Thursday morning's The Sun reveals a big spoiler about one of the characters in "School Reunion". Click on the spoiler tag to read it... or, if you don't want to know, don't!

The BBC Press Office has issued a press release detailing the BBC Radio Wales competition reported on Outpost Gallifrey on 11 September. "As part of this year's Children in Need, BBC Radio Wales is offering two lucky people the chance to be wined and dined in the company of the time-travelling lord Doctor Who and his companion Rose û aka David Tennant and Billie Piper. On Monday 12 September, Radio Wales will be launching the competition of all competitions û the chance to win tickets to the Doctor Who Galactic Dinner that's being held at the Holland House Hotel in Cardiff on Friday 14 October. David Tennant and Billie Piper will be materializing fresh from their time travels, along with the Doctor's arch-enemy the Dalek and maybe one or two other familiar faces. This amazing prize will consist of a pair of tickets to the dinner, overnight accommodation at the Holland House Hotel and the chance to mix with the cast of the hit drama Doctor Who. For a chance to win the hottest tickets in town, listeners will have to think of the question that they would like to ask either the Doctor, Rose, writer Russell T Davies or executive producer Julie Gardner. The two finalists will be selected on Roy Noble's programme on Friday 16 September 16 at 9.00am. They will then go head to head on The Afternoon Show (2.00pm) where one will be whisked off in the TARDIS and head for the dinner, and the other will be 'exterminated'. To find out how to enter, tune in to Radio Wales from Monday from 9.00am. If you're not lucky enough to get through then tune in to Radio Wales because tickets will be available to buy and Roy Noble will be announcing the all important number to call on Friday 16 September."

The official Doctor Who website features a report that states that John Barrowman will not have time to do a cameo in the second Doctor Who series currently in production.

Tuesday's edition of The Guardian carried an obituary for Michael Sheard. This makes special note of his appearances on Doctor Who: "Then there was Dr Who. He was proud to be one of that series' most prolific visiting actors, appearing alongside five Doctors in six stories between 1966 and 1988. His final association with the series is a studied performance opposite Paul McGann in an audio adventure to be broadcast on BBC7 shortly."

An article in last weekend's Sunday Mirror implied that the BBC archives, which hold Doctor Who episodes, were in danger. "Historic BBC shows are being destroyed - by rain. Many of the first year's episodes of EastEnders have been lost for ever, and some early Top of the Pops shows, Doctor Who episodes and landmark news and documentaries have also gone," said the article. "The rain has seeped through holes in the roof of the BBC's archive centre in Brentford, West London. The damage was discovered when researchers organising a 20th anniversary tribute to EastEnders asked staff for episodes starring Dirty Den and Angie Watts (Leslie Grantham and Anita Dobson). An embarrassed BBC source admitted that part of its stock of screen treasures is 'rotting away'. He said 'We get calls for programmes and go for them - only to discover they are damaged beyond repair. It is a terrible shame that household favourites are being lost forever. The archive is a national treasure and should be treated as such.' Other valuable footage has simply been lost in the huge warehouse stacked floor to roof with recordings."

The Stage has posted both interviews that Outpost Gallifrey reported on last week: with Big Finish producers Gary Russell and Jason Haigh-Ellery here and with Rob Shearman here. The Big Finish feature is an extended version of the one that was published in last week's print edition, and includes extra commentary from the producers about their working relationship with BBC Cardiff, editing Paul McGann's stories to fit the BBC7 schedule and the casting of both Doctor Who Unbound (including one potential casting for the Doctor that didn't quite come off) and Sapphire and Steel.

This Is London is running an online competition (from This Is London) to win one of two new 12" (though the article has made a typo - "12 ft"!) remote-controlled Dalek (with sonic screwdriver). The competition question: "Who is Dr Who's arch enemy?" The deadline date: 26 September 2005.

Doctor Who was praised at the TUC Conference in Brighton according to an article at BBC News. Says the item, "Writers have praised BBC One hit sci-fi series Doctor Who at the TUC annual conference in Brighton, in a call for more funding for UK TV productions. It showed there was 'still an audience for quality family entertainment', the Writers' Guild of Great Britain said. The union said there was no substitute for 'well-resourced, home-grown drama and comedy material written, performed and produced in the UK'. But member Hugh Stoddart criticised the BBC for what he called 'damaging cuts'. The writers' union ... which represents UK writers in TV, film, radio, theatre, animation and books - called for further BBC investment in programme-making to build upon the show's success. 'The popularity of the series demonstrates that there is still an audience for quality family entertainment, and that distinctive UK television productions can still provide a talking point for the nation,' Mr Stoddart said. He believed that 'while some imports and so-called 'reality' shows have their place in the schedules, they cost jobs and reduce opportunities for workers in our television industry'."

