David Tennant is to host a new panel show for Channel 4. Comedy World Cup will be a seven-part series in which comedians will use their stand-up to compete against one another in a knockout competition. Justin Gorman, the channel's Head of Entertainment, said: "Needless to say when we thought who could match, handle and wrangle some of the funniest and most talented comedians on TV, we decided it had to be David Tennant, so are thrilled he agreed". [Metro, 24 Aug 2012]

The actor recently appeared on G4's Attack of the Show!, chatting about the Olympics opening ceremony, The Spies of Warsaw, and his feelings on the 50th Anniversary.

Matt Smith can be briefly spotted in the "Don't Think" video from sports company Adidas, during which he was painted as a clown. Several photos of the actor in make-up can also be found via the Daily Mail, taken at a party in Shoreditch to celebrate the Olympics earlier this month.

Speaking at the BFI, Steven Moffat commented on the way in which children should be taught to read: "What makes people read a lot is books they like. I used to think when I was a school teacher that we shouldn’t give them the books they [education authorities] thought they ought to read – we should give them really cool books that they think are exciting. It doesn’t matter if they are good books as long as they read. Reading makes you better at English, reading a lot makes you want to read better books." [Standard, 15 Aug 2012]

Also at the BFI, Karen Gillan announced that she will feature in the third of Charlie Brooker's spoof series A Touch of Cloth, due to be shown in 2013. No character details have been revealed as yet. [Radio Times, 15 Aug 2012]

Freema Agyeman's commitments to the Sex and the City prequel The Carrie Diaries has led to the actress being unavailable to film Law and Order: UK for its 2013 series. Agyeman has been with the show since its creation in 2009. [TVWise, 24 Aug 2012]

Burn Gorman has been reported as joining the cast of HBO's Game of Thrones as a member of the Night Watch. The actor has most recently been seen in The Dark Knight Rises. [WinterIsComing, 8 Aug 2012]

With just under a week to go to the Power: Reimagined convention in Fareham and with the event date unfortunately clashing with Asylum of the Daleks, attendees - and potential attendees - will be relieved to know that they won't miss out on seeing the Series 7 opening episode.

The convention is being held on Saturday 1st September to celebrate the fan film Power of the Daleks, based on Patrick Troughton's inaugural story as the Doctor, and the event was, of course, arranged long before the BBC decided when to show Asylum of the Daleks.

The convention organisers won't be screening the episode but event attendee Jeremy Bentham has - independently and with the organisers' blessing - found a nearby pub with two 53-inch plasma screens on which the manager has said he is happy to show Doctor Who that evening.

The pub is The Lord Arthur Lee, in West Street, Fareham, which is just a short walk away from where the convention is being held, at Ferneham Hall in Osborn Road.

Please note that the screening of the episode is not connected with the convention, nor is it a launch party as held by Bentham in London in the past, so there is not exclusive use of the pub. It is simply an informal arrangement to ensure that those attending the convention who also want to see the episode "live" that evening can do so.

The first two parts of the fan film, which stars Nick Scovell as the Doctor and features Lisa Bowerman, Nicholas Briggs, and Barnaby Edwards in the cast, have been released via YouTube, with the third and final part due to be webcast at some point next month. The charity convention will see the first showing of the fan reimagining in full on the big screen and in high definition.

Guests at the convention will include Christopher Barry, who directed the original story, and Anneke Wills, who played companion Polly in the six-part adventure. Michael Troughton - son of Patrick and younger brother of David - was also to have been a guest but has had to pull out, citing personal reasons and commitments, say the organisers.

Money raised by the convention will go to Children In Need and Cancer Research UK.

John Barrowman has popped up in the news a bit, recently, covering both his career and personal ambitions.

