtle." [Scotsman, 27 Sep 2012]

Please note: the following round-up focuses on interview discussions of tonight's episode, The Angels Take Manhattan, which could be considered as spoilers.


Karen Gillan talks about life after Amy: "Well, I feel like I’m prepared for all the possible genres after playing Amy. And I certainly want variety, that’s for sure. What I enjoy most about acting is being versatile. I like actors like Robin Williams, who can do crazy, absurd characters. I would love to be an actor like that. The one I am really getting into recently is Olivia Colman. She does Peep Show and is brilliant at comedy, but I just watched Tyrannosaur – oh my god! I was on a train going through the Highlands of Scotland crying my eyes out. I want to play character roles, generally. That is my main ambition." And on how she'd want Amy remembered: "I love this girl. I would be too scared to act like her, but I get this artistic licence playing her. I love her dry sarcasm, wit and grumpiness. I'm not a grumpy person. I want to see her go out in flames of glory, where we see her at her absolute best. I just want people to look back over the Pond era fondly. I have had the best years of my life on this show, hand on my heart..." [Big Issue, 24 Sep 2012]

Similarly, Arthur Darvill on his departure from the show: "I can't really conceive that I've even been in it, yet! Do you know what I mean? When we're filming we concentrate so much on making each moment good. Then you see a screen with your face on or a big poster and you're like, 'Oh, that doesn't quite compute in my mind.' I just get on with my job, I don't think it will hit any of us – all three of us, really – until we’ve been a few years out it. Then we’ll realise what we’ve been doing for the last few years. I can't really speak for anyone else but I'm so proud of what we've done on this show, and it's been the best job I've ever had." And next: "I don't know if you can have a plan really. I do have a vague plan – I want to play some horrible people and I want to do some comedy, and I want to do some more theatre. Variety." [TV Choice, 25 Sep 2012]

Matt Smith got some parental feedback on the episode: "I showed my mum some of the rushes, the last couple of scenes, and she was in tears ... so that's good. That's a good sign. I think it's a fantastic farewell. I think it's hugely dramatic. There are wonderful twists. There's a great backdrop for a city. I think it's a fitting end to two of our greatest companions ever. ... I think Steven has written them out heroically, which is fantastic. You sort of want to go with a bit of a bang, don't you?" [TV Guide, 28 Sep 2012]

Steven Moffat talked about writing the final episode for Rory and Amy at the BAFTA preview in Cardiff earlier in the week: "After showing Amelia Pond in the garden as a young girl in The Eleventh Hour, Karen's first episode, the final shot in Saturday's The Angels Take Manhattan is a punchline I have been waiting to tell for two and a half years. This weekend's episode is more devastating for the Doctor, at certain points he becomes useless and emotional. It was torment and hell trying to write the episode, I struggled for ages to work out a fitting ending and changed my mind until I finally got it right." [Press Association via Google, 28 Sep 2012

The writer continued: "I must have rewritten it 20 odd times. I kept changing my mind about the exact way they’d leave, alive or dead? One or both of them? Their fates kept changing every five minutes until I hit on what I thought was right. Hopefully, there are scares AND emotion." [Daily Record, 29 Sep 2012]

Matt Smith is to appear at the MCM London Comic Con on 26th October 2012, where the actor will be signing and participating in a panel discussion with the show’s executive producer, Caroline Skinner.

The panel, which will also be made available online, forms part of the promotion for the Doctor Who: Series 7 Part 1 DVD, which is released commercially on 29th October. The DVD will be available to buy at the Doctor Who stand at ExCeL, and the first 100 people to do so will also receive a wristband which will allow them to get it signed by Matt Smith during the actor's session in the Signing Hall at the event.

Tickets for the MCM London Comic Con, which runs over the weekend 26th-28th October in London's ExCeL Centre, are available from their website.

The following round-up includes interview discussion of the current series which may be considered spoilers for upcoming episodes.

