The Eaters of Light - Overnight Viewing Figures

Sunday, 18 June 2017 - Reported by Marcus

The Eaters of Light: Kar (Rebecca Benson) (Credit: BBC/BBC Worldwide (Simon Ridgway))

Doctor Who - The Eaters of Light, had an audience of 2.89 million viewers, a share of 22% of the total TV audience, according to unofficial overnight figures.

The overnight rating is the lowest the series has received in its history, just below that received by The Lie of the Land, which was up against the Britain's Got Talent final.

Doctor Who faired relatively well compared to other programmes on Saturday with all suffering from the good weather across the UK on Saturday with the highest rated programme, BBC News, getting just 4.09 million watching. Casualty had 3.75 million while Mrs Brown's Boys had 3.40 million. Pitch Battle, which followed Doctor Who had just 2.03 million watching.

ITV peaked with just 3.11 million viewers for The Voice Kids, while the film Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason had just 1.60 million viewers.

Final figures which will include those who recorded the programme and watched it later, will be published next week.

FILTER: - Ratings - Series 10/36 - UK

New Doctor Who Finale Image

Sunday, 18 June 2017 - Reported by Marcus

Missy (MICHELLE GOMEZ), The Master (JOHN SIMM), The Doctor (PETER CAPALDI) (Credit: BBC Simon Ridgway/Ray Burmiston)

The BBC has released a new image for the Doctor Who series 10 finale, which sees Missy (Michelle Gomez) and the Master (John Simm) together for the first time.

The pair are seen either side of the Doctor (Peter Capaldi) as they put their own chilling spin on the poster image that previously accompanied Doctor Who’s 50th-anniversary special, The Day of the Doctor.

Simm will return to Doctor Who as the Master for the first time since New Year’s Day 2010, when he was responsible for the regeneration of the Tenth Doctor. This time the Master will come face-to-face with Missy, his later regeneration, and battle the Doctor during the series’ two part finale which begins next weekend.

The episodes will also feature the return of the Cybermen - including the original Mondasian Cybermen, for the first time in over 50 years - plus Bill Potts (Pearl Mackie) and Nardole (Matt Lucas) in an adventure that promises to change Doctor Who forever.

Doctor Who’s series finale begins in the UK with episode 11, World Enough and Time, at 6:45pm on Saturday 24 June on BBC One, followed by broadcasts around the world. It concludes on Saturday 1 July with Episode 12, The Doctor Falls – an extended, 60-minute episode.

FILTER: - Publicity - Series 10/36

The Eaters of Light - Introduction

Saturday, 17 June 2017 - Reported by Marcus

Peter Capaldi & Pearl Mackie Introduce The Eaters of Light (via YouTube)
Steven Moffat Introduces The Eaters of Light (via YouTube)

This week BBC One will show Doctor Who at the earlier time of 6.45pm.

Main Broadcast Details
United Kingdom	BBC One	Sat 17 Jun 2017	6:45pm BST
Middle East	BBC First	Sat 17 Jun 2017	9.20pm AST	(Sat 7:20pm BST)
United States of America	BBC America	Sat 17 Jun 2017	9:00pm EDT	(Sun 2:00am BST)
Canada	SPACE	Sat 17 Jun 2017	9:00pm EDT	(Sun 2:00am BST)
New Zealand	PRIME	Sun 18 Jun 2017	7:30pm NZST	(Sun 8:30am BST)
Finland	YLE2	Sun 18 Jun 2017	12:05pm EEST	(Sun 10:05am BST)
Australia	ABC	Sun 18 Jun 2017	7:40pm AEST	(Sun 10:40am BST, also on ABC ME)
Brazil	SyFy	Sun 18 Jun 2017	8:00pm BRT	(Mon 12:00qm BST)
Latin America	SyFy	Sun 18 Jun 2017	10:00pm CDT	(Mon 4:00am BST)

Full listings here

FILTER: - Publicity - Series 10/36

Doctor Who Actors Honoured by Queen

Saturday, 17 June 2017 - Reported by Marcus

Several Doctor Who alumni have been mentioned in the Queen's Birthday Honours list.

