Breakfast with Seven Doctors

Thursday, 23 March 2017 - Reported by Marcus
Comic Relief is offering the first opportunity ever created to enjoy a Full English Breakfast in the company of Seven Doctors.

The Wolseley on Piccadilly will be hosting this landmark meal where, for the first time in the show's 54 year history, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, David Tennant, Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi will meet to break bread and talk Tardis.

Here, inside its hallowed hall, the meal of meals will take place. An epic event, a world first, and a legendary opportunity to witness history in the making. To win the chance to join them on this remarkable morning, you need to enter the prize draw. Five pounds enters your name into the pot for a chance to join the seven Doctors for what is being described as the most historic breakfast in the history of television.

The meet and greet will take place between September 2017 and May 2018. Comic Relief will give you as much noticed as possible once the date is confirmed.

This prize has been kindly donated by the actors and The Wolseley.

To enter follow the link




FILTER: - Charities - Colin Baker - David Tennant - Matt Smith - Paul McGann - Peter Capaldi - Peter Davison - Sylvester McCoy

The Pilot to be shown in New Zealand cinemas

Sunday, 19 March 2017 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The Pilot in Australian/New Zealand Cinemas (Credit: BBC Worldwide/Sharmill Films)New Zealand movie and cinema guide Flicks has indicated that the new series premiere The Pilot will be shown in cinemas around the country on 16th April 2017.

Further details will be released shortly.


The episode's premiere on television has yet to be confirmed by Prime, but based on previous broadcasts the series is expected to air on Sundays around 7:30pm.






FILTER: - Cinema - New Zealand - Premiere Events - Special Events

Neil Fingleton 1980-2017

Sunday, 26 February 2017 - Reported by Marcus

The actor Neil Fingleton has died at the age of 36

Neil Fingleton played the Fisher King in the 2015 Doctor Who stories Under the Lake and Before The Flood

In 2007 Fingleton was awarded the Guinness World Record as the tallest British-born man and the tallest man in the European Union, standing at 7 ft 6in or 2.33m.

Neil Fingleton was born in Durham in 1980. An outstanding basketball player, he spent 8 years in education in the United States, winning a sporting scholarship and studying at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and later at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts.

In 2004 he made his professional debut as a basketball player for the now defunct Boston Frenzy. He later played professionally in China, Italy, Greece, England and for the spanish teams Club Baloncesto Ilarcuris and Ciudad Real.

In 2007 injury forced him to abandon his sporting career and he took up acting. He appeared in the film 47 Ronin alongside Keanu Reeves, and played the giant Mag the Mighty in the TV series Game of Thrones. He appeared in the 2015 film Jupiter Ascending, the Fox Studios film X-Men: First Class and in the Marvel Entertainment film Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Neil Fingleton died on Saturday after suffering a heart attack.




FILTER: - Obituary - People

Doctor Who Petition Gets Over 11,000 Signatures

Wednesday, 22 February 2017 - Reported by Marcus
A petition to try to prevent the Doctor Who Experience in Cardiff from closing, has received over 11,000 signatures.

The petition was launched after it was announced that the exhibition on Cardiff Bay is due to close this summer, when the five year lease expires.

The petition was the idea of Bex Ferriday, who lives in Cardiff. She told Wales Online
I set it up just expecting friends and family to sign it. I was pretty shocked and terrified by the popularity it garnered pretty quickly. I know the land was only leased for five years but surely anyone can see that... to knock this on the head, when we have got Doctor Who being filmed here and the studios here, seems like a really stupid thing to do.
The Doctor Experience opened in London in 2011, before moving to a purpose-built building in the Welsh capital. It is currently situated at Porth Teigr, Cardiff Bay, near the BBC studios where Doctor Who is made.

The site is owned by Cardiff City Council, who issues a five-year lease to BBC Worldwide to host the Experience.

