The actor Gareth Thomas has died at the age of 71.

Gareth Thomas played Ed Morgan in the 2006 Torchwood story Ghost Machine. He also appeared in a 2001 Big Finish production, Storm Warning.

However Thomas was best known for playing the eponymous hero of the 1970's science fiction series Blake's 7.

Thomas played Roj Blake, leader of a disparate band of rebels, pitted against a corrupt federation, in the series conceived by Doctor Who writer, and Dalek creator, Terry Nation. The series ran on BBC One from 1978-1981, with Thomas taking the lead role for the first two series. When Thomas decided not to renew his contract for series 3, the character of Blake was killed off. The ghost of Blake was present throughout the remaining series and Thomas returned twice, once at the end of series 3 and once for the climatic final episode, Blake.

Gareth Thomas was born in Wales in 1945. He trained at RADA and made his TV debut in a 1965 production of Romeo and Juliet.

A steady succession of TV roles followed, including parts in Coronation Street, Z-Cars, Harriet's Back in Town, Sutherland's Law, Edward VII, Jackanory and How Green Was My Valley where he played Rev. Gruffydd. In 1972 he was nominated for a BAFTA for his performance in the BBC Play for Today, Stocker's Copper. He played Adam Brake in the 1977 children's series Children of the Stones, and Shem in the ITV series Star Maidens.

Following his role as Blake, Thomas played Philip Denny in the 1983 version of A.J. Cronin's The Citadel and took the lead in the BBC One drama Morgan's Boy, about a Welsh hill farmer who finds himself looking after a teenage boy, a performance which won him his second BAFTA nomination.

He appeared in By the Sword Divided and Knights of God and had a regular role in the ITV series London's Burning. In 1998 he took on the role of Nathaniel Clegghorn in Heartbeat.

In 2012, Thomas returned to the role for which he was best known, playing Roj Blake in the Big Finish Production, Blake's 7: The Liberator Chronicles.

Gareth Thomas died Wednesday 13th April. He is survived by his wife Linda.

Titan Comics have announced that Doctor Who TV spinoff Torchwood is back, in an all-new ongoing comic series starring the daring Captain Jack Harkness and Gwen Cooper.

The series is written by Captain Jack himself – John Barrowman – and Carole E. Barrowman, and with issues illustrated by Antonio Fuso (Drive, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest) and Pasquale Qualano (Batman ’66, She Hulk, Harley Quinn).

In continuity with the new hit Torchwood audio dramas from Big Finish, as part of the official continuation of the Torchwood saga, the comic arrives in stores on July 6 – the week of Titan’s third annual Doctor Who Comics Day event – Saturday, July 9 2016.

The BAFTA-winning cult science-fiction drama by Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies, which aired for four successful seasons from 2006 to 2011, follows the exploits of Captain Jack, Gwen (Eve Myles - Broadchurch), and their team as they investigate the unusual, the strange, and the extraterrestrial.

The hotly anticipated Torchwood comic sees Captain Jack return to Cardiff to engage the help of the last person who expected to see him again, Gwen Cooper! A dark technology from a forgotten species has been claimed by a conspiratorial power… and in this collision between an ancient civilization and an all-new evil, the Earth itself may be forfeit! Only Jack, Gwen, and their allies from what remains of Torchwood hold the key to stopping a cataclysmic wave of destruction… On the road, on the run, and under fire – can Jack and Gwen put aside their differences and rebuild the heart of Torchwood… before its flame is stamped out forever?!

The debut issue comes with variant covers to collect from Doctor Who artists including Tommy Lee Edwards (Tenth Doctor, Turf), Elena Casagrande (Tenth Doctor, The X-Files), Blair Shedd (Ninth Doctor), and Rod Reis (Doctor Who, C.O.W.L.).

The Doctor Who Restoration Team have updated their website to include details of the restoration work which took place on the final set of Doctor Who classic era DVD releases.