Veteran actress and comedienne June Whitfield has been made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

June Whitfield played Minnie Hooper, active member of the Sliver Cloak, in the 2010 Doctor Who story The End of Time.

She is one of the UK's best loved actresses having first come to the attention of the public in the 1950's in a succession of Radio comedys. In 1968, June Whitfield and Terry Scott began their long television partnership which peaked with roles as husband and wife in Happy Ever After followed by Terry and June . Since 1992, Whitfield has appeared in Jennifer Saunders's sitcom Absolutely Fabulous playing Edina Monsoon's mother. In recent years she has played a regular character in Last of the Summer Wine as well as a recurring character in The Green Green Grass.

The actress Sarah Lancashire has been made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire or OBE.

Sarah Lancashire appeared in the 2008 story Partners in Crime where she played Miss Foster,, employed by the Adiposian First Family to breed a new generation after their breeding planet was lost.

Lancashire first came to public attention appearing in the long running soap Coronation Street. Other roles include parts in costume dramas such as Oliver Twist, Lark Rise to Candleford and the BBC1 crime thriller Happy Valley, for which she recieved the 2017 British Academy Television Award for Best Actress.

Actor David Walliams has been made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire.

David Walliams played Gibbis in the 2011 story The God Complex.

Walliams is best known for his partnership with Matt Lucas on the BBC One sketch show Little Britain. Since 2012 he has been a judge on the ITV talent show Britain's Got Talent. Walliams is also a writer of children's books. To date he has sold more than 12.5 million copies and his books have been translated into 46 languages.

Walliams, who has raised a considerable ammount of money fnor Sport's Relief, recieved the award for services to charity and the Arts.

Actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw has been made a Member of the Order of the British Empire or MBE.

Gugu Mbatha-Raw plated Tish Jones, sister of Martha, in Series Three of Doctor Who.

Mbatha-Raw played a supporting role in the Tom Hanks comedy Larry Crowne, and had starring roles on the short-lived television series Undercovers and Touch. She appeared in the British period drama Belle and the romantic drama Beyond the Lights.

In 2015 she played the title role in Jessica Swale's play Nell Gwynn, winning a nomination for an Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actress.

The awards are presented by HM Queen Elizabeth on the recomendation of the British Prime Minister Theresa May.

FILTER: - Awards/Nominations - People

Derek Jacobi returns as the Master for Big Finish

Friday, 16 June 2017 - Reported by Marcus

Sir Derek Jacobi will be reprising his role as the Master in new set of Audio Doctor Who adventures from Big Finish Productions.

The esteemed actor first appeared in Doctor Who ten years ago today when he brought back to life the character of The Master in the Doctor Who episode, Utopia. Sir Derek is now returning to the character in four brand new adventures, made by arrangement with BBC Worldwide, to be released in December.

Producer and Director Scott Handcock talked about the return

His incarnation is very much the ‘Hannibal Lecter’ of Time Lords – intelligent, charming, but thoroughly ruthless – we had a lot of fun in studio bringing the War Master back to life. It’s been a gift of a project, and we can’t wait for listeners to hear it!

Sir Derek said he was delighted to be playing the role once more

I didn’t expect to come back to it all these years later, but I was thrilled to be remembered. The plots in all these episodes have been very good indeed, very interesting, very dramatic, and beautifully written. The whole process has been a delight!

Doctor Who: The War Master Volume One follows the exploits of the Doctor’s arch-enemy during the course of the devastating Time War, featuring stories from acclaimed Doctor Who writers James Goss, Guy Adams and Nicholas Briggs – as well as new writing talent from Janine H Jones.

Guy Adams, who has written the final part of the story said

Once I got over the idea that giving my words to Sir Derek was rather like filling the Holy Grail with Special Brew, I allowed myself a brief cry of joy! Writing for villains is always a pleasure because a writer is roughly ninety percent more ‘stares at cat and awaits inspiration’ than ‘boils planet alive for fun’.

While Big Finish Executive Producer Nicholas Briggs added

I was lucky enough to have directed Sir Derek fourteen years ago in Deadline, so I was delighted to be able to work with him once again. The thrill for me has been just how fascinating and exhilarating it is to write a series when the leading character is a bad guy. Writing my own script and working on the others with Scott has been such a rewarding challenge. I’m really keen to do it again, and further explore exactly what the Master did get up to in the Time War.

