Tributes have been paid to Doctor Who in the House of Lords, the upper house of the UK Parliament.

The debate was That this House takes note of the contribution of broadcast media to the United Kingdom economy, moved by Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury, a Liberal Democrat peer who has worked for both the BBC and Channel 4.

In the debate Baroness Grender, in her maiden speech, referred to Doctor Who and its record breaking weekend. Lord Birt, former BBC Director General John Birt, also paid tribute to The Doctor. Baroness Humphreys, who is President of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, paid tribute to the BBC investment in Wales, in particular at the drama centre of excellence on Cardiff Bay. Lord Gardiner of Kimble mentioned the weekend global simulcast. In closing the debate Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury looked back to the past and directed a question directly at Lord Grade, previous Director of Programmes at the BBC Michael Grade. Lord Grade nodded vigorously to indicate the affirmative.

The full debate can be viewed via the Parliament TV site and the transcript is available from Hansard.

The Doctor Who Cuttings Archive is returning to the internet, courtesy of the Gallifrey Base forum.

The highly-praised website, which consists of newspaper cuttings related to Doctor Who, was launched by Roger Anderson in 1998. Earlier this year, Anderson, who ran the original website from 1998 through to its closure in 2010, agreed to provide his collection of newspaper and magazine articles to Steven Hill, co-owner of Gallifrey Base, in order to make them available again to the public.

Although the transfer of Anderson's materials is still in progress, the new Cuttings Archive is available now with over 200 articles. The new archive curator is John Lavalie, whose focus has been on making the information accessible and useful. Articles are being converted to text so the entire archive can be searched.

Technical support for the new Doctor Who Cuttings Archive is provided by Hill and Dennis Kytasaari, who is a co-owner of epguides.com, a well-known television episode guides site.

The Doctor Who Cuttings Archive can be found at cuttingsarchive.org.

The BBC is looking for runners to work on Doctor Who in Cardiff.

Floor Runner
The floor runner supports the assistant director team on the floor reporting any conflicting priorities to the 3rd Assistant director whilst co-ordinating with the production office for the distribution of packages, scripts, re-writes etc to the cast and crew on the floor. The successful candidate will provide hospitality for crew and artists (tea/coffee making) along with undertaking the transport of crew and artists as required and act as a first point of contact for a range of both internal and external callers and visitors ensuring that these are given a positive image of the BBC and the department.

Applicants must have previous drama experience working on the floor, and need to be used to transporting artists. They need to be able to cover for the 3rd AD as required, and demonstrate they have the stamina required for this demanding role.

Office Runner
The office runner provides full support to the Line Producer and Producer reporting any conflicting priorities to the Production Co-ordinator whilst being able to prioritise and manage all incoming requests for assistance in a polite, helpful and informative manner. They will undertake general office duties including typing, taking messages, photocopying, responding to correspondence, answering telephones, faxing, filing and issuing sides along with making (and collecting) local building deliveries inc. urgent mail/packages etc. They will also act as a first point of contact for a range of both internal and external callers and visitors ensuring that these are given a positive image of the BBC, including escorting them to and from reception, and providing beverages.

Applicants should have previous running experience in television or film production with the ability to use proficiently a range of software packages including Word, Excel, Outlook, Screenwriter and Final Draft with interpersonal and communication skills sufficient to establish and maintain effective working relations with a wide range of internal and external contacts. They will have the ability to express oneself concisely both orally and in writing along with excellent telephone skills, effective time management and organisational skills and the initiative to work both independently and as part of a team. They should also be able to prioritise a conflicting workload efficiently and to maintain standards of accuracy and attention to detail when working to deadlines or changing priorities.

Closing date for both jobs is 1st December with interviews taking place on the 5th. For full details click the links above.

Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat has been talking to Radio Times about the future of the Doctor, given the character is now dangerously near the end of his regeneration cycle as spelled out in the 1976 story The Deadly Assassin.

The story stated a Time Lord can only regenerate twelve times, and Moffat considers the Doctor is now in his thirteenth and final body. John Hurt is now officially a Doctor, sitting between the Eighth and Ninth Doctors, and David Tennant used up an extra regeneration during his stay. The writer was clear about the future, and how the Doctor is now at the end of his cycle - something that could cause problems when Matt Smith turns into Peter Capaldi in the 2013 Christmas episode. "The 12 regenerations limit is a central part of Doctor Who mythology - science fiction is all about rules, you can't just casually break them.."

To add to the confusion and despite the number of bodies the Doctor has had, Moffat is clear that Matt Smith is still the Eleventh Doctor. He told a press conference at London's Excel arena that the addition of the John Hurt Doctor to the series does nothing to alter the numbering of the other incarnations.

