The actor Jon Rollason has died at the age of 84.

Jon Rollason is best known in Doctor Who, for playing Harold Chorley, the television journalist who covered the attacks on the London Underground in the 1968 story The Web of Fear. The recovery of the story in 2013 gave a new generation of fans the chance for to appreciate his contribution to the story.

Jon Rollason was born in Birmingham, where he began his acting career working in the Birmingham Rep.

In 1955 he got his first role on television, appearing in The Children of the New Forest. In 1962 he played Dr. Martin King in three episodes of The Avengers. He had recuring roles in Swizzlewick, Z Cars and Softly Softly before joining Coronation Street in 1966 as Dave Robbins, a teaching colleague of Ken Barlow.

He wrote two episodes of Crossroads and in 1969 created a two-part series Special Project Air for the BBC, starring Peter Barkworth, produced by Doctor Who's Peter Bryant and with music by Dudley Simpson.

Jon Rollason died in hospital on the morning of February 20th and is survived by his second wife, Janet, and three children.

The writer and producer Robert Banks Stewart has died at the age of 84.

Robert Banks Stewart is best known to Doctor Who fans as the creator of the Zygons, but his body of work encompassed far more than the shape shifting body snatchers, creating some of the most loved series on British Television.

Born in Edinburgh, Banks Stewart started his profession life as a journalist, but his interests always lay in television scripts. In the 1950's he worked for both Pinewood Studios and Thames Television providing scripts for series such as Danger Man, The Human Jungle, Top Secret, The Sweeney and The Avengers. He wrote 5 episodes of Arthur of the Britons for HTV.

In 1975 he was asked to write for Doctor Who and came up Terror of the Zygons, as story that went on to be one of the most fondly remembered of the original series. The Zygons would return for the show's 50th Anniversary special in 2013, their success ensuring a full return in the most recent series of the show.

Due to the triumph of Zygon script he was asked to write the six part conclusion to the series, coming up with The Seeds of Doom, introducing the Krynoid and the deranged horticulturist Harrison Chase.

In 1979 he created the detective series Shoestring. Set in Bristol the series was a major success for the BBC, toping the ratings and running for two series. When leading actor Trevor Eve declined to stay with the show, Bank Stewart created another series, Bergerac, set this time on the island of Jersey and starring John Nettles as the eponymous detective and recovering alcoholic who liked to drive his vintage sports car while solving crimes. The series would run for 9 years and would feature Louise Jameson as Jim Bergerac's girlfriend Susan Young.

In the 1980's he became a producer, working on the first series of Lovejoy. In 1991 he produced and adapted, H. E. Bates' novel The Darling Buds of May for ITV, which gained one of the highest ratings for a new series in the history of British Television. Banks Stewart was instrumental in casting the unknown Catherine Zeta Jones in the role of Mariette.

Robert Banks Stewart died at home on Thursday after suffering from cancer. He is survived by three sons from his second marriage and a daughter from his first.

BBC America have confirmed they will be co-producing the new Doctor Who Spin off series, Class.

The eight part series is written by American young adult writer Patrick Ness, best known for his award-winning book A Monster Calls.

The series will be set in Coal Hill school in contemporary London, and is executive produced by Steven Moffat and Brian Minchin, the team behind Doctor Who, and is due to be screened in Autumn 2016.

BBC America have also confirmed they have commissioned a new original scripted series based on the Dirk Gently books.

The series is an adaptation of former Doctor Who Script Editor Douglas Adams’ comic novels, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, and is set in the world of its hyperactive, absurdist, eponymous detective, Dirk Gently.

The books were inspired by the unfinished Doctor Who story Shada, intended for transmission in 1980 but never completed due to a BBC strike.

The channel have ordered eight one-hour episodes, scripted by Max Landis. The books were previously adapted for BBC Four, with Stephen Mangan in the title role and shown between 2010 and 2012.

The BBC Four repeat of the 1977 story The Face of Evil, had mixed fortunes according to unofficial overnight viewing figures.

Part one on Monday had an average of 141,000 viewers, above the timeslot average of 79,000. Part Two, which followed directly had an average of 183,000 watching, below the timeslot average of 268,000.

However just 56,000 tuned in for Part Three on Tuesday evening, rising to 88,000 for the story's conclusion.

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

Parts one and Two had an Appreciation Index score of 84 with Parts Three and Four scoring 83.

As darkness descends across the United Kingdom, the country's viewers will settle down to recover from afternoon excesses in front of the television to watch what has become a traditional festive line-up on the box: Eastenders, Call The Midwife, Strictly Come Dancing, Mrs Browns Boys, and of course Doctor Who - which reaches its tenth anniversary of Christmas adventures at 5:15pm.

However, to misquote another anniversary's line of dialogue, that isn't how it all started. And, to steal a phrase from another franchise enjoying a successful return this year, there is another ... as fifty years ago today the Doctor, Steven and their latest waif in time Sara were to discover Christmas Day themselves!

