US digital on-demand network Illusion on Demand has announced that they will be adding classic Doctor Who stories to their offerings, beginning with the 1967 Patrick Troughton story Tomb of the Cybermen. Their press release is below.

Today's news round-up begins and ends with CBBC's Newsround. Newsround's Lizo Mzimba was the first journalist to review "Voyage of the Damned". Mzimba says that David Tennant and Kylie Minogue "have great chemistry" and that the story as a whole, though "not a perfect episode", "beautifully juggles different elements ranging from tragedy to comedy."

Gareth McLean of The Guardian says that this year's offering is "the best of the three Christmas specials", but sniffs that Kylie is "blank and insipid". However, Nick Sketchfield of SFX calls Kylie's performance "unshowy but winning", and says that "Voyage of the Damned" is "the sixpence in the pudding, a perfect Christmas Day adventure that blends the disaster movie trappings of The Poseidon Adventure with the kind of madcap, quasi-2000 AD flavourings of those old Doctor Who Weekly comic strips."

There's one more video of David Tennant speaking at Tuesday night's premiere, this one from The Press and Journal. Speaking to Swansea's Evening Post, Russell T. Davies was full of praise for Tennant, saying, "He's literally Britain's finest actor. I honest to God think that, so when you're writing for him you want him to do anything and go anywhere, and he's capable of anything."

In a survey of young men sponsored by Zoo magazine, Tennant came third in a list of the 100 Coolest Men in Britain. He was behind musician Noel Gallagher and football (soccer) player Steven Gerrard, but ahead of James Bond actor Daniel Craig. John Simm came 51st. Simon Pegg and Peter Kaywere first and fourth respectively in Zoo's top five of funny blokes, while Ricky Gervais, who plays a Doctor Who extra/slug monster in the ExtrasChristmas special, was second in that particular poll. Pegg, Gervais and Kay came seventh, eight and 17th respectively in the Zoo poll to find the coolest bloke of 2007.

Kylie Minogue's involvement gets "Voyage of the Damned" column-inches from Australia's Nine News (which quotes one "Robert T. Davies") and The Sunalso has a story claiming that Madonna turned down an invitation to appear in Doctor Who as "The Last Cassandra". The item appears, appropriately enough, in the newspaper's "Bizarre" section, accompanied by a mock-up of Madonna as Cassandra. (Presumably the photo editors were bored with sticking celebrities' heads onto Davros' body.)

The Times reports that some Christian groups are upset at the use of religious iconography in "Voyage of the Damned". Only one such group is named: the evangelical organization Christian Voice, which previously objected to the BBC's broadcast of "Jerry Springer: The Opera". However, a Church of England spokesman dismissed the concern, saying, "Science fiction at its best helps to illuminate eternal themes, and that’s something the Church can happily work with."

One Doctor Who star who will be found in a church soon is Billie Piper. Piper, who has recently been in Wales filming for the return of Rose Tyler to Doctor Who, will marry actor Laurence Fox on New Year's Eve. The Midhurst and Petworth Observer reports that the two will wed at the parish church in the West Sussex village of Easebourne, where Piper owns a home. The Daily Mail notes that the reception will be held at a pub owned by Piper's ex-husband, Chris Evans.

And finally, we circle back to Newsround. The parents of George Baker, 10, have decorated his bedroom as the TARDIS console room -- complete with a rather impressive console. Fans of all ages can surely envy young Mr. Baker.

Thanks to "PMount" of the Doctor Who Forum and Paul McDermott.

Freema Agyeman will appear on BBC Radio 1 on New Year's Day as one of the presenters of "New for 2008", a Radio 1 special featuring "top tips for forthcoming new music, films, fashion, TV and technology." The program will air on January 1 from 7pm to midnight (GMT); Agyeman will be the host from 10pm to 11pm. The show also contains an interview with producer Phil Collinson.

