Producer Phil Collinson and director Joe Ahearne will be joining actor Bruno Langley and visual effects designer Dave Houghton as the special guests for the BFI's screenings marking the Ninth Doctor's era, it was revealed today.

The episodes Bad Wolf and The Parting of the Ways - which comprised the Series 1 finale and saw Christopher Eccleston bowing out as the Doctor - will be shown on the big screen on Saturday 24th August.

The Ninth Doctor event is the latest in BFI Southbank's Doctor Who At 50 celebratory season and will start at 2pm. Tickets are currently sold out but returns and stand-bys are a possibility.

.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 on sale for their Ninth Doctor show! Their ninth major episode brings the Splendid Chaps finally to new Who, that time when the seemingly impossible happened and the show returned! Russell T Davies reinvented the Doctor by casting renowned TV and film actor Christopher Eccleston, famous for serious roles in dramas like Cracker, Our Friends in the North and Elizabeth. His simultaneously light-hearted and tortured portrayal of a man who has lost everything won over old and new fans alike, though the revelation after the smash success of the first episode that he would only be staying for one year took fans and media by surprise. Despite his short stay in the role, Eccleston defined the new era of Doctor Who and laid the groundwork for the format that persisted ever since.

Just as important to new Who was new companion Rose Tyler, played by pop star turned actor Billie Piper. For some she was a revelation compared to the “scream queens” of the past; but is this a fair assessment? Splendid Chaps take as their theme women in Doctor Who: was having a proactive and near equal status companion for the Doctor really such a radical idea? Has Doctor Who been as terribly sexist as has often been claimed? Are the women in the show as varied and multifaceted as the men? And is the modern series really better in its portrayal of women than the old?

Hosts Ben McKenzie, John Richards and Petra Elliott are joined by a panel including feminist organiser and writer Karen Pickering (Cherchez la Femme), author and podcaster Tansy Rayner Roberts (Galactic Suburbia, Verity!) and more, plus a musical performance, giveaways and excellence!

Space: The Gasometer Hotel, 484 Smith Street, Collingwood (corner of Alexandra Parade)
Time: Sunday 15 September; recording starts 5 PM
Accessibility: Splendid Chaps regret that this venue is not wheelchair accessible.
Tickets: $15 (plus booking fee where applicable)
Bookings: via trybooking.com or at the door (subject to availability)
Podcast: not yet available; released 23 September 2013.

Peter Capaldi is to play the Twelfth Doctor, it has been revealed tonight.

In a live show that featured a number of studio and recorded guests chatting about Doctor Who and what it meant to them, Capaldi was introduced to millions of viewers from the United Kingdom, United States, Canada and Australia in the special live programme Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor.

Met with resounding applause from the studio audience, the actor then went on to discuss with presenter Zoe Ball his enthusiasm for being the new Doctor. When asked how he found out about the role, he answered:
Talking about the differences between the Doctor and the role he's most known for - currently - Malcolm Tucker from The Thick Of It, he said:

As Doctor Who News reported on Wednesday, he has been a life-long fan of Doctor Who, making a confession to SFX back in 2008. When asked about his audition for the Doctor, he observed:
Also this week, the Radio Times reprinted a letter from a fifteen year old Capaldi congratulating the production team on another successful series.

When asked what he thought about the show's endurance and its fans, he answered:

Matt Smith also had a special message for his successor:

You can watch the interview with Peter Capaldi below (may not play outside the United Kingdom):

Biography:

Peter Dougan Capaldi was born in Glasgow on 14th April 1958; his mother's family hailed from Killeshandra, County Cavan, Ireland, and his father's family from Picinisco, Italy. He was educated at St Teresa's Primary School in the city's Possilpark district, St Matthew's Primary School in Bishopbriggs and at St Ninian's High School, Kirkintilloch, before attending the Glasgow School of Art.

Prior to his announcement tonight, the actor was best known for playing the acerbic political spin doctor Malcolm Tucker in the political satire series The Thick of It and the affiliated feature film In the Loop. In 2006, he was nominated for the BAFTA and RTS Best Comedy Actor Awards, and later won the 2010 BAFTA Television Award for Male Performance in a Comedy Role. He also won the 2010 British Comedy Award for Best TV Comedy Actor.

As well as The Thick of It, Capaldi has appeared in over forty films and television programmes since his debut as Danny Oldsen in 1983's Local Hero. Lead film roles came in 1988 with The Lair of the White Worm Dangerous Liaisons, and then on television in the BBC drama series Mr Wakefield's Crusade. In 1995 he won an Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film for Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life which he wrote and directed (it also starred Richard E Grant as Kafka and Barry Letts's son Crispin as Gregor Samsa). Other notable roles have included the fictional Songs of Praise producer Tristan Campbell in The Vicar of Dibley, a university professor in Aftersun, a prime suspect in Waking the Dead, Mark Jenkins in Skins, and the Angel Islington in Neil Gaiman's gothic fantasy Neverwhere. He has most recently been seen on television as BBC boss Randall Brown in The Hour, and in the film World War Z as the coincidentally named W.H.O. Doctor! As mentioned earlier he is due to appear as Cardinal Richelieu in the new BBC adaptation The Musketeers.

