The big news today is, of course, the David Tennant casting announcement. ITV Teletext and BBC Ceefax carried the story, it was noted briefly on BBC Breakfast News and there are articles in the morning papers. CBBC's Newsround Showbiz seems to have abandoned its behind-the-scenes reports, but Newsround did, shortly before 5pm, cover the announcement of the new Doctor, with a report read over various clips from the first couple of episodes of the series. BBC News 24 doesn't seem to have covered the announcement (being largely dominated at the moment by the collapse of Rover cars and the election campaign), and the only BBC News coverage seems to have been at about 6.10 this morning, with a brief report of the announcement during Breakfast News. Meanwhile, a six-second teaser featuring the spaceship crashing into Big Ben, has been used to trail Aliens of London since about 5.30 yesterday evening.

Lots of additional media coverage today of the Tennant casting; besides the sites noted in the news story from last night, there is coverage of the event today on the official Doctor Who site, Mirror (which also mentions the salary amount), Manchester Online, icScotland, WaveGuide, Yahoo! News, Monsters and Critics, icWest Lothian,Reuters India, Kerala News, Cult TV, DarkZero, CBBC News, icWales, Reuters,DeHavilland, Daily Mail,ObviousNews, Slashdot (which references us but calls us "Output Gallifrey"), and a trio of Harry Potter sites (due to Tennant being in the next film), Harry Potters Page, MuggleNet andWizard City. Print editions of many newspapers without online notices include the Globe and Mail (Canada), the Newcastle Chronicle and Journal; also the Press Association news feed carries two stories about the casting.

The Who Is Doctor Who? website (a tie-in page run by the BBC's official Doctor Who website) has been updated again with content from "Aliens of London"... check it out (but beware of spoilers if you haven't seen the episode!)

The BBC have been promoting tonight's episode with a five second trailer, which is a sequence from the episode of the spacecraft approaching London and striking Big Ben. The clip is dubbed with the theme and the stark commentry "Doctor Who. Tomorrow at 7 on BBC1". The clip has been running since at least yesterday and appeared at 8pm and 9.30pm last night. "Aliens of London" was also today's BBC One Pick of the Day, complete with a graphic banner across bbc.co.uk (the official BBC website) with a scene of the ship crashing into the Thames: "There's an emotional homecoming for Rose when the TARDIS takes her and the Doctor back to London this week. Then, a UFO crash-lands in the city, destroying Big Ben and causing chaos. Will the occupants turn out to be friendly or deadly?" The Guardian says of today's episode, "Trenchant political satire this week, as the shape-shifting Slitheen invade present-day London from within... Downing Street, to be precise. Well, we always suspected our leaders came from another planet. 'I quite enjoyed being Oliver,' muses one alien of the MP whose skin he borrowed. 'He had a wife, a mistress û and a young farmer.' Whatever can he mean? Can Penelope Wilton stop the Slitheen slithering? Find out next week"

SyFyPortal's take on "The End of the World": "EcclestonÆs Doctor develops, too. Initially he swaggers like a big kid showing off his cool toys. But when things happen that are not supposed to, heÆs the man of action. His anger is unsettling when he finally corners the villain. And the writers suggest a hint of emotional vulnerability in the last Gallifreyan when the topic of his provenance arises. His fans shouldn't be upset, though. The DoctorÆs future is in safe hands."

BBC NewsVote has added a poll about who you'd prefer playing the Doctor. At press time, Eccleston is in the lead, followed by Tennant, then "someone else". "Results are indicative and may not reflect public opinion" says the site.

The cover of today's "Daily Star" features Billie Piper with the headline "Billie. Who's The Sexiest Of Them All". The centre pages of the newspaper are devoted to Colin Baker's views of Billie under the title "She's Out Of This World" where, amongst other things, Colin is quoted as saying "My two assistants were great but Billie is amazing" (from his interview earlier in the week.)

Interestingly, there were a couple of "Doctor Who" references on yesterday's "Have I Got News For You...?" (BBC1) in which Paul Merton claimed that Ian Hislop was the new Doctor. Also, several "Doctor Who" references appeared on yesterday's "The Now Show" (Radio 4) including a short sketch entitled "Doctor Dentist".

The current issue of "Ultimate DVD" magazine has a "Doctor Who" cover featuring Chris, Billie and the TARDIS and has heavy "Doctor Who" content. Besides the interview (noted on the main news page) about the DVD releases, there is a five page article in which Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner discuss the new "Doctor Who" on DVD, which is complemented by a range of new series photographs; a one-page article interviews marketing manager Matthew Parkes about November's DVD boxset release of the new series DVDs; a two-page article on the monsters in the new series; and an interview with Billie Piper, in addition to classic Who material.

(Thanks to Steve Tribe, Paul Engelberg, Chuck Foster, Paul Hayes, Jamie Austin, Simon Bishop)

A wrap-up of the most important articles from the past two days (sorry for the delay; the editor's been under the weather with a cold). There's more, and that'll come tomorrow; in the meanwhile, this is the most critical...

Under-Eight Controversy

Following Wednesday's press coverage of the "too scary for kids" statement from the BBC's complaints website, nowBBC News is reporting that the "not for the under-eights" advice has been withdrawn: "The BBC has withdrawn advice about Doctor Who being too frightening for under-eights to watch. A statement on the BBC's complaints website on Wednesday saying the show was not for children under eight had been 'a mistake', said a spokesman. Monsters in the early evening show 'may be scary' but content was 'carefully considered' for all of the pre-watershed audience, he added. 'We leave it to parents' discretion to ultimately decide.' The original statement said the series 'had never been intended for the youngest of children'. 'We would suggest that only children aged eight and above should watch with their parents,' it went on. ... The advice followed 91 complaints from viewers about the third episode in the new series... The corporation had not meant to advise against younger children watching the series, the BBC spokesman added. 'The programme sets out to balance the right amount of humour, drama and suspense in each episode,' he went on. Comedy and bravery had been incorporated to create 'the right context' for the ghost story, he said, adding that the BBC would be vigilant about the balance in each week's episode." The retraction has been picked up by the Times, which notes that there is now a BBC investigation into future episodes to see how scary they are, and also notes an Ofcom investigation as well.

Other sources covering this: BigNewsNetwork, ICWales, This Is South Wales, Evening Standard, Radio One,CBBC News.

Mark Gatiss, writer of "The Unquiet Dead," appeared on both BBC Radio Five Live and BBC Radio Four to address the comments about the scariness factor of his episode. Gatiss was questioned about "confusion at the BBC about whether Doctor Who is suitable for children under 8". Was he surprised by the reaction? "Quietly thrilled," says Mark, observing that Doctor Who is about healthy scares--"a ghost-train thrill" that the programme has always done. He describes the show as being about "the living dead inhabited by gas creatures", and that it wasn't as scary as the show had been in the 1970s (referencing elements of the two original Auton stories). The Radio 4 announcer also read some supportive e-mails, which delighted Gatiss. "Children can be too cosseted these days" says Mark, observing that Harry Potter is also successful but contains the scary fact that "people do die". He mentions his niece Olivia is "desperate to see the series", even though she hasn't apparently slept for three nights! Asked whether he'd been asked to tone the story down, Mark clarifies: early drafts of the story had been "too grim rather than too scary", and that he'd therefore not toned down the monsters but instead had toned down the undertaker elements which had been "not very Saturday nights". Gatiss' comments are addressed briefly in another BBC News report.

The day before, various UK newspapers ran versions of the report on the BBC's findings on complaints about "The Unquiet Dead." The Daily Express claims that the BBC has been "forced to slap an age warning on Doctor Who". According to The Sun, "The BBC has warned that Doctor Who should not be watched by children under eight." The Daily Star says that "Doctor Who is to get an age warning after ghoulish scenes terrified young viewers." TheGuardian has a piece online drawn directly from the BBC's report and from interviews with Mark Gatiss and Russell T Davies, which also notes the high overnight ratings for the episode. Also covering it: This Is London,MegaStar, MSN, Contact Music,Daily Record, CBBC News,Morons.org, ic Huddersfield. Yorkshire Coast Radio claimed in their 7pm bulletin on April 14 that 91 complaints had been received by the BBC.

Manchester Online addressed this "too scary" factor (also noted in theScotsman) with quotes from Tim Collins, Tory education spokesman and "Doctor Who" fan, denying that the show is too scary. "Shadow education secretary Tim Collins said the revived series, starring Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper, was perfectly suitable for children as young as six and defended the "right" of children to be scared by Dr Who after the BBC suggested the programme was not suitable for youngsters under eight. Dr Who is about the battle between good and evil, Mr Collins said, adding: 'I was watching it and thoroughly enjoying being scared out of my wits when I was six or seven.' ... Mr Collins said he would not let 'very young children' watch Dr Who but it was 'perfectly appropriate' for six-year-olds. He said: 'I think the programme has always been intended to provide a legitimate scare to children, an enjoyable scare. 'It's about the battle between good and evil. Good always triumphs in the end. There are monsters in it but they are always vanquished,' he said."

