France 4 is to celebrate the arrival of Series 6 to the channel with with a Doctor Who Night to be held on Saturday 19th May.

As well as the first four episodes of the series, The Impossible Astronaut, Day Of The Moon, The Curse of The Black Spot and The Doctor's Wife, the channel will be showing some episodes from the classic series, the Tom Baker stories Genesis of The Daleks and City of Death and the William Hartnell story Edge of Destruction.

Alain Carrazé and Romain Nigita will present a series of reports looking at the Doctor Who phenomenon, investigating the origins of the series, profiling the Doctors and Companions and looking to see what the future holds for the Timelord.

Interviewed during the night will be Russell T Davies, Steven Moffat, Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, Christopher Eccleston, Billie Piper, John Barrowman, Freema Agyeman, Derek Jacobi and Tom Spilsbury as well as fans like François Descraques or Davy Mourier.

A visit to the Doctor Who Experience in London is also included.

The Doctor Who Night is produced by 8 Art Media and filmed partly at the Palais de la Découverte in Paris, and will be presented by Louise Ekland. A full episode listing can be found on This Week in Doctor Who.

Colin Baker appears on tomorrow's edition of the Channel 4 show Get Your House In Order. He attempts to help collector Barry Phillips, who is looking to de-clutter his Doctor Who memorabilia-filled house, by selling items at a convention. The hour-long programme starts at 8pm and will also be available afterwards on catch-up service 4oD.

David Tennant has launched the BBC's Shakespeare Season, which forms part of the Cultural Olympiad. He said of the Olympiad: "I'm a bit hazy as to what it actually means, what it all adds up to. But if it means more Shakespeare, it's fine my me." He will be starring in Romeo and Juliet on Radio 3 on Sunday 29th April at 8.30pm and was in Twelfth Night on Radio 3 last Sunday (available on the iPlayer until 13th May). [Radio Times, 22 April 2012]

Staying in the world of the Bard, the Royal Shakespeare Company has revealed that it was contacted three times by a man who wanted to buy a pair of David Tennant's unwashed socks - even offering £50 for them. The bizarre request came as the RSC announced that its costumes and props were for hire by the general public, and made particular mention of the crown worn by Tennant as Hamlet in the 2008 production being available for £20 a week. (The RSC refused to sell the socks, by the way!) [Daily Record, 24 April 2012]

Gareth David-Lloyd plays the male lead of Dr Robert Cameron in the independent short film Casimir Effect. Billed as a sci-fi romance, it is currently in post-production, having been filmed two years ago, and is looking for support to complete it.

The companion, not the Doctor, is the main character in Doctor Who, according to Steven Moffat. With Amy and Rory about to leave the show and a new companion, played by Jenna-Louise Coleman, arriving in this year's Christmas special, Moffat told BBC America: "The story begins again, not so much with the new Doctor, but with the new companion. It is their story. The Doctor's the hero, but they're the main character." He added: "I thought about the Doctor travelling on his own and it always faintly depresses me." [Radio Times, 19 April 2012]

Talking of companions, Katy Manning has given an in-depth interview to Radio Times, revealing her thoughts about life, the universe, Jo Grant, and everything. A gallery of photos ranging from her debut in Doctor Who to the present day has also been put online by Radio Times. In addition, she can be followed on Twitter at @ManningOfficial.

Karen Gillan is among the 12 nominees for the title of Fashion Icon in this year's Scottish Fashion Awards, which take place at Clyde Auditorium on Monday 11th June. [Daily Record, 22 April 2012]

John Barrowman is urging fans to campaign for his character of Captain Jack Harkness to appear in the 50th-anniversary episode of Doctor Who. "I think it would be a shame if Captain Jack wasn't involved in the 50th anniversary, because he was such a big figure and a big presence within the show itself and also within Torchwood," he told MTV Geek at the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo. But, Barrowman said: "It's not up to me, it's up to the executives and it's also kind of up to the fans, because if they want it all they have to do is get on those keyboards and start writing." Addressing fans directly, he said: "You have been known to change things!" He added: " I've spoken to Russell [T Davies] about it, he thinks it would be a great idea for Jack to meet Matt's Doctor, I think it would be a great idea, Matt and I actually had a conversation at the BBC once, sitting round a table, thought it would be a great idea, Steven [Moffat] thought it would be a great idea, so again it's one of those things. Great ideas sometimes never happen, they sometimes do, but you know I guess you just have to watch this space." [MTV Geek, 18 April 2012]