A life-long fan of Doctor Who Capaldi has played two roles previously, as Roman merchant Lucius Caecilius in The Fires of Pompeii, and more prominently as the Home Office Permanent Secretary John Frobisher in Torchwood Children of Earth: Day One.

A more comprehensive biography of Capaldi's career can be found in our followup article here.

BBC Press Release:

We're now into the final hour before the live programme that will introduce the World to the new Doctor, following on from a day of intense speculation over who it might be. Peter Capaldi has remained the bookies' favourite, with odds at the time of writing hovering between 2/5 and 1/2 (at one point reaching 1/4) - however, the "runners up" have bounced about between the known suspects throughout the afternoon, with Daniel Rigby, Andrew Scott, Aneurin Barnard and Damien Molony sharing the top spots between them - plus 'newcomer' to the party today being Sam Troughton, a grandson of former Doctor Patrick Troughton.

As one might expect, a number of Internet sources have claimed to already know who it might be, with some taking advantage of the default landing page of the BBC's Doctor Who site to 'reveal' "Peter-Capaldi-is-the-Twelfth-Doctor" and the like - suffice it to say these are not legitimate links! Meanwhile, comic actor Chris O'Dowd continued to play to the rumours of his casting, tweeting: "Anyone know a good breakfast place in Cardiff? ... gonna be spending quite a bit of time here.". Supernatural's Misha Collins also continued his own 'campaign' when he followed up last night's comment with "Yesterday I said I had an announcement regarding the UK & phone booths. Well, the announcement is... (see photo)".

The person to play the Doctor is apparently ready and waiting (and well hidden) at Elstree, with photographer Rankin reporting that he'd taken the official photo for publicity tonight. Cloudbass Graphics reported on the studio itself: "Quiet in BBC Elstree Studio D gallery. Live graphics on Dr Who Live: The Next Doctor at 7 pm tonight on BBC1".

Meanwhile, outside the studios, the huge queue for tonight's programme has continued to grow, with fan Jacqui Connell tweeting "This is the scene outside as we wait to be let in!! Excitement mounting", with Kier Husband observing "a queue for Who at BBC Elstree" as it weaves around the street corner! Entertainment correspondent Lizo Mzimba was on hand to report on the event and some of the more colourful characters in the queue!


With the doors opening imminently, it won't be long until the next Doctor is unveiled ...

With less than 20 hours to go before the Twelfth Doctor is named, more details have emerged of some very special guests taking part in the show, scheduled to be screened live on BBC One, BBC America, SPACE Canada, and ABC Australia.

Current Doctor Matt Smith will be on hand in the studio to offer advice to the newcomer, where he will be joined by Fifth incarnation Peter Davison. Former Doctors will also be sending advice by video message, with Radio Times reporting Tom Baker will be taking part, and BBC One on Facebook indicating Colin Baker will be sending a message.

Current showrunner Steven Moffat will be in the audience, as one of only ten people who know the identity of the new Doctor, a closely guarded secret. Even the series brand manager Edward Russell has said the he genuinely doesn't know who has won the role, adding that "it's brilliant that we've kept the secret".

Former companions Katy Manning, Anneke Wills, Janet Fielding and Bonnie Langford will be hopefully be adding their input, along with veteran actor Bernard Cribbins, who played Wilfred Mott alongside the Tenth Doctor. A video message will also be screened from Doctor Who writer and actor Mark Gatiss.

The show goes on air at 1800 GMT on Sunday evening. That is 7:00pm in the UK, 2:00pm East Coast and 11:00am West Coast for North America, and 4:00am ET on Monday morning for those die hard fans in Australia (repeated at 8:30pm for those who aren't!).

Doctor Who has been nominated in two categories in the BAFTA Cymru Awards for 2013, it was announced today.

The programme's sound team are jointly up for the Sound gong, facing competition from Bang Post Production for Sherlock - co-created by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss - and from the sound team for The Gospel of Us.

In addition, William Oswald is in the running for the Editing award for his work on the 2012 Christmas special The Snowmen.

Meanwhile, Michael Sheen is nominated for the Actor title for The Gospel of Us, and Ruth Jones and Sara Lloyd-Gregory are both vying for the Actress award for, respectively, Stella and Alys. Brian Minchin - appointed in April as an executive producer on Doctor Who - is cited for Wizards vs Aliens, co-created by Russell T Davies and Phil Ford, in the Children's Programme (Including Animation) category, with Arwel Wyn Jones receiving two nominations for Production Design for his work on Sherlock and Wizards vs Aliens. In addition, Ray Holman is nominated for Costume Design for Wizards vs Aliens.