Stuff.co.nz writes about the Box Set of Doctor Who DVDs being available "early next year" and that You can import all 24 episodes on a seven-disc set from Britain (where it aired months ago) for less than what earlier seasons cost here."

Drum Media magazine says that "...before David Tennant was announced as the BBC's new Doctor Who, replacing the outgoing Christopher Eccleston, a number of actors were linked with the role in the media, all of them white. Sure, there has been the odd black name in the frame for these parts in the past, but it has always been reported in the media as a semi-novelty item." It also notes that "...former Red Dwarf star Craig Charles has spoken of his dream of becoming the first black Doctor." The writer of the article: "...visited four of the Internet's most popular Doctor Who and James Bond fan-sites and left near identical messages on each of their discussion forums. Posing as a 'lifelong fan, but first-time poster', I very gently suggested that maybe it would be 'cool' to have a black Bond or Doctor, and proposed Dirty Pretty Things actor Chitiwel Eijofor as a potential candidate. ... Doctor Who fans seem to fall into the same pattern of debate û a majority who simply state that 'The Doctor is white' and generate any number of convoluted and impossibly obscure plot-related reasons why this is an unalterable fact, and a minority who support the idea and are able to respond using their equally encyclopaedic knowledge of the Doctor Who universe in their defence."

(Thanks to Steve Tribe, Peter Weaver, Martin Hearn, Paul Hayes, Paul Engelberg, Bill Albert, Richard Jordan)

A few update items on the forthcoming second series of Doctor Who to share:

According to the latest issue of the UK SF magazine "Starburst", the first episode of the season (beyond the Christmas special) is entitled New Earth, and will guest star Zoe Wanamaker, who returns from the first series. Doctor Who Magazine recently denied that the first episode was called "The Sunshine Camp"; no word on whether this new reported title is the real deal.

Broadcasting update: This Saturday (3 September)'s full-length Doctor Who Confidential 7. The Dark Side is now scheduled from 7.20 to 7.50pm. The following weekend's schedule of new series repeats, according to the Radio Timeswebsite has been substantially revised. There is no longer a full-length rerun of Doctor Who Confidential 8. Time Trouble scheduled for Saturday 10 September. On Sunday 11 September, a full-length rerun of Doctor Who Confidential 9. Special Effects is now scheduled from 7.00 to 7.30pm, followed by a double bill of The Empty Child and The Doctor Dances from 7.30 to 9.00pm, with no Cut Down version shown for that evening. DWCC is also absent from its usual Wednesday evening slot on 14 September. Oddly, DWC9 was not shown in Cut Down form during the initial March to June run either; the schedule for Friday 16 September is not yet confirmed, so it may yet appear!

On-location photography at Duffryn High School in Newport for the third episode, School Reunion, has completed as of yesterday (Friday). Of course, if the first series is any indication, production on the episode will continue for some time (as the episodes are being made in blocks with multiple episodes blending together for production).

Tenth Planet have told Outpost Gallifrey that the second collection of Doctor Who novels featuring the Ninth Doctor and Rose (and now, Jack Harkness too) are now in release: Only Human by Gareth Roberts, The Deviant Strain by Justin Richards and The Stealers of Dreams by Steve Lyons. Full details and cover illustrations are on our releasespage.

The BBC Gloucestershire website recently printed a short article about recent filming on the forthcoming special, The Christmas Invasion, tentatively scheduled for broadcast on 26 December, at Clearwell Caves. "Aliens have invaded Clearwell Caves! Well, sort of. Scenes for the forthcoming Doctor Who Christmas special have been shot at the popular Forest tourist attraction, and although its plot remains a secret it's a safe bet that extra-terrestrials are involved." "They wanted the largest underground cavern that they could find in this part of England," says Jonathan Wright, who co-runs the site, to BBC Gloucestershire. "(We're) quite surprised at the scale of it, it's taken up the entire car park." The site has an audio feature available for listening as well as the story itself; visit the site for more details.

John Barrowman was interviewed on Friday's edition of BBC Breakfast, in which he spoke about the play he's currently in, "A Few Good Men" (starring alongside Rob Lowe) and about his recent experiences on "Doctor Who," confirming that he would not be back for the second series but was told he would be back for the third. Barrowman also confirmed that he didn't know the reasons why Eccleston left (and indicated that it was the actor's business, not his), and joked that he owed David Tennant a kiss (referring to the brief exchange last season). He also noted recent conventions he had done and indicated some upcoming appearances including in Clacton and early next year in the US (in Los Angeles).

