The BBC's Torchwood website has confirmed that three new Torchwood radio plays have been recorded, and will air on BBC Radio 4's Afternoon Play prior to the television broadcast of Torchwood: Children of Earth. A previous Torchwood radio drama, "Lost Souls" by Joseph Lidster, was broadcast on Radio 4 last September, and is now available for purchase on CD and download. The BBC says that the new plays will "bridge the gap between Torchwood: Lost Souls and the upcoming Torchwood: Children of Earthtelevision series."

The new plays star John Barrowman as Captain Jack, Eve Myles as Gwen and Gareth David-Lloyd as Ianto. Each play will be 45 minutes long, and will air at 2:15 pm in the "Afternoon Play" slot. They will also be available as downloads and on iPlayer for 7 days after their initial broadcast. Broadcast dates have not yet been announced.

Titles, authors and summaries for the three plays are as follows:

BBC America has begun airing short commercials promoting their airing of the new Torchwood series, Children of Earth. According to their commercial, Children of the Earth will be broadcast in July, although specific dates have not been revealed. This seems to indicate that they will not be showing it simultaneously with its airing in the UK.

May 9 - UK Cable/Satellite network Watch has removed the paragraphs discussing their Torchwood plans for June. The following paragraphs were originally in the June Monthly Highlights, giving fans momentary hope that the BBC had decided on the UK airdate for Torchwood. The BBC has made no announcement on the UK airdate.

--------

Torchwood
Weeknights, 10pm (from Monday 15th June)
With brand-new Torchwood on BBC One, Watch continues the Torchwood flavour with stripped episodes every week night. ...

In the first episode, a brutal murder leads WPC Gwen Cooper to Torchwood, a journey that will change their lives forever. With four more episodes from series one across the week, fans can enjoy brand-new Torchwood on BBC One, as well as classic Torchwood on Watch straight afterwards.

A new teaser for Torchwood: Children of Earth was broadcast on Australia's UKTV today, in conjunction with the final episode of Torchwood Series Two. UK readers can see the teaser on the BBC's Torchwood site.

"Torchwood: Children of Earth" is a five-part miniseries, which will air this summer on BBC One and BBC America. An official air date has not yet been announced, but the British Film Institute will host a preview of the first episode in London on Friday, 12 June, at BFI Southbank(formerly known as the National Film Theatre). This preview will be followed by a question and answer session with members of the cast and crew.

The BFI has released a summary of the preview, which can be seen in the spoiler box below.

(Thanks to "xanderl" of the Doctor Who Forum.)

Director Euros Lyn speaks exclusively to Wired.com about his two upcoming directorial projects: Torchwood: Children of Earth and the two-part finale for the Tenth Doctor.

Speaking of the Torchwood shoot, Lyn said: "It's been an endurance test. It was a 16-week shoot for the Torchwood season - longer than most feature films. But the intensity keeps you focused on the work."

"For the first time, we'll see Torchwood facing a threat from home while they're also investigating an alien invasion. When they try to discover why all the children in the world have suddenly stopped at the same time, Torchwood also has to deal with human beings who are trying to hide a past mistake."

Work on the Doctor Who specials begins immediately after the work on Torchwood wraps. "I've seen the scripts, and they're amazing," he said. "I'm being very careful not to give anything away, but I think fans will be thrilled with David's farewell and how we set up the 11th Doctor."

The article includes the first look at the BBC promo poster for Torchwood (pictured below; click for larger view) as well as a video of the trailer.

The media are reporting today that new Doctor Matt Smith has been signed up for three years, with an option for an additional two. The Sun announced that "NEW Doctor Who Matt Smith will get £1million to play the Time Lord for five years. The little-known actor, 26, has signed a £200,000-a-year deal with the BBC1 sci-fi hit. His contract ties him into the show for three years, with the option of two more after that." The ubiquitous insider said: "Bosses don't want Matt doing a David and leaving when things are going great."

Also reported by the Telegraph and Daily Mail.

As revealed below, the BBC has now released the trailer for the forthcoming Torchwood series.

Children Of Earth will air over five consecutive nights on BBC One later this year. Captain Jack (John Barrowman), Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles) and Ianto Jones (Gareth David-Lloyd) are still coming to terms with the death of two of their closest friends. Despite their pain, they have a job to do. This time they are faced with their fiercest threat to date, one which throws the future of Torchwood and the entire human race spiralling into danger. They battle against the odds but do they stand a chance of saving mankind?