Worldwide fans can hear the program via the BBC's live Radio 1 stream or, for one week after broadcast, via the Listen Again service on the BBC's iPlayer.

The official Doctor Who website has posted an interview with the series' producers: Russell T. Davies, Julie Gardner and Phil Collinson. The Three Who Rule discuss "Voyage of the Damned", the return of Donna, filming in Rome, autographing babies and Steven Moffat's brain.

SFX also has the second half of their interview with Phil Collinson, in which he talks about bringing back the Sontarans and Catherine Tate.

Thanks to Ian Berriman of SFX.

This year's Doctor Who Christmas special, "Voyage of the Damned", had a star-studded premiere at London's Science Museum Tuesday night. David Tennant was in attendance, and as previously reported laughed off rumors that he was quitting the series. Kylie Minogue was reportedly in Japan, but Geoffrey Palmer, Clive Swift, Clive Rowe and Bernard Cribbins, all of whom appear in "Voyage", were present at the gala event.

Other Doctor Who actors attending the premiere included John Simm, Camille Coduri, Noel Clarke and Elisabeth Sladen, as well as past guest stars such as Michelle Collins and Tony Head. Celebrity guests included musician Nick Cave, broadcasterJo Whiley, comedy writer Richard Curtis, impressionist Jon Culshaw, journalist Andrew Marr, Conservative MP Ann Widdecombe and Labour Work and Pensions Secretary Peter Hain. Photos of the attendees can be seen at Getty Images,CBBC Newsround and Sky Showbiz.

The event was covered by a wide range of media. BBC News,CBBC Newsround, ITN News, The Blackpool Gazette andThe Bolton News all have video of the event. The premiere is also covered by (in no particular order) The Western News, The Daily Record, inthenews.co.uk, UPI, The Press Association, Sky Showbiz (twice), contactmusic.com,Total Sci Fi, Off the Telly, RTÉ, icWales and The Guardian. Many of these reports focus on Tennant's denial of the departure rumors; others highlight a kiss between the Doctor and Kylie Minogue's character, Astrid.

Finally, CBBC Newsround has a largely spoiler-free review of the Christmas special itself.

UPDATE: The Press Association UK has published more video from the launch and previously unseen clips from "Voyage of the Damned"; it can be seen onClipSyndicate.

Thanks to "PolyG" of the Doctor Who Forum.

At the premiere of "Voyage of the Damned" Tuesday evening, David Tennant dismissed speculation about how long he plans to stay on Doctor Who. Speaking about the Christmas 2008 special and three specials in 2009, he said, "I'm doing four more specials and beyond that no one's asked me to make any decisions and I'm quite happy to be enigmatic for as long as possible." Talk of Tennant's departure plans began Saturday whenCatherine Tate, speaking on Jonathan Ross's radio show, said that she thought that 2008 might be Tennant's last full series in the role of the Doctor.

"Catherine Tate stitched me up good and proper," said Tennant. "She goes on Jonathan Ross and makes up a load of old nonsense. Unbeknownst to me, she thinks I've made a decision - she'd clearly had too much coffee that morning. She said I was leaving, which was a decision I haven't made yet, maybe she's made it for me, but I'm going to keep people guessing for as long as possible."

Tennant continued, "I started getting all these phone calls on Saturday lunchtime saying apparently you're leaving Doctor Who. Catherine Tate's just announced it on Radio 2 - thanks Catherine! I said to her on Monday morning did you know you've caused a minor diplomatic incident? She was completely oblivious that the phone had been ringing off the hook."

Tennant's comments, as well as some spoilerish details about "Voyage of the Damned", can be found at BBC News andThe Blackpool Gazette. More details from the "Voyage of the Damned" press launch can be found at The Daily Telegraph, The Sun, The Sunderland Echo and The Daily Star.

Meanwhile, the Daily Mail, Now Magazine and The West Australian are running with the Sun's story about Jennifer Saunders appearing as the Doctor in one episode.

