BBC News reports that postgraduate students from Cardiff University and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama have organised a three-day academic conference examining Doctor Who. The event will be held at Cardiff University from November 14th to 16th this year, and members of the public will be able to attend.

Called "Whoniversal Appeal", the conference will involve presentations and discussions on various areas relating to the series. Its modern spin-offsTorchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures will also be discussed.

The conference is being chaired by an American student, 29-year-old Melissa Beattie from Buffalo, New York. She admits to only having become a fan of the series two years ago but said: "It shows the progression of society over 45 years and it's amazing to see what an impact it's had. Also I think it's a good way of getting rid of what I call ivory towers thinking. Using something like Doctor Who is a good way of finding a common ground. There's a lot of narrative density in a lot of them - you have epic scenes, mythical-religious scenes, plus again the reflection of modern society like quite a strong anti-war message."

The keynote speaker will be Dr Matt Hills, from Cardiff University's School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies. More information can be found at the official website of the event, here.

The actor Peter Copley, who played the role of Dr Warlock in the highly-regarded 1975 Doctor Who serial "Pyramids of Mars", has died at the age of 93. A full obituary has been published by The Daily Telegraph.

The website SonicState.com has published an exclusive video tour of BANG Studios in Cardiff, the audio post-production centre where all of the sound design and mixing is carried out for Doctor Who and its spin-off series. The video features showrunner Russell T Davies on a visit to the studio, and a second part will be published on the website next week.

The latest issue of science-fiction and fantasy magazine SFX features ten alternative covers, one for each televised incarnation of the Doctor. This is in promotion of a heavily Doctor Who-focused issue. The issue, number 176, will be available on British newsstands from Wednesday 22nd October.

A collection of the possessions of the late Verity Lambert, the first producer of Doctor Who from 1963 to 1965, is being sold at auction by the firmWoolley and Wallis at its showroom in Salisbury on Wednesday 22nd October. Her two BAFTA awards will be on display, and photographs can be taken.

A biography of Russell T Davies, entitled "T is for Television", is to be published by Reynolds and Hearn on November 27th this year. The company has previously published several other books related to Doctor Who, including Richard Bignell's location guide and Graeme Harper's "Calling the Shots" book about directing the series. "T is for Television" has been co-written by Mark Aldridge and Andy Murray, the latter of whom wrote "Into the Unknown", the biography of the famous television science-fiction writer Nigel Kneale. The book's press release claims that it is "the first book to trace Davies' entire life in television from his earliest days to his vast current success". It is already available for pre-order from various online retailers.

Dick Mills, the BBC Radiophonic Workshop sound design expert who provided sound effects throughout almost the entire run of the classic Doctor Who series in the '60s, '70s, and '80s, will be giving a free seminar at the National Media Museum in Bradford on October 22nd, from 6pm. More details can be found on the museum's website, here.

Actress Julie Brennan, who played the character of Fire Escape in the 1987 Doctor Who serial Paradise Towers, starring Sylvester McCoy, will be appearing as a special guest at a gathering of the Doctor Who Club of Australia on November 23rd. The event is part of the celebrations of the 45th anniversary of Doctor Who, and there are full details on the club's website.

The website Wired.com has published a new interview with Sarah Jane Smith actress Elisabeth Sladen.

Thanks to Simon Power, Ian Berriman, Clare Playle, Mark Aldridge, Tim Neal and Vitas Varnas.

Director James Strong will be helming the Easter Doctor Who Special, Executive Producer Russell T. Daviesannounced in the latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine.

"We're so happy that he's returning to the fold," Davies stated. "James has handled Daleks in sewers, hordes of Adipose and Satan himself, as well as a Titanic with Kylie on board. But believe me, none of that will have prepared him for what we're about to unleash in this next script!"

The Easter special is scripted by Davies and Gareth Roberts, whose previous credits on the show include "Attack of the Graske", "The Shakespeare Code" and "The Unicorn and the Wasp".

Various news sources are reporting that during his appearance at the Cheltenham Literary Festival this weekend, Doctor Who executive producer and chief writer Russell T Davies commented that Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, had turned down a cameo appearance in the series, with Davies jokingly calling him a "swine" for having done so.

The BBC News coverage of the story also includes an embedded video of Davies's appearance on the BBC News Channel on Sunday, where he answered questions sent in by viewers.

The report says that Prince Charles did not personally see the request, which was declined on his behalf by his staff. "We receive a great many requests and it's impossible to accept them all," the BBC quotes a spokesman as having said.