"He's just The Doctor, Matt Smith's Doctor is the 11th Doctor, however there is no such character as the 11th Doctor – he’s just the Doctor – that's what he calls himself. The numbering doesn't matter, except for those lists that you and I have been making for many years. So I've given you the option of not counting John Hurt numerically - he's the War Doctor."

Moffat also talked of how he found it irresistible to put Tom Baker into the 50th Anniversary story. "Tom didn't want to come and do a long thing and he didn't want to put the old costume on. He didn't want to do any of that, but his agent said that he wasn't against the idea of doing a short appearance."

Baker was the longest-serving Doctor, appearing from 1974-1981. Moffat said it would have been impossible to include all the surviving Doctors in the episode. "You can't have scenes around 11 or 12 people - you can't do it. To have the longest-standing Doctor make an appearance and be the one who briefs the new Doctor on where to go . . . well, it's irresistible, isn't it? You get to hear that voice again! It was just wonderful."

The Day of the Doctor scored an Appreciation Index figure of 88 for its broadcast on BBC One on Saturday.

The Appreciation Index, or AI, is a measure of how much the audience enjoyed the programme. The score puts the programme firmly in the "excellent" category, and is particularly impressive given the large audience. The score was the joint-highest for Saturday on the five main channels.

Sunday's BBC Three repeat of The Day of the Doctor had an overnight audience of 0.64 million viewers, where the programme won its timeslot. The broadcast peaked at 0.76 million.

The Saturday showing of Doctor Who Live: The Afterparty had an audience of 1.34 million watching, but a rather poor AI of 69. The Sunday repeat had 0.22 million watching.

Sunday saw I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! take top slot in the overnights with 10.6 million watching, pushing Doctor Who into fourth place for the week. Final figures will be released next week, and are likely to see Doctor Who very near the top of the chart for the week.

Australian Doctor Who fans set their alarms and tuned in to ABC1 as Doctor Who: The Day Of The Doctor was simulcast to 94 countries around the globe over the weekend.

Doctor Who pulled in a massive 1.95 million viewers nationally, 1.36 million at 7.30pm on ABC1 and a further 0.59 million for the live broadcast on ABC1, which went out at 6.50am in Sydney and 3.50am in Perth.

The live screening achieved a 5 city metro overnight average audience of 424,000 viewers and a total TV share of 37.1%, while the repeat broadcast achieved a 5 city metro average audience of 922,000 viewers and a total TV share of 16.1%. The repeat was second in its timeslot to 60 Minutes on Channel 9. Across both the live and repeat broadcasts, the programme reached 1.5 million viewers, or 9.3% of the 5 city metro population.

In addition, there were 51,000 plays via iview.

An Adventure in Space and Time, which followed the episode, had 0.94 million watching, a 5 city metro average audience of 633,000 and a total TV share of 13.5%.

Brendan Dahill, Controller ABC1, paid tribute to the series and its makers.

The final episode in our series of features telling the story of the creation of Doctor Who, and the people who made it happen.

On Saturday 23rd November 1963, at 5.16pm, exactly 50 years ago, Doctor Who was first broadcast on BBC Television.

The story so far... Since the spring of 1962, a new science-fiction series has been slowly, but sometimes surely, growing into life at the BBC. From the vague suggestion that the Corporation should look at making such a series, through brainstorming sessions, a new head of drama, script problems, re-made episodes, the threat of cancellation and constant arguments over budget and resources, the absolute determination of a small but determined production team has seen the new programme, called Doctor Who, at last ready to face the sternest test of all - the opinion of the British viewing public, on a day when world events have left most of them likely to be too shocked to take it in at all...

Despite events in Dallas, the schedules on BBC Television for Saturday were relatively unaffected by the news. It was the days before rolling news and continuous live updates. Grandstand, the long-running sports programme, was on air as usual, with live coverage of rugby union, where Cardiff were playing New Zealand, forming the bulk of the afternoon. A 1'47" news flash had been broadcast at 4pm, with Corbet Woodall bringing viewers up to date with events from America. Grandstand came off air just after 5.15pm and was followed by a 50-second presentation junction looking ahead to the evening's entertainment, which included Juke Box Jury, with Cilla Black, Sid James, Don Moss and Anna Quayle, the police series Dixon of Dock Green, the American series Wells Fargo and the Saturday film Santa Fe Passage.

It was at exactly 16 minutes and 20 seconds past five that the opening titles of Doctor Who ran and the nation was introduced to a brand-new science fiction series.