Doctor Who around the world on Christmas Day

Unlike 1965, in 2015 Doctor Who can be enjoyed around the world 24x7. However, there is still a nostalgic feeling to watching 'live' on television, and there is plenty of episodes to be caught around the world today!

In the United Kingdom, morning-risers can enjoy the tenth Doctor's last adventures as Watch broadcasts the specials from The Next Doctor onwards. Meanwhile, in the lead-up to The Husbands of River Song on BBC One during the afternoon viewers can then immerse themselves in a classic "base-under-siege" type adventure as Horror Channel show the appropriately named Horror of Fang Rock at 3:00pm (and/or at 8:00pm if they prefer to avoid the traditional enemy, Coronation Street!).

In Northern America, both BBC America and SPACE have turned their channels over to Doctor Who, with today seing a re-run of Series Nine in preparation for their own premiere of Husbands at 9:00pm. More locally in the United States, viewers could then switch over to catch The Hand of Fear on Retro TV at 10:00pm, and those in Oklahoma could then watch Robot of Sherwood at 11:00pm. Earlier in the day, UNC in North Carolina show the final two episodes of The Time Monster from 5:00pm, whilst EBRU finish off the ninth Doctor with Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways, also from 5:00pm. The final episode for Christmas Day is The Brink of Disaster, a first Doctor outing courtesy of KMOS in Missouri.

In Europe, BBC First in the Benelux countries will show Before The Flood just after midday with The Girl Who Died later this afternoon; BBC Entertainment in Europe and the Middle East had an early morning adventure with The Time of the Doctor; and BBC HD in Poland and the Nordic countries stay festive with The Snowmen, The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe and The Best of the Christmas Specials. German viewers can catch Before the Flood, The Girl Who Died and The Woman Who Lived on FOX from 4:15pm, or the continuing adventures of the Torchwood team in Children of Earth on SyFy. And in Denmark DR3 will "Face The Raven" as that episode premieres in the country at 8:10pm.

For the rest of the world, FX in India goes festive with A Christmas Carol, The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe, The Time of the Doctor and Last Christmas, whilst PRIME in New Zealands catches up with The Girl Who Died and The Woman Who Lived. TV Cultura in Brazil have Vincent and the Doctor in Portuguese, and for the Doctor's friends, Jeem in the Middle East provides an Arabic outing for Sarah Jane Smith with Mona Lisa's Revenge in the evening.

The continuing adventures of the Doctor can be followed around the world via This Week in Doctor Who!

In a previous article Doctor Who News reported that The Underwater Menace would be getting a January 19, 2016 release date in North America. At the time BBC Home Entertainment and Warner Home Video, the North American distrubutor for Doctor Who, hadn't confirmed a release date. Tvshowsondvd.com is now reporting that Amazon.com has updated The Underwater Menace page to show a March 1, 2016 release. No official confirmation has been received from the BBC or Warner Home Video so all release dates will be considered tentative.

The Underwater Menace, the (currently) last "classic" Doctor Who story which was officially released on DVD yesterday in the United Kingdom, has also been made available digitally via iTunes.

In addition to the story itself (which comprises of the two existing episodes two and three and reconstruction of the first and last), the package also includes the behind-the-scenes documentary A Fishy Tale, and also both parts of Television Centre of the Universe (the first part of which originally featured on The Vistitation: Special Edition). The package is rounded off with the Photo Gallery.


The DVD itself also features commentaries and interviews presented on an alternative audio-track, and also includes the existing scenes from the two missing episodes that were recovered from Australian censor clips in 1998. The episodes themselves are presented after being restored via the VidFire process (which is not present in the digital versions).

You can read our review of the DVD here, and also purchase it via our Amazon Shop.

The actor Neville Jason has died at the age of 81

Neville Jason appeared in the 1978 story The Androids of Tara where he played Prince Reynart in the Key to Time story, based upon The Prisoner Of Zenda and directed by Michael Hayes.

Recalling the story he said He appeared in many UK TV Dramas, including regular roles in Emergency-Ward 10, Maigret, Barlow, The Little Ship. Armchair Thriller, Goodbye Darling and Skorpion.

His theatre credits included Publius in Titus Andronicus various roles in The Knight of the Burning Pestle and playing John Fryer in the musical Mutiny!.

In later years he recorded many audio books, including the whole of War And Peace. His recoding of Proust's Remembrance Of Things Past, which he partly translated, comes on 120 CD's.

He is survived by his wife Gillian

Philip Morris of Television International Enterprises Archives (TIEA), who returned nine previously missing episodes of Doctor Who to the BBC Archives in 2013, recently revealed that he had found all episodes of The Web of Fear back then. Episode 3, featuring the first appearance of Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart, went missing again shortly after the discovery, presumably stolen and sold to a private collector.

