Matt Smith's mother has talked about the pressures of dealing with the Eleventh Doctor's fan mail. Talking to the Northampton Chronicle. Lynne Smith tells how important it is that every letter sent to the actor is read and dealt with. Fan mail comes from all generations and in all shapes and sizes. "Some think of him as a heart-throb" says Smith. "That makes me smile because to me he's just Matthew."

Meanwhile Doctor Who Executive Producer Steven Moffat had been in LA, along with co-creator Mark Gatiss, promoting Sherlock which has been signed up by PBS Masterpiece for broadcast starting on October 24. The UK will see the final episode of Sherlock this Sunday. The first two episodes have achieved critical acclaim, scored high ratings and outstanding Appreciation Index figures.

John Barrowman has added the Royal Albert Hall to the list of venues in his 2010 concert tour. The tour begins on 1st October in Oxford and runs through to 2nd November in Edinburgh taking in many cities, including Brighton, Liverpool, Cardiff, Birmingham and Manchester, on the way.

Doctor Who's showrunner, Steven Moffat has confirmed he will be writing five episodes of the next series of Doctor Who to be broadcast in 2011, as well as the forthcoming Christmas Special.

Talking to Den of Geek, Moffat confirmed he will be following the previous pattern established by Russell T Davies, with the Lead Writer penning five of the thirteen episodes in the series.

As previously reported Neil Gaiman will be writing one episode, thought to be the third in the series. Writers have not yet been officially confirmed for the other seven episodes in the series.

Executive Producer Steven Moffat has given an interview to Tom Harris, MP for Glasgow South and Doctor Who fan, conducted on the terrace of the Palace of Westminster. The two have been friends since 1989 when Harris was a reporter on the Paisley Daily Express.

Actor Steve North will be playing a character called Older Benjamin in the 2010 Christmas Special according to his Spotlight entry. North has had roles in Casualty, The Bill and Midsomer Murders.

World music trio Manta recently appeared on ABC Australia's music programme Spicks and Specks playing their version of the Doctor Who Theme, the results of which are on the ABC YouTube Channel.

Details have been released of the 2010 series boxset which will be released in the UK on 8th November 2010 and in North America on November 9, 2010.

Branded The Complete Fifth Series the boxset is available in DVD and Blu-ray formats. In the UK, as well as the general release, a number of sets will be available in the form of a specially limited edition.

Special features include additional scenes written by Steven Moffat and exclusive to DVD.

• Additional scenes: Meanwhile in the TARDIS, written by Steven Moffat and featuring Matt Smith & Karen Gillan, telling the story of what happens between episodes. Why was Amy floating in Space above Starship UK, and what happened after 'that' kiss between the Doctor and Amy?
• Monster Files - The Monster Files will get under the skin and inside the minds of the latest Doctor's most challenging opponents. With previously unseen footage and exclusive comments from cast and crew, the Monster Files take fans old and new even further behind enemy lines.
• Outtakes
• In-vision commentaries
• Video Diary
• Confidential Cut Downs
• BBC Trails and Promos to New Series 5

See our full Release Schedule

What a busy couple of weeks its been. Despite Series 5 of Doctor Who having finished, hardly a day goes by without some sort of Who-related news popping up.

For a fuller round-up, remember to look in on Doctor Who in the Media, but, to whet your appetite, here's a summary.

On Sunday, BBC 1 premiered the long-awaited first episode of Sherlock (see our earlier story), Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss's updated version of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. It stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Holmes, Martin Freeman as Dr John Watson and Rupert Graves as Inspector Lestrade. Cumberbatch has created a bit of a stir in the last few days by suggesting, first, telling Digital Spy that he may well be appearing in several episodes Doctor Who, and, then, according to the Sun that he considered becoming the eleventh Doctor before Matt Smith was cast in the role.

Again, according to the Sun, Matt Smith is eager to leave Doctor Who to pursue a career in Hollywood. However, this has been denied by both Moffat, to BBC News, and Karen Gillan, during her visit to Veuve Clicquot Gold Cup Final at Cowdray Park Polo Club! For a less sensational take on this, see this story and this story on Digital Journal.

Nicky Wire, of the Manic Street Preachers, caused a bit of a stir when he blogged on the band's website that he was writing a Doctor Who script. He's since clarified on Twitter that it's fan fiction and not a BBC commission.

Russell T Davies has been speaking to SFX about the fourth series of Torchwood and has also dealt with the rumours surrounding a Johnny Depp as the Doctor Hollywood movie! This story covers the original "exclusive" and RTD's debunking of it.

