2009 Specials Casting Rumours - UPDATED

Thursday, 11 September 2008 - Reported by R Alan Siler
The Sun is reporting inside information on some major cast news for the 2009 specials starring David Tennant. Details are found in the Spoiler box below.

Remember, consider all such information as strictly rumour until confirmed publicly by the BBC.

UPDATE - SEP 12: The BBC today rejected one of the claims. The details are in the Spoiler box.
The Sun is reporting that casting for the 2009 specials includes Catherine Tate, John Simm, Bernard Cribbins and Paul McGann.

On September 8 it wrote that insiders had revealed that Tate, Simm and Cribbins would make returns. "Fans will be delighted to see Catherine back. She was one of the wackiest companions of all time and she brought heaps of humour.

"And it’s great to have John back - he and David Tennant have a real nemesis chemistry."

Donna's return would be in light of the events that occurred at the end of Series Four, in which the Doctor wiped her mind of all knowledge of him and of her adventures in order to save her life. The Sun's source commented: "Anything can happen in Doctor Who. His assistants are always recurring and Donna is no exception. When you’re a Time Lord you can go back to any point in history and meet whoever you want."

And The Sun reported today that one of the specials would be a "flashback" tale that would feature the return ofPaul McGann to the role of the Doctor, which he played on screen only once, in 1996. "Fans loved Paul’s Doctor and feel he was never given the proper chance to shine. Reference is often made to the Time War which wiped out the Time Lords and this will give them a taste of that," The Sun's source revealed.

According to the story, flashback scenes will see him battered from the Time War and shorn of the long hair he had in the 1996 TV film.

UPDATE: According to Digital Spy on September 12, the BBC has quashed the story of the McGann casting. A spokeswoman is quoted as saying: "There is no truth to the story at all."




FILTER: - Specials - Production - Series 4/30 Specials - Press

News from DWM

Friday, 25 July 2008 - Reported by Anthony Weight
Issue 398 of Panini's Doctor Who Magazine was published in the United Kingdom yesterday, and contains several pieces of information of interest concerning the forthcoming special episodes of Doctor Who.

It is confirmed that the title of this year's Christmas episode - which will be 60 minutes long - is not "The Return of the Cybermen", as some have surmised from the teaser trailer at the conclusion of "Journey's End". This was merely a teaser description of the episode. It is also confirmed that actors David MorrisseyDervla Kirwan and Velile Tshabalalawill be guest- starring in the episode, with Kirwan playing a character named Miss Hartigan. Andy Goddard directs, withSusie Liggat producing.

Of the four further specials which will follow in 2009, it is announced that Russell T Davies will write two of them solo, with the other two to be co-written with Gareth Roberts and Phil Ford respectively. Roberts penned "The Shakespeare Code" and "The Unicorn and the Wasp" for Doctor Who, while Ford wrote "Eye of the Gorgon" and "The Lost Boy" for The Sarah Jane Adventures - the series for which he is now chief writer - and "Something Borrowed" for Torchwood. His work on the special will make him the only writer after Davies to have written for all three shows.

Elsewhere in the magazine, information is given on release dates for the remaining classic series DVD releases of 2008. "The Trial of a Time Lord" comes out on August 18, "Four To Doomsday" on September 15, "The War Machines" on September 29 and finally "Battlefield" on December 29.




FILTER: - Specials - Production - DWM - Series 4/30 Specials

Coming This Christmas...

Saturday, 5 July 2008 - Reported by Shaun Lyon
In contrast to the past several years' episodes, the closing credits of the season finale "Journey's End" today in the UK did NOT feature a title for the forthcoming Christmas episode of Doctor Who... only the cryptic phrase "Return of the Cybermen". That's likely not the title for the next story; when it's announced we'll bring it to you. It's been known for at least two months that the Cybermen would play a part in the next transmitted episode.

Meanwhile, to avoid spoiling any surprises for our readers, we will refrain from mentioning anything on the News Page about the state of affairs at the end of the story. "Journey's End" airs in America in less than a month, and the fourth series is also now currently airing in Australia.




FILTER: - Specials - Production - Series 4/30 Specials