Broadcasting Updates, Press Releases

The BBC Press Office today has previews up in a press release (note: Adobe Acrobat PDF file!) for "Dalek," the sixth episode of the season, written by Rob Shearman, and that night's corresponding "Doctor Who Confidential" episode. We've put them in spoiler tags so click on the spoiler link at the very bottom of today's news summary, below.

Radio Times and other online listings report a schedule change on BBC Three for Saturday 23 April. Late Saturday 23 April on BBC Three, there will be a repeat of the episode "World War Three" at 12:05am BST and a repeat of the BBC4 documentary "Doctor Who Confidential". It is too soon to tell if this will be a new weekly broadcast of the series, or a one time special. BBC Three's schedules have proven particularly erratic and subject to change.

Doctor Who will have a new adversary beginning on April 23... no, not the Master or the Daleks, but "Celebrity Wrestling." The current run of "Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway," the ITV show run opposite Doctor Who, ends tomorrow, April 16, and "Celebrity Wrestling" starts the following weekend. But the time that the program will start on ITV is up in the air; "Doctor Who" has beaten "Ant and Dec" every weekend for the past three weeks, and according to April 13's Daily Star, the success of our show has ITV concerned. "It is very difficult to pin down the time when Celebrity Wrestling will be screened," the Daily Star quotes an ITV spokesperson. "The date has been confirmed now but there is still a bit of last-minute indecision over the time slot. This has come about because of the massive success of Doctor Who, which has even been beating Ant and Dec in the ratings. The action in the ring is also quite feisty, so some people working on the show think it would be better later at night." BBC News published an article about the wrestling show: "The latest celebrity reality show pits stars against one another as they literally wrestle for the attention of Saturday night viewers... In doing so it brings the hot air and razzmatazz of US wrestling to ITV's prime time schedule, reviving the flamboyance of hit 1990s game show Gladiators and challenging Doctor Who's dominance in the process." Presenter Kate Thornton is quoted as saying: "There's a massive appetite for shows like this. The viewing figures will tell you that. Television is all about spectacle and drama. If audiences continue to grow for shows like Celebrity Wrestling then more will be made."

Additional News and Reviews

SFX has a spoiler-free review of "Dalek," the sixth episode, which it meets with glowing praise: "Hold on to something sturdy; youÆre just about to be rocked by hyperbole measuring 10 on the Richter scale. 'Dalek' is the best episode of Doctor Who ever," says the review. "This is hard-as-nails Who. This is the Who the fans were clamouring for. This is the Who that will silence the critics of the 'silliness' of the episodes thus far. This is the episode that will have kids kicking their parents out from behind the sofa. ... ItÆs hard to conceive that Doctor Who can get much better than thisà" Check out SFX's website for the full review.

The Law Society Gazette, the trade paper for solicitors, featured an article on April 14 with an accompanying photo of the Moxx of Balhoon. "The post-Clementi [the recent review of all legal practice in England and Wales] world may be an alien and ugly one for some, but surely not as alien and ugly as the revived Doctor Who speculated the other week. In an episode where the Doctor and Rose travelled five billion years into the future to witness the end of the world as the sun expanded to consume it (don't worry - there's nobody living on Earth by then and it's being looked after by the National Trust), a variety of interesting and rich aliens were enjoying corporate hospitality to watch the 'artistic event' that was the spectacular explosion from the safety of a protected observation station in space. Among them was the Moxx of Balhoon, announced as being from the solicitors Jolko and Jolko. He had an unpleasant squeaky voice and his present to fellow passengers (each was required to provide something) was 'the gift of bodily salivas', whereupon he spat in Rose's eye. Talk about inadequate professional service. The Doctor, of course, saved the day when at literally the last second he managed to reverse the sabotage which dropped the station's defences and would have seen it destroyed too. But the extravagantly monikered Moxx was sadly a casualty of the crisis, and didn't even have the chance to put in a bill for his time either."

This week's edition of the BBC internal newsletter Ariel has a small Doctor Who article called "Be careful not to scare the voters" along with a photo of a Slitheen from this weekend's episode, "Aliens of London." "Those who have long-suspected that there are aliens at the heart of the British government will have suspicions confirmed by this Saturday's Doctor Who," says the article. "In a recent interview Russell T Davies admitted tha programme makers had to check with editorial policy before screening the episode Aliens of London because it clashed with the general election. The episode also features a spaceship crash-landing in the Thames as well as several reptilian-like aliens, the Slitheen (pictured), roaming the corridors of power. Perhaps David Icke was right after all..."

"Another hit from Doctor Who" raves the Evening Standard as it discusses the new series' effects. "Dramatic moments in Doctor Who were traditionally accompanied by wobbling scenery and cut-price props," says the article. "But when viewers tune in to the latest incarnation of the BBC1 series this Saturday they will see special effects convincing enough to send adults as well as children scurrying behind the sofa. The episode sees an alien spacecraft crash-landing in the Thames, taking a chunk out of Big Ben as it does so. The scene where the wing of the spaceship strikes the 318ft-tall St Stephen's Tower was created not by computer, but by hand. Model-makers used a 1/ 14thscale silicone model of the clock tower to create plaster castings, then filled them with bells and rubble to make the impact look real. These days every other Hollywood blockbuster features sophisticated computer-generated imagery, but Mike Tucker, an expert in models and miniatures, believes some effects should be kept real. 'It was actually easier for me to swing a model of a spaceship wing into a breakable Big Ben and put it all on camera,' he said."

'Media View' by Maggie Brown, an article on the website of The Stage, has a brief, positive mention of the new series. The article discusses the recent performance of ITV ratings-wise, and Brown suggests that "...if ITV had the ability, with hindsight, to cherry-pick dream acquisitions to graft onto its triumphant soaps, I'd say it would be Jamie's School Dinners and Doctor Who, which are both examples of bravery being rewarded and going against received wisdom - revivals rarely work or can be sustained. A pointer to the future?"

This week's Variety covered the show and, more specifically, the series as part of a larger shift away from London. "Every generation of Brits, it seems, gets a Doctor Who to embody the spirit of its age. So it's apt that the eighth and latest incarnation of the immortal time lord from planet Gallifrey is not a Southerner like most of his predecessors, but the unmistakably blue collar Lancastrian Christopher Eccleston. ... Although set everywhere from London to Salt Lake City and outer space, the 13 episodes were shot almost entirely in South Wales, and produced by the BBC's Welsh drama department. The new "Doctor Who" proves that there is life, and entertainment, outside London. It also reflects a wider psychological and constitutional shift that started when Prime Minister Tony Blair took office eight years ago, with a promise to give a greater voice to the nations and regions that make up the United Kingdom." The article goes on to discuss the rise of regional programming.

Variety also has a special report from some celebrities called 'Why I live outside London' and speaks to Russell T Davies about it. "I moved to Manchester because it was the heart of television drama and in those days Granada still trained people. Granada sits at the heart of the city and remains a very powerful influence in Manchester. For 40 years it has made 'Coronation Street,' the No. 1 show in the U.K. I like the fact that you can bump into members of the 'Street's' cast in the supermarkets. Red is another very important company locally because it only uses northern writers and northern crews. I have a second home in Cardiff because of 'Doctor Who.' Cardiff is where I started my TV career as a producer of children's shows." Variety then reviews the current series: "The fiercely loyal fans of British sci-fi character Doctor Who have had a long wait to see their hero back on the small screen. While there are bound to be dissenting voices, the BBC looks like it has got the elements in place to re-establish this cult classic. The Beeb's hefty marketing campaign hyped the return of the Time Lord, pitching the Easter Saturday bow of the 13-episode series as a must-see television event. While the opener --- titled "Rose" --- didn't quite meet expectations, it did grab a 44% share and almost 10 million viewers. It also hints at great things to come and breathes welcome life into a great character. As far as prospects abroad, it is a series that can easily travel and makes for easy fantasy viewing for all ages... This latest incarnation of "Doctor Who" is a wry fantasy hero who should appeal to all generations --- from those who grew up watching the early series to a younger generation with higher expectations in terms of special f/x and more sophisticated storylines."