Finally, there was plenty of press coverage surrounding the start of filming of the 2010 Christmas special (see this Gallifrey Base story), guest-starring Sir Michael Gambon and Katherine Jenkins, including here, here and here.

Happy times and places!

Both Matt Smith and Steven Moffat are interviewed in the new edition of Radio Times.

In a "School Holidays" special issue of the magazine, Smith is interviewed by Jack, 13:And also in the magazine, Doctor Who Executive Producer and Lead writer Steven Moffat writes about his new project Sherlock:

Sherlock, the new three part crime drama series, co-created by Doctor Who Executive Producer Steven Moffat and Doctor Who writer and actor Mark Gatiss, comes to BBC One next Sunday 25th July. Sherlock stars Benedict Cumberbatch as the new Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman as his loyal friend, Doctor John Watson. Rupert Graves plays Inspector Lestrade. The series is based around Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson's adventures in 21st Century London.



Moffat has recently joined Twitter, gaining an impressive 13,000 followers within a week. His first tweet was "Oh, he's back behind the bow tie - and better than ever."

John Barrowman returns to BBC ONE tonight in a new series of his entertainment show, Tonight's the Night.

In September Barrowman will be hosting the very first West End Bares. The show is an annual event in New York, and combines the naughtiness of burlesque and the razzle-dazzle of Broadway, where it has been running since 1992. The show will feature the hottest male and female dancers in the West End who will be 'strutting their stuff' to benefit TheatreMAD & The Make A Difference Trust. Barrowman who is a patron of The Make A Difference Trust, said: "I'm thrilled to be hosting West End Bares. What a way to make a difference – being a little naughty on stage for a wonderful cause."

Barrowman will also be performing at the BBC's Proms in the Park in Salford on 11 September. The event being held at Buile Hill Park will feature the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and special guests with Barrowman performing a 20 minute set.

David Tennnat has been filming in Scotland and on the Isle of Man for a feature film The Decoy Bride. The film stars Kelly MacDonald, Alice Eve, Michael Urie, who plays Marc in Ugly Betty, and Federico Castelluccio from The Sopranos. The Decoy Bride tells the story of a superstar actress going to marry her British boyfriend.

It's a week today since Series 5 (or Series 1 or Series 31, depending on which counting system you subscribe to) ended in the UK, yet it seems only yesterday that we were all eagerly anticipating Matt Smith and Steven Moffat's first season of Doctor Who.

Viewers in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere still have the anticipation of what's to come (assuming you haven't seen the episodes over the Internet already and, assuming you haven't spoilered yourself with the deluge of articles appearing everywhere!).

And a lot's happened in the seven days since the end of The Big Bang in the UK, when we found out that the crack in time ... oops, spoilers!

But - be warned! - a hefty dose of salt may be needed before reading some of what follows ...

Matt joined Orbital on stage at Glastonbury for "Dr Who", their rendition of the show's theme tune. Meanwhile, he had to put up with a lot of nonsense from the British tabloid press concerning so-called "falling ratings" - which doesn't actually appear to stand up to much scrutiny - and William Hill slashing the odds on him remaining on the show.

Then, apparently, Moffat's script for the 2010 Christmas Special went missing and several of the writers for next year were announced (see Digital Spy).

On a positive note, as we reported on Wednesday, Barbara Kidd, who previously worked on Who episodes involving Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker and Peter Davison, is returning to the show for the 2011 series.

The monster line up for the Doctor Who Live tour details were confirmed and Neil Gaiman Tweeted that he'd completed his Who script.

And, then there are the "facts" that Matt wants both Eric Cantona and Ian McKellen to appear in the show as baddies! See this article for more details.

Last, but not least, is the revelation that Johnny Depp has "definitely" signed up to play the Doctor in a big-budget Hollywood movie, written by Russell T Davies and featuring the Daleks and the Ebola virus! The BBC subsequently clarified otherwise.

There are masses of stories relating to this rumour, but this one on Digital Journal at least takes a more sober and detailed look, including on the history of Doctor Who movies, proposed and actual.

Happy times and places!

There is a new interview with Steven Moffat on YouTube, with an unexpected interviewer: Moffat's son Joshua! As "armytedd", Joshua discusses the season's structure with his father. The interview also touches on critics' reactions, the importance of timeshifted viewing, and why Moffat no longer visits fan forums.



For more videos from the junior Moffat, see "armytedd"'s YouTube channel.