A spokesman for Cardiff council said:
The land currently occupied by the Doctor Who Experience is owned by the Welsh Government and their development partner, Igloo Regeneration. It was leased to the city council for five years to enable the relocation of the Doctor Who Experience from Olympia to Cardiff on a temporary basis. It has always been the intention for the site to be developed as part of the ongoing Porth Teigr regeneration project. The agreement was always intended to be for five years only, reflecting the nature of the attraction. The decision to close the Experience at the end of the lease next summer has been mutually agreed by all parties involved, including the operators BBC Worldwide.
The petition will be presented to the Doctor Who Experience next Saturday.




FILTER: - BBC Worldwide - Doctor Who Experience

The Doctors: The Jon Pertwee Years

Wednesday, 22 February 2017 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Koch Media are to release a collection of interviews with stars from Jon Pertwee's era of Doctor Who from Reeltime Pictures on 6th March 2017:

The Doctors: The Jon Pertwee Years (Credit: Koch Media)The Doctors: The Jon Pertwee Years
Produced by Keith Barnfather (pre-order from Amazon)


This is the definitive set of interviews with the team of actors who brought the Jon Pertwee era of Doctor Who to life.

These six hour-long documentaries feature in-depth interviews with Jon Pertwee (the Third Doctor), Katy Manning (Jo Grant), Caroline John (Liz Shaw), Nicholas Courtney (The Brigadier), Richard Franklin (Captain Yates) and John Levene (Sergeant Benton). Presented by voice of the Daleks Nicholas Briggs.


SPECIAL FEATURE: Introduction by Nicholas Briggs & Producer Keith Barnfather


Competition

To be in with a chance to win a copy of both The Doctors: The Jon Pertwee Years and the previously announced Wartime Chronicles on DVD courtesy of Koch Media, simply answer the following question:
Name the first televised story where Benton chats to the third Doctor.
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-pertwee@doctorwhonews.net with the subject "Jehoshaphat!". The competition is open to UK readers only, closing date 5th March 2017. Only one entry per household will be accepted.





FILTER: - Blu-ray/DVD - Competitions - Jon Pertwee

Delia Derbyshire Day

Friday, 10 February 2017 - Reported by Marcus
A project to mark the 80th Anniversary year of Doctor Who legend and Electronic Music pioneer Delia Derbyshire, has won support from The Heritage Lottery Fund.

Delia Derbyshire Day has been awarded £42,600 ($53,000) to help organise a programme of activities and events to celebrate 80 years since the birth of the woman who realised the original Doctor Who Theme music, composed by Ron Grainer.

Highlights planned for the year include
  • 5 May 2017
  • Derbyshire's 80th Birthday – launch of a new website, short film about the Delia Derbyshire Archive and “Deliaphonic Soundbank” (an interactive web platform) public engagement activity
  • 10 June 2017
  • A Delia Derbyshire Day 2017 MCR at Band on the Wall – electronic music-making workshops for families and evening music/arts event, archive sharing, expert panel discussion/Q&A with special guests, live music/visual art performances.
  • 5 Aug 2017
  • DD Day touring event at Full Of Noises (FON) Festival in Barrow-in-Furness – participatory workshops for families and evening cultural heritage event with archive sharing, panel discussion/Q&A, live music/visual art performances.
  • Sept-Nov 2017
  • 8 week education project in 2 primary schools in Manchester including production of a short film about the Delia Derbyshire Archive by the young participants.
  • 5 Dec 2017
  • Delia Derbyshire Day and Digital Women’s Archive North (DWAN) symposium event at Anthony Burgess Foundation 6-9pm (time TBC) – with guest speakers, archive sharing and open forum discussion.
Project partners include the Delia Derbyshire Estate, John Rylands Library, University of Manchester, One Education Music, Full of Noises Festival, Digital Women’s Archive North and Band on the Wall.

Nathan Lee, Head of Heritage Lottery Fund North West said
We’re delighted to support this project to shine a light, not only the pioneering impact of Delia Derbyshire’s work, but also on this significant and fascinating part of John Rylands Library. Thanks to National Lottery players, Delia Derbyshire Day can share the musical roots of electronic music to a new generation.
You can follow Delia Derbyshire Day on their website or on twitter.