Matt Smith is a guest on Alan Carr: Chatty Man this coming Friday on Channel 4, 10:00pm. The show was recorded on Tuesday, during which the actor commented about his lack of interest in the Internet, daytime television and insomnia. A woman taking on the role inevitably cropped up too, with host Carr commenting: "I'd like to see Julie Goodyear as The Doctor. After all, she has been around for 900 years like he has." [Daily Star, The Sun, 20 Sep 2012]

Speaking of Internet technology, Steven Moffat has abandoned Twitter for the time being. His wife Sue Vertue commented: "For all asking he is well and currently having a family lunch but he's got a huge amount on and twitter was proving a distraction." [Twitter, 9 Sep 2012]

Ashley Walters has revealed that he got into trouble with the show's producers on his first day of filming for episode 11: "I wasn't even allowed to tweet pictures or anything, I was really upset about that. I did tweet one picture in my trailer and I got in huge trouble with the producers on my first day so I'm not saying anything any more about it. But it was amazing working with Matt Smith for a few weeks." [What's On TV, 19 Sep 2012]

Lora Munro, creative director at The Theatre Workshop, commented on young actress Daniella Eames and her casting in Doctor Who alongside Matt, Karen and Arthur: "Daniella is a gifted actress who really loves to perform. This is a great opportunity for her and we are all really excited Daniella will be gracing our television screens very soon." [Portsmouth News, 13 Sep 2012]

Business tycoon Alan Sugar is to have a cameo in this weekend's The Power of Three, with a 'reality' segment based around the popular show The Apprentice. An insider said: "Getting someone like Lord Sugar on the show was a real coup for us. He is a big fan and thought it was a giggle to film a clip from The Apprentice for it." [The Star, 13 Sep 2012]

Toby Whithouse talked about the origins of A Town Called Mercy: "It was Steven's idea – he said he wanted to do a Wild West episode because this year, certainly for the first half of the series, it's these big kind of movie marquee ideas. The pitch he gave was just, "There's a town that is being terrorised by some kind of robot." I thought about what it was in the town that the robot wants. What if it’s a person? Then the idea kind of fell out from there." [SFX, 10 Sep 2012]

Meanwhile, Chris Chibnall talks about what makes The Power of Three a little different to the normal narrative: "It’s Doctor Who from Amy and Rory's point of view. We're in the last days of the Ponds as everybody keeps saying, and it was really a chance to see where they've got to in their lives since The Eleventh Hour, and to see what it’s like to be them. And I think what’s interesting is that the companion/Doctor relationship in this series is very different to any we’ve seen before because really, they're part-time travellers. They’re living at home, and the Doctor pops in and goes, "Shall we go somewhere?", and they're off. That's very new, because they're not permanently with him, and I wanted to see what that would mean. I think it's very different to pretty much any other episode of Doctor Who ever, which is both wonderful and terrifying." [SFX, 16 Sep 2012]

Matt Smith seems to be angling for another continental filming experience "I think New Zealand would be an absolutely wonderful place to film Doctor Who... there's clearly a great film industry out there. It’s something I would be very interested in it’s just whether we can persuade the producers to fly us all over." With the country home to The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, he also said: "Hey, let's get Peter Jackson to direct one and go and make it in New Zealand. I would love to, I will campaign endlessly to come over and film there." ... to which the director responded: "Do it mate, do it. Come on.. I'm a huge Doctor Who fan, and I think Matt’s fantastic. Just name a time and place, and I'll be there!" [Waikato Times, 19 Sep 2012]

The cause has been taken up by Australian-based writer Neil Cross (whose second script for the 2013 half of the new series is about to go into production): "It would be awesome to see the Tardis materialise here - I suspect Steven and I will have a long conversation about this, one way or another. We will drink gin and talk a lot about bringing Doctor Who to New Zealand. Matt Smith and I just talked about what an amazing place New Zealand is and said it was amazing how this country did not have the biggest film industry in the world. He is such an extra-ordinary human being. I am not actually convinced that he's not actually the Doctor." [Waikato Times, 21 Sep 2012]