The ratings were sound, but not spectacular, with 4.4 million viewers tuning in. A power cut had hit a sizeable area of the country, meaning many people had been unable to watch, and for this reason executives agreed to repeat the first episode a week later, just before transmission of the second.

Press response, however, was favourable, as was the BBC's own audience research into the story. A Reaction Index of 63 was recorded, roughly the average for drama at the time. Detailed research, released in December, showed viewers in a research sample thought this a good start to a series that gave promise of being very entertaining.
BBC Head of TV Drama Sydney Newman was out of the country for the launch, staying in New York. On Wednesday Donald Wilson sent him the following telegram:

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When the series went on the air it had a very uncertain future. Just 26 episodes were confirmed, with an option for an additional 13 if it did well.

With hindsight, that future was secure and the series would flourish. The arrival of the Daleks at the end of the fifth episode would capture the imagination of the nation and push the series to the forefront of British consciousness. Ratings for the first year would peak at over 10 million viewers and the series would become an important weapon in the BBC's battle to win dominance of Saturday night against rival ITV.

The show would survive many changes: the loss of the first production team, the changing of the companions, and in 1966 the replacement of the lead actor. It would survive the transformation into colour and being shunted around the schedules. Ratings would veer from a disappointing 3.1 million to an astonishing 16 million. Most importantly, the series would beat cancellation in 1989, being reborn in 2005 for a new generation, having been brought back to life by those who had adored it in their youth, allowing fans across the world to experience the wonder of the show, just as their parents and grandparents had done before.

Today, Doctor Who celebrates its 50th anniversary with a global broadcast of the 799th episode The Day of the Doctor. The series is at the heart of the BBC's strategy for the future. It brings in millions of pounds for the Corporation through overseas sales and merchandise deals. It is at the centre of the BBC's Saturday night schedule and breaks all records for digital engagement. Eleven lead actors have now graced our screens as the Doctor, with the 12th lined up to take over next month. The series that started life as a vague idea from a working group in 1962 is now an international phenomenon. If all the episodes were shown back to back, the screening would last for 15 days, 10 hours and 9 minutes. It holds the Guinness World Records for "the world's most successful sci-fi series" and "the world's longest-running sci-fi series".

But more than all the awards and accolades, Doctor Who holds a very special place in the hearts of the people who love it. Something about Doctor Who touches the very soul, inspiring generations of fans in their love for the series. The first 50 years are complete. The story goes on.

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The penultimate episode in our series telling the story of the creation of Doctor Who, fifty years to the day after the events took place.

On the last day before Doctor Who was first shown, there was good news and bad news for the production team, who were now hard at work on the second serial, which would begin its run in December. The good news was that, without an episode yet having been screened, they were to be given a run of longer than the 13 episodes previously guaranteed. The bad news was that, as with the very first episode, the opening instalment of Terry Nation's Dalek serial would have to be made again, this time for technical reasons. All of this, however, was about to be overshadowed by a tragic event in world history, one with which the beginning of Doctor Who would forever come to be associated.

The news from Dallas did not come until the evening, so on the morning of Friday 22 November 1963 - exactly fifty years ago today - the Doctor Who production team had other matters on their minds. Earlier in the week, the Head of Serials Donald Wilson had viewed a recording of The Dead Planet, the episode which had been recorded the previous Friday, the 15th. Soon after it had been recorded, it had been noticed that the studio microphones had accidentally picked up the radio "talkback" between the production gallery and the headphones of the technical crew on the studio floor. Having viewed the episode, Wilson decided that there was no way it could be transmitted in its current state, and the only option would be to remount it from scratch, which would have to happen the following month. Fortunately, the production team were able to use the footage from the very end of the episode of Barbara being threatened by the unseen Dalek, which was needed for the recap at the start of the second episode, The Survivors, due to be recorded at Lime Grove that evening.

There were some concerns about the long-term effects of this event. David Whitaker, Doctor Who's story editor, was worried that the cast would need to have an extra week added to their contracts to ensure all episodes were completed before they moved on to other projects, but no such extra week had yet been arranged by the BBC contracts department. He wrote to Wilson to express his concerns about this, feeling unable to speak to producer Verity Lambert about it as Barbara actress Jacqueline Hill - a personal friend of Lambert's - had told him in confidence that she had been offered a role in a film on completion of her Doctor Who contract. Whitaker wrote:


Spurred by this, Wilson wrote to Donald Baverstock, the Controller of Programmes for BBC1 and the man ultimately responsible for deciding how many episodes of Doctor Who would be made. Baverstock had already had cold feet about the show's future on one occasion, almost stopping it entirely after the production of four episodes, but Wilson urged him to commit to another 13, to take the total to at least 26.

