The latest issue of the Radio Times has the final complete list of episode titles for series 3, along with a synopsis for each story. Notably, the issue confirms three previously-unknown titles; episode three is, as rumored for the past week,Gridlock, while the concluding episode of the Dalek two-parter, episode five, is called Evolution of the Daleks. Finally, the issue confirms the title for the season's last episode, which is called Last of the Time Lords. The full list of episode titles is below, from the issue which is now on sale; series three begins with "Smith and Jones" transmitted this coming Saturday evening at 7.00pm on BBC1.

The new edition of Radio Times - issue dated 24-30 March - has joined the countdown to the start of Series Three with a column entitled "All New Who" in its weekly "Behind The Scenes" feature.

It lists what readers can expect to come in the publication, among which will be a guide by Russell T Davies to every episode of the new series, and includes quotes from David Tennant, Freema Agyeman and Phil Collinson.

Tennant says: "Each script that comes in just seems to be bigger than the last - that's what has kept it so exciting. The scale is bigger, the locations are more extraordinary."

Agyeman tells of the pressure of the show, saying: "I've been filming since August and it's crazy. Every time I think I've got it under control, something else comes up - so I'm not taking anything for granted!"

And Collinson talks of the pressure of thinking up new monsters. "This year there's probably a bigger selection - we've gone a bit more monster-y," he says.

The Doctor Who special edition of The Weakest Link is one of the RT Choices for March 30, while the "Next week in RT" strap at the back of the listings magazine carries a picture of Tennant and Agyeman and trumpets the publication's 14-page preview of the new series that will be included.

The Radio Times covering the first episode of Series Three, ie, issue dated 31 March to 6 April, should reveal the titles of episodes three, five and 13 - the last remaining unknown ones.

The Restoration Team has released details on the upcoming DVD releases Robot and Timelash.

The team's website describes the technical hurdles that had to be cleared in each story (such as the CSO effects in the final episode of Robot) as well as a list of special features for each DVD (listed below).

As reported earlier, Robot is due out in the UK on 28th May, Timelash on 25th June.

Visit the Restoration Team website for full details.

Though a few weeks away from Series 3 of Doctor Who (and any possible Who-related listings-magazines covers), both this week's and next week's issues of the Radio Times sport front-page covers and corresponding articles of two of the show's stars, albeit for different roles.

The current issue of the listings-magazine (17 to 23 February) has a Catherine Tate cover - "Bovvered?" - and features a three-page interview with the former Doctor Who companion by Alexei Sayle (the DJ in Revelation of the Daleks). This is to coincide with tonight's premiere of the ITV1 drama The Bad Mother's Handbook, which stars Tate. There's nothing about Doctor Who in the article itself but the magazine's editor Gill Hudson makes a brief mention in her "Editor's letter".

Meanwhile, next week's Radio Times (24 February to 2 March, on sale now) features a (bearded) David Tennant cover - "TV's Most Wanted" - and article to coincide with his BBC1 drama Recovery, which co-stars the Empress of the Racnoss herself, Sarah Parish. This issue also has a short interview with Penelope Wilton and a "One Final Question" interview with Life on Mars star John Simm.

Previously, to coincide with Matthew Graham's second series of Life on Mars, the 10 to 16 February issue of the Radio Times had a double cover - "Life on Mars!" - featuring Simm and Philip Glenister. The top cover - in the current Radio Times style, showing the pair in character and including a sub-heading "Primeval: Is this ITV1’s answer to Doctor Who?" - opened up to a second cover with the same picture but styled as the Radio Times was in 1973!

BBC DVD/2Entertain has announced full details of the DVD of "Survival", which will be hitting the British retail shelves in a 2-disk, heavily specials-laden release on 3 April 2007. The final story of the original Doctor Who series, "Survival" (starring Sylvester McCoyas the Doctor, Sophie Aldred as Ace, and Anthony Ainley as the Master) is also the 40th Classic Doctor Who DVD release.


Special features include:

Disc 1

• Main commentary withith Sylvester McCoy, Sophie Aldred and script-editor Andrew Cartmel.
  
• Second commentary (episode three only). Fan commentary from the winners of a recent Doctor Who Magazine competition.
  