In the recent issue of "Dreamwatch" magazine, designer Bryan Hitch confirmes that we will see one additional TARDIS room besides the console room this year, and that the fundamental design of K-9 hasn't changed (but there are hints that he will have been tweaked a little). The Cybermen design will be updated, however, and the design is expected to remain a closely guarded secret.

The Planet Who website has photos of some of the new products coming out this year including the sonic screwdriver and the 3D character walkie talkies.

The transcript for David Tennant's CBBC webchat is finally up, at the CBBC website.

(Thanks to Jon Preddle, "Noetic_Concordance", Matt Kimpton, David Bailey, Steve Tribe, Paul Engelberg, Paul Hayes, John Bowman)

Rumors that Anthony Stewart Head will play the Master in the second Doctor Who series now filming are false, despite Internet reports to the contrary.

The Blue Peter Prom, which features a new arrangement of the Doctor Who theme and a guest appearance by a Dalek, will be shown on Wednesday's edition of Blue Peter at 5.00 pm on BBC One.

BBC7 has debuted another new trailer for its series of Paul McGann Doctor Who audio stories. Running for 1 minute and forty seconds, the trailer again features new material recorded by Paul McGann giving a brief history of his TARDIS ("Time and Relative Dimensions in Space" in this version), and it was broadcast after the final part of "Storm Warning" at just before 7.00pm on Saturday and again at midnight.

Big Finish has discreetly added some material to the Cybermansection of its website, including a video trailer for the new miniseries, which plays with Windows Media Player.

According to a press release from the BBC Press Office,John Leeson will reprise the role of the robotic sidekick K9, last seen during the original series in the twentieth anniversary story "The Five Doctors" in 1983, in the new series. The appearance of the robot dog was rumored on Outpost Gallifrey as far back as early July, but this is the first official confirmation of the appearance. "Today David Tennant, the Tenth Time Lord, will be reunited with two of his favourite and most iconic companions - Sarah Jane Smith and the faithful robot dog, K9," says the press release. "K9, who was the loyal friend to Tom Baker's Doctor between 1977 and 1981, joins Sarah Jane Smith, the Doctor, Rose and Mickey in a fight against the evil Krillitanes. John Leeson, the voice of K9, says: 'I am delighted to have been invited back on board the series - and a little gathered rust is no object to a fully functional K9!' Producer Phil Collinson adds: 'It is great to be welcoming K9 back to Doctor Who. A whole generation fondly remember him as an ever-faithful companion and best friend to Tom Baker's Doctor. I hope the new generation of viewers will fall in love with him in the same way. I'm sure he's going to prove an invaluable help to the Doctor in the fight against intergalactic evil.'" Leeson joins Elisabeth Sladen, previously confirmed returning to the role of Sarah Jane Smith from the original series. Says Sladen, "I am so thrilled to be back and I feel so empowered by the affection that [the whole team] have for Sarah Jane Smith and for the programme. Toby Whithouse's script is wonderful - it's an absolutely truthful progression of Sarah. I just hope I can live up to their expectation, and I hope I can still run as fast after 30 years!" The episode, "School Reunion," "sees the team investigate sinister events at a modern-day comprehensive school, and also stars Anthony Head (Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Little Britain)." Also reported at the official BBC Doctor Who website and at CBBC,BBC News, The Mirror.

Below are a collection of photos taken one week ago in Cardiff by correspondent John Williams as preparation began for the filming of "The Christmas Invasion" there, including shots of the department store being converted to Henrik's (complete with holiday angels); there are no actors present (although Billie Piper is seen from behind in one), as they are mostly shots of the production crew, but also an interesting look at the setup (with director James Hawes checking a shot angle on a tri-ladder, and the Confidential crew seen doing interviewing.) Also included below are Williams' reports from that location from last week; click on the spoiler tag for further details.

Monday 8 August

Having got word of the filming at the intersection of Wharton and Trinity Streets in Cardiff on Monday and Tuesday night this week through fellow Timelessö (Cardiff DWAS-LG) members, I successfully persuaded my wife to join me for a night of Whospotting. Arriving at around 7pm on Monday night, we found that a 30 ft Christmas tree was in the process of being decorated. Several Christmas market stalls were already in position, and both Howells and Waterstones bookstore window displays had jumped back in time to last Christmas (the sale offer dates on the display posters ended 12/04!). Oh, and you can get 3 for 2 Who novels, though itÆs unlikely that either of these elements will show up on screen.