The series will also be shown on BBC America. Trailer content may be unavailable outside the United Kingdom.

This month's Doctor Who Magazine reveals that the upcoming Doctor Who specials will be shot in High Definition, a first for the series. Previously the production team has resisted the move to HD, because of the higher costs involved particularly with effects shots. Executive Producer Julie Gardner said the team has been planning the move to HD for many months. James Strong, who is directing Planet of the Dead, has considerable experience working in HD on programmes such as Hustle. The change means the programme will be shown on the BBC High Definition channel as well as on BBC One. BBC HD is available subscription free in Europe on Freesat. The channel is also part of the Sky HDservice and the Virgin Media HD service.

In other news the magazine also reveals that K-9 is due to play a large part in Series Three of The Sarah Jane Adventures. He is likely to appear in around 6 episodes of the 12 part series.

The magazine, out on Thursday, contains the first magazine interview with Matt Smith, recently revealed as the Eleventh Doctor. It asks how he plans to go about playing a 950-year-old Time Lord?

"The script is where it starts, it's always about the words, and luckily we're in the hands of Steven Moffat, who has this show ingrained in his soul and searing through his blood. It’s really born into his whole fabric, and that's the job for me over the next few months, to make this show part of my fibre. I think Steven is going to be the main creative source for me, and we're going to discover it together, who the Doctor is in Steven's mind and words, coupled with pockets of my personality, my history, my life, and the man and the human being that I am. I've got a meeting with Piers (Wenger, executive producer) next week to discuss that, but I think we'll start rehearsing and, you know, just sit around Piers' or Steven's kitchen table, read the scripts together, talk about the part. We’ll talk about my intentions, their intentions, how we feel it can fly, and sing, and be as brilliant and as Doctor-y and as excellent as it can be."

When asked what he might wear as the Doctor? "I’m a big fan of long coats and rather dashing scarves in everyday life, so who knows? For the audition, I rocked up in whatever, so I think they’re having to tone down what I wear in real life for the Doctor! I am a rather elaborate dresser. That's what's lovely, there are all these exciting things – what’s he going to wear, what’s he going to do in his first scene with his companion, which monsters will he meet, will he meet the Daleks? This show is so alive, it really is. I can't ever quite forget that I'm the Doctor – which is weird, because it’s still so far away. But it’s always there in my subconscious, because it's the Doctor! It’s like, there’s Sherlock Holmes, James Bond, and Doctor Who. It has resonance in our cultural fabric."

Also in the magazine:

• Showrunner-in-waiting Steven Moffat shares with DWM readers just what it's like to cast a new Doctor Who in Production Notes.
• Remember the Zygon gambit? The Yeti in the Underground? Or that, frankly, unmissable invasion by thousands of Daleks after Earth was transported billions of miles across space? DWM investigates why so many people in the Doctor Who universe, apparently, don't!
• Susie Liggat talks to DWM about her experiences as the producer of the UK's best-loved drama series.
• The Fact of Fiction revals some surprising secrets about 1975's Planet of Evil.
• Can the Doctor and Majenta prevent the Day of the Lokhus? And what will become of Maxwell Edison? Find out in the final part of DWM's latest comic strip, The Stockbridge Child by Dan McDaid, with art by Martin Geraghty.
• Neil Harris writes an open letter to Eleventh Doctor Matt Smith, full of helpful advice, in You Are Not Alone.
• DWM turns the tables on the BBC's "Doctor Who correspondent" and asks Who on Earth Is Lizo Mzimba?

The BBC have announced that a 60 second trailer for the forthcoming mini-seriesChildren of Earth will be shown at the New York Comic Con on Thursday 5th February at 4:00pm local time; this will be made available simultaneously in the United Kingdom (9:00pm GMT) on the official Torchwoodweb site.

Posted By John Bowman

Catherine Tate can be seen spoofing Doctor Who this weekend on entertainment showThe Sunday Night Project.

She is the guest host on the Channel 4 programme on January 18, and as well as delivering a monologue she puts on a wig, sideburns, suit and overcoat to assume the guise of the Tenth Doctor. The show's format also sees guest hosts facing questions from the studio audience.

In addition, regular co-host Justin Lee Collins portrays a bride, echoing Tate's first appearance as Donna Noble in Doctor Who.

The programme will air at 10pm.

David Tennant, Billie Piper and John Barrowman all guest-hosted during the show'sFriday Night Project incarnation.