• Cat Flap - a two-part documentary covering the making of Survival. Part One covers set-up and pre-production, Part Two covers shooting and post-production. With Sylvester McCoy, Sophie Aldred, Lisa Bowerman, Will Barton, Sakuntala Ramanee and Adele Silva, script editor Andrew Cartmel, director Alan Wareing, visual effects assistant Mike Tucker, composer Dominic Glynn and costume designer Ken Trew. Narrated by Paul Ewing.
  
• Deleted and Extended Scenes - material from the first edit of the story that didn't make the final cut, plus comparisons of some of the scenes before and after the video effects were added.
  
• Out-takes and comedy moments from the production of the story.
  
• Continuities and trailers from the original BBC1 transmission.
  
• Photo Gallery - production and behind-the-scenes stills from the making of the story.
  
• Isolated Score - option to view the story with synchronous isolated music.
  
• Radio Times listings in Adobe pdf format for viewing on PC or Mac.
  
• Programme subtitles and subtitle production notes.
  

Disc 2

• Endgame - Why was Doctor Who cancelled at the end of Season 26? What might have been in store for the Doctor and Ace if the series had continued into Season 27? With Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred, script editor Andrew Cartmel, writers Ben Aaronovitch and Colin Brake, BBC Head of Drama Series Peter Cregeen, composer Mark Ayres and visual effects designer Mike Tucker. Narrated by Paul Ewing.
  
• Search Out Science - a schools programme featuring the Doctor and Ace, with Stephen Johnson and K9.
  
• Little Girl Lost - A retrospective look at the development of Sophie Aldred's character, Ace, from her first story, Dragonfire through to her last, Survival. With Sophie Aldred, creator Ian Briggs and script editor Andrew Cartmel.
  
• Destiny of the Doctors - Anthony Ainley's last appearance as The Master, in these links from the 1997 computer game.
  

For complete details on the release, please visit the Restoration Team's website.

With Christmas fast fading and the New Year upon us, here's a roundup of some of the massive press coverage over the past couple of weeks.

The Runaway Bride

The Daily Mail writes: "New water crisis as Doctor Who drains the Thames".

"He has already caused disruption to a number of London landmarks. Now Dr Who drains the Thames in a Christmas special, The Runaway Bride, to be broadcast on Christmas Day ...

"A horde of alien spiders make their base under the Thames and when the Doctor and Donna - the runaway bride in the title played by Catherine Tate - escape from the lair, water pours in, emptying the river. The scene sees the pair standing on top of the Thames Barrier, staring out across the city minus the Thames.

"Asked what other landmarks in the capital he wanted to target, Tennant suggested Buckingham Palace. He joked: 'Let's blow that up, come on!' He added Madame Tussauds was also in the Doctor's sights. Donna, from Chiswick, becomes the first woman to turn down Dr Who's advances at the end of the programme."

The Times has an interview with Catherine Tate. On her character in The Runaway Bride, Donna "doesn’t want to be with the Doctor. She just wants to get married." 'Tate wasn’t a huge fan of Doctor Who as a girl. "I was more into The Kids from Fame," she says laughing. "I think Rose (Billie Piper’s character, now departed) is the reason so many girls are into it now." Tate’s daughter Erin, 4, is a fan – "she loves the Cybermen".

The Guardian lists this year's Doctor Who Christmas special as "unmissable TV this Christmas" and one of the "best shows on the box".

"While it feels as if the Doctor Who Christmas special is a fixture of the festive season, this is only its second such outing. Here, the Doctor has Catherine Tate at his side to fight Sarah Parish's Big Bad - half-woman, half-spider, the Empress of [the] Racnoss."

The short article goes on to mention that "there's a Jo Whiley Meets Doctor Who special on Radio 1 on Christmas Day, The Sarah Jane Adventures are on BBC1 on New Year's Day, along with, on BBC3, the explosive conclusion of Torchwood. BBC7 also plays host to a new story, Blood of the Daleks, on Hogmanay."

Meanwhile, the Sun, under the headline "It's time to lord it up, Tate", had this to say:

"Killer festive decorations, slayer Santas and a flesh-eating spider - it can only be the Doctor Who Christmas special. David Tennant is his usual quirky self, but The Runaway Bride really belongs to Catherine Tate. Her character Donna is bristling with rage at being beamed into the Tardis while half-way up the aisle. Donna is more than a bit Lauren-esque [her schoolgirl character from The Catherine Tate Show] as she screeches at the Timelord: 'No stupid Martian is going to stop me getting married.' Even when she gets kidnapped by a Father Christmas in a taxi, the Cockney secretary deadpans, 'You ARE kidding me?'

And, in the Metro's "Tate takes a trip in the Tardis": "Catherine Tate takes a trip in the Tardis with Doctor Who - and turns down the chance to be his assistant. The comedienne appears in BBC One Christmas episode The Runaway Bride - where the Doctor, played by David Tennant, ends up falling for her. In their final scenes he asks her to join him on his time-travelling adventures but she leaves him heartbroken by saying no. Catherine admitted: 'I was devastated. They'd have made a great team. They're a slightly unconventional pairing. They don't really get on at first but by the end they have rather fallen for each other so it's a bit of a shame.'"

The Telegraph covered the story with "Evil monsters from Doctor Who? Am I bovvered, asks Tate". In the article,David Tennant talked about returning to the show without Billie Piper: "Tennant admitted he has found it hard to adjust to life without her. 'It was a little bit odd going back in July - it was like going back to school and all the old team was still there except Billie, so it was very different. But I loved working with Catherine and I suppose that's what acting is about, you develop these new relationships. The show is different and just as good."

Tate is quoted about her not being asked to stay on as a permanent companion and how much fun she had on the show. The Sun also had a piece on (as they put it) Tate's "Doctor Who snub".

There's also a story about Tate and the Christmas special - "Tate's Christmas Date with the Doctor" - on line at BBC News.

In the Glasgow Daily Record's "Am I Bovvered?": "Telly funny girl Catherine Tate is set to make history by becoming the first woman to turn down Doctor Who. Catherine - whose characters include rebellious schoolgirl Lauren and the outrageous swearing Nan - joins Scot David Tennant for the Christmas Day Doctor Who special The Runaway Bride. Catherine plays the bride who finds her wedding day interrupted by an alien plot to destroy the Earth. After losing his former companion Rose - actress Billie Piper - the Doctor invites bride Donna to live in the Tardis. But she declines in the final moments."

In another on-line BBC News story, entertainment reporter Kevin Young discussed "What TV critics watch at Christmas": "With hundreds of programmes on offer throughout Christmas, what do the people who spend their lives reviewing TV shows want to watch?". He talked about a handful of programmes, including The Ruby in the Smoke (Piper) and This Life Plus 10 (Joe Ahearne, Julie Gardner), but singled out Doctor Who.

"There is no doubt about it - Doctor Who is this year's overwhelming festive favourite among TV critics. 'I'm so desperate to watch this that if our TV broke down, I'd just go and knock on the neighbours' door, and invite myself on to their sofa,' says Caitlin Moran, a columnist at The Times. 'Then I'd ask them to go into the kitchen for a bit so they didn't ruin the atmosphere by talking.'"

In the Mirror's, "How very dare you": "[…] Tate has told how her hopes of becoming Dr Who's new sidekick were dashed when BBC bosses snubbed her, despite starring in the Christmas special. The award-winning comic appears in The Runaway Bride as the timelord's temporary assistant Donna who is mysteriously transported into the Tardis during her wedding. But yesterday Tate claimed she was not even considered for the permanent role left vacant by Billie Piper who played Rose Tyler for two series."

There was a long article in the Manchester Evening News under the headline "Doctor Who: Bovvered?", which also made mention of the Civil Partnership of Matt Lucas, who appeared opposite Tennant in Casanova: "Tennant gave nothing away about his future at today’s first screening of the Time Lord’s latest Christmas special. It was a relatively early start in London’s Soho, bearing in mind he’d been at yesterday’s wedding of Little Britain star Matt Lucas. For those anxious to know about Matt’s panto-themed reception, David went as Buttons and Doctor Who writer Russell T Davies was, of course, a Dame."

In its article, the Western Mail, concentrated on the Sarah Parish's role as the Empress of the Racnoss in "Move aside Daleks for the scariest monster ever": "Younger viewers may find the half-human, half-spider Empress of Rachnos too scary to watch. Cutting It star Sarah Parish is unrecognisable in the role.

"She admitted that even her own family might run for cover at the sight of her character when they sit down to watch the festive episode, called The Runaway Bride. 'I've got four very excited nieces and I don't want them to hate me,' she said. 'I think it's behind-the-sofa scary, not nightmare psychiatric ward scary.' David Tennant, who plays the Doctor, added, 'It's the right side of scary.'"

The Manchester Evening News also covered this story under the headline "Cutting it as a Doctor Who baddie". As didSky News in its "(Dr) Who's The Monster?".

Though the press coverage for the Christmas special was overwhelmingly positive, not everyone was happy, however. In the process of being generally miserable about Christmas television, Nicholas Barber in the Independent, finds time for a pop at Doctor Who, too: "The second most popular programme of Christmas '05 was a Doctor Who 'special', so there's another one on this year - but how special can it possibly be? An hour in duration, it's only 15 minutes longer than the dozen other Doctor Who episodes that we've already seen this year."

John Barrowman

John Barrowman is interviewed on Rainbow Network. Barrowman remarks that: "Towards the end of Doctor Who, Jack was becoming more human - I mean human in the sense that he was starting to feel for other people rather than just thinking about himself. As Torchwood begins, he's lost some of that. He doesn't always consider other people's feelings - his priority is the good of the world.

"A life-long fan of Doctor Who, John admits that his home is stuffed with Captain Jack memorabilia, including his racy leather trousers, squareness gun and the bullets he aimed at the Daleks when we last saw him."

On the Weevils, Barrowman describes them as "one freaky bunch of aliens […] and every once in a while a Weevil goes rogue and attacks. That's when we have to step in because they can be mighty vicious."

David Tennant

Top of the Pops magazine (BBC, issue 153) has quotes from David Tennant. Asked how he feels to be the most popular actor on TV, Tennant replies: "It's nice to know that people are grateful for what I'm doing. It's a great honour." On whether he will be staying on as the Doctor: "As long as I don't get the sack, I'll do another series." And on whether Tennant is living life to the max: "I'm keenly aware, all the time, of failing in some way. That feeling never goes away. With hindsight, I'll probably wonder why I didn't make the most of it."

There is also a small interview with Yasmin Paige who plays Maria in The Sarah Jane Adventures. Paige comments that: "My character moves in next door to SJ and they end up fighting aliens together. She's very quirky, loves technology and aliens." Paige mentions that her favourite scene from the Christmas episode is "the factory explosion. I was so nervous because I haven't experienced anything like that before. It was just amazing."


Christopher Eccleston

From the Australian publication The Age comes the essay "Timeless - why I Love Doctor Who", an affectionate run-down of ten reasons that make the 2005 series of Doctor Who a hit with critics and audiences everywhere.

While, WCET 48 Cincinnati, OH has issued a press release regarding their acquisition of the Christopher EcclestonDoctor Who episodes. The full release is available here, but this is the abbreviated version: "WCET has purchased the new Doctor Who series to air this Spring. It will air Thursday nights. WCET is currently one of 4 PBS broadcasters in the US airing the classic series. Grace Hill, CET's Programming Director, noted: 'We're pleased to be bringing more Doctor Who to CET. This series has been a success worldwide, and we can't wait for the new series to come on our air.'"

Miscellaneous

In "Who's The Top Toy?", the Daily Record ran a piece about the popularity of Doctor Who toys this Christmas. "Dr Who proved the biggest hit with the kids this Christmas as merchandise from the show continued to fly off the shelves. The popularity of the BBC1 show saw supplies of Daleks, Cyberman Voice Changers and Sonic Screwdrivers outstrip demand, according to the UK's biggest toy store chain. Toys R Us said stores were forced to source Doctor Who merchandise from across the world to keep up with demand. And in-store displays were being replenished up to five times a day in November and December."

Media Guardian is running a story about how the way the music charts are calculated in the UK is to be shaken up so that it will take account of track downloads from albums, even old albums, in future. Tests show that the ELO song "Mr Blue Sky" would have registered in the chart with this new system after its appearance in the Dr Who episode Love and Monsters. Full story in the Media Guardian.

Lalla Ward received a mention in an article - "Preaching to the converted", which was an interview with her husband Richard Dawkins - in the Telegraph. The relevant piece concerns whether it was Dawkins who once said that "a dog-collar was always a sign of a low IQ"?

"At this Dawkins, quite unexpectedly, starts to giggle. 'Actually, that was my wife [the former Dr Who actress, Lalla Ward]. What, in fact, she said was that whenever she sees a dog-collar, she imagines one of those electronic streamers going round and round saying, "Low IQ, Low IQ, Low IQ…" But she was only joking,' he adds, not altogether convincingly.

"'Besides,' he says, 'I think it's important to remember that you're dealing with a whole spectrum here. If you've got a Creationist who claims that the world is only 6,000 years old, I'd say that person was both pig-ignorant and thick _ thick, because if you're that ignorant you really ought to be doing something about it. But with someone like the Archbishop of Canterbury, it would be quite wrong to say that he's thick. I'd say mistaken, put it that way.'"

(With thanks to Kenny Davidson, Benjamin Elliott, Chuck Foster, Paul Hayes, Andrew John and Peter Weaver.)

The Children In Need Concert, which is available to digital viewers, has had an earlier start than previously advertised on site, with the first run commencing from 9:15am. The concert - filmed at Cardiff's Millennium Centre on 19th November - runs for approximately 90 minutes on a loop, and details of the schedule can be seen at any time by using the blue button during the concert.

The broadcast also includes a question-and-answer session with David Tennant, Russell T Davies and Murray Gold, plus a four-minute preview of "The Runaway Bride" (so you may not want to watch the concert until after 8:00pm!).

For those out and about and otherwise engaged in Christmas merriment, the concert will be broadcast digitally at other times throughout the Christmas season: Christmas Day (1:50-7:00pm, 8:50pm-4:00am - 1:45am for Freeview), 27th December (8:50pm-4:00am - 1:45am for Freeview), and then in the new year on 2nd/3rd January (7:50pm-4:00am - but not on Freeview). The audio-only version of the concert is also currently available from BBC Radio Wales on their "Listen Again" service.

For other coverage of the concert, don't forget this afternoon's behind-the-scenes look at the concert with Doctor Who Confidential on BBC1 at 1:00pm. Plus BBC Radio One delve into the concert in a three-hour programme with Jo Whiley from 4:00pm. This will be available on the "Listen Again" service for the next week, as is Doctor Who Back In Time, the behind-the-scenes from BBC Radio Wales broadcast yesterday.

People

The Guardian (free registration required) has a very thorough profile of Billie Piper: "Pop star at 15, anorexic at 16, has-been at 17, teen bride at 18, Hollywood wife at 19, drama student at 20, single woman at 21, born-again star at 22 ... it's hard to believe that Billie Piper is still only 24."

Following up on the reports from the Sun posted yesterday, Mizz magazine (issue 562) writes that Piper "is a big fan of the spin-off series, Torchwood. 'Watching it makes me scream, "I wanna do that!"' she tells us. Could this mean a Rose comeback's on the cards?"

And the People pries into Piper's personal life, as the tabloids are wont to do.

SyFy Portal names Russell T. Davies as one of its Top Newsmakers of 2006.

Dalek operator and Big Finish stalwart Barnaby Edwards is profiled at icHounslow. Edwards, who is directing a pantomime Cinderella at Dorking Halls in Surrey this Christmas, says that the biggest barrier for Daleks isn't stairs, but narrow doorways. The article also mentions the upcoming Paul McGann audios on BBC7, which Edwards is producing and co-directing.

The Runaway Bride Coverage

The Herald of Glasgow put David Tennant and Catherine Tate on the cover of their weekly magazine section this Saturday. There's an interview with Tate inside; the cover can be seen here.

Broadcasting

John Barrowman is listed to appear at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall on Monday 18 December (7.30pm) to sing 'some of his favourite Christmas songs and hits from the musicals'. (source here)

Barrowman is also a "special guest" on BBC Radio 2's Friday Night Is Music Night on Friday 22 December (7.30-9.15pm). He will sing "some of his favourite Christmas songs and hits from the musicals. His credits include Miss Saigon, Sunset Boulevard, Company, Evita, Hair and Phantom of the Opera.'" (source: DigiGuide)

Christopher Eccleston stars in Perfect Parents (written and directed by Joe Ahearne) on Thursday 28 December on ITV1 (9-11pm).

Adam Sherwin looks at the spin-off phenomenon within the BBC in The Times, considering the role Sarah Jane Adventures will play for Doctor Who, as well as other series off-shoots for shows like Spooks and Life on Mars. SaysJulian Bellamy, BBC Three controller, “To launch a series with the scale and ambition of Torchwood or Rogue Spooks, it makes sense to draw on a known brand with a loyal audience. But it doesn’t mean that we aren’t seeking entirely new titles.” The story is also covered at the Western Mail.

There's an article about The Sarah Jane Adventures from the Western Mail at icWales.

Reviews

Writing in the Guardian (free registration required), Sam Wollaston begins his 2006 television year in review by lamenting, "Oh Rose, thou art gone. And that's a serious shame. We got a splendid new Dr Who in David Tennant, but lost the main reason to tune in - the wonderful Billie Piper. She's been an absolute joy in the role of Rose Tyler, one of the reasons Dr Who has become that rare event these days - a show for all the family." The column also includes comments from Russell T. Davies, who says, "I wish I'd had time to write more Torchwoods, because I only wrote the first one. We're hitting a great stretch now with four scripts in a row by women, which in science fiction is practically unheard of. It's been less than a year since David Tennant became the Doctor. It was scary this time last year: Chris Eccleston was brilliant, then he left and there was this big hole. But have you seen the BBC schedules? It's like a Doctor Who Christmas. I'm very pleased, obviously, but it's a bit barmy." Tamsin Grieg (The Long Game) is also quoted, as is BBC Head of Vision Jana Bennett, who cites Doctor Who among the year's successes.

Also in the Guardian, Charlie Brooker calls Torchwood "the Year's Most Jarring Show". Brooker makes an amusing but disturbing analogy about Torchwood's sometimes inconsistent tone, and concludes that the program is "interesting, but possibly aimed at madmen."

Metro mentions Tripping Over, starring Eighth Doctor Paul McGann, as one of the television "lows" of 2006, due to low ratings. The article is culled from Broadcast magazine's 2006 ratings review.

Miscellaneous Mentions

The MediaGuardian's "Media Monkey" diary column (requires free registration to view) contained a passing reference to yet another instalment in the long-running Michael Grade / Doctor Who saga on December 13th. Says the column: "New ITV chairman Michael Grade could be having a few interesting conversations around the dinner table with his niece, Lesley Land... Lesley, the daughter of Michael's sister and agent Anita, was handed the Doctor Who brief when it was outsourced to PR company Taylor Herring earlier this year. Grade famously axed Doctor Who when he was in charge of BBC1 in the 80s. Monkey doesn't doubt that Land will have more commitment to the show than her uncle did."

Playwright Mark Ravenhill, profiled in the Independent, is asked, "What do you cling on to from childhood?" He replies, "My loyalty to Doctor Who has remained undimmed through the years. I watch all the DVDs of the old Doctor Whos and keep up to date with all the new ones, which are fantastic. And I buy Doctor Who Magazine, which I did then and I still do now. Tom Baker was my favourite Doctor Who, this weird, flamboyant guy, with Elisabeth Sladenplaying Sarah Jane - a classic combination."

The Lancashire Evening Post reports on items for sale at the annual Harris Exhibition, which includes a "giant Dr Who Tardis". The exhibition runs until next Friday.

A "Tardis House of Fun" was one of the suggestions made by young people for the regeneration of Lowestoft and surrounding area, the Lowestoft Journal reports. "Building on the success of the Doctor Who television programme, imaginative youngsters at Meadow Primary School encouraged people to come through the door to 'experience the wonders of Tardis land.' Jacob from the school said: 'Dr Who is my most favourite thing I watch on TV and so I had the idea for little children, not big ones, so that they could play safely.' "

"Aiden added: 'We thought of the Tardis Fun House because loads of people like Dr Who and we thought it would be good to make a play area for kids who can't travel, because they have no transport and they can be left there on their own because the Cybermen would look after them.' "

(Additional material by Paul Hayes, Chuck Foster and Peter Weaver; thanks to "PolyG" of the Outpost Gallifrey Forum.)