After an hour or so of not a lot really, we decided to quench our thirst at the æis it?Æ bar next door. From our pavement table vantage point we watched more set dressing, before kindly being asked to move to allow for the arrival of a double-decker bus. Billy then arrived with Noel Clarke, and we watched several minutes of rehearsals. This comprised of them both running from something behind the market stalls. Apart from setting up the camera tracks and lighting rigs, it went quiet for a long time and we called it a night at 11pm.

Tuesday 9 August

This evening we were treated to a lot more action, as filming began at around 10.30pm. The first shot involved many extras dressed in heavy winter clothes, carrying Christmas shopping bags and presents. Before shooting, we were warned that the scene involved a series of explosions, and the police were asked to call HQ to warn them. Action had already occurred next to us in the crowd, where two less than appreciative drunken ônon-fansö had been cautioned by the police for the language they were using, which unfortunately including obscenities towards Billy.

Blocked mainly by the Christmas tree, the scene began shooting. Extras ran in terror with Rose and Mickey running through the stalls hand-in-hand, explosions going off around them. One of our less than courteous drunken neighbours shouted during the scene and was promptly marched away by the police once æcutÆ was called. Both Phil Collinson and James Hawes seemed more than happy with the result though, and the scene wasn't reshot.

We watched several more scenes being shot, most of which involved explosions from different camera angles. During one shot, an explosion went off just as Noel Clarke ran past it. He was thrown to the ground and the crew rushed over to him. Fortunately he seemed only to have sustained a ringing in his right ear, although it continued to aggravate him for some time afterwards.

As we called it a night again at 12.30, the next scene was to include 4 largely built Santas brandishing deadly brass instruments!

The latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine has some new casting information about the forthcoming season. Previously confirmed actor Adam Garcia will appear in "The Christmas Invasion" as Alex Klein, along with Daniel Evans (Danny Llewellyn), Sean Gilder, Anita Breim (Sally) and Chu Ornambala as Major Blake. In "School Reunion," additional cast members include Eugene Washington (Mr Wagner), Caroline Berry and Rod Arthur. Newly confirmed crewmembers on block one of series two includeLlinos Wyn Jones (script supervisor), Jon Older (first assistant director), Julian Barber (camera operator) and Simon Fraser(sound recordist). The issue says that work began on 18 July with rehearsals, which included David Tennant, Billie Piper, Anthony Stewart Head and Elisabeth Sladen, with filming starting on 22 July as we previously reported here.

Outpost Gallifrey has two collections of photographs today from filming: one batch of six photos from this week's production in Cardiff (Monday and Tuesday nights) courtesy Mark Davies, the other a collection of shots from the filming at the Brandon Estate in London early this month from our "Cosmic Correspondent". Click on each image below for a larger version. Also included, in the spoilertag, is a very brief set report by Matthew Spencer from the filming in Cardiff on Monday night.

Radio Times has been running a new advertising campaign on UK television. "Basically it has loads of fed-up people stuck in their cars at roadworks. They start honking their horns, a dog starts barking and a baby starts crying - all of which adds up to a recognisable rendition of the 'Doctor Who' theme tune!" says our report. "Near the end, the passenger in one of the cars turns to the driver and says (approximately) 'Did you know that there have been ten Doctor Who's, The Daleks was originally called The Mutants and that TARDIS stands for Time and Relative Dimensions in Space?'"

Paul Cornell ("Father's Day") will be writing another audio play for Big Finish for 2006, due out next September, according to an announcement by Big Finish at the recent 2005 World Science Fiction Convention in Glasgow. "Circular Time" will likely feature the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa.

There's a rebuttal in today's Scotsman by David Bickerstaff, reacting to the earlier comments about David Tennant's forthcoming tenure in the TARDIS. "I should ask him, politely, to reserve any form of judgment until David Tennant makes his debut as Doctor Who at Christmas in The Christmas Invasion," he writes. "Having been a lifelong devotee of Doctor Who, I am absolutely thrilled that an actor of his standing has accepted the role. He has a real passion for the character and will, I am sure, give it 101 per cent commitment. As for the costume, perhaps George Kerevan should look around at the dress sense of today and see that the Doctor mirrors the fashion sense of society. Patrick Troughton mirrored the style of the Beatles, Jon Pertwee had the smoking jacket of Bob Dylan in the Seventies and Tom Baker reflected the Bohemian style of students in the mid-Seventies. Mr Tennant's costume is a mish-mash of all that is smart in our fashion-conscious male."

(Thanks to Kieran Seymour, Peter Sneddon, Jonathan Melville, David Bickerstaff)