James Goss has written part three of the series

What was exciting about this was that normally the Master loses. He puts in the hours, he works through all these elaborate plans and yet it all goes wrong. It’s not fair! It’s brilliant that Big Finish have finally awarded him for all that hard work. And, even better, it’s the most intriguing, exciting barely-glimpsed actor to have ever played the Master. What did Sir Derek do in the Time War? It’s thrilling to have helped find out.

The four stories announced are

1. Beneath the Viscoid by Nicholas Briggs
2. The Good Master by Janine H Jones
3. The Sky Man by James Goss
4. The Heavenly Paradigm by Guy Adams

The War Master Volume One is available for pre-order from bigfinish.com on CD (box set) £23 and download £20. It is also available for pre-order in a bundle with upcoming releases Gallifrey: Time War and Tales of New Earth on CDs £63 and download £54.

Full details on the Big Finish website.

Scott Handcock, Derek Jacobi, Nicholas Briggs (Credit: Big Finish)

FILTER: - Audio - Big Finish

Delia Derbyshire honoured with Blue Plaque

Friday, 16 June 2017 - Reported by Marcus

A blue plaque has been unveiled at the childhood home of the woman who realized the original Doctor Who theme music, Delia Derbyshire.

The mark of respect is one of 47 Blue Plaques unveiled as part of BBC Music Day, to commemorate people or places that have influenced the UK’s musical landscape. Those honored include singers, musicians, songwriters, producers, and broadcasters, as well as significant locations that played a major role in the UK's musical heritage.

People commemorated include John Peel and David Bowie, while places getting a plaque include the Brighton venue where Abba won the Eurovision Song Contest.

The final list was selected from BBC Local Radio listeners’ suggestions, as well as those of a committee including music industry experts and BBC representatives.

David Holdsworth, Controller of BBC English Regions, said:

It is hugely prestigious to receive a British Plaque Trust Blue Plaque, as usually only around two are awarded each year. To mark BBC Music Day across BBC Local Radio with 47 blue plaques is a fitting way to commemorate our listeners’ passion and pride for where they live and to celebrate our musical heritage.

The plaque honouring Delia Derbyshire was unveiled by Sixth Doctor Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant who played Peri, who joined BBC Coventry & Warwickshire's Vic Minett to officially perform the ceremony.

Delia Derbyshire's blue plaque unveiled on #BBCMusicDay pic.twitter.com/8WibGs30cX
— BBC Cov Warks (@BBCCovWarks) June 15, 2017

FILTER: - Classic Series - Music - Sixth Doctor

The Doctors: The Pat Troughton Years

Wednesday, 14 June 2017 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Koch Media have released the second in their collection of interviews from Reeltime Pictures with stars from Doctor Who, this time focussing on the second Doctor, Patrick Troughton's era.

The Doctors: The Pat Troughton Years (Credit: Koch Media)

The Doctors: The Pat Troughton Years
Produced by Keith Barnfather (order from Amazon)

A new double-DVD release in the highly regarded series exploring the world of TV’s Doctor Who in what will build into a complete work on The Doctors.

This is the definitive set of interviews with the team of actors who brought the Patrick Troughton era of Doctor Who to life, offering a whole new insight into the making of the classic science fiction series.

Includes a special tribute to PATRICK TROUGHTON containing messages from a host of stars and production staff from DOCTOR WHO.
Presented by voice of the Daleks Nicholas Briggs.
Quality in-depth interviews with, Anneke Wills (Polly), Michael Craze (Ben), Frazer Hines (Jamie), Deborah Watling (Victoria) and Wendy Padbury (Zoe).
This 2 DISC special collectors edition is 5 hours of pure nostalgia, which will give you a whole new insight into the making of Doctor Who.
Includes special feature: Introduction by Nicholas Briggs & Producer Keith Barnfather.

Competition

To be in with a chance to win a copy of The Doctors: The Pat Troughton Years courtesy of Koch Media, simply answer the following question:

Which of the second Doctor's companions travelled with him for the longest time?