UPDATED Wednesday 19 Dec: The late night Richard Bacon talk show on BBC Radio 5 Live has a report from the "Voyage of the Damned" preview. It includes an interview with Tennant in which he light-heartedly discusses Tate's comments about his future on Doctor Who: "It's a decision I've not been forced to make, so I'm just going to play my cards close to my chest as long as I can. Despite what Catherine might have you believe, I haven't made any decision about the next series yet."

To listen to the interview, go to this page and click on "Tuesday". The Doctor Who discussion begins approximately 1 hour 38 minutes into the program, and contains some spoilers for "Voyage of the Damned".

There is also a video piece on the premiere from BBC News available here, which includes clips from "Voyage of the Damned" and interview segments with Tennant. Speaking of his future on the programme, he says "It's a decision I haven't made yet... it's not a decision I've been asked to make yet, so I'm going to keep 'em guessing for as long as possible."

Thanks to "scheherezade" and "PolyG" of the Doctor Who Forum.

The official Doctor Who site has confirmed that "The Hopes and Fears of All the Years", a new Doctor Who short story by Paul Cornell, will be published in the Daily Telegraph on December 22. Cornell, author of several Doctor Who novels and audios, and most recently the television episodes "Human Nature" and "The Family of Blood", had previously announced the story on his blog. The short story will be illustrated by Doctor Who Magazineartist Mike Collins. Cornell is running a competition to win one of Collins' illustrations on Facebook.

Last Christmas, The Times ran a Doctor Who story by Cornell; it can be found in their archives.

US comics publisher IDW has released a series of preview pages of both their forthcoming Doctor Who and Classic Doctor Who titles.

The new Doctor Who comic, written especially for the publisher by television series script editor Gary Russell, is previewed with the first five pages of the opening issue. The classic Doctor Who series, beginning with reprints of stories featuring the Fourth Doctor, is previewed with the first five pages from the third issue.

Thanks to "GracieLizzy" from The Doctor Who Forum.

And the Doctor Who-related news keeps coming. CBBC Newsround has an interview with Russell T. Davies, in which the writer and producer talks about "Voyage of the Damned", "The Sarah Jane Adventures", the pre-watershed version of "Torchwood" and Series 4 of "Doctor Who". The Newsround site also has a gallery of photos from "Voyage of the Damned". Davies is also quoted in the Swansea Evening Post as calling the Christmas special "a great big disaster movie", speaking favorably of Kylie Minogue's guest-starring turn and saying that he'd love to have Judi Dench in Doctor Who.

Catherine Tate's comments about David Tennant's Doctor Who plans continue to be discussed; the story has been picked up by the Western Mail(Wales), RTÉ (Ireland) and the international news service UPI.

Apparently contradicting an earlier story in the Western Mail, the Daily Telegraph reports that the Character Group, parent company of Character Options, who make Doctor Who toys, has had slow sales this holiday season. Billie Piper's risqué ITV series "Secret Diary of a Call Girl" will air in the US on the Showtime cable network, reports Varietyand Entertainment Weekly.

And finally, an item about which readers can use their own judgment: The Sun claims that Jennifer Saunders of "Absolutely Fabulous" is in talks to play the Doctor for one episode after David Tennant leaves the part. Saunders' AbFab co-star Joanna Lumley played the Doctor briefly in the 1999 Comic Relief sketch "The Curse of Fatal Death".

Georgia Moffett, daughter of Fifth Doctor Peter Davison, will be appearing in Series Four, according to Executive Producer Phil Collinson.

"Fans might recognise that name...but that's not why we cast her. She's a very fine actor."

Georgia originally auditioned for a role in the Agatha Christie episode. "But as soon as we saw her," Collinson told Doctor Who Magazine, "we realised there was a much bigger and better part later on in the series...so Georgia kindly waited until the time was right. It's a role no one will ever forget!"