A forthcoming BBC Radio 4 documentary is to examine what led to the cancellation of Shada - the six-part Fourth Doctor story originally intended to end Doctor Who's 17th season.

Shelved takes a look at three TV programmes that were made in 1979 but which never aired because of socio-political, industrial or cultural problems. The three comprise a particularly violent episode of ITV show The Professionals, the last episode of BBC series Secret Army, and Shada.

Interviewees for the Shada segment are Tom Baker, director Pennant Roberts and Jeremy Bentham - the Doctor Who historian, author, former associate editor of Doctor Who Magazine and co-founder of the Doctor Who Appreciation Society. The story, which was never completed at the time because of a BBC strike, would have been broadcast in January and February 1980.

The 30-minute documentary is scheduled to be broadcast on Saturday, December 12 at 10.30am, and it is understood it will make a key revelation relating to Doctor Who through documentation unearthed by producer/presenter Shaun Ley. Recording of the documentary took place at the BBC's Westminster studio on Thursday, November 5.

Incoming Doctor Who producer John Nathan-Turner tried to remount Shada, but those attempts failed and production was formally abandoned in June 1980. In 1992, the recorded footage was released on video with linking narration by Tom Baker completing the story. It was subsequently reworked as an audio play by Big Finish Productions, featuring the Eighth Doctor and with Paul McGann in the lead role. This version was webcast on BBCi in 2003 and broadcast on digital radio station BBC7 in December 2005, with a repeat the following year. The webcast is currently available to listen to on the official Doctor Who website (may only be available within the UK).

Both Doctor Who Magazine and Doctor Who Adventures not surprisingly feature next Sunday's special, The Waters of Mars, in issues published today.

Doctor Who Magazine 415 talks to Lindsay Duncan, who plays Captain Adelaide Brooke of Bowie Base One, who reveals in an interview what was it like working with David Tennant? “His energy levels are so high. You think, oh God! In terms of my character, but also in terms of myself, the actor, I desperately wanted to keep up with him, but I have to admit it – I can’t run as fast as him! But I gave it a good shot. I didn’t want Adelaide to drop the ball. I didn’t want her to show any kind of weakness...”

Also in the magazine Russell T Davies pays his own personal tribute to former Doctor Who producer, director and writer Barry Letts in Production Notes. The magazine reveals the the long-awaited results of the competition to ‘Be a Doctor Who Magazine reporter’, and follows the winner as she gets to go behind the scenes of the series – and chat to David Tennant and Russell T Davies! In the latest comic strip the Doctor and Majenta uncover the terrifying secret behind the apparitions in the London Underground and in Without You Neil Harris asks how different would things be if the TARDIS hadn’t taken the Doctor on some of his adventures?

The magazine takes a look at stories that nearly made it onto TV that are now being made at last. Scripts featuring Sil, the Ice Warriors, the Celestial Toymaker and many more are now being realised on audio. The Watcher continues his essential guide to the Time Lord’s many incarnations and uncovers everything you ever needed to know about the northern Ninth Doctor and the Fact of Fiction looks at Douglas Adams’ memorable Fourth Doctor story from 1978 – The Pirate Planet.

The magazine for younger readers Doctor Who Adventures 141, also takes a sneak peak at Sunday's special with pictures of some of the scariest monsters ever and their own interview with actress Lindsay Duncan who tells the magazine all about Adelaide and why she’s different from previous people who’ve teamed up with the Doctor.

Also this week a preview of the next episode of The Sarah Jane Adventures, three posters and a free Doctor Who notebook and pen.

Not to be outdone, Radio Times has launched a new gallery of pictures from Sundays special.

With a new episode of Doctor Who just five days away, the programme returns to the cover of Radio Times this week.

The magazine takes a look at the special and contemplates whether The Waters of Mars may be the scariest adventure that the intrepid Time Lord's ever had. Russell T Davies explains just why he's ladled on the fear.

Over the years Doctor Who has featured on the cover of the magazine over forty times; the first time it was accorded this honour was in February 1964. There is a full gallery of the covers on The Radio Times website.

March 2nd sees the Dalek War box set come to North America with the release of the two third Doctor stories Frontier in Space and Planet of the Daleks.