The Doctor Who Missing Episodes Discussion Group on Facebook has now been given a photo of all 12 film cans found in Africa. They posted the picture on the Facebook group with permission by Philip Morris. On the photo you can see the production code PP (The Enemy of the World) written on the side of one of the cans, the further eleven cans are also part of that serial and of the following story The Web of Fear (Code QQ). Among them is the now once again missing episode 3 of the classic "Yeti's in the Underground"-story.

The following statement was released on Facebook:

On the second anniversary of the release of the newly-recovered and restored “Enemy Of The World” and “Web Of Fear”, Philip Morris, Executive Director of TIEA has authorized us (The Doctor Who Missing Episodes Group on Facebook) to release this photograph of the twelve film cans which he originally discovered in Jos, Nigeria.

This photo was taken immediately after Phil had discovered the film cans and verified that the film reels inside matched what was on the labels.

As you are no doubt aware, one of these film cans - the one containing Episode 3 of “The Web Of Fear” – went missing in between when this photo was taken (in late 2011) and when the cans were delivered to the central collection point in Abuja, Nigeria. The location and disposition of this film can and its contents is currently unknown.

Philip Morris put out the following statement:

The picture you see is one I took after checking the 12 Doctor Who film cans in Jos in 2011. All film leaders were checked to ensure cans matched their contents, this is a practice we follow in fine detail with due care shown. All programmes held at this station were physically checked by myself and my own team. No undue attention was drawn to the Doctor Who prints by myself or any of my staff, however I instructed one of my trusted team to ensure the Doctor Who prints were hidden until authorisation for retrieval could be obtained.

However two prints, one QQ3 Web of Fear 3 and another spare print were taken from one of my guys by a guy at the station who took the two prints to his office. This was reported to me within hours. I was not unduly concerned I knew their location. I have to admit I was really excited and told somebody I thought would not leak any sensitive information - big big mistake. Within 4/5 days the station had been named online. Fortunately by this time our job was done, however what of Web 3? I physically searched Jos again, asked the guy who took the films where they were. Initially he denied all knowledge until I produced the picture-he just looked at the floor and said he put them back on the shelf.

I didn't believe a word, and took the pictures and with one of my collegues and went straight to the top of the NTA, however the guy simply denied it. That is until earlier this year when I returned to Nigeria. I met the same guy again so I asked him directly - he just laughed and said "I don't know anything about missing episodes."
I firmly believe this episode is in the hands of a fan and we will trace it. I hope this goes someway to explain why I must maintain a certain level of security around TIEA and its work.

Thanks to the Doctor Who Missing Episodes Group and to Philip Morris for the kind permission to publish the picture on DWN.

Actor and Stunt Arranger Derek Ware has died at the age of 77.

Derek Ware was a regular performer on Doctor Who throughout the first ten years of its existence, appearing in at least 21 episodes and acting as Fight Arranger in many more.

He appeared in the very first story, An Unearthly Child, where he doubled for actor Jeremy Young, in the fight scene between the cavemen Kal and Za, arranging Doctor Who's first fight scene. He returned to the series arranging the fight between Marco and Tegana in Marco Polo and between Ian and Ixta in The Aztecs.. As well as Fight Arranging he was back before the cameras in The Crusade playing a Saracen Warrior.

Later that year he played a Bus Conductor in the final scenes of The Chase where Ian and Barbara return to London. He continued with roles in The Myth Makers and the epic The Daleks' Master Plan where he played the Egyptian messenger Tuthmos. He played a Spaniard in The Smugglers

He again arranged the fights in the Patrick Troughton stories The Underwater Menace and The Web of Fear.

In 1970 he formed HAVOC, a team of specialist stunt performers who regularly worked on the third Doctor's era of the show. The Ambassadors of Death, Inferno, where he played Private Wyatt, Terror of the Autons, The Sea Devils and The Claws of Axos all benefited from his skills, with Ware himself playing the tramp Pigbin Josh in the latter story.

Costs and Union problems saw the end of HAVOC after the end of Season 9, and Ware never worked on Doctor Who again.

Ware continued his work as a stunt performer working on series such as Z Cars, Colditz, King Cinder, The Prisoner of Zenda, The Kenny Everett Television Show and Last of the Summer Wine. He appeared with Michael Crawford in a well known clip from the comedy series Some Mother's Do 'Ave 'Em when he played a window cleaner working alongside the hapless Frank Spencer. The stunt, which featured both actors hanging from a window cleaning platform on the side of a London skyscraper, went wrong when the cradle became stuck, resulting in both actors being trapped 300 feet above the ground.

Film work included The Italian Job, Krull, Willow and Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves.

Derek Ware had trained at RADA and for many years a Derek Ware Prize was awarded at the academy for the best fight based around a classical text.