Gerard Murphy 1948-2013

The actor and director Gerard Murphy has died at the age of 64.

Gerard Murphy played Richard Maynarde, the servant of Lady Peinforte, in the 1988 Doctor Who story Silver Nemesis.

Murphy was Born in Newry, County Down, and began his professional career with the Glasgow Citizens Theatre. He returned there last year for an acclaimed Krapp’s Last Tape. He was also and was an associate artist of the Royal Shakespeare Company, appearing as Hal alongside Joss Ackland’s Falstaff in Henry IV, Part I in 1982.

For BBC Radio he narrated the 1981 adaptation of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Television work included roles in Spooks, Z Cars, Minder, Charters & Caldicott, Heartbeat, Father Ted, Dalziel and Pascoe and The Bill.

His agent Lynda Ronan said he died at home on Monday after “battling courageously with cancer for two and a half years”.

He was last seen in the West End in the 2010/11 revival of The Rivals at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket.

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Christopher Burgess 1926-2013

The actor Christopher Burgess has died at the age of 86.

Christopher Burgess had three roles in Doctor Who, appearing in eleven episodes.

He played Swann in the 1967 story The Enemy of the World. Swann was the leader of Salamander's underground community of scientists. Burgess returned to Doctor Who in 1971 playing Professor George Philips, a scientist under the control of The Master, in Terror of the Autons.

His final appearance in Doctor Who was as Barnes, a resident of the meditation centre, in the 1974 story Planet of the Spiders.

He appeared in many British Television dramas including The Bill, Jossy's Giants, David Copperfield, Two People, Danger UXB, Les Miserables, Treasure Island, The Growing Pains of PC Penrose, Z Cars, Softly Softly: Task Force, Dixon of Dock Green, Sherlock Holmes, Deadline Midnight and Who Killed Menna Lorraine?

Sunday 25th August sees the broadcast of four more instalments in the Doctor Who: The Doctors Revisited series of specials on Australian and New Zealand television - and one of these episodes will be a world premiere. These specials are part of the 50th Anniversary season of Doctor Who on the UKTV Australia and UKTV New Zealand channels.

The Doctors Revisited specials will screen in a two hour block of four episodes, covering the first four Doctors. They screen in Australia at 4:25pm and in New Zealand at 4:40pm, with a New Zealand repeat screening at 3:45am on Monday 26th August.

New Zealand has the honour of being the first in the world to screen Episode 8 in this series, covering Paul McGann's eighth Doctor. Doctor Who Revisited is usually first screened on BBC America, but this particular episode is due to be broadcast in the United States on 31st August.

UKTV describes the specials as follows:

Episode 5:
The Fifth Doctor introduced viewers to a character who was fresh faced, youthful and more vulnerable than we had seen before. Doctor Who Revisited takes a close look at a TARDIS that was bursting at the seams with a range of different companions, and examines one of the most dramatic departures from the series to date. We also look at the return of two popular foes, the emotionless Cybermen and the ever-deceitful Master.

Episode 6:
As Doctor number six colourfully generated onto our screens in a patchwork blast of colour he brought with him his own sense of style and character. Featuring Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant join The Doctors Revisited as we unveil the compassionate side of the Doctor, his attempts at Tardis maintainence and introduce Sil the galaxies most slippery business man!

Episode 7:
The seventh doctor crashed onto our screens, clowned around in a question-marked tank top and juggled his way around foes. Join The Doctors Revisited as we examine the darker side of this Doctor and take a look at some of his surreal adventures. Featuring interviews with Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred, we look at the Doctor's modern day companion Ace and his most scientific foe The Rani.

Episode 8:
Celebrate the uniqueness of the Eighth Doctor, Paul McGann, who appeared in the Doctor Who TV movie in 1996 to fight a new incarnation of his oldest nemesis, the Master. Featuring Steven Moffat and Daphne Ashbrook.