Channel 4's Teletext service runs a weekly "celebrity horoscopes" column by Henri Llewelyn Davies called star'scope, and is currently featuring the "astrological chart" of Christopher Eccleston! "A week before the BBC revealed Chris Eccleston would only do one series of Dr Who, Teletext asked me how long he would last as the new Time Lord. I replied (check with Teletext if you must): 'I don't think he will last long.' Born Feb 16 1964 he has four planets in Aquarius, making him exceedingly independent. Such a heavy Aquarian presence ensures he will never allow himself to be typecast in anyway. Aquarian Dr Who star Eccleston has Mercury in Venus which makes him a persuasive speaker, a sweet talker. Dreamy planet Neptune is strong in his chart at the moment, making him more confused but enabling him to play a phantasmagorical role like Dr Who. With his Sun conjunct Saturn, Chris Eccleston must make up his own mind about matters and can rarely be swayed by other people. With his chart, he hates any kind of restriction - so his alleged fear of being typecast by Dr Who makes sense astrologically. He hopes people will get out of his way and he always wanted to be as free as possible. 'I intend to keep the variety going,' he has said of his work. Eccleston is notoriously secretive - a result of having his Saturn in Aquarius. He seems very upfront but has developed a secret internal life. This conjunction also makes him self-disciplined, highly professional, honest and rebellious. We know little of Eccleston's emotional life, but with his Venus in Aries he is likely to be impulsive in love. This placement also makes him quite outspoken. Only last year he said of The Frank Skinner show: 'It doesn't seem to be about anybody who's on it. It just seems to be about Skinner and his small-minded approach. He used to be funny but not any more.' Nor does Parkinson impress him - finding some of Parky's views 'disturbing.' Aquarian Eccleston is a truth-seeker, self-contained and likes to surround himself with numerous people. Perverse ideas appeal to him, such as playing Dr Who when he didn't see the point in reviving a 'knackered' old sci-fi series. Expect the unexpected."

Some other tangential articles over the past two days: "Dr Who made my 3-year-old scared of shopping" says an article in The Times; the Guardianmentions mistakes in the calculation of Earth's rotation, citing the Doctor Who novel "The Suns of Caresh"; Brand Republic reports on the phone boxes decor for the DVD releases; and icCroydon discusses how Billie Piper "regenerated" the show.

(Thanks to Paul Engelberg, Steve Tribe, Chuck Foster, John Bowman, Simon Pedley, Peter Hart, Paul Hayes, John Leacy, Jamie Austin, John Tait, Alan Morton, Darren Ross, Benjamin Elliott, David J Howe, Rowan Bridge and Peter Anghelides)

A very brief update today...

The final BARB ratings have come in for episode two, The End of the World: the episode scored a 7.97, which made it the third-placed BBC1 programme of the week, behind "EastEnders" and "Match of the Day." As many people speculated at the time, it seems that viewing figures that week were down across the board and Doctor Who's showing in fact remained pretty constant against "Rose" the week before, in terms of both its placing and its audience share. This is by no means a show with plummeting audience ratings!

TV presenter John Leslie wants to be the Doctor, according to today's Sun. "The 40-year-old lost his job on This Morning in 2002 following a sex scandal, and has not worked regularly on TV since, but it is claimed he hopes to audition for the role. Bookies Ladbrokes, however, are reported as making him a 500-1 outsider, despite claims that he has cleaned up his act and shed weight to look trimmer. And an unnamed 'pal' is quoted as saying: 'There is more chance of him playing one of the monsters.'" This was also covered at Ananova.

Two minor links to report: a discussion of time travel at the Norwich Astronomical Society that mentions the Doctor who series in Norfolk Now, and a Guardian discussion on Cardiff Unviersity that mentions the Daleks.

(Thanks to Steve Tribe, John Bowman, Andrew Flynn, and Chuck Foster)

Doctor Who did it again in Canada with over 899,000 viewers for the CBC broadcast yesterday of episode two, "The End of the World." Doctor Who came in fourth for the evening primetime slot behind programming's usual suspects: American Idol, Amazing Race, and Law and Order: SVU. As in the UK, the Canadian viewership is slightly down this week, but that was to be expected.

BBC Television issued a response to a complaint (reported as widespread, but in actuality it was limited to only a small handful of comments, if that) about the violence in episode three, "The Unquiet Dead." "Doctor Who is famously remembered by adults as being the family teatime programme which they watched from behind the sofa as children. The series has always been shown in the early evening and, while the monsters may be scary, the content is carefully considered for a pre-watershed audience," says the BBC response. "The programme sets out to balance the right amount of humour, drama and suspense in each episode. In The Unquiet Dead broadcast April 9th, the comic character of the Welsh undertaker and a larger than life Charles Dickens together with the laughter and bravery shown by the Doctor and Rose in the face of danger were, we believe, vital elements in putting this "ghost story" into the right context for a family audience. This is a balance we will strive week by week to maintain and remain vigilant about. Doctor Who has never been intended for the youngest of children and in line with the BBC's scheduling policy, the later a programme appears in the schedules, the less suitable it is for very young children to watch unsupervised. We would suggest it would be a programme which 8 year olds and above would enjoy watching with their parents. Programmes for very young viewers are clearly indicated in the listings. The programme is well trailed giving a clear indication of its content." News services covering this report include the Daily Record and the Times.

Also, in addition to the report earlier about the MSNBC cable network mentioning Doctor Who in the story about the Charles-Camilla wedding, we've had reports that this same report was also featured on yesterday morning's Today show on the NBC network here in America.

(Thanks to Paul Engelberg, Steve Tribe, Rod Mammitzsch, Sara Neale, Paul Hayes)

Just a brief series update today...

The official site has once again been updated with a new motif -- that of a BBC news report -- for the next two episodes, "Aliens of London" and "World War Three."

The new Radio Times published today (16-22 April) again heavily promotes the new series: Aliens of London is the first choice for Saturday in the magazine's choice of the week's best television (page 4), with a photo of Rose and a Slitheen ("After an alien spaceship crash-lands, the Doctor must save the world û but not before facing the wrath of Rose's mum..."). A letter praising David Tennant's performance in Casanova elicits the response, "Watch this space û David Tennant may rematerialise as the new Doctor Who..." on page 9 (and there's also an opportunity to get preview tickets for the new Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy movie). A double-spread shows several pictures of Mike Tucker's team creating the models and effects for the destruction of Big Ben ("Killing Time", page 12). TV Editor Alison Graham leads her "Television" column (page 69) with a discussion of Christopher Eccleston's departure from the series û she specualates that the news may have contributed to the expected drop in rataings between episodes 1 and 2 ("I wonder just how many [...] walked away after taking umbrage with the show's star"), observing that "The outcry [...] was immediate and spectacular". She criticises that response as showing "an absurd lack of perspective", although she recognises that "Audiences can be very proprietorial about their TV heroes [...] And no one likes their heroes to be slighted or mucked around. If there's one thing to be learnt [...] it's that audiences' affections are not to be trifled with." She points out that Doctor Who will return û "calm down, dear, he's only a Time Lord." This week's episode misses out on being Saturday's pick of the day, but is still one of the day's top choices (page 70), as is the next edition of Doctor Who Confidential, both getting very positive write-ups, particularly for Penelope Wilton. Saturday's "On this day" (page 71) notes the shared anniversaries of the final part of Genesis of the Daleks and the start of Terry Nation's Survivors. Finally, another Slitheen photo heads the BBC1 listings for Saturday evening.

A press release from the BBC Press Office yesterday notes that, "On the eve of MIPTV, BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC, has concluded two major deals for the brand new first series of Doctor Who... Following a deal struck at this year's BBC Showcase, Thomsonfly (formerly Britannia Airways Ltd) will broadcast episode one of the new series to passengers from 1 May on each of its video-equipped planes, on all routes around the world." The story also confirms the sale of the show to Italy to the Jimmyentertainment pay-TV channel, which we previously reported. Interestingly, the press release notes that "Doctor Who is a co-production with CBC in Canada," perhaps the first time this relationship has truly been quantified.

Last night saw the broadcast of Russell T Davies: Unscripted, a documentary/interview on BBC 4. Today'sGuardian noted that it was "a timely tribute to a man who's done more than anyone to drag television drama into the 21st century, but it did have a slight whiff of editorial control," noting that Davies' recollection of his career was "one long series of happy accidents. ... All of which is true, but I couldn't help longing to hear about the setbacks. The pre-Queer years, in which he did journeyman work at Granada, were glossed over with a few clips from The Grand, his somewhat overblown period piece. But there was no mention of Revelations, the rambling, crazy tale of a country bishop and his sexually precocious offspring, shunted out in the graveyard shift, watched only by a handful of slavering fans who recognised genius when they saw it. And there was no discussion of Davies's spectacular falling-out with Channel 4, who, unbelievably, passed on his first post-Queer project, which must have been a body blow at the time." (As an aside, the Guardian's Education section here has a brief feature on Simon Pegg, which notes his "Cameo appearance as a villain in the new series of Doctor Who.")