Matt Smith, Jessica Hynes, Richard Briers, and David Walliams will be providing narration for a second series of the Disney Junior UK show A Poem Is . . . There will be 12 five-minute instalments featuring animation from the Disney vaults. [C21Media, 25 April 2012]

Former BBC1 Controller Michael Grade - arguably the nemesis of Doctor Who in the 1980s - meets Steven Moffat in the next instalment of Grade's Radio 2 series On The Box, in which he gives the inside story of the British TV industry from his unique viewpoint. Also taking part (although not necessarily because of their involvement with Doctor Who) are Maureen Lipman, Pauline Collins, Mal Young, June Brown, and Jane Tranter who, as Controller of Drama Commissioning at the BBC, oversaw the revival of Doctor Who. Dishing The Dirt will be broadcast on Monday 30th April at 10pm and will be available afterwards on the iPlayer.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Jane Espenson has been talking about her role on the fairy-tale drama series Once Upon A Time, which airs in the UK on Channel 5, as well as her other projects. She also talks about her involvement with Torchwood, saying: "I was very proud of what we did. I thought it turned out amazingly well. I don't think you can ever beat Children of Earth, the previous season, which was an absolute masterwork. But, I thought we did very well. I thought we did things with that show that are not normally seen on American television." [The Hollywood Reporter, 22 April 2012]

Anna Maxwell-Martin and Julie Graham have been signed up to star in ITV1's newly-commissioned period thriller The Bletchley Circle. They will play code-breakers Susan and Jean in the three-part murder-mystery drama, which starts filming on location in London at the end of April. [ITV Press Centre, 23 April 2012]

Richard Wilson is to narrate his "untrue celebrity autobiography" on Radio 4 next month. The four-part "radiography" will feature dramatised scenes with star names including David Tennant and Arabella Weir. Believe It! starts on Wednesday 9th May at 11.30am. [The Independent, 24 April 2012]

The Mill is up for an honour at this year's BAFTA Television Craft Awards for its work on Doctor Who.

It has been shortlisted in the Visual Effects category against BlueBolt (for BBC One's Great Expectations), Philip Dobree, Sophie Orde, and Dan Upton (Inside The Human Body, BBC One), and Burrell Durrant Hifle (Wonders Of The Universe, BBC Two).

Meanwhile, Steven Moffat's other major show, Sherlock, is nominated in three separate categories at the awards, which are held to recognise behind-the-scenes professionals in TV production - Editing: Fiction (Charlie Phillips, for A Scandal In Belgravia); Sound: Fiction (John Mooney, Jeremy Child, Howard Bargroff, and Doug Sinclair, for A Scandal In Belgravia); and Writer (Steven Moffat, for A Scandal In Belgravia).

Doctor Who has failed to make the shortlist in this year's BAFTA TV Awards, but a number of people connected to the show have been nominated for other programmes, and Sherlock features in the nominations line-up as well.

John Simm vies against Sherlock title actor Benedict Cumberbatch for the Leading Actor prize for Exile, while Sherlock's Andrew Scott (Moriarty) and Martin Freeman (Watson) are pitted against each other for Supporting Actor.

Olivia Colman is nominated in the Female Performance in a Comedy Programme category for Twenty Twelve, as is Tamsin Greig for Friday Night Dinner. Ruth Jones, who played Nikki Bevan in the Torchwood episode Adrift, is also nominated for Stella.

Hugh Bonneville is shortlisted for Male Performance in a Comedy Programme for Twenty Twelve, and The Fades, which was produced by Caroline Skinner and had Farren Blackburn directing some of its episodes, is nominated for Drama Series, as is Scott and Bailey, which co-stars Lesley Sharp and Suranne Jones.

Coronation Street, which is produced by Phil Collinson, is nominated for Soap And Continuing Drama, and The Cricklewood Greats, which was created, presented, directed, and co-written by Peter Capaldi, is up for Comedy Programme. Rev, which co-starred Olivia Colman, is nominated in the Situation Comedy category.

