Cybermen Launch Escape GameBookmark and Share

Thursday, 6 December 2018 - Reported by Marcus
To the surprise of many shoppers, Cybermen were spotted in two major cities in the UK today, to mark tickets going on sale for Worlds Collide, the first official Doctor Who live escape game.

One of the Time Lord’s oldest enemies, which feature in the new game, commandeered a barge on the canal at Gas Street Basin in Birmingham. Next, they were seen threatening to ‘upgrade’ unsuspecting Christmas shoppers outside the iconic Birmingham Bullring shopping centre, before travelling up through the UK, heading straight for Leeds City Centre, frightening local commuters in the process.

Fans have been eagerly awaiting details of the BBC Studios and Escape Hunt Doctor Who-themed live escape game, which will be playable at Escape Hunt venues across the country from early 2019.

Teams of up to six become the Doctor’s new friends and are transported into the future, to the offices of ChronosCorp HQ, where eccentric billionaire Alastair Montague’s efforts to develop commercial time travel have caused a tear in the fabric of space and time, a tear which the Cyberman will use to attack Earth!

The players are then given 60 minutes to work out how to close the tear before the Cybermen break through, using only what remains of Montague, his prototype time engine and the extensive collection of time-related artefacts acquired over the course of his experiments. The fate of the universe rests in their hands – if they take too long the human race will be ‘upgraded’.

From today, fans can book tickets for the immersive adventure, which will be arriving at Escape Hunt locations on the following dates:
  • Bristol – 16/01/2019
  • Leeds – 25/01/2019
  • Oxford – 08/02/2019
  • Manchester – 22/02/2019
  • Reading – 08/03/2019
  • Birmingham – 22/03/2019
Richard Harpham, CEO Escape Hunt plc, says
We are thrilled that tickets are now on sale and fans can start booking to be the first to play the game in January. We are extremely proud of Worlds Collide and look forward to giving fans a unique Doctor Who escape game experience.
Mat Way, Global Director, Live Entertainment at BBC Studios, says
We’re very excited to be revealing details of the very first official Doctor Who escape game in collaboration with Escape Hunt. We used to hide behind the sofa when the Cybermen appeared on TV, it’s amazing that fans will soon be able to encounter them face to face.
Tickets for Doctor Who: The Live Escape Game, Worlds Collide are now on sale and are bookable via Escapehunt.com

Cybermen in Birmingham




FILTER: - Games

Comic Art AuctionBookmark and Share

Thursday, 6 December 2018 - Reported by Marcus
A charity in Liverpool is auctioning off 30 pieces of original comic art, including Doctor Who releated items.

2018 marks People First Merseyside's 30th anniversary and to mark the occasion they are auctioning off 30 pieces of original comic art! 100% of all the winning bids will go direct to People First Merseyside to help them continue their work.

The charity is a regional self-advocacy charity which is run by and for adults with learning disabilities. They are all about supporting adults with learning disabilities to speak out, be respected and live active, healthy and happy lives. Their work helps improve confidence and self-esteem, reduce social isolation, improve psychological well-being and gives people more choice and control over their lives.

Paul Dawson, who has put this auction together, hopes there will be something for everybody in the mix.
I have loved comic books for as long as I can remember and I decided to try to use some blank comic book sketch covers from my collection to try and give something back to People First Merseyside. When the first artist said yes I was blown away and that feeling never went away as more and more artists said yes.

I never expected to get as positive a response as we ended up with and I cannot thank the artists who's work I love enough for taking time out of their schedule to help People First Merseyside.
The auctions are on eBay from until Saturday 8th December -




FILTER: - Charities - Fan Productions

Animated Macra Terror - Coming MarchBookmark and Share

Wednesday, 5 December 2018 - Reported by Marcus
The BBC has revealed that an animated version of the 1967 story The Macra Terror will be released in March 2019

The four part Patrick Troughton story has been missing from the BBC Archives for many years, although a copy of the soundtrack exists.