The specials were originally made for BBC America, where they are presented in conjunction with screenings of stories including Earthshock, Vengeance on Varos, Remembrance of the Daleks, Doctor Who (The Movie). All four stories have previously screened on UKTV as part of the 50th Anniversary season.

The specials replace earlier scheduled Doctor Who programmes on UKTV. Australia was due to screen Doctor Who America Specials: The Destinations of Doctor Who and The Women of Doctor Who, while New Zealand was to have seen Pyramids of Mars.

Sunday 18th August sees the broadcast of the first four instalments in the Doctor Who Revisited series on Australian and New Zealand television. The screening of this specials are part of the 50th Anniversary season of Doctor Who on the UKTV channel.

This is a late change to the programming schedules in both countries, and consequently has yet to appear on UKTV's websites and electronic programme guides.

The Doctor Who Revisited specials will screen in a two hour block of four episodes, covering the first four Doctors. They are expected to screen in Australia at 4:30pm and in New Zealand at 4:40pm or 4:50pm.

UKTV describes the specials as follows:

These programmes provide an introduction to each of the previous incarnations of the Doctor, and are designed to work alongside a specially curated selection of stories. Featuring interviews with key cast and crew along with classic clips and a montage of the Doctors’ key moments, iconic lines, and monsters, these programmes are the perfect companion pieces to some of the classic and newer Doctor Who. Featuring contributions from Steven Moffat, John Barrowman, David Tennant, Caroline Skinner and Neil Gaiman, among others.

When originally seen on BBC America earlier this year, the four specials were presented in conjunction with screenings of stories including The Aztecs, The Tomb of the Cybermen, Spearhead from Space and Pyramids of Mars. All four stories have previously screened on UKTV as part of the 50th Anniversary season.

The specials replace other planned Doctor Who screenings on UKTV. Australia was due to screen Doctor Who America Specials: The Science of Doctor Who and The Timey Wimey Stuff of Doctor Who, whereas New Zealand either had The Three Doctors or Spearhead from Space (the website currently lists the first, whereas the electronic programme guide has the latter).

Kristopher Kum 1929 - 2013

The actor Kristopher Kum has died at the age of 84.

Kristopher Kum played Fu Peng, the Chinese delegate to the World Peace Conference, in the 1971 Doctor Who story The Mind of Evil.

Kum was not the original actor cast for Fu Peng, but stepped in after the original actor was dropped from the role. He ran Oriental Casting, a talent agency for actors of Southeast Asian descent. He appeared in many UK dramas including Rockliffe's Babies, Edge of Darkness, Tenko, The Professionals and Crossroads.

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Michael Goldie d 2013

The actor Michael Goldie has died.

Michael Goldie played Jack Craddock in The Dalek Invasion of Earth. Craddock was imprisoned by Daleks, along with Ian Chesterton and the Doctor. He was converted into a Roboman. Goldie returned to Doctor Who in 1969 playing Elton Laleham, a member of the staff of Space Station W3, in The Wheel in Space.

He appeared in many TV roles including Coronation Street, Wycliffe, Inspector Morse and Z-Cars. His best known role though was in the 1991 feature film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves in which he played Kenneth of Cowfell.

Sunday 4th August sees the broadcast of Doctor Who - The Movie, starring Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor, on Australian and New Zealand television.

This screening represents the culmination of a chronological run through selected stories of the classic series, to mark the 50th Anniversary season of Doctor Who on the UKTV channel.

The story is scheduled to screen in Australia at 4:45pm and in New Zealand at 5:00pm with an additional screening in New Zealand on Monday 5th August at 3:40am.

The UKTV listing describes the story as follows:

The TARDIS arrives in San Francisco on New Year's Eve 1999. As the clock counts down to the start of the new millennium, can the Doctor stop his oldest enemy destroying all life on Earth?

The movie was first broadcast in Australia in July 1996 and in New Zealand in October of the same year.

The Doctor Who screenings lined up on UKTV for the remainder of August are entirely different for Australia and New Zealand.

