Random House have announced a new range of books based upon the popular Mr Men created by Roger Hargreaves.

Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat has confirmed that a scriptwriter from the classic series of the programme will pen a script for the upcoming series.

This will be the first time a writer from the original series, which ran from 1963 to 1989, will contribute to the revived series, launched in 2005. One director, Graeme Harper, has contributed to both runs, helming episodes in 1984 and 1985, and from 2006 to 2009.

Moffat announced the news at a panel at New York Comic-Con, and confirmed it in an interview with Comic Book Resources.

There is no confirmation yet as to whom the writer will be.

Other writers already confirmed for the upcoming series include Frank Cottrell-Boyce, who wrote the 2014 story In The Forest Of The Night, Sarah Dollard, who wrote last years Face the Raven, vintage contributor Mark Gatiss and newcomer to Who Mike Bartlett, best known for Doctor Foster.

Series 10 is due for transmission in the spring of 2017. Full details, as they are released, can be found in the Doctor Who Guide

It was fifty years ago today, on Saturday 8th October 1966, that we were introduced to one of the all-time classic monsters of Doctor Who. The Cybermen had arrived.

The Cybermen were the invention of Kit Pedler and the current story editor Gerry Davis. Pedler had been brought into the series to add a bit of scientific rigor to the scripts. A scientist from the University of London, he had already come up with the idea of the War Machines, the story which ended Doctor Who's third series.

Pedler's concept of the Cybermen came after a conversation with his Doctor wife, discussing what would happen if a person had so many prostheses that they could no longer distinguish themselves between man and machine. The story was developed with Davis, with the original Cybermen hailing from Earth's long lost sister planet, Mondas. The first Cyberman costumes were designed by Sandra Reid, who used cloth, rubber diving suits, tubing, golf balls, cricketers' gloves, and silver-painted Doc Martens boots to create the look.

The Cybermen were an instant success and a sequel was commissioned for broadcast later in the season. They would return for three more stories during the second Doctor's era before taking a rest from the series. A one-off appearance with the Fourth Doctor was followed in 1982 by their return in the acclaimed story Earthshock. From that point on they would be a regular feature of the series with their most recent appearance being in the 2014 story Dark Water/Death in Heaven.

The costumes may have changed over the years, the voice refined and the back story enhanced, but the concept of the Cybermen remain unchanged. The ultimate evolution of the human form, where metal and steel replace flesh and blood and inconvenient emotions are consigned to history.

On that early October evening in 1966, as viewers around the UK were enjoying the arrival of the silver menace, in a small Television studio in west London another drama was playing out. The end of an era was occurring. A much-loved actor was recording his last scenes in a popular long-running television series. William Hartnell was leaving Doctor Who.

It had been debatable whether the actor would actually make it to his last contracted episode. In the summer, Hartnell had agreed he would leave the series in the autumn, his deteriorating health making the weekly pace of the series impossible to manage. He has spent much of August holidaying in Cornwall, fishing and relaxing. In September he would return to record just one more story.

Hartnell had maintained regular correspondence with the production team throughout his break. His last story would be directed by Derek Martinus, known to Hartnell from his previous work on the series, and he was keen to involve the actor as much as possible. He wrote to him in Cornwall with the latest news about The Tenth Planet, including changes in the production week, which would now run Tuesday to Saturday each week.
Hartnell was delighted with the casting of Robert Beaty, an actor he knew from working on the TV series Dial 999. He was pleased with the late Tuesday start, as he needed to travel up from his home at Mayfield in Sussex. However, he was keen to show he was still very much in charge and, in a letter to the Director, he pointed out worries about the rehearsal rooms being used. By the end of September, recording on the first two episodes of the story had been completed and the cast was assembling for the week-long rehearsal of episode three when it was clear someone was missing. William Hartnell was ill, too sick to attend. He had to be quickly written out of the episode, with story editor Gerry Davis rewriting the script to render the Doctor unconscious for the entire episode.

Derek Martinus wrote to reassure the actor

Hartnell did return the following week and after the four-day rehearsal, the team assembled at Studio 1, Riverside studios on Saturday 8th October where he would record his final episode. By far the most complex challenge of the day was to record the transformation of the First Doctor into the Second, so this was taped first, and Doctor Who history was written between 6.30pm to 7.00pm when the first regeneration in the series history was recorded. Anneke Wills remembers the event The woman charged with achieving the transformation was Vision Mixer Shirley Coward After a supper break, the rest of the episode was recorded from 8.00pm to 10.15pm, incurring a slight overrun.

And with that, the Hartnell era was over. The last scenes had been recorded, a new Doctor was now installed. A small farewell party was held at producer Innes Lloyd's flat and then Lloyd drove him home to Sussex.

William Hartnell would live until 1975, but his progressive disease meant he would not work regularly again. He had a small run in a pantomime the following Christmas playing Buskin the Fairy Cobbler in Puss In Boots. He would briefly return to Doctor Who in the 1972 story The Three Doctors, but by then his health was so poor all his scenes were pre-filmed in one day.