Richard Franklin, who played Captain Mike Yates alongside Jon Pertwee and the "UNIT era" cast of 1970's Doctor Who, had a sharply-worded letter in today's Brighton Evening Argus, in which he lambasts Christopher Eccleston's decision to leave the title role of the new series. "An actor is like a balloon," writes Franklin, "nothing, no one, until someone else breathes air into him. He is dependent upon the writer, the director and the lesser members of the cast who support their star on his or her imaginary pinnacle." Franklin says that in the case of Doctor Who, "fandom is absolutely crucial. This new series of Dr. Who would not have happened at all but for the continued pressure of fandom" since the cancellation in the 1980's. Franklin pays homage to fan support over the years before he takes Eccleston to task for what he feels is the latter's consideration of the role as "no more than a stepping stone. I find this insulting and ungrateful to the fans, who would have taken him to their hearts, and to the BBC, who have given him the accolade of a unique television role... His departure is not much thanks for a leg-up most actors would have given their right arm for and a glaring example of the greed, selfishness and cult of celebrity which blights modern Britain."There are apparently Doctor Who viewers in the American media. According to a report on the MSNBC website, one of their on-screen reporters made a comment during the nightly Keith Olbermann show about the series. Referring to the recent Charles-Camilla nuptials, reporter Michael Okwu said, "...Fewer than 8 million British watched the event on television. Fewer than sporting events and even a popular science fiction spoof here called 'Dr. Who.'" Olbermann, quick on the uptake, replied "Well, I can understand that, the whole TV ratings thing, because if I had my choice of a wedding or watching 'Dr. Who,' I'd watch 'Dr. Who' every time."

ABC Australia has announced it will round out the hour of broadcast of the new series (which only runs 45 minutes) with shortened versions of "Little Britain" narrated by Tom Baker. According to Australia's Daily Telegraph newspaper, the 15-minute 'episodes' will be called "Very Little Britain," and will debut with the series. Meanwhile, ABC will broadcast the Christopher Eccleston miniseries "The Second Coming," written by Russell T Davies, on May 1.

The Daily Politics show has "invited some of the nation's favourite celebrities and regular programme guests" to take part in commentary during the forthcoming political campaign. Says the report on BBC News, "Even one of the Daleks from Dr Who gets in on the act!"

Note to North American readers: both the SFX Doctor Who Special andDigit Magazine with the Doctor Who cover story have hit bookshelves as of today, at least in the major chains such as Barnes and Noble.

On the BBC's Entertainment page today, front section: " Imagine If... Rose from Doctor Who chose her top four web sites. Where on earth would she want to go?" There are links to four separate sections of the BBC site from that blurb... BBC History, Women's Health, Science and Space... and of course, the Doctor Who section. Of course, Rose is quite popular right now... in today's Daily Record, "former Doctor Who Colin Baker says he would have preferred to share the Tardis with Billie Piper, who stars as Rose Tyler, below, than any of his sexy female sidekicks. He said: 'My two assistants were great, but Billie is amazing. She's beautiful.'"

(Thanks to Paul Engelberg, Steve Tribe, Mark Rushford, Ian O'Brien, Alan Siler, Stephen Laing, Paul Hayes, Christopher Scott, and David Guest)

Here's an update on the events of this past weekend:

First, some ratings news for the Sunday night BBC3 repeats. Episode three,The Unquiet Dead, attracted 326,440 viewers in its Sunday repeat, according to ViewingFigures, while 217,550 viewers tuned in to see the repeat of Doctor Who Confidential. Although these figures may look quite small, says our correspondent Andy Parish, they performed really well in the multi-channel chart. "If you take out the 5 terrestrial channels available to the entire UK public, the repeat showing of 'Unquiet Dead' was only beaten by SKYONE's 'Malcolm in the Middle' and even rated higher than the popular news bulletin 'Channel 4 news'." We published the ratings for BBC1 broadcast of the episode and the initial showing of episode 3 of "Confidential" in yesterday's news update.

The 3.25am Saturday night/Sunday morning repeat showing of Doctor Who Confidential appears to be a regular thing - the Radio Times lists now lists the programme in that slot for 23/24 April, along with the regular broadcasts at 7.45pm on the Saturday and the Sunday.

Russell T Davies says he won't let a woman become the next Time Lord, according to reports printed on the ic Network. The article says that, asked if he would allow a female actor to become the next Doctor, Davies said: "Nah! Imagine having to explain that one to your kids - that Doctor Who has lost his willy!" (Er, quite.) The article also says Davies said the BBC always knew of Eccleston's intention but the announcement was not supposed to be made until the end of the 13-part series; however, he says the quest is underway to find the next Time Lord and refused to comment on rumours that actor David Tennant - star of Davies' BBC drama Casanova - is being lined up for the role. "I can't really say. All I can say is that the search is on," said Davies. "Eccleston's departure was all planned but it was not meant to come out. You were supposed to watch the series first. Then it was to be announced. But Christopher was the best Doctor in the world. He is one of the best actors in Britain." Davies also comments on the cancellation of "Mine All Mine." The comments praising Eccleston have appeared elsewhere including at Digital Spy.

Today's Guardian reviews the new series. "What was that dreadful smell at just after seven o'clock on Saturday night? Why, it was the nation's under-12s reacting as under-12s will to the opening scene of Doctor Who (BBC1), which was almost enough to make me react with them," says the review. "Mark 'League of Gentlemen' Gatiss's first stab at writing for the Doctor was a rich stew of genuine horror and gleeful cliche, with a big dollop of Eng Lit chucked in for good measure. Dumbing down? Hah! We discussed the finer points of Charles Dickens's oeuvre and Einstein's theory of relativity while chasing around in horse and cab. Billie Piper looked more than usually lovely in a Victorian off-the- shoulder number (for the dads) while Zombie Gran was there to terrorise the kiddies. We even got Simon Callow doing his Dickens turn ('What the Shakespeare is going on?'). Doctor, you're spoiling us. With all this on the plus side, it seems churlish to nit-pick, but that's what I'm paid for - so, am I the only one to find Christopher Eccleston's grinning a bit tiresome? It was all well and good to establish him as a matey, northern Doctor in the first episode, but frankly I'm hoping for a bit of depth at this point. He does look nice in a leather coat, though, which 99% of the sci-fi loving population does not."

Also in today's Guardian, an article called "Why sometimes it's clever to play dumb" about advertising in the modern era: "To look at the whole campaign we need to travel back in time to last summer. Filming starts on a new series of Doctor Who, the first since Michael Grade zapped the time lord in 1989. The new series is being created by writer-of-the-moment Russell T Davies. And the new Doctor is? Christopher Eccleston, an actor with Hollywood kudos, lured back to telly. His sidekick, ex-popstrel Billie Piper, for whom filming and celebrity marriage don't seem to be compatible. It's an irresistible stew of news and rumours and it is deftly spoon-fed to the press by the BBC's PR people. The bloggers blog, the journalists scrawl, the campaign has started. Then comes the illicit 'leak' of the first episode on the internet. Given that every hardcore Whoey is bound to be a techy and certain to have broadband internet, it is an absolutely perfect move. Too perfect, maybe, although the BBC denies responsibility. So now it is more than news, it is conspiracy fodder, too. And then in the run-up to the first episode, interviews with Eccleston and Piper on BBC Breakfast and Jonathan Ross; Chris Moyles promoting Who as part of Comic Relief on Radio 1; an elaborate website with clever downloadables, and trails aplenty on the BBC channels giving us our first glimpse of Eccleston's cheeky Doctor. Then, finally, the heavyweights swing into the ring: BBC television editorial. Doctor Who Confidential appears on BBC3, and Doctor Who Night screens on BBC2 the Saturday before the first episode. Every arm of the BBC is working perfectly with every other arm of the BBC to whip up maximum Whomania and create a very attractive product. And, at the very last moment, the poster goes up. A slightly hackneyed illustration of the Doctor and Rose emerging from the Tardis framed by shafts of romantic light like the cover of a sci-fi Mills and Boon. A poster as uncomplicated as the job it needed to do. What was the programme again? The return of Who with Eccleston and Chris Evans's ex, you know, the programme and the people that you have already heard so much about. Remind me when it's on? This Saturday at 7pm. The poster's only piece of news. Little Ant and Dec over on ITV1 didn't stand an earthly chance. The poster won't win any awards for advertising, or illustration, but it will win big for restraint, for playing the right part in a bigger whole and for showing that sometimes you don't have to show you are clever to be clever."

The Guardian had several other items of note: the television Pick of the Day is the Timeshift documentary on Russell T Davies: "Russell T Davies and Paul Abbott. No other script writer can touch them for trampoline-tight stories and spick-and-span dialogue. This documentary gives Davies, the creator of Queer As Folk, Casanova, Doctor Who, Bob and Rose, Dark Season and Second Coming the respect he is due. As a six-year-old he was entranced by Doctor Who. His first job was as a researcher on Why Don't You? He smokes a lot. He is TV-clever like no one else because he watches so much of it. People working in television who don't watch television are weird. Love him." Meanwhile, anarticlecondemning the way that "interactive" phone-in and text-in votes and so on are coming to dominate Saturday evening television notes that Doctor Who seems to have escaped the trend: "The worst aspect of this new TV tax is that it actually lets the television industry off doing its job properly. Now they have found solace in the phone-line endorsed bun-fight between individuals struggling for the right to fame, they no longer have to find formats or presenters or, heaven forbid, original ideas with which the public genuinely engage. In this televisual temperature it is almost possible to understand the hysterics the BBC put into promoting the new Doctor Who. It came as no small surprise to learn that we weren't voting for the return of the Daleks on that one."