Starring Jon Pertwee as The Doctor and Katy Manning as Jo Grant, the set includes the recently restored episode three of Planet of the Daleks, now in colour for the first time in 30 years.

Frontier in Space features a commentary with Katy Manning, as well as producer Barry Letts and script editor Terrance Dicks.

Extras Include:

• Perfect Scenario: Lost Frontier
• The Space War, the making of the story
• Roger Delgado: The Master, a biography of actor Roger Delgado
• Stripped for Action: The Third Doctor's comic book adventures

Planet of the Daleks also features a commentary with Manning, Letts and Dicks and also includes Prentis Hancock who played Vaber and Tim Preece who played Codal.

Extras Include:

• Perfect Scenario: The End of Dreams
• The Rumble in the Jungle, the making of the story.
• Multi-colourisation, a look at the colour restoration of episode three.
• Stripped for Action: focuses on the Daleks
• Blue Peter.

Also released on this day is the special edition of the seventh Doctor story, Remembrance of the Daleks.

First shown in 1988 the story stars Sylvester McCoy as The Doctor  and Sophie Aldred as Ace.

The story was first released on DVD in 2002. This special edition has a audio commentary by actors Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred as well as a number of documentaries about the programme.

• Back to School: "Making Of" documentary (32 mins)
• Remembrances: Influences and references to earlier Doctor Who adventures (15 mins)
• Davros Connections: In-depth look at the history of the Daleks' creator (43 mins)
• Extended and Deleted Scenes (12 mins)
• Outtakes (4 mins)
• Multi-Angle Sequences (2 mins)
• Isolated Music Option
• Trailers and Continuities (5 mins)
• Photo Gallery (8 mins)
• Easter egg
• DVD-ROM material: Radio Times listings
• Production Notes Subtitle Option

Tom Baker - cast as the Doctor by Barry Letts - will be reading the obituary of the producer/director on BBC Radio Four's The Last Word from 4:00pm this afternoon; it should then be available on the BBC's iplayer service for the next seven days.
(with thanks to Simon Watkins)

Outgoing executive producer Russell T Davies featured as a character in Wednesday's Afternoon Play on BBC Radio 4.



As well as Davies as a character, the play features the TARDIS and a Dalek. It can be heard worldwide for the next seven days on the BBC iPlayer, and is repeated on Radio 4 next Tuesday.

Thanks to gazhack of Gallifrey Base

As previously reported, David Tennant, Russell T Davies, Julie Gardner and Euros Lyn have sent two "audio postcards" from America to BBC Radio Wales. An extended version of the first postcard can be heard here, and the second postcard can be heard here. In the second postcard, David Tennant discusses driving in Los Angeles and his first Hollywood audition, Euros Lyn and Russell T Davies chat about Muscle Beach, and Julie Gardner explains the dangers of doggie bag culture.

Doctor Who’s Greatest Moments is a new three-part documentary series from the Doctor Who Confidential team.

Patrick Mulkern, in the new issue of the Radio Times has this to say:
As well as clips from the series, there’ll be interviews from the “nearly departed” David Tenant, Freema Agyeman, Georgia Moffett, “next Doctor” David Morrissey and Captain Jack himself, John Barrowman.

Each episode is an hour in length, and the first, The Doctor, will be shown in the UK on BBC3 on Thursday, 20 August 2009 at 8:00 pm.

BBC Radio Wales featured one of its regular "radio postcard" broadcasts from Russell T Davies in Los Angeles this morning, and was joined by Julie Gardner, David Tennant and Euros Lyn to discuss the recent ComicCon. The broadcast will be available from BBC's iplayer for the next seven days (approx 2hrs 20min into the show).

There will be another 'postcard' on Monday.

See: BBC Wales Press Release

With the transmission of the three Torchwood Radio plays now complete, the BBC has published an article on the Radio 4 blog, written by producer Kate McAll, looking at how the series was created.

The blog entry looks at how the programme was cast and how the series was put together. It features several pictures from the recording session.

All three of the Torchwood Plays can be heard on the BBC iPlayer and, for the first time, listeners in the United Kingdom can download permanent copies of the programmes as MP3 files.