FILTER: - Music - People

The Odd(s) Doctor

Tuesday, 31 January 2017 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Odds On Who (31 Jan 2017)It was inevitable that within moments of Peter Capaldi's announcement of his departure from Doctor Who fans and media would speculate on who would take over as lead actor on the show across social media - and commercial betting would begin!

This morning, William Hill currently place Ben Whishaw as favourite, at 6/1: the actor is probably best known worldwide as the character of Q in the Daniel Craig era of James Bond films, or for the younger audience as the voice of Paddington Bear in the 2014 film (and this year's sequel), and on recent television in London Spy . Next up is Richard Ayaode at 8/1, the quirky comic actor/director is best known in the UK for The IT Crowd, his travels around the world in Travel Man, and will be the host of the revived series of The Crystal Maze this year. Also at 8/1 is another name long-associated with Who-odds, Rory Kinnear (another modern James Bond stalwart as Bill Tanner), and Rupert Grint (or as most people know him, Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter films!). The first actress on their list is Broadchurch's Olivia Colman at 20/1 - though ITV's Good Morning Britain reported that Miranda Hart was in fourth place at 8/1. The current list can be found via William Hill's special bet "To Replace Peter Capaldi as the next Doctor Who?".

Both Betfair and Paddy Power offer up Sherlock's Moriarty, Andrew Scott, as their joint favourite, alongside Ben Daniels (Law and Order UK, House of Cards, Star Wars: Rogue One), and Lara Pulver (Spooks, Sherlock).

During an item on the departure of Capaldi on BBC's Breakfast this morning, viewers' suggestions were read out, including names such as Hayley Attwell or Eddie Redmayne, Colin Salmon, David Harewood, Helena Bonham Carter, Gillian Anderson, and Danny Dyer.


Anticipation will of course continue until the eventual new Doctor is announced by the BBC - how and when this might be is unknown at present (Capaldi's announcement in 2013 took place on a special live television programme!), but may be held off until the last series starring Capaldi has been broadcast - it will be on air between 15th April and 1st July (barring pre-emptions such as for the Eurovision Song Contest), with filming for the next series under the helm of new lead writer Chris Chibnall expected to commence not long afterwards.

Update 1st Feb: the Radio Times has reported that filming for Series 11 would not commence until Spring 2018, so an announcement of a new Doctor might not occur until next year!





FILTER: - Audio - BBC Audio - Big Finish - Blu-ray/DVD - Competitions

Class Ratings Update

Tuesday, 31 January 2017 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Class - Ep7 - The Metaphysical Engine, or What Quill Did - Ballon (CHIKE OKONKWO), Miss Quill (KATHERINE KELLY) (Credit: BBC/Simon Ridgeway)Class Episode Seven, The Metaphysical Engine, or What Quill Did had an audience of 0.76 million viewers for its debut on BBC One, according the unofficial overnight figures, a share of 8% of the total TV audience.

The rating was fractionally up on the overnight figures for last week's episode. The programme was outrated by by Newsnight on BBC Two, which had 0.79 million, but it beat Through the Keyhole on ITV which had 0.65 million.

The series concluded with Episode Eight, The Lost, which followed at 11.35pm and had an audience of 0.26 million, a share of 4.7%. This episode was beaten in its timeslot Hospital on BBC 2 with 0.33 million, and marginally by The Chase on ITV which also had 0.26 million.

Consolidated ratings are now available for episodes 3 and 4 of Class, shown on BBC One two weeks ago, which include details of those who recorded the programme and watched it within a week.

Episode 3, Nightvisiting, which was broadcast at 10.47pm, had a confirmed audience of 0.79 million viewers, a 7.5% share of the total TV audience. The channel average for the timeslot is of 1.85 million. The figure is actually lower than the initial overnight figure. This can happen as the overnight figures are just an estimate based on the scheduled timeslot. The final figures are the accepted official figure for the episode. The programme won the timeslot with BBC Two's Newsnight getting 0.69 million watching. An additional 0.29 million have accessed the episode on iPlayer since its release on BBC Three last October.

Episode 4, Co-Owner Of A Lonely Heart, followed immediately afterward, starting at 11.31pm, and had a consolidated audience of 0.34 million watching, a share 5.2% of the audience. The channel average for the timeslot is 0.82 million. Episode 4 increased its audience by 21% over the initial figure. Around 250,000 have accessed the episode on iPlayer.




