The front cover of the BBC's Radio Times listings magazine from the week of April 30th-May 6th 2005 has been voted the greatest British magazine cover of all time, in a poll organised by the Periodical Publishers Association.The cover featured a new series Dalek crossing Westminster Bridge in front of the Houses of Parliament, accompanied by the strapline "Vote Dalek!" This combined coverage of the transmission of the first new Dalek television story in over 16 years with the British General Election, which took place in the same week.According to The Guardian, the cover received over a quarter of the 10,000 votes cast in the public vote, beating off competition from issues of Vogue, The Face and OK!

Radio Times editor Gill Hudson is quoted by The Daily Telegraph as saying: "It was a very complex cover to put together; simply getting Daleks onto Westminster Bridge at night was very challenging."

Editors were asked to submit UK-only covers but not their own. Submissions were accepted from any era or decade, including titles that were no longer being published.

Adam Pasco, editor of Gardener's World, who nominated the Dalek cover, stated in his original citation: "This Radio Times cover captures the essence of the mood of the nation in a brilliant and original way, and delivers on every level.

"The cover is totally unexpected and brings a contemporary twist to the iconic image of a Dalek to grab readers of all ages at the newsstand."

More than 40 front cover nominations, spanning more than 100 years, were initially put forward by magazine editors. These were whittled down to a shortlist of 16 by a panel of judges. Members of the public were then invited to vote on their favourite.

Nicola Rowe, the circulation director of the Periodical Publishers Association, said: "We had many outstanding entries but Vote Dalek! captured the popular vote. It is sharply observed, funny, and to the point. It is, in its own way, a truly inspired reflection of the British sense of humour."

UPDATE - SEPTEMBER 30: A Radio Times photo gallery showing how the cover was created is now online here.

(Additional reporting by John Bowman.)

A Doctor Who themed cover for Radio Times has been nominated as one of the best magazine covers of all time.

The poll, conducted by industry publication Magazine Week 2008, consists of a series of covers nominated by UK magazine editors. The general public is invited to vote for their favourite.

The Radio Times nominated cover is the Vote Dalek edition from May 2005. The edition was published in the week the first series episode Dalek was shown and the UK's last general election was held. The cover was nominated by the editor of Gardeners' World, who described the cover as capturing the essence of the mood of the nation in a brilliant and original way.

Other covers nominated include "Posh and Becks'" wedding on the cover of OK, Diana, Princess of Wales on Vogue and a two-fingered salute on the front of Time Out.

The winner will be announced during the week beginning 29 September.

The latest issue of the BBC's Radio Times listings magazine, on sale across the UK from Tuesday, once again featuresDoctor Who as its cover story. The image - a larger version of which can be seen by clicking on the thumbnail picture at the bottom of this report - is a significant spoiler for the final two-part story of series four, so overseas readers should be aware, if they are avoiding spoilers, not to read on.

The cover is the 44th the Radio Times has granted Doctor Who in its long history, and the 7th this year alone, including the four alternative covers produced to tie in with the broadcast of "Partners in Crime". It comes only two weeks after the previous Radio Times cover feature, which tied in with Rose's return in the episode "Turn Left".

Featured within is an extensive article looking behind-the-scenes at the final episode of the series, "Journey's End". Interviewed are various members of the cast and crew, including actor Julian Bleach (Davros), who comments: "I knew this character, this Dalek world and everything from my childhood — that's so deep in my memory. But so strange as well, to be suddenly plunged into the middle of it." Russell T Davies says of the finale: "For all the spectacle, it's about character, in the end. It's an honour to write dialogue for David and Catherine – whether I'll ever get that chance again depends on what happens in this final episode."

Various members of the Doctor Who cast have been out and about promoting the forthcoming series-ending two-parter on British television this week. Things began on Tuesday, when Freema Agyeman appeared as an in-studio guest on children's show Blue Peter (see picture), talking about the programme and helping show viewers how to make their own Doctor Who board game. The episode also featured a report on Blue Peter presenter Gethin Jones's turn as a Dalek in the forthcoming series finale, including a never-before-seen clip from episode thirteen. British broadband viewers can watch this edition of Blue Peter online on the BBC iPlayer.

On Thursday Bernard Cribbins, who plays Donna's grandfather Wilf, appeared on BBC One's early evening magazine programme The One Show, and an exclusive clip from the series was shown. Cribbins commented that he was interviewed for the role of the Fourth Doctor, but lost out to Tom Baker. The One Show is also available to view on the BBC iPlayer for British internet users.

On Friday morning, Freema Agyeman and Elisabeth Sladen appeared together on Richard Arnold's entertainment news show, part of the morning GMTV programming on ITV1. They discussed the forthcoming finale and verbally sparred with a Dalek who also featured in the studio!

On Friday afternoon, British-based American actor Michael Brandon appeared on husband-and-wife team Richard and Judy's chat show on Channel 4. Brandon enthused about his role in the forthcoming episodes, and another exclusive clip was shown.