DigitalSpy mentions a problem that has occurred this past weekend with Sky+, specifically that the showing had some technical problems that caused it to be removed from the Sky+ planner (an automated box used to record it onto the digital video recorder.) "It's a shame that the news that Chris Eccleston was leaving leaked early but I'll try not to let it spoil my enjoyment too much. I'm sure that many sci-fi fans were attracted to E4's screening of Shallow Grave on Friday as it was a rare opportunity to see The Doctor and Obi Wan Kenobi in the same movie. Add in Keith Allen, star of the Comic Strip's Sci-Fi spoof The Yob, and you have anorak heaven."

Ultimate DVD Magazine will celebrate the arrival of the new season of Doctor Who on DVD in its May issue, out this week, April 14. "With a Doctor Who cover, taken from the DVD art for Volume 1, we've got a wealth of Who coverageà Executive producers Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner talk about return the show to our screens, and what we can expect from November's TARDIS box set. Marketing manager Matthew Parkes provides more information about the DVD release strategy, and exclusively reveals news of an exciting Doctor Who box set of classic episodes for release in 2006! PLUS: An in-depth interview with Billie Piper, and Christopher Eccleston talks about taking on the role of the Doctor." Details about the issue can be found at the Ultimate DVD website and the cover is at right.

BBC News today posts the "Tory verdict on Doctor Who" interviewing MP Tim Collins, a big supporter of the series. "Never mind the election campaign, I have the answer to the question that really matters: what does the Tory Education Spokesman, Tim Collins, think of the new Doctor Who? Mr Collins is famous for his devotion and admiration for the previous incarnations of the Doctor, and is a fount of all Tardis-related trivia. His verdict could make or break the programme's revival... It's good news. Mr Collins believes the new Doctor Who is 'fantastic', adding that at least some real money had been spent on it."

Amazon has again released details of two books from the new Doctor Who series coming this summer from Penguin Books, an Intergalactic Activity Book and a Sticker Guide; you can see the books' covers and pre-order them (and support Outpost Gallifrey) by clicking on the links. We had previously been asked if we'd remove the covers as they were only mockups and not final versions (in fact, one being a simple marketing illustration used to sell the books to the BBC!) but these appear to be the final editions. Also online: the cover illustration for Mark Campbell's revised edition of his Pocket Essentials: Doctor Who due out at the end of August.

The Sunday Mirror said yesterday that Billie Piper has been chosen to star in a modern adaptation of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. "Following her role as Dr Who's sidekick Rose in the hit new TV series, the 22-year-old will play the role of Hero, a weathergirl, in the classic play, to be set in a television newsroom," says the article. The Sunday Mirror's critic Ian Hyland also mentions the series in a brief review; it's interesting to note that the reviewer watched it, because after "Rose" went out he said he would be sticking to "Ant + Dec" on Saturday nights. "But questions still surround this show. Like when did Chris Eccleston install a spray- tanning booth in the Tardis? And did the weapons inspectors in Iraq find more evidence of chemistry than we're witnessing between Eccleston and Billie Piper? And if the Doctor is such an expert on time, how come he hasn't told the producers these new episodes are 15 minutes too long?"

Today's Metro newspaper contains a review of episode three. "Those despairing of the state of 21st century telly should get a blast of Doctor Who. This is the classic stuff today's little 'uns will look back on with childhood nostalgia. And Saturday's episode was another absolute cracker, as the Doctor and Rose Tardis-ed into a Dickensian Christmas 1860, to investigate an alien invasion. ... Quilled by The League of Gentlemen's Mark Gatiss, this was darker stuff than usual, packing in all the Victorian trappings: grave-robbing, seances, Billie's bosoms wedged into a corset, but also intelligently touching on class distinctions: 'You dress like a lady but you seem a bit common' said the ... maid to Billie, while Simon Callow was clearly having a ball as Dickens."

"Doctor Who to transform London phone boxes" says today's Media Week. "A new BBC Doctor Who DVD range is kicking off in May with a massive phone kiosk advertising campaign to take over the streets of London. Beginning on 9 May, 450 phone kiosks will be overhauled to become the Doctor's Tardis time travel machine in a campaign lasting six weeks. Matthew Parkes, BBC DVD marketing manager said: 'Telephone kiosk advertising is the perfect medium for advertising a brand so closely tied with the iconic Tardis police call box.' The first DVD volume of the new Doctor Who series will be on sale 16 May, featuring the first three episodes, followed by the second volume on 13 June, volume three in August, volume four in September and a complete box-set of the series by November. The huge excitement that has been triggered by this campaign surrounding the new Doctor Who series adds to the cult of the show, which recently made the headlines when Christopher Eccleston announced that he would not be reprising his role as the infamous Time Lord in a second series for fears of being typecast. The new series of Doctor Who, which was launched on the 26 March, followed a 16-year hiatus after the show was cancelled in 1989 due to poor audience figures... but with 9.9 million viewers for its opening episode, the sci-fi drama beat off Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, in a major blow for ITV1."

An article in the Sydney, Australia newspaper the Sun Herald discusses the acquisition of the series for Australian TV, recapping much of the hype in Christopher Eccleston's casting, his departure and the rumors about David Tennant. "It appears that Eccleston is indeed tired of it, and is moving on after one season and a Christmas special. But will Tennant step into his shoes? It is too early to tell. Many actors have been tipped as the new Doctor in the past, with choices ranging from the sublime (Ron Moody, Alan Rickman, Brian Blessed) to the peculiar (Donald Sutherland, Rutger Hauer, David Hasslehoff)." It says that, according to an interview with Eccleston, the actor said that Russell T Davies was "as close to a genius as I've seen in telly."

Saturday's South Evening Post said that "who better to put Swansea on TV screens around the world than city-born writer Russell T Davies?" The article noted that "As head writer and executive producer of the new Who, Davies helped make sure that at least part of one episode was filmed in Swansea. That episode, The Unquiet Dead, is on BBC One tonight and will be screened Down Under in May," referring to last Saturday's transmission of the episode.

From yesterday's Scotland on Sunday newspaper, in a profile of Mark E. Smith of indie rock band The Fall: "And by the time he tells me to 'Get them in, Aidan - and a whisky,' he's casually mentioning how he turned down the chance to become Doctor Who. I'd just asked him if he'd seen Christopher Eccleston's reincarnation of the Time Lord and in particular the first episode where he utters a line worthy of Smith himself: 'All planets have a north.' 'Nah, I've heard he's good, like, but 10 years ago there was talk of me being the Doctor. I was down at the BBC, doing a session for Peel, and this bloke - he must have been a Fall fan - said a place on the short-list was mine if I wanted it. 'Nah, I don't do acting,' I said. Well, could you see me fighting t'Daleks?'"

Actor Rhys Ifans, in an interview he gave at the Celtic Film Festival, claimed to have been offered the role of the Doctor after Eccleston's departure, but declined it as he "didn't have the time." In the same interview, he claimed to have also turned down the role of James Bond! This was reported in the Welsh edition of the "Daily Post" newspaper last week.

BBC News commented on the ratings for the wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles this weekend and mentioned Doctor Who beating it in the ratings: "As our sports colleagues might say, there was a big crowd at Windsor on Saturday. But not too many people watched the Royal Wedding on television, according to the Mail. The paper put the viewing figures at 7.3m viewers - the same as the Grand National but fewer than Dr Who - and definitely far behind the wedding of Ken and Deirdre in Coronation Street, the paper says."

The Northern Echo says of this past weekend's episode that "the Doctor's sense of direction hasn't improved. Instead of Naples, they landed in Cardiff in 1869 where the dead were having trouble sleeping. Or as the undertaker put it, 'The stiffs are getting restless.' ... Charles Dickens played his part in putting these zombies to rest in a story written by the Co Durham-born member of The League Of Gentleman, Mark Gatiss. , which continued Russell T Davies' good work of reviving the Time Lord. One intriguing aspect of the new series is the developing relationship between the Doctor and Rose. There's a look here, a remark there. I wouldn't be surprised if, so to speak, she finds herself under the doctor. "

Finally, today's Sun comments on how, once again, Doctor Who has beaten Ant + Dec in the ratings. Those poor, poor chaps...

(Thanks to Paul Engelberg, Steve Tribe, Dave Owen, Chuck Foster, Ian O'Brien, David Richardson, Paul Hayes, David Traynier, Paul Howes, Simon Mapp, David Connah, Eddie Brennan, Dan O'Malley, Mike Buckley, Chris Winwood, and Andy Parish)

A slow news day (for once!)...

Episode three, "The Unquiet Dead", and its companion series Doctor Who Confidential (on BBC3), aired today. Preliminary ratings should be in tomorrow.