FILTER: - Audio - BBC Audio - Big Finish - Blu-ray/DVD - Competitions

Peter Capaldi to leave Doctor Who

Monday, 30 January 2017 - Reported by Anthony Weight
Peter Capaldi (Credit: BBC)
Peter Capaldi has announced that he is to leave Doctor Who at the end of the current production run, with his final appearance coming in this year's Christmas special episode. A new actor will then take on the role for Chris Chibnall's first season as showrunner in 2018.

The news came during this evening's special edition of the Jo Whiley show on BBC Radio 2, "An Evening With Peter Capaldi." Capaldi said
One of the greatest privileges of being Doctor Who is to see the world at its best. From our brilliant crew and creative team working for the best broadcaster on the planet, to the viewers and fans whose endless creativity, generosity and inclusiveness points to a brighter future ahead. I can’t thank everyone enough. It’s been cosmic.
Under Capaldi's reign as The Doctor, the show has expanded globally; he took the series on a world tour and has drawn record ratings in BBC America, Canada, and Latin America.

Peter Capaldi's final series also marks writer and executive producer Steven Moffat's last. He said
For years before I ever imagined being involved in Doctor Who, or had ever met the man, I wanted to work with Peter Capaldi. I could not have imagined that one day we’d be standing on the TARDIS together. Like Peter, I’m facing up to leaving the best job I’ll ever have, but knowing I do so in the company of the best, and kindest and cleverest of men, makes the saddest of endings a little sweeter. But hey, it’s a long way from over. Peters’ amazing, fiery, turbulent Doctor is still fighting the good fight, and his greatest adventures are yet to come. Monsters of the universe, be on your guard - Capaldi’s not done with you yet!
Charlotte Moore, Director of BBC Content, said
Peter Capaldi will always be a very special Doctor to me; his adventures through time and space started just as I arrived on BBC One. He has been a tremendous Doctor who has brought his own unique wisdom and charisma to the role. But, it's not over yet - I know the next series is going to be spectacular. He's a fine actor who I hope we work with again when he leaves the TARDIS
Brian Minchin, Executive Producer said:
Peter Capaldi is an extraordinary Doctor and has taken the show to amazing places. Although I'm sad he has decided to move on in 2018 I'm delighted that we have one final series with Peter Capaldi and Steven Moffat. I know what they're planning and it's going to be incredible.
There is no news yet on when or how the next actor to play the role will be announced, nor of course any indication of who the 13th Doctor might be.

Capaldi's final series as the Doctor, the tenth since the return of Doctor Who in 2005, will begin transmission on BBC One on Saturday 15th April.

Capaldi will be joined in Series 10 by new companion Pearl Mackie (Bill), and Matt Lucas (Nardole) with guest appearances to come from David Suchet and Michelle Gomez. He has starred alongside Jenna Coleman as his companion Clara Oswald, Alex Kingston as River Song, Ingrid Oliver as Osgood, as well as Keeley Hawes, Tom Riley, Frank Skinner, Maisie Williams, Joivan Wade and many more. Capaldi's Doctor has fought Daleks and Davros, Cybermen, Zygons, new monsters like the Veil and old foes the Time Lords.




FILTER: - Leading News - Peter Capaldi

An Evening In with Peter Capaldi

Sunday, 29 January 2017 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Jo Whiley on BBC Radio 2 (Credit: BBC)Peter Capaldi will be a guest on BBC Radio 2's Jo Whiley show tomorrow evening (30 Jan) at 8:00pm (GMT), "picking his favourite tracks and filling us in on all the latest news from the Doctor Who set.".

In addition, Tuesday's show will be dedicated to music that has appeared in Doctor Who, including groups such as The Beatles, The Streets and The Chordettes.

Both shows will be available to listen to worldwide via the BBC iPlayer.


David Tennant appeared on the show to chat about his experiences of being the Doctor back in November 2013, during the show's 50th Anniversary celebrations.




FILTER: - BBC - People - Peter Capaldi - Radio