Doctor Who failed to make the Television Drama category this year, having been nominated last year but ultimately losing out on the title.

The 22nd annual awards will be held on Sunday 29th September at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff, with the winners announced at a ceremony hosted by Sian Lloyd and Matt Johnson. The nominations cover 26 programme, craft, and performance categories, recognising excellence in broadcasting and production within film and television in Wales between 1st January 2012 and 31st March 2013.

The BBC have announced that the next star of Doctor Who is to be revealed this coming Sunday evening in a special programme to be broadcast live on BBC One at 7:00pm, and simulcast by BBC America.

Update Friday Canadian channel SPACE have confirmed they will also broadcast the live show.
Update Saturday ABC Australia have also confirmed they will broadcast the live show.

Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor is to be presented by Zoe Ball, and is expected to feature previous Doctors, companions, special guests and 'celebrity' fans, leading up to the reveal of who has won the coveted role. Charlotte Moore, the Controller of BBC One, said:
In order to keep the half-hour show and the announcement under wraps, the BBC promoted it last week as an entertainment pilot that would pay tribute to 50 years of Doctor Who. For television schedules they instead listed a repeat of Celebrity Mastermind in the timeslot - a similar tactic was employed back in 2009 with Matt Smith's announcement, when the scheduled The Ten Doctors turned out to be a smokescreen for The Eleventh Doctor. BBC America, meanwhile, have had a repeat of The Eleventh Hour scheduled for Sunday afternoon.

Smith will also feature in Sunday's broadcast, lending advice on what it takes to play the Doctor; the show will also include interviews with Jenna Coleman and executive producer Steven Moffat, who said:

The casting process itself has been a well-kept secret, with plenty of speculation as to who will take on the role. Ben Stephenson, the Controller of BBC Drama Commissioning, commented:
As reported on Wednesday, established names such Peter Capaldi, Ben Daniels, Chris Addison, Rory Kinnear and David Harewood have all been popular choices with the betting public - though it is just as likely that a previously unconsidered name will be revealed come Sunday evening, as with Smith in 2009.

BBC Entertainment & Events is piloting a new show paying tribute to 50 years of Doctor Who.

The show will feature special guests and clips from Doctor Who and is looking for fans to be part of the audience. The show records at the BBC studios in Elstree on Sunday 4th August at 6pm. The production team is encouraging audience members to come dressed as their favourite Doctor, companion or character from the series but stress this is not compulsory.

Tickets, which are free, can be obtained from the BBC website. Under 18s must be accompanied by a parent or guardian and the minimum age is 10.

An exhibition of rare photos of Sophie Aldred taken during the time she played Ace opposite the Seventh Doctor on TV is to be held in London later this year.

Sophie's World, featuring hitherto-unseen images by Steven Cook, is to be hosted by Orbital Comics and Gallery, in Great Newport Street, from Thursday 5th to Monday 30th September and will be free to view.

The negatives have been missing for 22 years but high-resolution prints are currently being made from them.

A free-to-attend exhibition launch party, with Cook as the guest of honour, will be held on Thursday 5th September from 7.30pm. Meanwhile, Aldred will be signing prints at the venue on Saturday 7th September from midday to 3pm.

.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 on sale for their Eighth Doctor show! Their eighth major episode brings them to the Doctor of the show’s “middle period” between classic and new Who - Paul McGann’s Eighth Doctor. A cult figure thanks to his starring role in Withnail and I (alongside alternate Ninth Doctor Richard E Grant), McGann was a popular choice and garnered much kudos for his performance – but almost nothing else about the American co-produced telemovie seemed to please audiences on either of the Atlantic, and no new series was produced. It’s a weird moment in the so-called “wilderness years” between old and new Who.

It is also National Science Week, so Splendid Chaps are also looking at science in Doctor Who. Ostensibly science fiction, and starting out life with an educational remit, Doctor Who originally alternated between trips to historical events and sci-fi tales that were meant to teach us about science. But amongst the mad scientists, wobbly grasp of concepts like “black hole”, “neutron” and “constellation”, and the rather more fantastical bent of the post-2005 show, does Doctor Who actually depict real science in any meaningful way? Does it champion the idea of being “sciencey”? What does it get wrong, what does it get right, and what can we learn from it about science in either case?

Hosts Ben McKenzie, John Richards and Petra Elliott will be joined by a panel of actual scientists including biologist and geneticist Jack Scanlan. Plus a musical performance, and all the usual prizes and surprises!

Space: upstairs, Bar Open, 317 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy
Time: Sunday, August 11; recording starts 5 PM
Accessibility: Splendid Chaps regret that this venue is not wheelchair accessible
Tickets: $15 (plus booking fee where applicable)
Bookings: via trybooking.com or at the door (subject to availability)
Podcast: not yet available; released 23 August 2013.