In "The Guide" this morning, The Guardian's listings magazine, the normally vituperative Charlie Brooker, in his "Screen Burn" column, finally turns its attention to Doctor Who. Says our correspondent Steve Tribe, "Everyone who reads Brooker's column does so in the knowledge that he will generally be more horrible to any show he deals with than any other reviewer; he's also the co-writer with Chris Morris of the recent Nathan Barley." Today, however, he has writen the following: "Before I go, a quick mention of Doctor Who (Sat, 7pm, BBC1), despite the blanket coverage the series has received elsewhere. Thing is, I simply can't stand by and let this week's episode, The Unquiet Dead, pass by without comment, for the following reason: I think it may be the single best piece of family-oriented entertainment BBC has broadcast in its entire history. It's clever, it's funny, it's exciting, it's moving, it's got shades of Nigel 'Quatermass' Kneale about it, it looks fantastic, and in places it's genuinely frightening. TV really doesn't get better than this, ever. Resistance is futile..." You can read the full review here. Another Guardian article indicates that Doctor Who is achieving some impressive penetration of the culture with the new series, rather than thirty-year-old gags about scarvesà

The Western Mail discusses Russell T Davies' recent serial "Mine All Mine," and notes that "He may be causing a stir with his scripts for Doctor Who but Russell T Davies has admitted that his last TV series proved to be a flop simply because it wasn't good enough." Says Davies: "People are always quick to blame the slot but when I found out when the first episode was going out I was dancing on air," as he spoke about his career at the Celtic Film and TV Festival in Cardiff yesterday. "It was the best possible start as we were up against nonsense on the other channels, including dull documentaries and a repeat. But it (Mine All Mine) still died - people started seeking out these dull documentaries!"

ITV1's Saturday children's magazine show, 'Ministry of Mayhem', featured a mad scientist sketch, featuring what was presumably his latest crazy creation: a sort of stretched web of skin on a rectangular frame, with a man's face poking through the middle (he was evidently just behind it, rather than CGI!). Yes, ITV is so impressed by the new series that they're doing instantly recognisable send-ups of Cassandra. Says Alex Wilcock, "Guess what they reckon all their Ministry of Mayhem audience watches on a Saturday night?"

A brief note in the Independent regarding the influence of the new series on the Doctor Who toys: "Television- and film-related items are particularly popular, especially if they are currently being aired. Dr Who toys are experiencing a revival, for example. A 1965 Daleks snowstorm with its original box recently made ú640 at a Vectis auction."

Issue #188 of the UKÆs TV Zone Magazine features an interview with Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper. Says Billie, on when she accepted the role of the DoctorÆs companion, "I didnÆt want to look at what had been, because weÆre dealing with a whole new thing. [Executive Producer Russell T. Davies] was very keen to make it contemporary, and deal with things that are occurring today. From what IÆve seen IÆve found that other Doctors and their assistants...I found it quite chauvinist at times, slightly patronizing. In this [series], theyÆre on a par, they work together through and through, and they celebrate each otherÆs brilliance and they educate each other." Eccleston adds that "thereÆs been no heroine out there for 8-to-12 year old girls, or women watching the programme û and weÆve now got one. [Rose] carries the series with me, we do it together. SheÆs a heroine û she saves his life in the first episode, she teaches him huge emotional lessons." When asked to pick his favourite villain in the series, Christopher chooses the Dalek, "because of the psychology that goes on between the Daleks and the Doctor. They know more than you all do about the DoctorÆs history, and they use it on him. ItÆs no so much the suckers and the lasers, itÆs the insight they have about the DoctorÆs history, and his personal and emotional history." According to Chris, æDalekÆ wonÆt be the only episode to have fans scurrying behind the sofa, "[æThe Doctor DancesÆ and æBoomtownÆ] are absolutely terrifying....you know, weÆre going end up with children ringing Childline because of what weÆve done." These excerpts are courtesy theGreat Link website, which has other stories about Doctor Who and other science fiction TV; check them out!

Finally... Doctor Who is back on the front page today of the BBC home page, which reminds everyone to tune into BBC3 on Sunday night for the repeat of "The Unquiet Dead."

(Thanks to Paul Engelberg, Steve Tribe, Alex Wilcock, Chuck Foster, Mark Ainsworth and Chris Howell of The Great Link)

Episode three of the TV series, The Unquiet Dead was the top rated British television program on Saturday, April 9, according to preliminary overnight ratings figures from ViewingFigures. Doctor Who was viewed by an average 8,339,880 viewers, a 36% audience share, with a peak of 8,914,240 viewers. By comparison, its competition on ITV, "Ant + Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway," had only a 32% audience share with approximately 7,136,000 viewers. "Doctor Who" therefore won its timeslot for the third week in a row, increasing its viewership over the previous week, and won the night... even beating two of the UK's biggest events of the year so far, the royal wedding and "The Grand National." The BBC3 companion documentary series Doctor Who Confidential episode three also achieved positive notes, with 542,470 average viewers (peaking at 601,740), rating a 4 with a viewing share of 3.62% in the 7:30-8:30pm time slot.

It is interesting to note how the final viewing figures of "Rose," the first episode, skewed upwards from these, so these results could, in fact, be higher when all data is in. Meanwhile, Doctor Who continues to prove its worthiness as a Saturday night staple, once again trouncing the competition and being the BBC's Saturday evening ratings jewel. (Thanks to Andy Parish)

Contrary to previous reports, it appears that the wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles will not have an impact on transmission of "The Unquiet Dead" on Saturday. BBC One seems to have dropped an earlier programme from its schedules, allowing Strictly Dance Fever and Doctor Who to start on time.

The precise viewing figures for "Rose", episode one of the new series, have finally come in from the BARB. According to their official listings, the actual viewing figure for "Rose" is 10.81 million viewers, putting it at #3 in the BBC1 chart, and #7 overall for the week, beaten only by four episodes of "Coronation Street" and two "Eastenders" episodes. ("Doctor Who" is actually #3 in the top ten individual shows for the week, combining the "Coronation Street" and "EastEnders" episodes.) "Doctor Who"'s main competition, "Ant + Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway," came in at #20 for the week (#9 on the overall individual episodes list.) These figures exclude repeat/omnibus showings (e.g. the BBC Three repeats of EastEnders and Doctor Who) but do include figures for people who have recorded the show and watched it within seven days. "Rose" is also the third most watched non-soap show in the UK of 2005 so far, behind early March's "Comic Relief" and the New Year's Day special of "The Vicar of Dibley".

Some additional ratings information: Doctor Who was a huge success inCanada this week: 989,000 viewers watched the CBC broadcast of "Rose" on Tuesday, April 5. Says the Doctor Who Information Network, "Compared to the 9.9 million in UK this number might seem small...but for Canadian television numbers, and for the CBC this is HUGE, and exactly where we wanted the show to come in at." Also, the BBC3 repeat of episode 2 of "The End of the World" last Sunday at 7pm was watched by 402,980 viewers, according to ViewingFigures, representing a 2.78% share of all multi-channel viewing within the early evening time slot (6pm-8pm) and ranked 16th out of all the available multi-channels in the UK. This is another great performance considering there are over 250 multi-channels.

Russell T Davies appeared today at the Celtic Film Festival, in fact interviewed by his co-executive producer Julie Gardner, in the Balmoral Suite of the Holland House Hotel just outside the centre of Cardiff. Russell was interviewed on stage by BBC wales Drama chief Julie Gardner. the well-attended session commenced with an eight-minute montage of clips from Russell's work - including a lengthy clip from the Aliens of London story. Russell spoke at length and in great detail about his career, from his first drama writing credit on Dark Season (which he feels particularly fond of), through Queer as Folk and its attendant controversy, the Second Coming, Mine All Mine (the failure of which clearly baffles and frustrates him) and, of course, Doctor Who. An 'open mic' session finished off the discussion and several Who-slanted questions were forthcoming from the audience. A tabloid journalist asked if Chris eccleton's leaving the show had been a disappointed and both Russell and Julie stated unequivocally that it was always planned that he would do just one season and that the end of episode thriteen was supposed to be an enormous surprise for the audience - a surprise now blown. Russell stated that he ahd a very clear vision of how he wanted to do the seriesd, he spoke of some of the difficulties on mounting such an enormous production and when asked if they had favourite episodes both Julie and Rusell said their favourites changed from day to day. Russell said that 40-somethings would love the Dalek episode for the way it answered so many questions about the Daleks and said that the two-part story about to be shown is "very dark". Julie did reveal that the last scene of "The End of the World" is her favourite scene in the entire series. No news and details about the Christmas special or season two. We have a report in the SPOILERSsection below from a clip that was shown, along with the BBC Press Release details for the next story (see next item)

The BBC Press Office has this afternoon released programme information for Week 17 (16-22 April). This includes the Penelope Wilton interview from this week's Press Pack Four among the week's highlights features here (note: PDF file) as well as a spoiler-prone preview of Episode 5, "World War Three"(finally confirmed as the title!) in the highlights for their Saturday listing here(also a PDF file) with a preview article on that week's edition of Doctor Who Confidential. Click on the SPOILER TAG at the bottom for details!