Smith has also been hinting at plans for next year: "Steven Moffat was pitching the 50th anniversary at the end of this series and what everything was going to be about and it was a very exciting meal. No doubt he’ll come up with something brilliant because that’s the sort of man he is... I hope that we mark it in the best way possible and we honour the people that have been in the show before us and we make it as grand and brilliant and inventive and as much an occasion as possible. What that is, I may have an idea, but I can’t tell you I'm afraid." [Waikato Times, 19 Sep 2012]

Back to the current series, and he commented on events in the finale of the current run of adventures, The Angels Take Manhattan: "I love the Weeping Angels and I loved filming in New York - the city added scale to the whole episode, which is just brilliant for Doctor Who. It was great to have River back, and to use filmic locations like Central Park and Times Square. It is a fitting ending for the Ponds, especially as the Weeping Angels are a Moffat creation." Steven Moffat himself added: "It is a heart-breaking farewell to Amy and Rory. We see the Doctor and his little Amelia Pond race through the streets of Manhattan to save Rory with help along the way as River Song charges back on to our screens, just in time to say goodbye. All stories have to end, and painful though that is, the most important thing about a story is how it finishes. I had over a year’s warning to get this sorted out, and I’m very proud of what we’ve done. A fitting end to the mighty era of the Ponds!" [BBC Press, 16 Sep 2012]

Doctor Who scooped the Best Family Drama title last night for the third year in a row at the TV Choice Awards.

Series Six saw off stiff competition from Merlin, Glee, and Waterloo Road to take the prize, with showrunner Steven Moffat accepting the honour at the ceremony, which was held at The Dorchester in London.

Matt Smith and Karen Gillan, who had been nominated in the Best Actor and Best Actress categories, lost out to, respectively, Benedict Cumberbatch (for Sherlock) and Miranda Hart. Gillan was named Best Actress last year but it was a successive disappointment for Smith, who in 2011 was beaten in the Best Actor category by David Tennant for Single Father.

Sherlock, created by Moffat and Mark Gatiss, was named Best Drama Series at last night's awards.

The following round-up includes interview discussion of the current series which may be considered spoilers for upcoming episodes.


Matt Smith talks about the speculation over a future female Doctor: "I think there are many actresses that could play it because there are so many wonderful actresses. I mean, it would change the role because she would be a woman so when you put her in a room full of men, it's a different scenario than if you put a man in a room full of men, because she's a different sex. Would it change the fundamentals of the character? No. But it's an interesting idea, if the Doctor's a woman, does she have a Doctor baby? Is there a mini-Doctor? I don't know, who knows? What actresses could play her? Oh gosh, so many, so many could play her. It depends on what age you would want. It could be... Charlize Theron is pretty kick ass, isn’t she? They just have to find a brilliant actress. I never see that happening any time soon to be honest. I don’t think it will happen. And I'm not turning into a woman. [The Mary Sue, 1 Sep 2012]

Arthur Darvill talks about his decision to leave the show this series: "It does feel like the right time to move on. The worst thing you can do is outstay your welcome on something like this. We've had such a good run and such good stories, but the whole program is about change. It's about things changing and evolving. So it's sad to leave, but it feels like the right thing to do. ... It's one of the best things I've ever done in my life," said Darvill. "I think people, when they leave a show, they can kind of separate themselves from what they've done. But I'll always be proud of the work that I've done on Doctor Who. I've learned so much doing it and had such an amazing time doing it. It's given me such a great start in everything. I still feel fairly early on in my career, and it's a really good foundation." [Blastr, 31 Aug 2012]

Writer Chris Chibnall talks about bringing dinosaurs to the screen: "There were two sides to it, one of which was, you know going in that it’s not a Michael Bay budget. It’s a Doctor Who budget. A BBC budget, although a very good one. But you know you can’t do dinosaurs endlessly for 45 minutes, so there has to be a big ‘other’ story going on. That was my job really, to go, ‘Okay, this is the story I want to tell around the dinosaurs, why they’re there and who’s with the Doctor’ and all that kind of stuff." [SFX, 3 Sep 2012]

