Doctor Who once again had a presence at this year's San Diego Comic Con. Fans in the packed Hall H were treated to an exclusive screening of a trailer for the 50th Anniversary episode as well as a trailer for An Adventure In Space and Time.

Steven Moffat told fans who saw the trailer to not leak any audio or video footage of it or there would be no more exclusives at the convention in future years.

The panel was hosted by Craig Ferguson and consisted of Matt Smith, Jenna Coleman, Steven Moffat, Marcus Wilson, Mark Gatiss and David Bradley. Before the panel took place, Smith disguised himself as Bart Simpson as he wandered the convention floor while talking to Doctor Who fans in an American accent.

The cast and crew had a busy few days doing lots of interviews. A selection of these are below.

As part of Entertainment Weekly's Star Portrait series, Smith, Coleman, Gatiss and Bradley had their pictures taken for the publication.


Karen Gillan shocked fans at Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy panel by showing off a new look. The actress will be playing Nebula in the film which required her to shave her hair off. She was wearing a wig before she took it off at the panel. The video footage of that is viewable here. She was also there taking part in interviews for NTSF:SD:SUV. A clip featuring Gillan in one of the episodes can be viewed here.

John Barrowman was also at the convention as part of the Arrow panel. In an interview with That Hashtag Show he discussed Doctor Who and said he would like a female Doctor. During the fan questions of the Doctor Who panel, Moffat was asked why Captain Jack wasn't in the 50th Anniversary episode, to which he replied: "How do you know what is or is not in the 50th? I've lied my arse off for months - you know nothing, so don't make presumptions."

The BFI today announced details for its celebratory screenings marking the eras of the Eighth and Tenth Doctors - with both happening within a week of each other but in reverse order.

The Tenth Doctor will be honoured on Sunday 29th September at 2pm with the Series 4 two-part finale The Stolen Earth and Journey's End, while the sole TV outing - so far - for the Eighth Doctor will be shown on the big screen on Saturday 5th October at 10am.

The adventures are being shown at BFI Southbank as part of the organisation's Doctor Who At 50 season.

The Series 4 finale episodes - written by Russell T Davies and directed by Graeme Harper - first aired on 28th June and 5th July 2008 respectively, and saw the universe crumbling and a number of planets, including Earth, having been stolen by Davros as part of his plot threatening the whole of reality. Julian Bleach took on the mantle of the Daleks' creator, with all the companions seen in the revamped series uniting with the Doctor to defeat the evil, mad Kaled scientist and the Daleks.

Meanwhile, the big-budget TV Movie - written by Matthew Jacobs and directed by Geoffrey Sax - originally aired in the UK on 27th May 1996 (although it had its global TV premiere in Canada on 12th May 1996, having been filmed entirely in the country) and saw the Seventh Doctor regenerate into the Eighth. It also featured the return of the Master - this time played by Eric Roberts - and a new-look TARDIS interior, in an adventure set in San Francisco on the eve of the year 2000 and with the whole of Earth at stake as the Master attempts to take the Doctor's remaining regenerations.

Tickets to both events will be issued via a ballot system through the members' section. Separate ballots are being held for each event but the same dates will apply for both. BFI Champions can enter the ballots on Monday 5th August and members from Tuesday 6th August. The ballots will close on Friday 9th August and will be run over the weekend of 10th and 11th August, with all entrants being notified on Monday 12th August whether they have been successful or not.

All tickets reserved for Champions and members via the ballots will be held for claiming by them until 8.30pm on Friday 16th August. Any that are unclaimed by then will be released for public sale on Saturday 17th August.

The guests for both events will be announced in due course.

Jenny Colgan has announced that she is writing her second Doctor Who book, to be published during 2014. Speaking on Channel 5's The Wright Stuff this morning, she reported that the provisional title is Into the Nowhere and that it features skeletons and snakes.