Please send your answers along with your name, address and where you heard about the competition (news site, news app, other website, etc.) to comp-kochmedia@doctorwhonews.net with the subject "Oh my word!". The competition is open to UK readers only, closing date 30th June 2017. Only one entry per household will be accepted.

FILTER: - Blu-ray/DVD - Competitions - Patrick Troughton

Doctor Who Experience to Close 9th September

Wednesday, 14 June 2017 - Reported by Marcus

BBC Worldwide have confirmed the Doctor Who Experience will close on Saturday 9th September 2017

The Experience, based at Porth Teigr, Cardiff Bay, opened in July 2012 after a brief run in London. During its five-year tenure, it has welcomed many fans to the welsh capital with its interactive experience and displays of sets and props from the series.

The Experience has planned a number of special events throughout the summer with tickets for the final period being released from midday on Friday 16th June.

The Filming Location Walking Tours will return from the 8th July. These are a 75-minute walk around Cardiff Bay and features sites from Series 10 and memorable locations from previous series.

Series 10 content will be brought into the Experience, with the finished exhibition being unveiled on the 8th July. This will include props, costumes and sets from Series 10, that will join the Peter Capaldi and Pearl Mackie costumes which are already part of the exhibition.

Earlier this year it was announced that the Yeti from The Web of Fear, during Patrick Troughton’s incarnation as the Doctor, was voted by fans as the Doctor Who monster they’d most like to see restored as part of the ongoing Restoration Project. So to celebrate, Model Unit expert, Mike Tucker will also be on hand on the 8th July to reveal the final, renovated monster in all its glory to visitors.

On 22nd July, the Experience will host its final Monster Event, with the Cybermen at its theme. The day will include workshops and question and answer sessions with monster-makers, Millennium FX; a chance for fans to be converted into Cybermen; as well as live Mondasian Cybermen roaming the Experience floor. The day will be completed with a viewing of the final two-part episode, first screened on BBC One on 24th June & 1st July, screened in the Experience’s exhibition area.

Later in the holidays, on the 5th August, fans can look forward to the biggest Doctor Who Experience Cosplay Celebration yet. Fans will be invited and encouraged to visit dressed as their favourite Doctor Who character or monster.

Ticket information is available from doctorwhoexperience.com

FILTER: - Doctor Who Experience

Doctor Who Countdown Concert

Tuesday, 13 June 2017 - Reported by Marcus

The BBC have announced a special screening of Episode 11 of Doctor Who, complete with a live music accompaniment from the The National Orchestra of Wales will take place in Cardiff on June 24th

The episode will be screened at BBC Hoddinott Hall in Cardiff’s Wales Millennium Centre. It will be followed by an on-stage Q&A with some of the team behind the show, including Pearl Mackie (Bill Potts) and lead writer and executive producer, Steven Moffat.

The evening will be hosted by Jason Mohammad and promises monsters and surprises. Fans will be invited to submit questions for both Pearl and Steven through the BBC’s official Doctor Who website and social feeds. For those unable to attend in person, the live Q&A with Pearl will be live streamed on the BBC One Facebook page and the Doctor Who YouTube Channel.

Tickets are free and will be allocated via a random ballot. Applicants need to be able to attend the event in Cardiff and make their own arrangments for travel and accommodation.

To enter the ballot you need to Tweet #DWFinaleCountdown to @bbcdoctorwho.

Fifteen winners will be selected at random from all entries. Each winner will receive a pair of tickets for the event.The winners will be contacted by Direct Message just after 3pm Wednesday 14 June, so you must be following @bbcdoctorwho. If you do not reply within the time specified in the Direct Message the tickets will be offered to another entrant selected at random.

Full details on the BBC Webpage

FILTER: - Series 10/36 - Special Events

New Eleventh Doctor Comic

Tuesday, 13 June 2017 - Reported by Marcus

The latest Eleventh Doctor comic is published by Titan this Wednesday.

DOCTOR WHO: ELEVENTH DOCTOR YEAR 3 #6

Writer: George Mann
Artist: I.N.J. Culbard
Cover A: Wellington Diaz Cover B: Photo - Will Brooks Cover C: Simon Myers

New story arc! "The Memory Feast" begins with the Eleventh Doctor - as played by Matt Smith!