The Restoration team was formed in 1992, consisting of a small group of Doctor Who fans within the television industry who were dedicated to restoring archive episodes of Doctor Who to the best possible quality ready for rebroadcast or release on Video or later on DVD.

The painstaking work has been documented on the team's website by Steve Roberts, a former BBC post production engineer and key member of the restoration team.

The site, which was last updated in 2013, has now been expanded to include details of the work undertaken for The Underwater Menace, The Web of Fear, The Moonbase, The Enemy of the World, The Tenth Planet, Terror of the Zygons and The Ice Warriors as well as the special edition of The Green Death.

Restoration Team Website

This Wednesday, April 13, sees the return of the Ninth Doctor, as played by Christopher Eccleston, in the latest release from Titan. The series will now join the Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors as a monthly ongoing title.

The comic also features characters Rose as played by Billie Piper and Captain Jack as played by John Barrowman.

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BBC Books have released details on next month's novel featuring the tenth Doctor and Donna, In The Blood, the latest to be written by Jenny T Colgan.

This week sees Titan release new comics featuring The Tenth and Twelfth Doctors




Both comics are available from Wednesday 6th April

The BBC has announced the cast for the new Doctor Who Spin off, Class, as the series begins filming today.

The eight part series will star young new talents Greg Austin, Fady Elsayed, Sophie Hopkins and Vivian Oparah.

They will be joined by Katherine Kelly, as she takes the role of a teacher and powerful new presence at Coal Hill School.

Class creator Patrick Ness, says: Steven Moffat, Class and Doctor Who Executive Producer, says: Class is described as a young adult series set in contemporary London. It is scary, funny, and as painful and sharp as youth. It will also shine a light on a whole new corner of the Whoniverse.

Damian Kavanagh, Controller, BBC Three, adds: The series starts filming today and will premiere online on BBC Three this year.

The actor Reg Whitehead has died, aged 83.

He was best known in Doctor Who for having played the first Cyberman to be seen on screen, during their invasion of the Antarctic base in The Tenth Planet; he went on to inhabit the insides of Cybermen for their successive stories The Moonbase and The Tomb of The Cybermen, and then as a Yeti in their debut story The Abominable Snowmen.

Outside of Doctor Who, he appeared in a number of television shows during the 1960s and early 1970s, including Z Cars, The Power Game, The Avengers, The Saint, and Counterstrike. In later life he was an enthusiastic racehorse owner, and often involved in projects at his local stables in Newbury.

Reg Whitehead, 11th Dec 1932 - 11 Mar 2016

The actor/comedian Ronnie Corbett has died, aged 85.

Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, he started his acting career after National Service, initially playing a number of schoolchild roles owing to his height, before migrating into comedy on television with the likes of Dickie Henderson and Jimmy Tarbuck However, it was in during The Frost Report in 1966 where he was to first meet and work alongside Ronnie Barker, leading to their successful partnership in The Two Ronnies, running between 1971 and 1987 plus specials, and the show that made him a household name.

His other major television role was as Timothy Lumsden in Sorry!, which ran from 1981-1988. In later years he appeared in films including Fierce Creatures and Burke and Hare, and on television in shows like The Ronnie Corbett Show, game show Small Talk and Ronnie's Animal Crackers, and also made appearance as 'himself' in both Extras and Little Britain.

Though not directly related to Doctor Who, he "inherits" the TARDIS from a 'Doctor' of sorts played by Ronnie Barker in their 1983 Christmas Special sketch, The Adventures of Archie. He was later to appear in The Sarah Jane Adventures universe, playing an ambassador that later turned out to be a Slitheen in the 2009 Comic Relief segment From Raxacoricofallapatorius with Love.

Outside of his career, Corbett was a keen golfer, and was also president of the Lord's Taverners cricketing charity in 1982 and 1987. He received an OBE in 1978 and then a CBE in 2012 for services to entertainment and charity.

He was married to actress and dancer Anne Hart, with two daughters who also act, Emma and Sophie.


Ronald Balfour Corbett, 4th Dec 1930 - 31 Mar 2016