The author was at Heathrow Terminal 5 yesterday promoting the paperback release of her first book, Dark Horizons, where she posed with a Cyberman beside the TARDIS before signing copies of her books within the airport itself.


She was there as part of the Doctor Who themed day at the airport terminal - several more photos can be found on her own Twitter stream, and via the #WhereDoYouWantToGo hashtag.

Our own photos from the day can be found in our Facebook Album, plus a rendition of the theme tune as played by the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Toby Hadoke is to perform both his critically-acclaimed solo Doctor Who stage shows as a double bill in the West End for one night.

The actor, writer, comedian, and Sony Gold Award nominee - who also moderates commentaries on Doctor Who DVD releases as well as being a columnist for Doctor Who Magazine - will be bringing Moths Ate My Doctor Who Scarf and its sequel My Stepson Stole My Sonic Screwdriver together for the first - and possibly only - time to the Garrick Theatre in Charing Cross Road on Sunday 17th November at 7pm.

Tickets for the double bill, which is taking place to mark the programme's 50th anniversary, went on sale this morning and can be booked via this link or by phoning 0844 482 9673 (please check with your phone service provider for call charges).

Meanwhile, My Stepson Stole My Sonic Screwdriver is being taken on tour again later this year, with the dates listed on Hadoke's website.

Visitors travelling through Heathrow Airport in London from Tuesday are to be entertained with a range of Doctor Who themed experiences including appearances from Cybermen, TARDIS photobooths, displays of props and memorabilia, and augmented reality hotspots.

The BBC worldwide event, in partnership with Heathrow, is to celebrate 50 years of Doctor Who. Travellers will be able to take pictures of themselves and friends on alien worlds and be menaced by monsters from the comfort of the TARDIS photobooths. Doctor Who passports will be available containing giveaways including a free episode to download, information about Doctor Who activities in terminal over the summer, and a free digital copy of Doctor Who Adventures Magazine.

To mark the launch of the partnership, on July 16 travellers through Terminal 5 will be able to enjoy performances by the London Philharmonic Orchestra. In addition, Doctor Who novelist Jenny Colgan, author of the recently released Doctor Who: Dark Horizons will also be signing books for fans.

Amanda Hill, Chief Brands Officer for BBC Worldwide comments. Susan Goldsmith, Operations Director at Heathrow Terminal 5 saidTravellers are invited to share their images of Doctor Who at Heathrow using the hashtag #WhereDoYouWantToGo

BBC Worldwide have announced that tickets to the official 50th Anniversary convention for Doctor Who will go on sale from 11:00am on Monday 8th July. As with the Cardiff convention last year, each of the three days over the 22nd, 23rd and 24th November will be a self-contained event running between 9:30am and 6:30pm, comprising panels, associated activities and photo opportunities.

The three main panel sessions each day are:

• The Eleventh Hour Panel
  Ever wanted the inside scoop on the world of Doctor Who? Fancied putting a question to the current Time Lord? Well now’s your chance! The Doctor Who Celebration is hosting ‘The Eleventh Hour’ panels featuring the current cast and crew, including MATT SMITH. Take a seat in the theatre and prepare to be entertained...and you might even get to ask your question.
• The Regenerations Panel:
  Featuring TOM BAKER (Saturday only), COLIN BAKER and SYLVESTER McCOY. These will be audience Q&A sessions, so get thinking of those questions you’ve always wanted to ask about travelling in the TARDIS, working with K-9 or what Tetrap food is really made of...
  
• The Special Effects Show:
  Leave your Nitro-9 at home – we’ll make your weekend go with a bang big enough to reboot the Pandorica! Everyone attending the Doctor Who Celebration is invited to an exclusive show produced and presented by special effects supervisor Danny Hargreaves. From innocent snow (or perhaps the Great Intelligence’s killer snow) and soothing water (or maybe deadly Mars water) to Cyber bombs and destroyed Daleks – Danny's worked with them all. With his team from REAL FX, he'll put on a live show that will let you in on insider secrets, prepare you to tackle the deadliest of enemies and completely blow you away - metaphorically speaking of course! Don’t worry – the universe won’t really be restarted.