Talking about other shows he'd like to do in America, the actor said: "I would love to be on one of those wonderfully edgy cable TV series like True Blood or The Walking Dead.". And "I’d like to do a North American version of this British TV series of mine (Tonight's The Night), where people’s performance dreams come true." [Toronto Star, 10 Aug 2012]

Speaking of which, the actor will join the cast of a new comic book-based action drama series Arrow, which kicks off in the Autumn. His character is under wraps at present, described only as a "well-dressed man who is as mysterious as he is wealthy". [Entertainment Weekly, 15 Aug 2012]

One show he might well consider would be the revival of hit American soap Dallas: "My motto is that I only ever do programmes that interest me rather than doing them for money. It always comes across better if your heart and soul are in it. Since I was a kid, Dallas was part of my growing up and I even wrote about it in my first autobiography. On a Friday night, as a family, everything would stop at 9pm and we would sit and watch Dallas." The actor will be presenting a behind-the-scenes show, John Barrowman's Dallas Wednesday evening on Channel 5. [Express, 26 Aug 2012]

Another appearance next week for the actor, this time as a guest on G4's Attack of the Show!, whose host Candace Bailey he worked alongside during G4's Comic-Con earlier this year. [BroadwayWorld, 20 Aug 2012]
Barrowman has also recently talked about a potential family: "We haven't ruled out having children ourselves but it depends where my career takes us. We wouldn't want a baby. We'd look at adopting an older child or teenager who might have been in trouble. We would also look at adopting a gay child, thrown out of their home because of their sexuality. We have a lot to offer — chances and opportunities a young teen probably wouldn’t normally get." [The Sun, 13 Aug 2012]

Doctor Who's lead writer and executive producer Steven Moffat spoke to audiences at the MediaGuardian Edinburgh International Television Festival this weekend, during which he commented on a number of topics relating to the show, which returns next week.

Regarding series budget he said:
On the ongoing debate about whether or not there'd be a big-screen version of Doctor Who:
Finally, the old chestnut of a female lead for the show also came up:

Update: A full transcript of the session can be found via Sci-Fi Bulletin.

"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

We were saddened to learn today of the passing of astronaut Neil Armstrong, who famously was the first man to walk upon the surface of the moon. His historic landing and walk became an inspiration for generations to come, both in the worlds of science and science-fiction.

Buzz Aldrin, who travelled with Armstrong on the Apollo 11 mission and also walked on the moon alongside him, said:
NASA's Administrator Charles Bolden said:

Armstrong was also to find a "starring" role in Doctor Who itself, when his mission to the moon became a focal point for the resolution of last year's episode Day of the Moon - as his famous first words upon stepping onto the surface were watched by the millions of viewers around the world, the Doctor was able to broadcast his own message to defeat the Silents.

The BBC have released a new trailer to promote Asylum of the Daleks, which premieres on BBC One next Saturday at 7:20pm.

BBC America has released videos of famous Doctor Who fans - including tenth Doctor (David Tennant - talking about their first memories of Doctor Who. Chris Hardwick of The Nerdist has appealed to fans asking them to tweet about the first time they experienced Doctor Who using the hashtag #newtoWHO.


Asylum of the Daleks premieres on BBC America on September 1st at 9/8c.

Ravensburger have released a new Doctor Who puzzle this month in the lead-up to the return of the series on-screen. The 1000 piece "Collector's Edition" puzzle shows monsters from both the past and present, and measures 70x50cm.
Eagle-eyed readers will recognise the puzzle image as an extension of the 'monster' artwork released by Tea-Lady Design earlier this week!

(product image) Character have released six new Daleks, based on versions from throughout the history of the series; each figure will feature contemporary speech and sound effects from their individual eras.


The figures are now available from the usual retailers such as Forbidden Planet.

Big Finish have announced a special offer this weekend for the first season of their Companion Chronicles.


The four stories comprising the series are Frostfire (Maureen O'Brien as Vicki), Fear of the Daleks (Wendy Padbury as Zoe), The Blue Tooth (Caroline John as Liz), and The Beautiful People (Lalla Ward as Romana); they can all be purchased via the Big Finish website.