Russell T Davies, the lead writer and executive producer of Doctor Who and the man who has spearheaded the revival of the programme since 2003, has been created an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire - OBE - in the Queen's Birthday Honours List. One of the highest civilian honours available to a British subject, the OBE is awarded by the Queen, on the advice of the Government, and has been given to Davies for his services to drama.

The Times quotes Davies as saying: "I'm delighted to accept, and I hope it does the whole industry a bit of good, for the writing of television drama to be recognised." Davies is the second Doctor Who producer to have been accorded the honour - the late Verity Lambert was given an OBE in 2002.

According to the Press Association, the BBC has released a statement saying: "We are delighted for Russell - he is one of this country's greatest writers and it is fantastic that his talent has been recognised in this way."

The story is covered in many other news sources, including: The Independent, The Guardian, The Scotsman and BBC News. BBC News have also published a profile of Davies.

The news that Steven Moffat is to replace Russell T Davies as the lead writer and executive producer of Doctor Who has garnered a large amount of media reaction, particularly in the UK. On Tuesday after the news broke the story was even featured on the BBC News television channel, as well as in the hourly bulletin on BBC Radio 2, the most listened to radio station in Britain. The BBC News website also ran an article, which was the main front page feature in their Entertainment section after the news broke on Tuesday.

The story ran in British national daily newspapers, such as The Mirror and The Times, and today The Independentpublished an opinion piece by Thomas Sutcliffe, bemoaning the fact that Moffat's talents were, like Davies's, to be wasted on a children's programme such as Doctor Who. Industry newspapers such as The Stage, Broadcast and even the Hollywood Reporter in the United States ran articles on the news.

Reaction has not been limited to news sources - blogs have been particularly active in relaying and commenting upon the news. Doctor Who scriptwriter Paul Cornell, celebrated comics writer and novelist Neil Gaiman, writer Warren Ellisand musical comedian Mitch Benn are all amongst the many hundreds to have passed comment on the news in their online journals.

The BBC Press Office and various media sources (originally broken by MediaGuardian) have announced thatSteven Moffat is to succeed Russell T Davies as the chief writer and executive producer of Doctor Who when it returns for its fifth series.

The article states that Moffat will replace Davies in 2009, taking over as "showrunner" for the fifth series in 2010. Moffat has been responsible for several episodes of the revived Doctor Who to date, including the BAFTA Award-winning "Blink" and the forthcoming two-parter "Silence in the Library" and "Forest of the Dead".

Davies is quoted as saying: "It's been a delight and an honour working with Steven, and I can't wait to see where his extraordinary imagination takes the Doctor. Best of all, I get to be a viewer again, watching on a Saturday night!"

The BBC press release includes a comment from Moffat himself: "My entire career has been a Secret Plan to get this job. I applied before but I got knocked back 'cos the BBC wanted someone else. Also I was seven. Anyway, I'm glad the BBC has finally seen the light, and it's a huge honour to be following Russell into the best - and the toughest - job in television. I say toughest 'cos Russell's at my window right now, pointing and laughing."

Moffat will continue as a director on the board of Hartswood Films, which produced Coupling and Jekyll, where he is also working on a new comedy Adam & Eve with wife Sue Vertue.

This year's BBC Proms will feature a special Doctor Who evening on Sunday 27th July, presented by Freema Agyeman. The show is expected to feature compositions related to time and space, with such items as Holst'sThe Planets and Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries, as well as the Doctor Who theme tune.

The show will also include a special Doctor Who scene starring David Tennant, written by Russell T Davies.

After recent controversy in the news surrounding the relevance of the Proms to modern day Britain, director Roger Wright denied the presence of Doctor Who would mean the world-famous music festival was being dumbed down, reporting that the musical emphasis would still focus on the British Isles, with other compositions from Eastern Europe.

The concert will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3, and may also be broadcast as part of the Proms season on BBC2.

The BBC's guide to the Proms is due to be published on the 11th April, and full details on the concerts and booking may be found on the BBC Proms website. Coverage of the announcement of Doctor Who at the proms has been published by BBC News, Standard, Google, The Times, and the Daily Mail.

BBC Internal magazine Ariel has reported that Executive Producer Russell T Davies is unhappy with the news series time slot.