Rumours of an animated version of the story were confirmed by the BBC today releasing a trailer for the story on their YouTube channel.

As well as the Second Doctor, the story features Ben, played by Michael Craze, Polly played by Anneke Wills and Jamie played by Frazer Hines

Coming Soon: The Macra Terror | Doctor Who





FILTER: - Blu-ray/DVD - Season 4 - Second Doctor

The Witchfinders - Official RatingsBookmark and Share

Tuesday, 4 December 2018 - Reported by Marcus
 The Witchfinders: The Doctor (Jodie Whittaker), Yaz (Mandip Gill), Willa Twiston (Tilly Steele) (Credit: BBC Studios (Sophie Mutevelian ))
Doctor Who: The Witchfinders had an official rating of 7.21 million viewers, according to figures released by the Broadcasting Research Audience Board, BARB.

7.03 million watched the episode on a conventional TV set. However the BARB 4-Screen Dashboard shows that an additional 78,000 watched on their PC, 57,000 watched on a Tablet device and 48,000 watched on a smartphone These figures make Doctor Who the 17th most watched programme of the week ending 18th November.

Top for the week was Monday's edition of I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here getting 13.14 million watching.

The Witchfinders had an Appreciation Index score of 81.




FILTER: - Ratings - series 11/37 - UK

Worlds Collide - Ticket date AnnouncedBookmark and Share

Monday, 3 December 2018 - Reported by Marcus
Escape HuntBBC Studios and Escape Hunt have announced the on-sale date of tickets for the upcoming Doctor Who live escape game, Worlds Collide.

From 6th December, fans can buy tickets to be one of the first to try out the hotly-anticipated game which will be arriving in cities across the UK at Escape Hunt locations from early 2019.

Escape Hunt is a global provider of live ‘escape the room’ experiences. Since opening in 2013, Escape Hunt has expanded rapidly, opening nearly 50 locations across 27 countries around the world. Escape Hunting involves 60 minutes of excitement, during which groups of teammates lose themselves in immersive experiences, created by the Escape Hunt Studios team. Groups must work together to follow a series of clever clues and escape a locked room before their time is up.

The Doctor Who game, Worlds Collide will be opening in Escape Hunt locations in early 2019:
  • Bristol – ‪16/01/2019‬
  • Leeds – ‪25/01/2019‬
  • Oxford – ‪08/02/2019‬
  • Manchester – ‪22/02/2019‬
  • Reading – ‪08/03/2019‬
  • Birmingham – ‪22/03/2019‬
Richard Harpham, CEO Escape Hunt PLC, says
It’s the day that the Doctor Who community have been counting down to and we’re incredibly excited to be one step closer to the opening of Worlds Collide. We’re incredibly proud of the game and can’t wait to welcome fans in to try and crack it!
Doctor Who – Worlds Collide will be on-sale from Thursday, 6th December at midday Please visit the website for more information.




FILTER: - Games

It Takes You Away - Overnight Viewing FiguresBookmark and Share

Monday, 3 December 2018 - Reported by Marcus
 It Takes You Away: Graham (Bradley Walsh), The Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) (Credit: BBC Studios (Giles Kyte))Doctor Who: It Takes You Away was watched by 5.07 million viewers, a share of 25.1% of the total TV audience, according to unofficial overnight figures.

The rating makes Doctor Who the fifth highest rated programme for Sunday and the 27th for the week ending 2nd December.

Highest for the day was ITV’s celebrity show, I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here which had 10.0 million watching. The X Factor Final had 5.53 million viewers. Strictly Come Dancing - Results Show had 9.10 million viewers, while Dynasties, the David Attenborough series had 5.94 million. The BBC Drama The Little Drummer Girl had 2.57 million.

The week was again dominated by I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here, which took seven out of the top ten places for the week, each episode getting over 8 million watching. Strictly Come Dancing still took top position for the Saturday show getting 10.0 million viewers.