The May issue of SFX Magazine, Issue 131, in the shops on April 13, includes a set visit from episode six of the new series, "Dalek". SFX was there on "Dalek Day", as Christopher Eccleston filmed the scenes where the Ninth Doctor confronts his mortal enemy for the first time. The SFX website will also be making a full transcript of their interview with director Joe Ahearne (conducted on the day of the set visit) available online, and they're running reviews of each episode of the new series as it airs. Issue 131 also comes with a pull-out A3 poster. one side of the poster features Billie Piper as Rose!

Meanwhile, the issue of TV Zone magazine released yesterday includes interviews with Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper, and an in-depth look at the new Dalek, featuring Mike Tucker and Nicholas Briggs - and new photos from Episode Six, Dalek! The issue also includes special reviews of Rose from the TV Zone staff, plus opinions from guest reviewers Rob Grant (creator of Red Dwarf) and Sci-Fi author Stephen Baxter. The issue also includes interviews with the director of the new Quatermass Experiment, Sam Miller, and star Isla Blair, a special Flashback feature on the work of Nigel Kneale, and features on The West Wing and the new Captain Scarlet. You can order it using these links: UK Order and US Order.

The CBBC channel's Newsround Showbiz at 3.50pm on Saturday appears to be including a behind-the-scenes feature on the new series again - this is the third one, so it look like a series...

ITV Teletext today has an article titled "The monsters who take on Doctor Who" which begins by interviewing Mike Tucker who discusses working with scale models: "You do spend a lot of time making models and setting them up only to destroy them in a matter of seconds, but it's part of the job." He goes on to add: "And I got to work on the new Dalek - what a bonus!" Mike goes on to say that Doctor Who works now because it is so up-to-date. Meanwhile, 'Special effects specialist' Neill Gorton discusses how he had no idea what a big job creating monsters for Doctor Who would be. He explains that Doctor Who monsters are planned well in advance from such descriptions as "green, 8ft baby-faced monsters" and are a team effort. Discussing the challenge of designing the inside of the new Dalek he states: "It was glimpsed in an old Tom Baker episode, but only as a blob-like being, so we were really starting from scratch, and Russell T Davies had some very strong ideas about it... We went through a lot of concepts and designs. They were about 80 per cent Russell's ideas and 20 per cent mine. He always wins when he wants to!"

Buxton Today features an article about Bruno Langley, who appears in two episodes of the series playing the role of Adam. The article interviews his sister, Lakshmi Langley, who mentions that "Bruno spent two months filming the episodes in Cardiff ù which feature the Daleks ù and he had an absolutely brilliant time. He got on so well with Christopher, saying he was an amazing actor. Bruno's character is one of the good guys. He plays a sort of intellectual college boy ù a genius ù which made us all laugh." Diane Langley, Bruno's mum, said: "This will be something quite different for him. He wants to explore different sides of his profession and not just stick to the same things."

The media player on the official site has been updated to include "The Seventies", the second in the series of clips and contemporary music (and originally part of the "Doctor Who Years" video shown at DW conventions in the UK.) According to the site, the 35-minute programme includes "clips from each story, there are also some interesting off-cuts, including an almost unbelievable appearance by Tom Baker on Swap Shop." Also on the official site... very subtle additions to the BBC Doctor Who Who Spy portion of the website that may or may not be noticed by many. They are clarifying the exact placing of each photo and where it fits in to the series.

Reports in the Daily Record, Alien Online and icHuddersfield, among others, note that Patrick Stewart will be playing a role in "Eleventh Hour," a ú4.5m production being billed as ITV's answer to Dr Who and is written by Stephen Gallagher, who penned the classic Doctor Who series episodes "Warriors' Gate" and "Terminus".

The Metro's Green Room reports that the BBC will no longer put up posters for the new series, as they keep getting stolen! Says a BBC source: "... they are just getting steamed off and collectors are selling them on the Net."

Maureen O'Brien, who played Vicki in the early years of "Doctor Who," is interviewed in the Bucks Free Press as she directs the play "Structures" at the Elgiva Theatre in Chesham. Maureen admits that, although she and the cast are busy rehearsing in London, she did have time to watch the first episode of the latest of the series. "I really liked it. They really have something going for them and the casting is perfect. Christopher Eccleston reminds me so much of William Hartnell. All of the other doctors had something of a silly quality about them, that seemed to lesson the show somehow but, like Bill, Christopher is a really frightening, dangerous Dr Who. Slightly off-the-wall. And I think the reason why Billie Piper's goes off with him is great. I used to try and make my character, Vicky, a proper character but I don't think the 1960s were quite ready for that."

A snippet in the April 1 issue of Guardian, shopping section, titled "Dr Who's leather jacket": "Shame on you, Christopher Eccleston. No, not for quitting after one series. Shame on you for bringing the previously unimpeachable style of Dr Who into disrepute. Eight successive Doctors have steered the timelord's wardrobe through tricky sartorial waters, and now, after one single episode, Eccleston has stripped the Doctor of his style credentials. Gone is Tom Baker's long striped scarf legacy of the1970s. Its replacement? A shabby black leather peacoat. Nothing about this coat is stylish - it doesn't suit the cropped haired Doctor. We can only hope that now that Eccleston has bowed out, the jacket will be retired from duty too."

Express NewsLine says "The BBC's latest episode of Doctor Who is set in Cardiff, Wales, even though producers shot the sequences in Swansea. The episode set for broadcast Saturday portrays the Welsh capital in 1869, but a lack of period architecture drove the BBC team to Swansea, which has far more Victorian buildings than Cardiff, icWales reported Thursday. The show features Christopher Eccleston's battle with the eternal ghost-like aliens known as the Gelth and was written by author Mark Gatiss, who penned 'The League of Gentlemen.'"

"Who's back. And Who's looking vastly entertaining" says the Globe and Mailthis week, reviewing the first episode of the new series that was just transmitted in Canada. "Yes, the most distinctive theme music in the history of television is back, because that fella Dr. Who rides again," says the article. "Tonight's first episode of Dr. Who is terrific. It's wacky, colourful, lively and vastly entertaining. (I'll tell you here that I was never smitten with the series. Even when I saw it as a kid, I thought it was a very square drama.) In fact, it's a great example of a tired concept being expertly revived and cast. The BBC brought in Russell T. Davies, creator of the original Queer as Folk, to write it and he's done a superb job. ... Given the vast weight of the history of Dr. Who, the light, vaguely comic touch is absolutely necessary.

Manchester Online and BBC News report that Christopher Eccleston will star in the latest commercial created by the McCann Erickson agency for Manchester's Christie Hospital. The new campaign is part of a re-brand for the Christie charity and Eccleston will take part. "Scientists in Manchester say a cure for all types of cancer could be available on the NHS within five years," says BBC News. "The world's first patient trials in a technique which genetically engineers cells will take place at the city's Christie Hospital later this year."

Says icNorthWales, actor Rhys Ifans is not in line to play the Doctor, succeeding Christopher Eccleston. "I haven't the time," he jokes..

Billie Piper is profiled in Hello! Magazine, with details of her history and career to date.

Following up our story about CBBC presenter Devon Anderson wanting to be the next Doctor, BBC News is now reporting on the "campaign". "Describing himself as "a Doctor for the youth of today", Devon has been using his CBBC presenter slots to show how good he would be as the 10th Doctor."

(Thanks to Steve Tribe, Paul Engelberg, Paul Mount, Dominic May, Paul Hayes, Craig Mullin, Dan Knight, Jamie Austin, Peter Weaver, Andy Parish, Rod Mammitzsch, David Farmbrough, Tony Jordan, Eddie Brennan, Stephen Graves and Ian Berriman)

While we have no confirmation as yet, this weekend's transmission of the third episode, "The Unquiet Dead," may be pushed back a little, to instead air at 8pm on Saturday instead of 7pm due to the rescheduling of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles wedding due to the death of the Pope; the wedding in turn caused a reschedule of the Grand National Horse Race which may affect the transmission of Doctor Who. If and when we have more concrete information on a possible reschedule (it's not certain at this point!) we'll let you know.

Meanwhile, the FAQ page on the new series of "National Lottery Come and Have A Go" states that the show starts at 7.45 pm on Saturday 23 April, which means that the broadcast of episode five, "World War Three," won't be delayed after all. It appears that the 7.20pm timeslot which we previously reported on was due to some inaccurate writing on the part of the National Lottery, who actually appear to have meant that the 7.20 pm timeslot refers to the time when viewers can access the website to begin playing the game on-line (the blurb does refers to the show "from 7.20 pm") and not the time of broadcast.

According to Play.com, the new Doctor Who DVD series that we previously announced would feature the releases of Volume One (episodes 1-3) on May 16 and Volume Two (episodes 4-7) on June 13, have now been joined by Volume Three (episodes 8-10) on August 1 and Volume Four (episodes 11-13) on September 5. These "vanilla," no frills DVDs will be the episodes only. However, a boxed set will be released on November 21 which will include extras and feature all thirteen episodes. Play.com has posted a thumbnail of the cover illustration and the interior layout for the box, which you can see below. (Note: images removed; better versions are in April 8, 2005 news story, above.)