Sherlock is also one of the nominees in the BAFTA YouTube Audience Award, which is voted for by the public. It was similarly nominated last year but lost out to The Only Way Is Essex. This time it faces competition from Frozen Planet, Fresh Meat, Celebrity Juice, The Great British Bake-Off, and Educating Essex. Voting is open until 5pm on Thursday 24th May.

The Television Craft Awards will be held on Sunday 13th May at The Brewery in London, while the TV Awards, including the YouTube Audience Award, will be presented on Sunday 27th May at the Royal Festival Hall in the capital.

This week saw the cast and crew 'go west' as they travelled to New York to continue filming scenes for episode five in the new series of Doctor Who; during the course of the week, the Doctor, Amy and Rory were seen to visit a number of recognisable landmarks, such as Central Park, Brooklyn Bridge Park, Tudor City Plaza and Times Square.

The BBC have published some images of the cast and crew during the shoot:



Talking about choosing the location for the episode to BBC America, Steven Moffat said:

A number of other photos of cast and crew on location were published on Twitter by Arthur Darvill (@rattyburvil), playing a "peg game" with his photographs! The week saw Karen Gillan finally join the social networking tool (@KarenGillan2) too, publishing her first photograph on location!

Production:

The latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine has reported that the fourth episode of the series will be produced on its own as Block Three, to be directed by Douglas Mackinnon, who previously filmed The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky; the episode will also be the second script written by Chris Chibnall for this series.

This will then be followed by Block Four, due to commence production in May, and of course introduces us to a new traveller in the TARDIS in the form Jenna-Louise Coleman in the 2012 Christmas Special. This will also be the first story to be totally produced at the new BBC Roath Lock studios in Cardiff Bay.

Steven Moffat described the audition process for the new arrival: "I sat down and wrote a scene, from a pretend story, that I thought covered everything a Doctor Who co-star might have to do. And that one scene ended up being three scenes, and two of them I liked so much, they snuck themselves into real eposodes, and one I liked even better because during it we all realised Jenna was our one and only choice. We all sat and watched this - me, Caro Skinner, Marcus Wilson and Andy Pryor - and I'm sure you could hear our heart rates soaring. Because there it was, right in front of us, the new team and the new show." This scene is included in DWM Issue 446.

Casting director Andy Pryor described the process of short-listing for roles to DWM: "My original list was probably a couple of hundred names, which I whittled down to around fifty. Then I began auditioning in earnest - in the intake stages, I'll audition maybe twenty people at a time for a role like this - and showing the best of them to Steven, Caro and Marcus. For smaller roles and guest parts we usually audition somewhere between three and five people, but for such an enormous part it's a bigger deal. Between us we shortlisted further and recalled a small selection to read with Matt. We met some brilliant actresses for the part, but when Jenna auditioned with Matt, we all knew instantly that she was the one."

After photos with classic Daleks revealed by the BBC and Moffat last week, one owned by former head writer Russell T Davies has also been pressed into action! The arrival of 'her' at the studios were marked by brand manager Edward Russell: "Oh look. It's me and Caroline Skinner posing with Russell's Dalek on her way to the studio!« Daleks are female, right? It make so much sense. For one they have skirts....«". The executive producer herself said: "Russell's Dalek has arrived on set - I'm talking her through her part!«" Russell's partner Andrew saw it off: "Our Dalek on its way to TV stardom in Cardiff«", to which Steven Moffat replied: "We'll all look after it. Except for the Doctor, who'll probably blow it up. Sorry, he does that.«"

Filming from the current block indicates that Director of Photography for episodes one and five is Neville Kidd - previous credits include Lip Service, How To Grow A Planet and Case Histories, and he won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Photography (Factual) in 2009 for his work on A History of Scotland

Media:

Matt Smith on how things are progressing with filming: "It's really great. I think we've got some really exciting episodes. We did the read-throughs for episodes one and five and they are extremely extraordinary. Really, really pleased with them, so if we get them right, the Ponds' final hour could be incredible. We will be making some Doctor Who in New York which is incredibly exciting." [Independent, 5 Apr 2012]