Australia has: Doctor Who Proms (11th August), Doctor Who America Specials: The Science of Doctor Who and The Timey Wimey Stuff of Doctor Who (18th August), and Doctor Who America Specials: The Destinations of Doctor Who and The Women of Doctor Who (25th August).

Whereas New Zealand's line-up includes: The Dalek Invasion of Earth (11th August), The Three Doctors (18th August), and Pyramids of Mars (25th August). These are all repeats of stories previously screened on UKTV earlier this year.

Selected stories from the Ninth, Tenth and Eleventh Doctors' eras are expected to screen on UKTV in September, October and November this year.

Up-and-coming broadcasts from both 20th and 21st Century series of Doctor Who can be found via UKTV's Doctor Who sections for Australia and New Zealand.

Sunday 28th July sees the broadcast of the 1989 Sylvester McCoy stories, The Curse of Fenric and Survival on Australian and New Zealand television. The stories are presented as part of the 50th Anniversary season of Doctor Who on the UKTV channel.



In Australia The Curse of Fenric screens at 3:00pm and Survival at 5:00pm.

In New Zealand The Curse of Fenric screens at 3:25pm and Survival at 5:05pm with additional screenings on Monday 29th July at 2:55am and 4:35am respectively.

No billing information has been provided for The Curse of Fenric, but the listing for Survival describes the story as follows:

The Seventh Doctor brings Ace back to her home of Perivale. Her friends are being kidnapped by a race of alien hunters who were shown the way to Earth by the Doctor's old enemy the Master.

The two stories were first broadcast in New Zealand July-September 1990 and in Australia in November of the same year.

UKTV is showing stories throughout the year in the lead-up to the anniversary in November. Next week sees the broadcast of Doctor Who (the TV Movie) in both countries on 4th August.

Australia and New Zealand's schedules are entirely different for the remainder of August.

Australia has Doctor Who Proms (11 Aug), Doctor Who America Specials: The Science of Doctor Who and The Timey Wimey Stuff of Doctor Who (18 Aug), and Doctor Who America Specials: The Destinations of Doctor Who and The Women of Doctor Who.

New Zealand's line-up includes: The Dalek Invasion of Earth (11 Aug), The Three Doctors (18 Aug), and Pyramids of Mars (25 Aug).

Up-and-coming broadcasts from both 20th and 21st Century series of Doctor Who can be found via UKTV's Doctor Who sections for Australia and New Zealand.

The actor David Spenser has died at the age of 79.

Spenser appeared in six episodes of Doctor Who, playing the young Tibetan Monk Thonmi, who helped the Second Doctor fight the Great Intelligence in the 1967 story The Abominable Snowmen.

Born in British Ceylon, Spenser began his acting career at the age of 11, working for BBC Radio on Children's Hour. He became a household name in the 1940s when author Richmal Crompton cast him as William Brown in the first radio adaptation of her series of short stories Just William. As a member of the BBC Drama Repertory Company, he went on to play some of the great Shakespearean and other classical roles on radio, including Romeo to Judi Dench's Juliet.

Spenser moved into television in 1950 and appeared in many well-known productions, including playing Hurree Jamset Ram Singh in Billy Bunter of Greyfriars School and Saint Mark in the 1960 production of Paul of Tarsus, which starred Patrick Troughton as Saint Paul. He played the Prince of Morocco in The Merchant of Venice, with Maggie Smith and Frank Finlay. Other roles included parts in Dixon of Dock Green, Play for Today and Z Cars.

In 1987 he formed Saffron Productions Ltd with his long-term partner Victor Pemberton, making a number of documentary films, including Gwen, A Juliet Remembered and Benny Hill: Clown Imperial for the BBC.

Spenser died yesterday in Spain.

John Barrowman has married his long term partner Scott Gill at a ceremony in California.

The couple, who have been together 20 years, entered into a civil partnership in 2006. Following the US Supreme Court’s overturning of the Defence of Marriage Act, the duo officially tied the knot at the beginning of the month, announcing the news on Whosay.