Radio Wales representatives contacted Outpost Gallifrey to let us know that the radio documentary series Doctor Who - Back In Time now has its ownwebsite; click the link to go to the site. Says Lisa Aguiar at Radio Wales, "The Listen Again section of the website allows you to listen to the previous two episodes of Doctor Who - Back In Time and just a little reminder that the final episode will be transmitted on BBC Radio Wales on Bank Holiday Monday - May 2nd at 13.10."

European viewers, take note: the FAQ pages of BBC Prime, the cable and satellite network widely available throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa, is now noting their intention to broadcast the new series when they get the opportunity. "We will be showing the new series of Dr Who at some point in the future however, we do not currently hold the rights to the series and they are unlikely to be made available until the show has been broadcast in the UK." It asks that viewers keep an eye on the website for details of possible future transmissions. On the other side of the globe,PrimeTV in New Zealand is still confirming that they're carrying the new series, and now notes it on their website... at some point "this winter," meaning likely after the Australian ABC broadcast. (Debut is likely scheduled for June or July.)

The official BBC Doctor Who website has been updated again with a new theme matching the next episode, "The Unquiet Dead," complete with theatrical banner board!

The purchase of the new Doctor Who series in Australia which we reported on yesterday was mentioned on the BBC Press Office website, as well as the official Doctor Who site. It's also been extensively covered today by the press, including News.com.au, The Advertiser (Adelaide), The Courier-Mail (Brisbane), Daily Telegraph Australia,The Australian, Melbourne Herald Sun, The Age, C21 Media, Bordermail, The Mercury,Worldscreen.

The Radio Times website lists an extra repeat for the fourth edition of Doctor Who Confidential ("I get a side-kick out of you"). In addition to the previously listed screenings at 7.45pm on Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 April, it can also be seen at 3.40am on the night of 16/17 April.

On the heels of yesterday's release, yet another press release, Press Pack Four, was issued today, this time an interview with actress Penelope Wilton, who plays Harriet Jones in the two part story starting on August 16, "Aliens of London". "Penelope Wilton is one of Britain's most distinguished actresses, with credits including everything from acclaimed stage and TV productions to successful feature films. But she had no qualms about throwing herself into a double-episode story in the new Doctor Who - which features a surfeit of passed wind and sees her being chased by green monsters! 'What attracted me to the role was the quality of the writing,' she explains. 'I'd worked with Russell T Davies on Bob and Rose, and I really do believe he is one of our very best television writers. The episodes I'm in are extremely exciting and terribly funny.'" She notes that her character "represents some remote constituency and is as straight as a die - I think she's the kind of caring politician that anyone would like to have. Harriet also shows tremendous resilience and courage when these awful creatures, the Slitheens, make themselves and their plans known." She says she would enjoy a return to Doctor Who - if the script is right. "The Doctor looks into the future and sees Harriet as a future Prime Minister, so you never know - she might be back one day..."

Canada's airing on CBC Television took place last night... and we're happy to confirm that CBC broadcast the first episode in widescreen format! Also during the broadcast, a promo spot aired with Christopher Eccleston introducing himself (and the show) to North American audiences. He also popped up between commercial breaks to let viewers know about a "Doctor Who" contest CBC's currently running. He made mention to having "the coolest space ship in the Universe".

A new trailer has been airing on BBC television channels for this Saturday's episode; like the one for "The End of the World," this begins with "D'you wanna come with me?" before a selection of clips from the episode, most of which are from the "Next Time" section at the end of the previous episode.

This Is Gwent has a feature today on the filming done last year in Monmouth for the episode airing this Saturday. "It looks like a scene from Dickensian times," says the article. "Tight security surrounded the set as fake snow was poured onto the streets, and many residents watched in awe as the town was whisked back to the Victorian era. A large team of set builders dressed Beaufort Arms Court to become the entrance of a funeral parlour in Llandaff, Cardiff, and adapted St Mary's Street and White Swan Court to look as they might have done in the century before last." The article quotes Simon Callow, who plays Charles Dickens: "l get sent a lot of scripts which feature him as a kind of all-purpose literary character, and really understand little, if anything, about [Dickens]. But, as well as being brilliantly written, the script was obviously the work of someone who knows exactly what Dickens is all about, and the script very cleverly connects his idealism, which ends up being restored by his experiences, with The Doctor's desire to save the world." It notes that the first scene filmed in Monmouth involved an elderly woman, dressed in black, and wailing... which Outpost Gallifrey notes is actress Jennifer Hill, who plays Mrs. Peace (and whose portrayal of the moment was captured in several photos taken by fans at the filming last year, as seen in our New Series Photo Gallery.)

Actor Ronnie Corbett ("The Two Ronnies") would like to be included in the selection process for the new Doctor, according to today's Times. "Ronnie Corbett might be 74 but he is hoping age will be no barrier to the BBC considering him for the role of Dr Who after Christopher EcclestonÆs abrupt exit. 'I'd love to be considered for the part,' he said. 'Mind you, the episodes are likely to be somewhat shorter.' Boom, boom."

David Tennant, the noted favorite to play the role after Eccleston, is noted in tomorrow morning's review of "The Quatermass Experiment" in theGuardian. "This was a useful dummy run for David Tennant, who is heavily backed to be the next Doctor Who, playing a doctor confronted with a man eating vegetable. Tennant can do wide eyed with, so to speak, his eyes shut but, when the world is about to be destroyed, I think he should take his hands out of his pockets. It's the sort of thing that happens in a live production."

An article that ran last week in the Wishaw Press interviewed Jimmy Vee, who played the Moxx of Balhoon in last Saturday's second Doctor Who episode, "The End of the World." "I got the part through a friend that was working on the prosthetics and things for Doctor Who," said Vee. "He got a list through for the characters heÆd have to make, and a list of what kind of actor theyÆd need to play each part. He then let them know he knew someone who would be suitable for the part. I was told nothing about the part before I got it. All I had to do was travel down to Cardiff, turn up, learn the lines, I was put inside the costume, and then had to shoot. IÆm not allowed to say too much about it all." He noted that it took over three hours to put on his costume, and featured a two-foot head weighing more than half a stone. Once the outfit was on, Jimmy couldn't go to the toilet for 10 hours and its weight meant the pounds were falling off him. "I must have lost a stone in a week, even though I was drinking to rehydrate constantly. As soon as I got out, I had to eat everything I could get my hands on. It took me about three-and-a-half hours to put the costume on, and it was quite heavy."

Billie Piper apparently found herself battling with the British transport system after a night out on the town with a couple of friends at the weekend, says today's Express. "The soon-to-be-ex Mrs Chris Evans was spotted in London's Soho in the wee small hours trying to negotiate a good deal for a taxi home. 'We expected her to have a lift all sorted but nope, she was sticking her head through car doors trying to get a cheap cabbie to take her home - just like I was,' says a fellow partygoer. 'She wangled a good deal before I did anyway,' sighs the informant." Where's the TARDIS when you need it?

Today's Western Mail talks about Cardiff Theatrical Services, "the Welsh set-building company which helped regenerate Doctor Who is looking to enter a new dimension of growth." It notes that CTS is hoping that it will be commissioned to work on the second series of Doctor Who. "It was a really satisfying contract to win," said Simon Cornish, CTS construction manager, "even though we had been sworn to secrecy about the design. The creative vision behind the Tardis was in the same vein as many of the opera designs we have worked on over the years but this time it was faded hi-tech, not faded elegance. The structure itself would have been impossible to build even 10 years ago without the use of the kind of computerised templates for each piece of the steel structure we are able to call upon now."

Richard E. Grant topped the list in a Sky Showbiz Online poll asking who the next Time Lord should be. "A poll by Sky Showbiz Online revealed the Withnail and I star is the clear favourite to replace Christopher Eccleston," says the report. Comedian Eddie Izzard took second place, Bill Nighy third, Robbie Williams fourth and David Tennant fifth. Ananova also reported on it.

This is Bolton notes that Christopher Eccleston is "taking time out from travelling through space to take up a more down-to-earth cause. The actor ... has put his name behind a campaign to raise funds for Christie Hospital." Eccleston has provided the voiceover for the commercials which boast "Towards a Future Without Cancer". "I am very proud to be able to support this new campaign - and I hope everyone else will too," said Eccleston. "What is so important about the Christie is that the team is committed to driving research and treatment forward."

Some regurgitated comments from Billie Piper, already reported on in the media some time ago, nevertheless have been part of today's press in theIslington Gazette and subsidiary papers.

(Thanks to Paul Engelberg, Steve Tribe, Chuck Foster, Justin Thomas, Marc Price, Dave Greenham, Lisa Aguiar, Robert Booth, Daniel Baum, Greg Miller, Paul Willmott, Ian Warren)