This weeks Radio times contains an interview with actress Alex Kingston about returning to the role of River Song.

Kingston last appeared in Silence in the Library and Forest of the Dead in 2008 – in which she perished to save David Tennant’s Doctor. Kingston reprises her role alongside Matt Smith's time traveller in a battle against the Weeping Angels, last seen in Blink in 2007.

In this current two-parter River is a younger version of the one who previously met, and admitted to having intimate knowledge of, the Doctor. Time travel can be confusing, but it does give the Surrey-born actress something of a unique perspective on the whole Doctor Who phenomenon, having played opposite both Tennant and Smith.

When she first took on the part, she spoke of the Doctor being her lover but now she’s not so sure. “I was absolutely certain. That’s what I’d assumed. But when I was reading The Time of Angels, I suddenly thought, “My God, she’s his mother!’ ”While Kingston, 47, and Tennant, 39, couldn’t have pulled that off, Smith is 20 years her junior. So is that how she’s playing it this time? A mother/son relationship? 


“Well, no, the flirtation between them still indicates they have a much more intimate relationship further down the line – and I sort of hope it is that. I hope they’re married,” she laughs, “Otherwise, if she’s his mother, the flirtation isn’t quite appropriate!"

The title of episode eight of the new series has been confirmed as The Hungry Earth.

The title is listed on the cover of the edition of Doctor Who Magazine due out this week and posted on the magazine's Facebook account.

A full series summary can be found on our 2010 series guide.

Update: Episode Nine will be titled Cold Blood.

Extras have been cleared by BBFC for the forthcoming release of the fourth Doctor story Revenge of the Cybermen.

Extras Cleared:

• Commentary
• Cheques Lies and Videotape - 28'15"
• Easter Egg - 21"
• The Tin Men and the Witch - 25'22"
• Location Report - 5'53"
• Photo Gallery - 4'35"

No release date for the story has yet been announced.

A new 360 degree picture trailing Flesh and Stone has been released by the BBC. The second part of the Weeping Angels story can be seen in the UK on Saturday.

The BBC has formally replied to the complaints received over the Nortongate incident.

The response goes further than the statement issued by a spokesman yesterday which just apologised for the timing of the caption. The formal response admits the caption was wrong and promises it will not happen again.

The BBC statement says
It is understood that the instruction to run the caption was made by BBC One management and was made without consulting the programme's producers or senior management at BBC Wales.

The Time of Angels scored an Appreciation Index figure of 87, the highest of the series so far.

The AI or Appreciation Index or AI score is a measure of how much an audience enjoyed a programme. The score was the highest of the day on either of the two main channels.

Doctor Who Confidential had an AI figure of 84.

On BBC Three the Doctor Who repeat was watched by 0.55 million.

The BBC has updated its story on the controversial trail for Over the Rainbow which spoiled the cliff-hanger for many, reporting that, so far, 5,583 complaints have now been received.

The children's news programme Newsround is also asking for viewers feelings on the intrusion.

The Beast Below has debuted in Australia to very respectable ratings. TV Tonight reports that the episode averaged 851,000 viewers in the five major capital cities, despite stiff competition from the commercial networks. Again it was the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's top-rating program of the day, rating higher than its popular Sunday 7pm news (By comparison, the mini-series Burn Up only rated 367,000 viewers for the ABC in the following 8.30pm timeslot). The corresponding Confidential Cutdown also rated a respectable 536,000 viewers in the five major capitals.

Meanwhile in local media, Ruth Ritchie of the Sydney Morning Herald writes of The Eleventh Hour that 'a very, very young Doctor, with an almost childlike first take on his new body, is now an obvious choice to engage younger viewers. Smith already displayed an adorable alien quality in Party Animals. Our introduction to him through the eyes of Amelia Pond, a lonely little girl who hears voices through the cracks in her walls, is vintage Doctor Who. He unsuccessfully samples baked beans, bacon, yoghurt and most of the pantry in a display of adult food-spitting we've not seen since Tom Hanks in Big. After a feast of fish fingers dipped in custard, Smith's Doctor Who takes us on a wild and witty science-fiction ride.' The Sunshine Coast Daily also features an interview with Matt Smith where he indicates he might visit Australia next year. No incumbent Doctor has visited Australia since Peter Davison in 1983.

After thousands of complaints about the trailer featuring an animated Graham Norton promoting Over The Rainbow during the closing moments of Doctor Who last night, the BBC have apologised for the occurrence.

In an article on the BBC News site:

The BBC received around 3000 complaints about the incident which affected viewers to BBC One in England.

The Time of Angels was watched by 6.8 million viewers according to unofficial overnight figures.

BBC One had 6.5 million watching with an additional 0.3 million watching on BBC HD. The total share was 36.7%. Doctor Who was again the second most watched programme of the day with Britain's Got Talent getting 10.5 million. Third placed was Casualty with 5.5 million watching.

The cartoon Graham Norton didn't prevent over two million leaving BBC One once Doctor Who finished. The average audience for BBC One between 7.00-7.05 was 7.01 million and the average between 7.05-7.10 was 4.81 million.

Overall Doctor Who currently stands at twelfth for the week with a final top ten place almost certain.

On Multi-Channel Television, Doctor Who Confidential received 0.57 million viewers on BBC Three, with an additional 57,000 watching on BBC HD.

Graham Norton's second appearance in Doctor Who has provoked a storm of complaints, with many viewers upset at the appearance of a cartoon version of the Irish comic over the cliffhanger of the BBC One showing of The Time of Angels.

The appearance seems to be a bid by the BBC to prevent viewers leaving the channel once Doctor Who has aired. Last week nearly two million viewers left BBC One at the end of Victory of The Daleks. The appearance came at the climax of the episode, covering part of Matt Smith's face. Once the credits were rolling another promo for the Dorothy programme was broadcast.

A number of comments on Twitter have complained about the intrusion with critic Charlie Brooker tweeting "Why don’t the BBC just wipe s*** all over the screen during the final scene of Dr. Who next week? I hope Moffat is bellowing down a phone to someone right now." Simon Pegg, who starred in The Long Game, added "Congrats to the BBC for ruining the climax to Doctor Who with a cartoon Graham Norton telling about another xxxxxx talent show."

Graham Norton first made his presence felt during the first showing of Rose, when crossed wires resulted in a audio feed of his BBC Three programme being transmitted across the first episode of the relaunched Doctor Who series.

Anyone with strong feelings on the appearance can make a complaint via the BBC website, or by phone to 0370 010 0222.