While Wilson was waiting for his answer, at 5pm on Thursday evening he, along with Lambert, Whitaker, Hill and her three co-stars William Hartnell, William Russell and Carole Ann Ford, attended a press conference to help with the publicity for the launch of Doctor Who. This took place at the Langham, a former hotel opposite the BBC's radio headquarters, Broadcasting House, which was now owned by the BBC.

On Friday, fifty years ago today, Wilson received the answer he wanted. Baverstock agreed to a commission of a further 13 episodes in addition to those already asked for, meaning Doctor Who was now guaranteed a run of at least 26 weeks. The controller also made positive noises about a possible further 13, taking the total to 39, but told Wilson that he would not be able to make a firm decision on this until the New Year. After so much uncertainty about how many episodes would be made, or even if the series would make it to the screen at all, and following the headaches caused by the need to remake The Dead Planet, this was the best news the Doctor Who production team could have hoped for ahead of the show's launch the following day.

However, it was a launch that was about to be completely overshadowed by events totally outside of the control of anyone involved with Doctor Who.

The news that President Kennedy had been shot in Dallas reached Britain at 6.42pm, as the cast and crew of Doctor Who would have been preparing to begin work recording The Survivors at Lime Grove. It was the first occasion upon which the cast had seen the Dalek props in full, with the operators having sat in just the lower halves of the casings for the rehearsals. As William Russell recalled in the BBC Radio 2 documentary Doctor Who - 30 Years in 1993, this was the first moment when they realised that something special might be at hand.


Elsewhere in London, the Guild of Television Producers and Directors' annual dinner and ball was taking place at the Dorchester Hotel, with most of the senior executives from the BBC and ITV in attendance. When the man ultimately in charge of all BBC television, Kenneth Adam, was reached at the event, he decided that normal programming should continue, even though Kennedy's death had been announced just before 7.30pm. The BBC went back to its scheduled programmes, showing comedy series Here's Harry and Scottish medical drama Dr Finlay's Casebook, a decision that drew thousands of complaints.

The BBC would be more careful and considered in its programming across the rest of the weekend, and over the following week. But Doctor Who would go on as scheduled on Saturday evening. Just how much of the audience would be in any mood to watch it, and what if any impact it could make in the circumstances, would have to remain to be seen.

Tom Baker has been named as favourite Doctor in a worldwide poll conducted by the Doctor Who Appreciation Society (DWAS) to mark the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who.

Baker, who played the Fourth Doctor between 1974 and 1981, stormed home in the best Doctor vote attracting nearly double the number of votes of his nearest rival, David Tennant, the Tenth Doctor. Patrick Troughton, who played the Second Doctor in the 1960’s, came third just behind Tennant, but ahead of current incumbent Matt Smith, who was placed fourth in the vote. Jon Pertwee came in fifth place.

Elisabeth Sladen, who played Sarah Jane Smith, initially alongside Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker between 1973 and 1976, and then reprised the role twice in the 1980’s, before returning to appear alongside David Tennant in 2006 and then starred in The Sarah Jane Adventures for five series, was voted favourite companion. With nearly 25% she scored more than double her nearest rival, actress and Comedian Catherine Tate, who played Donna Noble alongside David Tennant . Sophie Aldred, Sylvester McCoy's companion, Ace was voted third, whilst Patrick Troughton Companion Jamie McCrimmon, played by Fraser Hines, was fourth.

Other winners in the poll were:

• Favourite Story: The Talons of Weng-Chiang (1977)
• Favourite Monster: The Daleks
• Favourite Writer: Robert Holmes
• Favourite Director: Graeme Harper.

The poll, which was open to both members and non-members, was run by DWAS between 9th July and 7th August 2013. Votes were received from around the world. Countries include; United Kingdom, Germany, The United States of America, Canada, Australia & New Zealand.

Founded in 1976, The Doctor Who Appreciation Society is the longest running Doctor Who fan club in the world, with members across the globe.

To celebrate 50 Years of Doctor Who, Thursday 21st November will see the publication of the Anniversary Special issue of Celestial Toyroom (CT). CT is the World's longest running publication based on a television programme.

BBC Worldwide is collecting images of fans around the world celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who this weekend.

Whether it be a dress up party at your local cinema, enjoying watching the broadcast of The Day of the Doctor at home, or any other Doctor Who events you plan on participating in this weekend, they would love to get a picture of your engagement with the 50th Anniversary.

A special email address has beenset up to which images can be sent doctorwho50@bbc.com

NB: By emailing pictures to this address you are consenting to them being used by the media, the BBC, BBC Worldwide and its partners.