Coronation Street and Emmerdale pushed The Doctor down in the overnight figures, although a top twenty place is possible when final figures are releaed next week.




FILTER: - Ratings - series 11/37 - UK

Competition: win The Doctors: VillainsBookmark and Share

Sunday, 2 December 2018 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Readers in the United Kingdom have a chance to win of a copy of the latest DVD release from the Reeltime Pictures archive, The Doctors: Villains, courtesy of Koch Media UK:

Reeltime Pictures: The Doctors Villains [order from Amazon UK

The Doctors: Villains! (Credit: Koch Media UK)This is the definitive set of interviews with a group of actors who brought the villains in DOCTOR WHO to life and sent you "behind the sofa"! This special release contains five in-depth interviews with IAN COLLIER (Omega - Arc of Infinity), BERNARD ARCHARD (Marcus Scarman - Pyramids of Mars), DAVID GOODERSON (Davros - Destiny of the Daleks), PETER MILES (Nyder - Genesis of the Daleks), JULIAN GLOVER (Scaroth - City of Death), plus a fascinating tribute to ROGER DELGADO (The Master) by the cast and production staff he worked with. For all Doctor Who fans, this 2 disc special collector's edition is 5 hours of pure nostalgia, which will give you a whole new insight into the making of your favourite science fiction series! SPECIAL FEATURE: Introduction by NICHOLAS BRIGGS & Producer KEITH BARNFATHER
To be in with a chance to win a copy of the set, simply answer the following question:
Which of the interviewed actors is the only one to have appeared in Doctor Who alongside Roger Delgado?
Please send your answer along with your name, address and where you heard about the competition (news site, news app, other website, etc.) to comp-villains@doctorwhonews.net with the subject "You see, Doctor, you're my intellectual equal. Almost.". Open to readers within the United Kingdom. Only one entry per household will be accepted. Closing date: Saturday 15th December 2018.





FILTER: - Blu-ray/DVD - Competitions - UK

Jodie Whittaker to present Bedtime StoriesBookmark and Share

Sunday, 2 December 2018 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Jodie Whittaker reads Ada Twist, Scientist in Bedtime Stories (7 Dec 2018) (Credit: BBC)Jodie Whittaker is the latest Doctor Who star to present an episode of the popular childrens' Bedtime Stories, shown on CBeebies every evening at 6:50pm.

Jodie will be reading Ada Twist, Scientist on Friday 7th December, the third in a series of books by Andrea Beaty and David Roberts. She said:
It is such an honour to know that families and friends will be sharing this experience with me. I hope that everyone enjoys it as much as I did.

(This episode replaces the orginally scheduled Whatever Next! read by Adil Ray)


For those wanting to continue their Jodie fix before the Doctor Who finale on Sunday, Friday evening also sees the actress appearing in the new series of Channel 4's Jamie and Jimmy's Friday Night Feast, broadcast at 8:00pm, where she'll be preparing dishes including roast pork, complete with a double helping of crispy crackling, and an authentic Thai beef massaman curry (something she has been dreaming about since she was 18!).


You can follow notifications of these and other related broadcasts via This Week in Doctor Who, with discussions on Facebook.




FILTER: - BBC - Jodie Whittaker

It Takes You Away - This WeekendBookmark and Share

Saturday, 1 December 2018 - Reported by Marcus
A number of new publicity images to promote this week's episode of Doctor Who, It Takes You Away
It Takes You Away

Writer: Ed Hime
Director: Jamie Childs

On the edge of a Norwegian fjord, in the present day, The Doctor, Ryan, Graham and Yaz discover a boarded-up cottage and a girl named Hanne in need of their help.

What has happened here?