Steven Moffat talks about the introduction of a new companion for the Doctor: "“We are going to do the story properly of the Doctor having lost a friend and making a new one. We’re not taking that lightly. It's not in one door out the other. It’s the story of how all that affects him, why he engages with somebody else and what’s going on with that – that’s all important." [SFX, 3 Sep 2012]

Tom MacRae hinted about his forthcoming Doctor Who story: "I don’t know when you’ll see it, but you definitely will!" [On The Box, 7 Sep 2012]

Young actor Cameron Strefford landed a role in the Christmas Special, which has recently been filming. The ten year old's mother Anthea said: "I watched his takes on the monitor and members of the crew said he came over very well. It's not the way he says his lines, it is the way he comes over on camera. He is quite intuitive and has a good feel for the part." [This is Wiltshire, 30 Aug 2012]

Karen Gillan has been involved in a photo-shoot for fashion magazine Marie Claire in a project alongside This is Great Britain to place the UK's brightest stars in London's most historic locations. Karen appears in front of 10 Downing Street! Editor-in-chief Trish Halpin said: "To be the first fashion magazine granted access to these amazing London landmarks was a real honour." A video of the shoot is also available to watch. [Marie Claire, 5 Sep 2012]

The actress has also paid for her father to record an album. She said: "He's a singer, not professional, he just loves doing it. I got it as a Father's Day present. I'm thinking of doing a duet with him but he's far better than me." [Daily Record, 4 Sep 2012]

Matt Smith mentions one of his experiences in New York recently: In New York, Karen and I walked into this 'Doctor Who'-themed bar. It shows the appalling limits of our vanity that we wanted to go to a 'Doctor Who' bar. But our curiosity got the better of us. You could have heard a pin drop when we strolled in." [FemaleFirst, 3 Sep 2012]

Smith will be a guest on the Channel 4 chat show Alan Carr: Chatty Man on Friday 21st September at 10pm, according to a tweet by the programme's official Twitter feed.

Arthur Darvill talks about his departure from Doctor Who, and onto new projects such as the West End show Our Boys: "We all met up on Monday to do a publicity photoshoot for that, all in army gear. Everyone else had these really sharp uniforms and I was in cold weather gear, so I had a shirt, a polo neck, a jumper, a massive jacket on the hottest day of the year!" [GT Magazine, Oct 2012]

A host of photos during rehearsals and further information on the play can be found via the play's official Facebook page.

The first episode of the two-part BBC Four adaptation of Room At The Top starring Jenna-Louise Coleman as Susan Brown is set to air during the week beginning Saturday 22nd September. The drama, which co-stars Kevin McNally, was made in 2010 and should have been broadcast in April 2011 but the BBC was prevented from showing it because of a copyright wrangle, which was finally resolved earlier this year. The day and time of transmission is yet to be confirmed. [BBC Programme Information]

Alex Kingston traces her family history in a forthcoming edition of Who Do You Think You Are? on BBC One. It is likely to be shown on Wednesday 19th September at 9pm.

David Tennant discussed how important the works of Shakespeare are: "I am on the board of the Royal Shakespeare Company and a huge part of what they do is education and outreach -- partly just to educate an audience for themselves but also just to teach that sort of language so kids can appreciate it. I think Shakespeare is one of those things that you get very excited about when you do it and when you love it and when you feel like you own that language. Often it's a difficult thing to teach to kids because it can feel like a slow and a difficult thing, but it can be really inspiring!" [TheaterMania, 29 Aug 2012]

The actor has also donated a signed copy of the Complete Second Series of Doctor Who an auction on behalf of The Alzheimer's Society - potential bidders can find the item on Ebay here over the next eight days. [Alzeimer's Society, 7 Sep 2012]