As before, there will be two ticket groups - Ice Warriors and Weeping Angels - which will enable access to the panels at different times of the day. A number of other talks and panels will take place throughout the day on two stages, schedules to be announced at a later date.

Other activities taking place include:

• Walk like a Monster:
  If you can’t beat them – join them! This is your opportunity to learn just how to make those companions run for their lives – with workshops to teach you how to walk like a monster. This is a chance to learn from an expert – the woman who has the inside scoop on all the monsters, because she teaches them how to scare you into hiding behind the sofa! Ailsa Berk, the Movement Choreographer for Doctor Who, will be welcoming potential monsters of all ages four times daily – there’s no need to book in advance, simply turn up and join in!
  
• Stunt School:
  Ever wondered how the UNIT soldiers roll with the punches? Or how the companions take a tumble? Our highly-skilled team of stunt co-ordinator, Crispin Layfield, and very own Doctor stunt double, Gordon Seed, will be on hand four times a day to put you through your paces and help you learn some easy stunts – no need to book, just turn up when you feel like a piece of the action.
• Cast Photographs: (£20)
  Limited opportunities are available throughout the event to have an exclusive photograph taken with MATT SMITH. These photographs are taken by our in-house photographer and are printed for you to take home as a souvenir. These photographs are available via pre-booking only and these tickets are expected to sell out fast. Photographs are strictly limited to one per BOOKING, however, group shots are allowed with a maximum of 4 people on ONE photo.
• Autographs: (£15 each)
  You’ve got that very special picture of your favourite Doctor or companion – or maybe the wonderful official celebration souvenir book – there’s nothing that could possibly make it any better, surely? Wrong! The official 50th celebration gives you the chance to get up close and personalised, with autographs from the stars of Doctor Who. Due to the popularity of this event, we need you to pre-book the autographs you’d like to buy when you arrive at the event. Why not start your own 500 Year Diary or Journal of Impossible Things, with a signature from your favourite cast member?
• Doctor Who Adventures:
  Doctor Who Adventures has been the ultimate monster magazine for Doctor Who fans since 2006, with fact files, interviews, quizzes, comic strips, free gifts and competitions. This is your chance to design your very own monster with one of the Doctor Who Adventures artists. The Doctor Who Adventures team will be around all weekend, so there’s no need to book to start your own adventure – just turn up on the day.

A series of evening activities are also expected to be arranged.

A variety of merchandise will also be available to purchase, plus a limited edition event t-shirt that can be pre-ordered via the website once booking has opened.


Tickets can be booked via the event website from Monday. Standard tickets are priced at £45 for adults and £20 for kids, while a family ticket (two adults and two children) will cost £104 - booking fee not included.

Their Royal Highnesses, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall visited Roath Lock Studios as part of their annual summer tour of Wales yesterday, coming face-to-face with the Doctor and a number of his foes!

In the first Royal visit to the BBC Cymru Wales Roath Lock studios since they officially opened in March 2012, the visitors were taken on a tour around the studios and the Doctor Who production office. After being given a rundown on how to fly the TARDIS, The Prince and The Duchess were then introduced to the Daleks, with the Prince demonstrating his own take on their famous cry. The were also treated to displays from the show’s costume designer, locations manager, graphics artist, set decorator and production designer, plus production secrets revealed with a green screen display, demonstrated by SFX.

The visit concluded with Their Royal Highnesses meeting some of the Skillset apprentices who are currently training at Roath Lock.