Will a woman be taking over the role of the Doctor for the 50th Anniversary? According to the Express, she will, with their show insider saying: "The 50th anniversary series will end with a very big twist - the Doctor becoming a woman will give the show a new lease of life.". The newspaper cites Sherlock actress Lara Pulver as being one of the front-runners. [Express, 2 Apr 2012]

Filming Reports:

After a number of weeks hidden away in studio or abroad, the production team has finally been out and about on the public streets of Cardiff once more, with filming taking place across Wednesday, Thursday and Friday for both episodes one and five. The "Silver Cloak" were on hand to watch the exterior filming, and the following summaries of the shoots contain potential plot revelations - though the details have also been widely reported on Twitter, do not read further unless you don't mind knowing such details!

Three 2011 Doctor Who stories have been nominated for the 2012 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form.

The scripts for Neil Gaiman's The Doctor's Wife and Tom MacRae's The Girl Who Waited, will compete against showrunner Steven Moffat's A Good Man Goes to War to win the award which will be presented at Chicon 7 to be held in Chicago, Illinois, at the end of August.

Doctor Who has won five previous Hugo Awards, with Steven Moffat winning for The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances, The Girl in the Fireplace, Blink and The Pandorica Opens / The Big Bang, while Russell T Davies and Phil Ford won for The Waters of Mars. The awards are given every year for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories.

2012 Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form - Full Nominations

• Doctor Who, The Doctor’s Wife, written by Neil Gaiman; directed by Richard Clark (BBC Wales)
• The Drink Tank’s Hugo Acceptance Speech, Christopher J Garcia and James Bacon (Renovation)
• Doctor Who, The Girl Who Waited, written by Tom MacRae; directed by Nick Hurran (BBC Wales)
• Doctor Who, A Good Man Goes to War, written by Steven Moffat; directed by Peter Hoar (BBC Wales)
• Community, Remedial Chaos Theory, written by Dan Harmon and Chris McKenna; directed by Jeff Melman (NBC)

Also nominated this year is Doctor Who writer Paul Cornell who has received two nominations. His book The Copenhagen Interpretation is nominated as Best Novelette while SF Squeecast in which he takes part is nominated for Best Fancast.

Filming Update:

Filming continued on the series yesterday with work progressing in studio with the Dalek opener, generating banter between Steven Moffat and Arthur Darvill on Twitter. SM:"After extensive deliberation, THE DOCTOR HAS SPOKEN. Matt Smith likes the sixties Dalek best.«" - SM:"This just in: Amy Pond concurs. The Last Centurian has yet to speak.«" - AD:"I could tweet several incriminating pictures of my favourites but I feel they may be. . . How do you say? . . . Spoilers?«". Moffat then released a photo illustrating the object of their discussion ...

John Sheppard, part of the FX crew, also commented on proceedings: "Job Saturday, watching Dr Who's Daleks explode at the Dr Who studios Wales. Working with Real SFX.« Call time confirmed 08.00 at the Dr Who studios, for Dalek explosions. Looking forward to this one, big fan of the Daleks.« Dr Who set looking good, plenty of Dalek mayhem, Dalek FX explosion went very well, just.« Working late on Dr Who tonight, it was interesting to see all original Daleks since 1960 in one episode.« The gun area of the Dalek just missed me, whilst it flew past burning!«"

Sheppard also said: "Made it onto Dr Who Confidential, SFX and me talking about the Dalek explosion. Which really did go Boooooom!!«"; he later corrected himself, saying: "just a small correction, Confidential was cancelled, I'm led to believe, but it's the same people who continue to film.«" - this last comment lends credence to a recent article in The Star in which it stated that there would be an online version of the behind-the-scenes show this series.