Today the character he created is known and loved around the world. His legacy lives on.

The BBC has confirmed the 2016 Christmas edition of Doctor Who will be called The Return of Doctor Mysterio



This year the episode will see The Doctor, played by Peter Capaldi, joining forces with with an investigative journalist, played by Charity Wakefield, and a superhero to save New York from a deadly alien threat.

Steven Moffat, Writer and Executive Producer, says:Canadian actor Justin Chatwin, plays Grant in the special, he says: Matt Lucas returns as Nardole, a character first seen in last year's Christmas special. He told Comic-con Also joining the cast is Adetomiwa Edun (Lucifer, Bates Motel), Aleksandar Jovanovic and Logan Hoffman. Executive Producer Brian Minchin added

The BBC has released the first official teaser for the new Doctor Who spin-off series Class.

The first episode is due to be released online on Saturday, 22nd October.

The Doctor Who Appreciation Society have updated us with the following changes to their forthcoming event to celebrate former Doctor Jon Pertwee:


More details on the event can be found in our previous news article and on the DWAS website.

This week sees Titan Comics release new Ninth Doctor Who comic.

Doctor Who: Ninth Doctor #6

Writer: Cavan Scott
Artist: Adriana Melo
Colorist: Mateus Lopes
Letterer: Comicraft
Cover A: Simon Fraser, Cover B: Photo, Cover C: jaKE,

Farsight Studios have released their digital recreation of the 1992 Doctor Who Pinball Machine.

The table has been released for iOS, Google Play, Steam (Mac/Windows), Mac App Store, Amazon and Ouya. The table is inspired by the TV series and features the original Doctor Who theme song, TARDIS, Doctors, companions, and villains from the series.

The digital version of the table was produced after a Kickstarter campaign raised over $56,000, enough to purchase the the licences allowing Farsight studios to develop the replica of the machine.

The innovative game, designed by Barry Oursler and Bill Pfutzenreuter, tasks the player with rescuing each of the original 7 Doctors from the Master, each one adding a new dimension to the ruleset. Multiball is played via a 3 level "Time Expander" mini playfield that raises up to reveal more targets, allowing players to defeat Davros and his Daleks and restore Earth's time to normal.

Preview on Twitch

The Doctor Who production team have won the BAFTA Cymru award for Special and Visual Effects, Titles and Graphics for their work on the Series Nine opener The Magician's Apprentice

The Special Effects on the episode were supplied by Real SFX, led by Danny Hargreaves, while the Visual Effects were supplied by Milk VFX. Both teams have previously won a BAFTA Cymru award for their work on the 50th anniversary special The Day of the Doctor.

The BAFTA Cymru awards honour excellence in broadcasting and production within film and television in Wales. The winners were announced on Sunday, at a ceremony hosted by BBC Radio 1 presenter, Huw Stephens, at St David’s Hall, Cardiff.

Titan Comics have announced that Doctor Who comics – under license from BBC Worldwide North America – will be arriving in force at the New York Comic-Con taking place later this week.

On Friday, October 7, 2016, at the NYCC Live Stage at 11:15AM, Titan kicks off the celebrations with a Doctor Who live stream interview featuring creators from across all Titan’s Doctor Who comics line, including writers Nick Abadzis and Paul Cornell, artists Simon Fraser and Rachael Stott, and editor Andrew James.

Titan’s Doctor Who panel is one fans will not want to miss - packed with exclusive reveals, never-before-seen artwork previews, and comic guests! With writers Nick Abadzis, Paul Cornell, Simon Fraser, Rachael Stott, artist Chris Jones, and hosted by editor Andrew James, this panel will reveal upcoming plans for Titan’s Doctor Who comics, giving fans the first scoop on 2017 happenings. This panel will take place on Saturday, October 6, at 7:45PM in room 1A21. All attendees will receive a free goodie bag bundle of Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth Doctor comics – each bag includes the 2015 convention one-shot.

Titan’s top talent will be signing Doctor Who comics over the weekend at Titan’s booth #2142; an opportunity to meet Nick Abadzis, Mariano Laclaustra, Rachael Stott, and Alice X. Zhang from 3:30PM on Friday. On Saturday, starting at 1PM, Paul Cornell, Simon Fraser, and Chris Jones will be signing Doctor Who comics at the booth.

Additionally, Titan is bringing back the Doctor Who 2016 Convention Special comic, featuring an all-new Doctor Who story, The Long Con, starring the Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth Doctors! With art by Leandro Casco, Simon Fraser, and Walter Geovanni, this convention special comic comes with two collectable covers by Simon Fraser and Alice X. Zhang. The special also includes all nine Supremacy of the Cybermen back-up strips (from the First Doctor to the War Doctor) by George Mann, Cavan Scott, and a cavalcade of creators, including Dan Boultwood, Mike Collins, Simon Myers, Andrew Pepoy, Blair Shedd, Lee Sullivan, and many more.

Doctor Who fans attending this year’s New York Comic-Con can purchase this special comic at the Titan booth #2142.