Commenting on the visit, outgoing Doctor, Matt Smith, said:
Jenna Coleman - who met the Queen at Broadcasting House last month - added:
Executive producer and lead writer Steven Moffat said:

Rhodri Talfan Davies, Director BBC Cymru Wales:
Danny Cohen, Director BBC Television:


Videos from the visit can be found on the BBC News site, which include Matt and Jenna's thoughts on meeting the Prince (and his chances of being the next Doctor!), and of the TARDIS set visit (which includes a brief discussion between Jenna and Prince about the 50th Anniversary Special). Photo galleries are also available from both BBC News and the BBC's Doctor Who website.

.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 7th Doctor show! This show discusses the seventh and final Doctor of what we now call the classic era, played by variety performer and actor Sylvester McCoy. Famous for escapology, spoon playing and putting ferrets down his trousers, McCoy’s casting raised a few eyebrows, but his performance changed many doubters’ minds – especially when combined with Sophie Aldred as Ace, and under the new direction provided by the incoming production team under Andrew Cartmel. Of course, no-one knew that the program’s days were numbered…

Splendid Chaps are also looking at the theme of “religion” in Doctor Who. The Doctor has been all across space and time and encountered zealots, fanatics, kindly priests, and beings who believed themselves to be gods or demons or the devil himself. But what does the program say about religion, faith and belief? Is the Doctor Who universe truly a rational one in which the supernatural is really just advanced science, or is The Beast really the Devil? Is faith worthwhile, and if so, what does the Doctor believe?

Hosts Ben McKenzie, John Richards and Petra Elliott are joined by guests including writer and game designer Paul Callaghan, comedian and television writer Dave Bloustien, and for their discussion of religion, the Reverend Dr Avril Hannah-Jones, Uniting Church minister and founder of the Church of the Latter Day Geek (as seen on Adam Hills In Gordon Street Tonight)! Plus a very special musical performance from the one and only Lee Zachariah, and all the usual prizes and surprises!

Space: The Public Bar, 238 Victoria Street, North Melbourne (opposite Victoria Markets)
Time: Sunday 14 July; recording starts 5 PM
Accessibility: This venue is 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 July 2013.

A video of the guest panel from the BFI's screening of The Two Doctors earlier this month was released today.

Unlike previous panels, though, it has not been uploaded to the organisation's YouTube channel but instead is available to view on its videos page.

The event took place on 15th June to mark the Sixth Doctor's era, as part of the BFI's Doctor Who At 50 season.

Lasting 15 min 34 sec, it features the actors Frazer Hines and Tony Selby, script editor and writer Eric Saward, and visual effects designer Mike Kelt in conversation with season co-curator Justin Johnson.

UPDATE - SATURDAY 6th JULY: The BFI has now uploaded the video to its YouTube channel, meaning it can be watched below:

The BFI will be showing the episodes Bad Wolf and The Parting of the Ways to mark the Ninth Doctor's era for its Doctor Who At 50 season.

The two stories, written by Russell T Davies and directed by Joe Ahearne, first aired on Saturday 11th June and Saturday 18th June 2005 respectively. They comprised the Series 1 finale, which saw Christopher Eccleston hand over control of the TARDIS to David Tennant after an epic battle against the Daleks.

The screenings are being held on Saturday 24th August from 2pm at BFI Southbank. The special guests for the accompanying panel session are yet to be announced.

Tickets are being issued via a ballot system through the members' section, with BFI Champions able to enter the ballot from Monday 1st July and members from Tuesday 2nd July. The ballot will close on Friday 5th July and be run over the weekend of 6th and 7th July, with all entrants to be notified on Monday 8th July if they have been successful or not.

All tickets reserved for Champions and members through the ballot will be held until 8.30pm on Friday 12th July, and any that are unclaimed by then will be released for public sale on Saturday 13th July.

Although all the screenings in the season so far have been immediate sell-outs, returns and stand-bys are a strong possibility, so it's always worth checking back with the BFI.

The organisation is skipping from the Seventh Doctor's era to the Ninth Doctor's because of guest availability, with the Eighth Doctor event currently planned to be held sometime in September. The precise date plus guests are still to be confirmed and announced.