Barrowman recently told ITV's Daybreak the next Doctor should be a woman. "We’ve had great guys playing the role. The character of River Song was so popular in the last part of the series and it was such an impact, why shouldn’t we have a female doctor,” he said, adding “Give it a whirl, if it doesn’t work she can always regenerate, she can always regenerate back to a man - I’ve been there, I’ve watched them do it.”

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Actress Lynda Bellingham has revealed she has cancer.

Bellingham played the The Inquisitor in the 1986 Trial of a Time Lord season and is well known for her roles in All Creatures Great and Small, and Loose Women, as well as the Oxo TV adverts screened in the 1980s and '90s. The actress has postponed a UK tour of Kay Mellor's play A Passionate Woman to have treatment.

In a statement she said "I'm devastated not to be able to honour my commitments to the play this year, But having toured many times before, I'm aware of the sheer stamina needed and I need to prioritise my recovery. That said, nothing's going to stop me coming back next year, and I can't wait to be 'a passionate woman'.

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Author and Script Writer Neil Gaiman is doing a mini-tour of England and Scotland this August. The writer of The Doctor's Wife and Nightmare in Silver will talking about his new book The Ocean at the End of the Lane.

He will be visiting his home city of Portsmouth as well as Ely, Oxford, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Dundee and Inverness.

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The body of former Torchwood actor Richard Gent has been discovered in woods near his home in north London.

The actor, who also appeared in Casualty, Teachers and Black Mirror, went missing in April 2012 prompting his family to launch an appeal for his return. His body was discovered earlier this month. A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said his death is not being treated as suspicious. Gent's family issued a statement "The search for Richard is over and he is at peace now. We miss him more than we can ever say, and want to thank everyone for their support. Everyone’s kindness shows just how much he was loved. We are donating to the charity Missing People and setting up an acting scholarship in his name to help other young actors."

Sunday 21st July sees the broadcast of the 1988 Sylvester McCoy story, The Greatest Show in the Galaxy on Australian and New Zealand television. The story is presented as part of the 50th Anniversary season of Doctor Who on the UKTV channel.

The story screens at 4:30pm in Australia, and 4:40pm in New Zealand. The latter country has an additional screening on Monday 22nd July at 4:00am.

The UKTV billing describes the story as follows:

The Doctor & Ace head for the Psychic Circus on the planet Segonax, where they meet a disparate group of performers & visitors, including an explorer - Captain Cook.

The Greatest Show in the Galaxy was first broadcast in Australia in November 1989, and in New Zealand in April 1990.

UKTV is showing stories throughout the year in the lead-up to the anniversary in November. In July the focus is on Sylvester McCoy's Seventh Doctor. The remainder of the month's schedule includes: The Curse of Fenric and Survival (both 28 July).

Up-and-coming broadcasts from both 20th and 21st Century series of Doctor Who can be found via UKTV's Doctor Who sections for Australia and New Zealand.

Sunday 14th July sees the broadcast of the 1988 Sylvester McCoy story, Remembrance of the Daleks on Australian and New Zealand television. The story is presented as part of the 50th Anniversary season of Doctor Who on the UKTV channel.

The story screens at 4:20pm in Australia, and 4:40pm in New Zealand. The latter country has an additional screening on Monday 15th July at 4:05am.

The UKTV billing describes the story as follows:

Unusual events are unfolding at Coal Hill School & the Doctor discovers that the Daleks are on the trail of Time Lord technology which he left on Earth centuries ago.

Remembrance of the Daleks was first broadcast in Australia in 1988 (the last episode screened on 23rd November, marking the 25th anniversary). New Zealand did not get to see the story until February 1990.

UKTV is showing stories throughout the year in the lead-up to the anniversary in November. In July the focus is on Sylvester McCoy's Seventh Doctor. The rest of the month's schedule includes: The Greatest Show in the Galaxy (21 July); The Curse of Fenric and Survival (both 28 July).

Up-and-coming broadcasts from both 20th and 21st Century series of Doctor Who can be found via UKTV's Doctor Who sections for Australia and New Zealand.