The 6.20pm position is the earliest the series has been placed since it returned in 2005. In previous years earlier time slots have resulted in a decrease in viewing figures for the programme.

Update

This is now also being reported by Broadcast.

Two interviews with Russell T. Davies will air this week on BBC radio and television. First, on Tuesday January 15, Davies will speak to Nemone on the digital radio station BBC 6 Music. This interview can be heard from 1:00 p.m. GMT via the internet and the BBC's iPlayer Radio service (formerly Listen Again).

Then, on Wednesday January 16th, BBC Four will broadcast Mark Lawson Talks to Russell T. Davies. The Radio Times describes this interview as follows:

The Daily Post is reporting that comments made by Executive Producer Russell T. Davies at the preview screening ofVoyage of the Damned have caused quite a stir.

When asked who from history he would like to see play the Doctor, Davies reportedly jokingly answered "Hitler. He was stern and strong. He would be great."

According to the story, some guests laughed, but others were shocked by the remark.

One fan later remarked: "Hitler carried out some of the world’s worst atrocities. He ordered the killing of millions of innocent people. I don’t want my kids thinking Hitler and Doctor Who are in any way the same."

When David Tennant was then asked the same question, he reportedly declined to answer.

Broadcast magazine, the weekly magazine of the UK's television and radio industry, has released its "Hot 100 of 2007" list, and several Doctor Who people are on the list.

In the Talent category, Billie Piper comes in at #6 (the highest-ranking woman on the list). The magazine mentions her forthcoming return to Doctor Who, as well as her roles in "The Diary of a Call Girl", "Mansfield Park" and "The Shadow of the North".

In the Writers" category, Steven Moffat gets a nod at #11. Broadcast praises his "ingeniously playful" series "Jekyll" and his Doctor Who scripts, and notes his upcoming work on the Stephen Spielberg/Peter Jackson film adaptation of "Tintin". Moffat is also quoted about his first series, "Press Gang": "I'd love to do a return visit to the characters," he says. "They'll all be sad and fat, decaying in middle age."

Russell T. Davies has previously appeared in the Writers section of the Hot 100, but this year Broadcast recognizes his contributions as a producer, listing him at #1 in that category. The magazine notes Davies' hands-on involvement in every stage of Doctor Who and its spin-offs, and credits him with turning Doctor Who into one of the BBC's biggest brands. Jane Tranter says that Davies is "brilliant, totally rooted, extremely wise, irreverent and great fun to be with. And he's incredibly kind. His non-judgmental understanding of the nature of the human condition is written large in every piece of work he's ever done." (Tranter, who as Head of Drama at the BBC in 2003 was responsible for commissioning the return of Doctor Who to BBC television, is also in Broadcast's Hot 100. Now the BBC's Head of Fiction, she's the #1 entry in the Commissioners category.)

Finally, leading the field in Craft and Post-Production is Will Cohen of The Mill. The Mill contributed 2,897 effects shots to Doctor Who in 2007, and Cohen ensured that each of them was "better than good". Cohen says, "You've got to compete with computer games, the internet and DVDs. Viewers don't care whether effects are made for the cinema or TV - the work either stands up and holds its own or it doesn't."

Broadcast also listed Doctor Who as one of the top-rated dramas of 2007, excluding soaps. Based on overnight figures, the 31 March broadcast of "Smith and Jones", with 8.2 million viewers and a 39.5% share of the audience, was the eighth most viewed television drama of 2007, and the third highest ranking for a BBC program (surpassed by "Waking the Dead" and "New Tricks").

Broadcast requires detailed but free registration to read articles.

The official Doctor Who website has posted an interview with the series' producers: Russell T. Davies, Julie Gardner and Phil Collinson. The Three Who Rule discuss "Voyage of the Damned", the return of Donna, filming in Rome, autographing babies and Steven Moffat's brain.

SFX also has the second half of their interview with Phil Collinson, in which he talks about bringing back the Sontarans and Catherine Tate.

Thanks to Ian Berriman of SFX.

BBC News24's Entertainment Today programme at 6:35pm this evening featured a brief interview with Russell T Davies - "the man behind the renaissance of Doctor Who" - about Kylie Minogue's appearance in the forthcoming Christmas Special.