Digital Theatre and Routledge Publishing have made theatre performanances from the Routledge Performance Archive online; amongst the shows available for download/rental is David Tennant's Much Ado About Nothing, which co-starred Catherine Tate. [Standard, 6 Sep 2012]

John Barrowman commented on gay representation on American television: "America has the most gay men represented on television than any country in the world. The only thing I wish they would do more often is not stereotype those gay men and women. It's always the same type they choose. Rather than seeing camp, flouncy, girly men and butch heavy women, it would be nice to see other types. There are 'lipstick lesbians,' pretty girls. There are butch guys, guys who are into sports." [Desert Outlook, 4 Sep 2012]

Eve Myles has won the title role in the new six-part BBC One series Frankie, which will see her reunited with Torchwood director Mark Everest. The drama is described as "a modern and redemptive take on the life and work of a dedicated district nurse [Frankie Maddox] whose patients matter more to her than her personal life." Also appearing in it are Dean Lennox Kelly and Derek Riddell. Filming will take place in Bristol, where the series is set, with the drama due to air next spring. [BBC Media Centre, 6 Sep 2012]

Former executive producer and current Head of Drama at Channel 4 Piers Wenger has announced a new initiative to seek out original drama ideas for development on E4: "This is an exciting first step in the development of a slate of new drama series for E4. There is a wealth of British drama talent out there and I am thrilled to be able to green-light a drama pilot season and invite new and established writers to come to us with their big ideas. In the last few years, E4 has established an unrivalled reputation for launching young, ground-breaking drama series and we are looking for a range of original drama ideas which will allow audiences to connect with the channel now. We don't want to be prescriptive on genre, format or length of episode - the aim is to see a variety of home-grown and innovative drama on E4 in 2013 and beyond." [Televisual, 6 Sep 2012]

The Daily Mirror has this morning announced that Matt Smith has quit Doctor Who! However, the eye-catching front-page proclamation introduces an article that actually reports that he is under contract under November 2013, which would still cover any filming undertaken next year in the lead-up to the 50th Anniversary.

The paper is instead suggesting that the actor will bow out next Christmas, with "a source" saying: "Next year is the 50th anniversary so it seems right to have a ­regeneration. Matt is a ­brilliant Doctor so we will keep him for the run but a Christmas regeneration would be incredible and guarantee huge ratings."

Last night, the BBC's Head of Communications Simon Hodges commented via Twitter on the article: "Matt Smith hasn't quit - just an over excitable headline. It's taken from comments saying he won't be doing it forever. He'll be around for a good while yet."

Smith himself commented in this week's Radio Times: "We want to make it (the 50th Anniversary) as big and bold and as brilliant as we can because, we hope, it can be one of the monumental bits of TV history. But I doubt there'll be a regeneration.". The actor also told Richard Arnold on Daybreak this week: "I've always said that I'll be around for the 50th Anniversary and that's what we go into next year, so absolutely I'll be around next year - it's the most exciting year for the show and I wouldn't want to miss it."

Stories such as this by the Mirror regularly appear in the press, who love to speculate on how long main stars will remain with long-running shows such as Doctor Who. Whether Matt Smith is to really to leave post-50th Anniversary is unlikely to be officially revealed until much nearer the time.

Today saw both the BBC's Breakfast and ITV1's Daybreak shows featuring items on the return of Doctor Who on Saturday.

The BBC's item was presented by entertainment correspondent Lizo Mzimba, who spoke to both Matt Smith and Karen Gillan about what to expect in the coming weeks. Talking about this weekend's Asylum of the Daleks, Matt said:

UK viewers can watch the article below (which contains clips from the upcoming episode that might be considered spoilers):


In addition, the BBC's Doctor Who website features an interview with the episode's writer Steven Moffat on the return of the Daleks. You can also catch up on coverage of the preview screenings of the episode in London and New York.


Daybreak saw resident TV reviewer Richard Arnold chatting to Matt and Karen, with the latter revealing her 'geek' tendencies:
Matt Smith also reaffirmed his intentions after this series is over: