BBC Worldwide Australia & New Zealand have announced that a Doctor Who pop-up shop is coming to Richmond in Melbourne, with doors opening next Saturday 9th November.

Following the overwhelming popularity of the Sydney and Brisbane Doctor Who pop-up shops, where fans queued for more than two hours to get into the store, this special one-off Melbourne pop-up will feature some exclusive merchandise not currently available in Australian stores. On offer is the Who Home range boasting a selection of homewares, such as teapots and mugs, plus notebooks, tea towels and more.

A limited number of the special edition Tenth Doctor in tuxedo Titan figurines will also be on sale, along with the coveted silver collectible coin from the New Zealand Mint. The highly- anticipated Tenth Doctor's sonic screwdriver remote control will also be available in store, as will the popular range of toys, gifts, DVDs and books that Australian fans love. And as a special treat, fans can get up close to a TARDIS and a K-9.

The event takes place at Shop 2, 177 Bridge Road, Richmond, with doors opening at 9am. Fans are invited to dress up as their favourite Doctor Who character with a small gift given to the first 20 fans to arrive in costume. There will also be special celebrations in store on the weekend of the 50th anniversary - details on the official Doctor Who website.

Rachael Hammond, BBC Worldwide ANZ's Retail Manager, said: Also following sold-out shows in 2012, the Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular will return to Melbourne on 31st January and 1st February 2014 at the Plenary Hall, Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra will perform Murray Gold's music from the series, accompanied by a big screen featuring specially-edited sequences of Matt Smith's performance as the Eleventh Doctor. A host of monsters, including the Silence, the Daleks and the Cybermen, will add to the electric atmosphere.

Tickets are now available.

A host of guests for the BBC's Doctor Who Celebration was announced today - but fans going to the event on the anniversary itself face missing the special episode.

Fifth Doctor Peter Davison will be at the convention at ExCeL in London for all its three days - 22nd to 24th November inclusive - and joining him there on the actual anniversary day, Saturday 23rd November, will be William Russell and Carole Ann Ford who, as Ian Chesterton and Susan Foreman, were companions to the First Doctor and were in the first episode of Doctor Who when it was originally broadcast exactly 50 years earlier. In addition, Waris Hussein, who directed the first story, will also be there on the Saturday.

Arrangements have been made for a free 2D showing of the simulcast of The Day of the Doctor that day, but not everybody going to the event on 23rd November will be able to get into it.

BBC Worldwide said: Saturday attendees who miss out on tickets to the screening and who want to see the episode as it is broadcast will therefore have to make alternative plans to watch it as it goes out - if they can.

Also appearing on all three days will be special sounds wizard Dick Mills and visual effects supremos Mike Tucker and Mat Irvine. The rest of the additional guest line-up and their appearance days is as follows:
As previously reported, current Doctor Matt Smith, Sixth Doctor Colin Baker, and Seventh Doctor Sylvester McCoy will also be there on all three days, while Fourth Doctor Tom Baker will be there on just the Saturday.

A video of the main guest panel for the BFI's Eighth Doctor celebratory event was uploaded for viewing this morning.

Held on Saturday 5th October as part of the organisation's Doctor Who At 50 season, it saw Paul McGann, Daphne Ashbrook, and Geoffrey Sax in discussion with season co-curator Justin Johnson, following a big-screen showing of McGann's sole TV outing as the Doctor (up to now).


Earlier, Andrew Cartmel, Nicholas Briggs, Gary Russell, and Jason Haigh-Ellery formed a panel to talk about the years between the McGann movie of 1996 and the show's return in 2005.

The video of the guest panel at the BFI's celebratory screenings for the Tenth Doctor's era is now available to watch online.

Held on Sunday 29th September as part of its Doctor Who At 50 season, the event saw The Stolen Earth and Journey's End shown on the big screen, with David Tennant, Catherine Tate, Phil Collinson, and Graeme Harper taking to the stage afterwards for a discussion and question-and-answer session with season co-curator Justin Johnson.

A three-minute excerpt was uploaded to the BFI's YouTube channel today,
with the full Q&A - just shy of 30 minutes in length - available to watch in the BFI's video section.

With exactly a month to go now to Doctor Who's 50th anniversary, the BFI today announced the final screenings in its year-long celebration of the programme.

It will be showing the anniversary episode The Day of the Doctor in 3D on Saturday 23rd November as part of the global simulcast and cinema screenings worldwide. The time is yet to be confirmed by the BBC. Tickets will go on sale to BFI members from Friday 25th October (9am online and 11.30am by phone and in person) and to non-members from Saturday 26th October from 11.30am. They can be bought via this link. (It should be noted that the start time of 7pm given by the BFI is for guidance only. According to the BFI, the exact start time will be given 10 days before the screening.)

Justin Johnson, the programmer of the BFI's Doctor Who At 50 strand, said: Then, just over a fortnight later, on Sunday 8th December at 3.45pm, it will mark the Eleventh Doctor's era by showing The Eleventh Hour and The Name of the Doctor. The guest panel for that event is yet to be announced.

Johnson, who curated the season with Dick Fiddy, commented on its culmination by telling Doctor Who News: Tickets to the Eleventh Doctor screenings on 8th December will be allocated by ballot via the members' section, which BFI Champions can enter from Monday 4th November, and Cinema Members from Tuesday 5th November. The ballot will close on Friday 8th November and will be run over the weekend of 9th and 10th November, with all entrants being notified on Monday 11th November as to whether or not they have been successful. All tickets reserved for Champions and Cinema Members via the ballot will be held for claiming by them until 8.30pm on Friday 15th November, and any that are unclaimed by then will be released for public sale on Saturday 16th November.

As has been the case with all previous events in the season, it will undoubtedly sell out to Champions and Cinema Members, but returns and stand-bys will be a strong possibility, so keep checking with the BFI.

UPDATE - 26th OCTOBER: The BFI was forced to suspend ticket sales for The Day of the Doctor yesterday because of "an issue with card payments". Sales reopened for members today at 9am (online) and 11.30am (phone), and will reopen tomorrow to non-members.

BBC Worldwide have announced venues for the 3D screenings of the 50th Anniversary adventure The Day of the Doctor, which will be simulcast in cinemas around the world on the Saturday 23rd November.

In the UK, some 216 VUE, Cineworld, Odeon, BFI and Picturehouse cinemas will participate, with tickets going on sale from this Friday, 25th October at 9:00am.

Internationally, Germany, Russia, the USA and Canada will also have simultaneous screenings with BBC One in the UK, with some 106 cinemas in Australia and New Zealand participating later in the day, as previously announced. Further countries are expected to be announced shortly.

Full details of the announced countries and cinema chains, plus specific booking details can be found via BBC Worldwide.


Meanwhile, BBC America will announce details regarding the 3D screenings in select cinemas in the US and Canada.

Note: not all cinemas will simulcast the episode, please check the relevant cinema time for confirmation.

As previously reported, Splendid Chaps is a year-long performance/podcast project to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who hosted by comedian Ben McKenzie (Dungeon Crawl, Melbourne Museum Comedy Tour) and writer John Richards (ABC1 sitcom Outland, Boxcutters podcast).

Described by its creators as part intellectual panel discussion, part nerdy Tonight Show, Splendid Chaps is a combination of analysis, enthusiasm and irreverence. The first episode went to number 1 on the iTunes TV & Film Podcast chart in Australia, and to number 4 in the UK. The podcasts to previous episodes are now available at www.splendidchaps.com or at iTunes.

After a number of successful Melbourne shows, and requests from Sydney based fans, the chaps are now crowdfunding for a possible Sydney show on Saturday 30 November. For fans interested in supporting a Splendid Chaps show in Sydney, or wanting more information, you can visit their Pozible campaign page here. The Chaps have until 2nd November to reach their $3,000 goal.

Guests can't be confirmed until the show is locked in but they've already worded up some great possible guests, including comedian Alice Fraser, host of ABC2′s Good Game, Steven “Bajo” O’Donnell and more (subject to availability)! Like all their shows it will be a mix of intelligent discussion, irreverent banter and a musical act. The Chaps will be looking at the subject of Monsters and Villains – how does the show see them? How has it changed? And why has Who had so many baddies in wheelchairs?

A party is to be held at Buckingham Palace next month to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who, it has been revealed.

In what is arguably the biggest honour that could be bestowed on the show in its very special year, the Countess of Wessex - who is believed to be something of an admirer of the programme - will host the reception on Monday 18th November as the countdown to Doctor Who's golden milestone reaches its final few days. The guest list has been kept under wraps, but people involved with the show both in front of and behind the cameras over the years are expected to be on it.

The show enjoys a strong royal connection, with the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall visiting its studios in Roath Lock in the summer. Original producer Verity Lambert was awarded an OBE in the 2002 New Year Honours List for services to film and TV production, while Russell T Davies - the producer credited with Doctor Who's successful revival in the 21st century - was awarded an OBE in the 2008 Birthday Honours List for services to drama.

Buckingham Palace has featured and been referenced in the programme, with the Doctor averting its demolition by the starship Titanic in Voyage of the Damned, while in the later story Planet of the Dead the Doctor stated that he had parked the TARDIS in its grounds with the full approval of the Queen. (In alternate timelines, the starship Titanic did destroy the Palace [Turn Left], and it was the home of the Holy Roman Emperor Winston Churchill in The Wedding of River Song.) It is to be presumed that the current royals are either unaware of or were highly amused by the implication in Tooth And Claw that they are werewolves!

UPDATE - 20th OCTOBER: The event has now been published on the Royal Diary web page.

BBC Worldwide Australia & New Zealand have announced that the 50th Anniversary feature-length Doctor Who story, The Day of the Doctor, is to be screened in 3D in some 87 cinemas in Australia and 19 in New Zealand.

Sharon Wilson, Head of Marketing, Brands for BBC Worldwide Australia & New Zealand said:

The cinema screenings will be held on Sunday 24th November, the same day as the anniversary is broadcast in those countries, and will also include specially-shot introductions that will be seen by cinema audiences around the world.

.As previously reported, Splendid Chaps is a year-long performance/podcast project to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who hosted by comedian Ben McKenzie (Dungeon Crawl, Melbourne Museum Comedy Tour) and writer John Richards (ABC1 sitcom Outland, Boxcutters podcast).

Described by its creators as part intellectual panel discussion, part nerdy Tonight Show, Splendid Chaps is a combination of analysis, enthusiasm and irreverence. The first episode went to number 1 on the iTunes TV & Film Podcast chart in Australia, and to number 4 in the UK. The podcasts to previous episodes are now available at www.splendidchaps.com or at iTunes.

Tickets are now available for their three live November shows: "What I Learned From Doctor Who", "The Other Splendid Chaps: The Companions" and "Eleven/Future". 

In the first of these three shows, the Splendid Chaps are doing a special bonus episode talking about what they’ve learned from Doctor Who!

Born in part as an educational program, with Sydney Newman wanting no “bug-eyed monsters”, Doctor Who has often sought to educate us about our world – and the Universe beyond it. But over the years, as the traditional educational content about history and science faded away, it still brought us concepts and ideas – Buddhism, mythology, ethics, politics, friendship…there’s so much to learn from the Doctor!

Ben, John and Petra Elliott will be joined by comedian, actor and teacher Rob Lloyd (Who, Me.), and writer and editor Liz Barr (Chicks Unravel Time and its impending sequel) for a discussion of what Doctor Who has taught them. Plus prizes, surprises, all the usual Splendid Stuff, and a live poetry performance from the one and only Emile Zoey Baker!

Space: Toorak/South Yarra Library, 340 Toorak Road, South Yarra
Time: Saturday, November 16 2013, 4:00 PM
Accessibility: This venue is wheelchair accessible.
Tickets: All tickets $10 (plus booking fee where applicable)
Bookings: via trybooking.com, or buy tickets at the door (subject to availability)
Podcast: TBA.

In their second show for November, the Splendid Chaps are back with another bonus episode, this time at the Melbourne City Library as part of its Doctor Who Festival, talking about those other splendid chaps – the companions!

Companion, assistant, sidekick…none of these names really do the role of TARDIS occupant and time-space adventurer justice. In fifty years the Doctor has had almost as many fellow travellers aboard the TARDIS – most human, but also a few robots, aliens and fellow Time Lords. Exactly who counts varies depends on who you ask, but they’ve always been understood to be our point-of-view character; a proxy for the audience who will ask the Doctor to explain what on (or off) Earth is going on. Who are these people? What do they teach us about ourselves, the Doctor, and our changing society? Are they really there to get in trouble, pass the Zeus plugs and make the Doctor a better person, or is there more to them than meets the eye? And how different is the new series’ attitude to its supporting characters?

Ben, John and Petra will be joined by writer, director and podcaster Lucas Testro (Neighbours, Winners and Losers, NonCanonical), and broadcaster, documentary maker and podcaster Marian Blythe (3RRR, Boxcutters 2.0) to talk about the rest of the TARDIS crew. Plus prizes, surprises, loveliness and a live musical performance of a lost Doctor Who classic tune from Emma Heeney!

Space: Melbourne City Library, 253 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
Time: Tuesday, November 19 2013, 6:30 PM
Accessibility: This venue is wheelchair accessible.
Tickets: Free! (bookings essential; limited seats available)
Bookings: via webwiredsolutions.com.au or at the door (if seats available)
Podcast: TBA.

Finally, their eleventh and final(ish) major episode brings then to the (still) current Doctor, Matt Smith. Splitting fan opinion on his announcement, in part because of his youth and obscurity, he soon won over audiences with a performance influenced by Patrick Troughton. This was also the biggest time of change in the revived show’s history, with not only a new Doctor, but a new production team, headed by fan favourite writer Steven Moffat, bringing a definite new feel to the show.

As Splendid Chaps draws to a close, the Chaps want to look forward as well as back, and so take as their theme the future. The Doctor in the old series and the new has often looked forward in time, whether a few decades, a few centuries, or even millions or billions of years. How has the show depicted the future? Has it tried to be predictive, or to express our hopes and fears? And what of the future of the show itself? With Matt Smith leaving, what does the future have in store for Doctor Who?

Hosts Ben, John and Petra are joined by comedians Justin Hamilton and Stella Young, plus a new song from Keating! composer Casey Bennetto, backed by their house band The Time Lads. Plus there will of course be prizes, surprises, jokes and more; it’s the end, but the moment has been prepared for! (They have a little something extra up their sleeves…)

Space: ACMI, Federation Square, Melbourne
Time: Thursday, November 21 2013; recording starts 7 PM
Accessibility: This venue is wheelchair accessible.
Tickets: $15 full, $12 concession, $11 ACMI members (plus booking fee where applicable)
Bookings: via ACMI online, or at the ACMI box office (subject to availability)
Podcast: not yet available; released 23 November 2013.