Media Coverage:

Jenna-Louise Coleman visited the Doctor Who studios last week, and said: "There were scenes built from all around the world. So I’m looking forward to going on all these big adventures. I think Ancient Rome would be great – to play Cleopatra would be good fun. Hopefully it'll happen. There’s no limit to what they do with the stories and where in time we can go. I'm excited to see where we go time travel-wise.". Talking about her future co-star, Matt Smith, she said: He's so full of energy which is infectious. Me joining him will be a new dynamic for the show and we'll be working hard to make that work." [The Star, 1 Apr 2012]

Ben Browder did a Q&A at the Australian OzComicCon Convention, during which he briefly mentioned his role in episode three: "I've just got back from the UK and Spain where I just did an episode of Doctor Who. I got the offer right in the middle of pilot season and my agent goes 'well you know you're going to miss some very big casting' and I went 'it's Doctor Who!' It was a very exciting moment, I got to work with the Doctor, I got to hold his hand. I have seen the inside of the TARDIS. I play a marshall in the 1870s." [full Q&A via YouTube, 31 Mar 2012]

Jenna-Louise Coleman:

Matt Smith discussed the casting of Jenna-Louise Coleman during an interview on the Roy Noble show, BBC Radio Wales, on 22nd March:

When speaking to Digital Spy about his new film The Pirates!, David Tennant also offered some advice to the new companion:

The actress herself appeared on This Morning on 27th March to promote Titanic, but briefly said of the announcement of her new role:

Talking to Radio Times about the secrecy surrounding her casting, Jenna said:
The full interview is in the new edition of Radio Times (31 Mar-6 Apr 2012), where the actress also explains how she had to describe her audition as being for Men On Waves (an anagram of Woman Seven).

Radio Times have also published a number of exclusive publicity photos of the actress, which can be found via their website here.

Casting::

Joanne McQuinn Joanne McQuinn is listed by Spotlight as playing Sadie (episode three). McQuinn is primarily known as Sally Moore in the BBC series Mistresses. She also appeared in Little Miss Jocelyn, The Bill, and Our Friends in the North, and played Zoë Lessard in the documentary Space Odyssey - Voyage of the Planets. In addition, she appeared in the film Fierce Creatures

David Gyasi David Gyasi has been reported by the Standard as appearing in the series in an interview with the actor. Gyasi can currently be seen as Victor in BBC2's White Heat. Other shows have included Apparitions, Demons, Waking the Dead, Murderland, and he played Jeremy Hands in Mike Bassett: Manager. He also appeared in the first series of Torchwood, playing hospital patient Will Harris in Combat.

Filming:

After all the Spanish excitement, filming continued in studio in the week leading up to the official convention, with Arthur Darvill providing Twitter followers with a little levity over lunch. Then, at the convention itself, executive producer Caroline Skinner presented followers with a "dimensionally transcendental" Steven Moffat!

A tweet from last Friday indicated some upside down antics on set, with DrakeAV reporting: "So excited! I got to pop into the Tardis and saw Karen Gillan hanging by a thread upside down screaming. Doctor...«. This was later confirmed by Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill themselves at the official convention, with Karen saying that the length of time suspended led to some blood vessels bursting! Steven Moffat was alleged to be present during the shoot laughing at their predicament ...

Friday evening then saw a read-through for the current filming block, covering episodes one and five.

As previously reported, the production team are to take their second international trip next month when they film in New York as part of the production for episode five, Amy and Rory's final story which features the return of the Weeping Angels.

Meanwhile, production has continued in studio for episode one, the series opener that will feature the return of the Daleks. The teaser trailer this week included a brief glimpse of the Doctor's old adversary in the snow (believed to have been filmed in Spain as part of the shoot there earlier in the month), and the BBC have now released some teaser images of the Daleks in studio:


Filming is expected to continue in Cardiff next week at the university's School of Physics and Astronomy.

Unconfirmed Updates:

The Daily Star has reported that an online version of Doctor Who Confidential is to be made to accompany the next series. However, there has been no other confirmation of this elsewhere at present.

During the convention, attendees were able to take a tour of the existing TARDIS sets at the BBC's Upper Boat Studios. Speculation as to why the console room hadn't been transferred to the new Roath Lock Studios in Cardiff Bay seem to have been clarified now, with fan Robert Davis reporting: "At today's TARDIS tour crew let slip that this Console room is not moving to new studios - NEW redesigned TARDIS being built there!!!«"

Production Crew: Related Vacancy:

BBC Careers have listed a role within the BBC Wales Production Unit which, though not specifically advertised for Doctor Who, will encompass the show amongst others:
The role, based in Cardiff, is for internal applicants only, with a closing date of 12th April.