The story is also being run by CBC, The Daily Express, Digital Spy, The Sun, OK! Magazine and many others.

Posted By John Bowman

All the titles of the forthcoming 10-part multi-platform Doctor Who book project The Darksmith Legacy have been announced.

As reported earlier this month by this site, the first two books will be out in January 2009, followed by a new "episode" every month after that.

Published by BBC Children's Books in association with Penguin Books, they will offer the adventure of a book serialisation, complete with cliffhangers, plus interactivity and content that is only obtainable online.

Previously, only the first three titles and their authors had been confirmed. However, the full list has now been given as follows:

1. The Dust of Ages - Justin Richards
2. The Graves of Mordane - Colin Brake
3. The Colour of Darkness - Richard Dungworth
4. The Depths of Despair - Justin Richards
5. The Vampire of Paris - Steve Cole
6. The Game of Death - Trevor Baxendale
7. The Planet of Oblivion - Justin Richards
8. The Picture of Emptiness - Jacqueline Raynor
9. The Art of War - Mike Tucker
10. The End of Time - Justin Richards

An exclusive preview of The Dust of Ages will be available at www.thedarksmithlegacy.com which will also be hosting the interactivity aspect of the series.

However, the website will not be live until mid-November, although it is hoped that a holding page will be up soon once final approvals are given by the BBC.

The shortlists for the categories at this year's National Television Awards - the annual public-voted poll for the most popular programmes and performers on British television, run by the ITV network - have been unveiled, with Doctor Who once again well represented.

The programme itself is nominated in the Most Popular Drama category, which it won in 2005, 2006 and 2007. This year it faces competition from ITV1's The Bill, Channel 4's Shameless and American import Desperate Housewives.

At the past three awards ceremonies, the actor and actress who played the Doctor and his main companion in each series of Doctor Who have been nominated as Most Popular Actor and Most Popular Actress respectively. Christopher Eccleston won the former category in 2005, and David Tennanttook the award in 2006 and 2007, with Billie Pipernamed Most Popular Actress in 2005 and 2006. However, as BBC News reports, in a controversial change for this year's ceremony, the Most Popular Actor and Actress categories have been scrapped in favour of a combined "Outstanding Drama Performance" category.

Tennant and co-star Catherine Tate will both compete for this single award, with Philip Glenister (BBC One's Ashes to Ashes) and Alex Walkinshaw (The Bill) also nominated.

Votes can be cast online at the National Television Awards website here. The ceremony will be held at the Royal Albert Hall in London on October 29th, and broadcast live on ITV1 in the UK.

News services are reporting that this year's Children in Need will feature a special to include all seven living Doctor Who lead actors.

The report below is from the Telegraph. The story also appears in the News of the World and the Sunday Mirror.

[Remember: treat all such news as rumour until confirmed officially by the BBC.]

The BBC News website is reporting that the new Royal Shakespeare Company production of "Love's Labour's Lost", starring David Tennant, has proved a critical hit. The play is being staged in Stratford-upon-Avon in tandem with "Hamlet", in which Tennant also stars, until November 15th.

Says the article: "According to BBC arts correspondent Razia Iqbal, Tennant began rehearsals for Love's Labour's Lost 'almost immediately' after Hamlet opened in August. 'The RSC may have another hit on their hands, which is surprising given the play is Shakespeare's most forgettable early comedy,' she said." The piece also includes praise from critics Neil Norman and Michael Billington, and notes that Tennant performs his role in his native Scottish accent.

A lost sequel to "Love's Labour's Lost", called "Love's Labour's Won", featured in the 2007 Doctor Who episode "The Shakespeare Code", starring Tennant as the Tenth Doctor.

The latest issue of Doctor Who Adventures, the BBC's weekly comic for younger fans, has been released in the UK. The latest issue contains information on the return of the Eighth Doctor to the airwaves on BBC7, and the second part of the magazine's K9 competition. Also included this week are:

The website Den of Geek has published full details of the forthcoming DVD box set release of series four of Doctor Who, which is to be released next month. The article contains a full run-down of the documentary features, deleted and extended scenes and audio commentaries included on the set.

The same website has also published another article detailing information gleaned from some of the new audio commentaries. This includes the note thatDavid Tennant at one point refers to new head writer and executive producer Steven Moffat as his "new boss", which the website takes to indicate that they will be working together on the fifth series of the programme, to be broadcast in 2010.