What monster lurks in the woods around the cottage – and beyond?
 It Takes You Away: Graham (Bradley Walsh), Tosin Cole, Yaz (Mandip Gill) (Credit: BBC Studios (Simon Ridgway)) It Takes You Away: The Tardis, The Doctor (Jodie Whittaker), Ryan (Tosin Cole), Yaz (Mandip Gill), Graham (Bradley Walsh) (Credit: BBC Studios (Simon Ridgway)) It Takes You Away: Graham (Bradley Walsh) (Credit: BBC Studios (Simon Ridgway)) It Takes You Away: Ryan (Tosin Cole), Graham (Bradley Walsh) (Credit: BBC Studios (Simon Ridgway)) It Takes You Away: Graham (Bradley Walsh), Ryan (Tosin Cole) (Credit: BBC Studios (Giles Keyte)) It Takes You Away: Erik (Christian Rubeck) (Credit: BBC Studios (Simon Ridgway)) It Takes You Away: Graham (Bradley Walsh) (Credit: BBC Studios (Simon Ridgway)) It Takes You Away: Graham (Bradley Walsh), The Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) (Credit: BBC Studios (Giles Kyte))


Episode 9 Trailer | It Takes You Away | Doctor Who

This episode will debut on BBC One at 6.30pm.

Main Broadcast Details
United KingdomBBC OneSunday 2nd December6.30pm GMT
United States of AmericaBBC AmericaSunday 2nd December8.00pm EST
CanadaSPACESunday 2nd December8.00pm EST
AustraliaABCMonday 3rd December6.00pm AEDT

Full listings here




FILTER: - Production - series 11/37

iPlayer achieves its best results in OctoberBookmark and Share

Saturday, 1 December 2018 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The Woman Who Fell to Earth: The Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) (Credit: BBC Studios (Ben Blackall))The BBC have released details on iPlayer requests for October, indicating that the service achieved its highest usage ever. The new series of Doctor Who made a huge contribution to the total, with the opening episode to feature new Doctor Jodie Whittaker achieving 2.962 million!

Dan McGolpin, controller of programming for the BBC, said:
It’s been a fantastic autumn for BBC iPlayer. Bodyguard and Killing Eve are the two strongest performing series ever and in October we set a new record for daily requests, which gave us our highest ever monthly total. Together with the return of Doctor Who, The Apprentice and Strictly BBC iPlayer offers a unique mix of brand new programmes alongside some of the nation’s best-loved shows.

The "boxed set" of Killing Eve dominated the top ten requested episodes, with six of its eight episodes in the top ten; the other places included two episodes of The Cry, the opening episode of The Apprentice and of course Doctor Who's premiere.

The top ten charts for October 2018:

Top Ten Episodes for October:
  1. Killing Eve: 1. Nice Face (3.555m)
  2. Doctor Who: 1. The Woman Who Fell To Earth (2.962m)
  3. The Cry: Episode 1 (2.924m)
  4. Killing Eve: 7. I Don't Want To Be Free (2.430m)
  5. Killing Eve: 6. Take Me To The Hotel (2.332m)
  6. Killing Eve: 8. God, I'm Tired (2.286m)
  7. The Apprentice: 1. Malta (2.263m)
  8. Killing Eve: 5. I Have A Thing About Bathrooms (2.237m)
  9. Killing Eve: 4. Sorry Baby (2.194m)
  10. The Cry: Episode 2 (2.087m)

Top Ten Programme Episodes for October:
  1. Killing Eve: 1. Nice Face (3.555m)
  2. Doctor Who: 1. The Woman Who Fell To Earth (2.962m)
  3. The Cry: Episode 1 (2.924m)
  4. The Apprentice: 1. Malta (2.263m)
  5. Informer: No Sleep Till Brooklyn (1.793m)
  6. Strictly Come Dancing: Week 5 (1.395m)
  7. Bodyguard: Episode 6 (1.360m)
  8. Eastenders: 9 Oct 2018 (1.071m)
  9. This Country: The Aftermath (0.859m)
  10. Match of the Day: 20 Oct 2018 (0.753m)





FILTER: - BBC - Ratings - UK