United Kingdom:

The Queen visited Manchester as part of her Diamond Jubilee tour, during which she officially opened the new BBC MediaCentreUK in Salford - and was 'confronted' by a Dalek whilst being taken around the facilities. [BBC News, 23 Mar 2012]

The National Library of Scotland is presenting a selection of science fiction treasures as part of the Edinburgh Science Festival, entitled It's Life, Jimmy but not as we know it. The collection includes Steven Moffat’s first Doctor Who short story from 1996, Continuity Errors. The exhibition is open until 30th June, admission free. [Deadline, 28 Mar 2012]

David Boyle, the co-founder of Dapol (who made Doctor Who figures through the 1980s/90s and was home to the 'original' Doctor Who Experience), is to make and present a new television series of his interpretation on the evolution of mankind and the universe. Boyle said: "I had many experiences that didn't fit with the stories that everyone was telling us. I thought it was time to investigate these experiences and explain them, before we start telling everyone a particular story. Somebody has got to tell people the truth and tell people what is going on." [Northwich Guardian, 20 Mar 2012]

Ten-year-old Haydon Gill from Collier Row tempted chef Heston Blumenthal - with whom he co-stars with in a new advert for Waitrose - with a treat favoured by the Doctor: "My favourite food is fish fingers and custard. Dr Who eats it and it's delicious. I told Heston to try it while we were on the set together and he said he would!" [London 24, 20 Mar 2012]

Pupils from St. Mary's Primary School in Chipping Norton have made the final of the Script to Screen writing competition with their script, The Ultimate Athlete, featuring the Cybermen up to nefarious activities at the Olympics. George Tuckwell, Joe Frater, Oscar Miller and Rowan Woodell are all excited with the possibility of seeing their script turned into a mini-episode, with George saying: "I am very, very, very nervous about the competition. I do not want to get my hopes up, but if we won I would probably shout and scream. It was meant to be based on the Olympics, so we thought the Greeks made the Olympics and decided to do a story with that. It has been really fun." The winning script for the competition is announced tomorrow. [Witney Gazette, 29 Mar 2012]

The Radlett Centre played host to two Doctor Who celebrities last weekend, with both a Dalek and Derek Martin appearing at the event, which brings together children from local schools to perform together. Organiser and Dalek owner Julie Banes said: "It's a huge morale boost for the students who take part and it's quite tear-jerking to watch. They all did a marvellous job and gave it 100 per cent." [Herts Advertiser, 24 Mar 2012]

A man with a saucepan on his head imitating a Dalek was one of a number of hopefuls auditioning for the next series of Britain's Got Talent. [Daily Mail, 20 Mar 2012]

United States:

Two-year-old Valentine Dewait has become a hit thanks to her appearances on Twitter dressed as every (current) incarnation as the Doctor. Her father, Ryan, said: "She enjoys dressing up. Costumes, tutus, you name it. She'll go to her costumes and pull out outfits to put on." [Digital Spy, 16 Mar 2012]

Tashi King has made an appeal on behalf of her husband Kevin Pratt for when he loses his fight with an inoperable brain tumour. Writing to Regretsy, she said: I am writing to you to try and fulfill a wish of his; after he passes my husband wants to have a portion of his cremains kept in a TARDIS urn. (The rest will be shot off in rockets he has built over the years with his friends.)" The request has led to a fund-raising page being set up for the couple. You can follow their story via Tashi's blog. [Regretsy, 13 Mar 2012]

Online:

Doctor Who has been named a National Treasure, according to a survey undertaken by network operator O2. Over 14,000 people contributed to the list, which was compiled through the company's Facebook page. Other treasures include singers Bob Marley and Cheryl Cole, 'presenter' Dame Edna Everage, and Tower Bridge. [The Drum, 28 Mar 2012]

The stars of Doctor Who took time out of their busy schedule to talk to a number of Doctor Who news sites, including Doctor Who News, at the Official Doctor Who Convention which took place in Cardiff last weekend.

Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill joined Executive Producers Steven Moffat and Caroline Skinner to answer questions on the future of Doctor Who and the departure of Amy and Rory, as well as their thoughts on the convention and the fans' reaction to the series.