A blog on the website of the American Wall Street Journal newspaper looks into why British fans are so excited about the forthcoming finale - spoilers are included, so be warned. The Toronto Star in Canada includes K9 in a run-down of famous "cute" science-fiction robots. The Scotsman, meanwhile, reports that BBC bosses are allegedly ready to offerDavid Tennant 100,000 pounds per episode to sign up for the fifth full series of Doctor Who.

The Stage entertainment industry newspaper previews tonight's episode in its Square Eyes column, saying that: "The Stolen Earth is an audacious yarn from the pen of Russell T Davies - it's like one of those cracking Marvel Comic team-ups that have Spider-Man, the X-Men and The Avengers all turning up in the same comic." The Scotsman also runs a preview, enthusing: "This crowd-pleasing episode is so relentlessly enjoyable I wouldn't be ashamed to run naked around Westminster Abbey roaring its praises to the rafters. Look for me on the news."

The current edition of the BBC's Radio Times listings magazine also praises the episode, making it their "Pick of the Day" for Saturday, with television editor Alison Graham commenting: "Even sensible adults in the audience might feel a tiny quiver of fear as the Daleks deliver their message to Earth in those unforgettable quivering voices: 'Exterminate! Exterminate!'." The magazine also has a brief interview with scientist Richard Dawkins about his cameo appearance in the programme, and a three-page feature on the return of the Daleks.

Website Den of Geek has interviewed Dalek voice artist Nick Briggs about various aspects of his Doctor Who career.

The new edition of the BBC's Radio Times listings magazine, available across the UK from tomorrow, once again focuses on Doctor Who as its cover feature. The magazine published four alternative covers for its series four launch issue, and has also made the Sontarans cover stars during the current run of the programme.

The cover, a preview of which is shown below, promotes a feature by Russell T Davies, looking at the roles of the Doctor's recent companions. "The companion acts as our eyes and ears, our gateway into the Doctor’s extraordinary world," Davies tells the magazine. "The companion is there so that the kids watching at home can think, 'That could be me!' I hope the companions still make children think that's possible, to travel in time and space."

The Doctor Who Restoration Team website has published an article confirming the release of the K9 Tales box set later this year, and announcing the extras package being provided for the two stories - 1977's The Invisible Enemy and 1981 spin-off adventure K9 and Company.

The extras for The Invisible Enemy are:

A commentary Louise Jameson, John Leeson, Mat Irvine and Bob Baker.

Documentary feature Dreams and Fantasy, looking back at the making of the story.

Studio Sweepings - behind-the-scenes studio footage.

Visual Effect - a look at the visual effects work on this and other stories.

Blue Peter - an extract showing K9's first appearance on the famous children's magazine show.

Optional CGI effects.

Trailers and continuity announcements, on-screen production notes, a photo gallery, coming soon trailer, and PDF files of Radio Times billings.


On K9 and Company:

A commentary with Elisabeth Sladen, John Leeson, Linda Polan and Eric Saward.

The K9 Files - a documentary looking at the making of this production.

K9 - A Dog's Tale, K9 is interviewed about his life.

Pebble Mill at One - K9 appears on the BBC1 lunchtime chat show.

BBC trailers and continuity announements.

PDF files of K9 Stories, four books starring the dog originally published in the 1970s.

A Photo Gallery, Coming Soon trailer, Radio Times Billings PDFs, Programme subtitles and Subtitle Production Notes.

This week's Radio Times features an interview with Freema Agyeman who, last week, returned to Doctor Who in the role of Martha Jones, now a fully fledged member of UNIT. Has joining the Unified Intelligence Taskforce toughened her up? "It's affected her definitely" says Agyeman, "but she's still the same Martha underneath. She still wants to help and heal people,"

And who thought sparks would fly between Martha and Donna (Catherine Tate). "Too obvious!" laughs Agyeman. "Everyone was expecting that, so it's brilliant to have wrong-footed them." What about the Sontarans? Was she able to keep a straight face opposite them? "Tiny little warriors who look like potatoes, Well, they look cute, but they’re totally obsessed with war and bloodlust and death and honour. I think they're suffering a bit from small-man syndrome."

The Radio Times Website also contains a couple of articles related to the return of UNIT, including an interview with the Brigadier, Nicholas Courtney.

The official Radio Times website has revealed a preview of the Doctor Who themed cover for next week's edition of the magazine, which is released to newsstands in the UK tomorrow.

The cover features an image of a Sontaran from the forthcoming two-part story "The Sontaran Stratagem" and "The Poison Sky", which begins this Saturday at 6.20pm on BBC One.

The cover of the magazine also advertises the free CD of part one of the Doctor Who audiobook "The Resurrection Casket", which is being given away free with the magazine. The concluding part will be included with the following week's edition.

Next week's edition of Radio Times will once more feature a Doctor Who cover. Details are secret but the episode featured includes the return of the Sontarans. The cover will be revealed on the Radio Times website at 4pm on Monday 21st April.

The Radio Times will also contain a free BBC Doctor Who audio CD - part one of a two-CD set of The Resurrection Casket, written by Justin Richardsand read by David Tennant.

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.