The Snowmen has debuted in Australia, averaging 697,000 viewers in the five major capital cities. It came second in its time-slot, was the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's top-rating drama of the day and the twelfth highest rating programme of the day overall.  These ratings do not include regional or time-shifted viewers.

The BBC have announced that it is to launch its BBC Entertainment channel in Burma from next year. The pay-TV channel will launch from 1st January 2013 alongside BBC World News and CBeebies, which will join the BBC World Service broadcast through the region's Forever Group.

BBC Entertainment showcases the best comedy, drama and light entertainment from the BBC and other UK production houses; this of course includes Doctor Who - so will mark the first time the series has been broadcast in the country!

Mark Whitehead, Senior Vice President and General Manager of BBC Worldwide Channels Asia, said:

The BBC have also announced another first for Doctor Who, as BBC Entertainment is also introduced to Indonesia, to be broadcast via max3 from Biznet Networks. Mark Whitehead commented:

Doctor Who on BBC Entertainment:

At the time of writing the channel is currently showing Series 6 in Asia, and tonight will show last year's festive adventure The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe.

The BBC have released some new publicity stills for the forthcoming Christmas Special The Snowmen, featuring Matt Smith as the Doctor, Neve McIntosh as Vastra, and Richard E Grant as Dr Simeon.

Sneak peek at the new TARDIS!

The BBC have also issued a press release unveiling part of a redesigned TARDIS interior:

We Wish You A Merry Christmas - It's Showtime!:

Meanwhile, publicity for the Christmas line-up continues with the BBC releasing a new video in the lead up to their "Light Up Christmas!" day on 11th December.In this 'episode', part of the It's Showtime! themed advertising campaign, many of the entertainers and characters from festive programming take their turn to wish viewers a "Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year" - including the The Doctor himself!

Neil Gaiman will be in Tasmania next month as part of the music-and-arts-centred Mona Foma Festival. An Evening With Neil Gaiman is to be held at the Theatre Royal in Hobart on Sunday 20th January. (NB: Although the event is described as being suitable for all ages, explicit language is used in the theatre's web page about the show.)

In addition, Gaiman's urban fantasy TV series Neverwhere, which aired on BBC Two in 1996 and had an accompanying novelisation, is currently being made for BBC Radio 4 and Radio 4 Extra. Adapted by Dirk Maggs, who is also co-directing it, and with a cast that includes Christopher Lee, Bernard Cribbins, Anthony Head, Yasmin Paige, David Harewood, Sophie Okonedo, Don Gilet, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Andrew Sachs, the six-parter is scheduled to be broadcast during the early part of 2013. [neilgaiman.com, 28 Nov 2012]

Sheila Hancock and Lee Evans are to star in a new comedy at Wyndham's Theatre in London next year. Barking In Essex tells the tale of a gangster fresh out of jail and returning to his dysfunctional family to retrieve more than £3.5m. It has been written by Clive Exton and will be directed by Harry Burton, with Evans playing the "dim-witted idiot of the criminal underbelly" Darnley and Hancock playing Emmie, described as Darnley's "Rottweiler mother". The production previews from Friday 6th September, opening on Monday 16th September. [BBC News, 30 Nov 2012]

A new play by David Haig that was due to open at the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh next May before transferring to Chichester Festival Theatre has run into casting problems. Pressure, which is about the meteorologist Captain James Stagg, who had the task of predicting the weather ahead of the D-Day landings in the Second World War, has been postponed until spring 2014 while the search to find "the right person" to play Stagg continues. [The Stage, 30 Nov 2012]

Jessica Hynes and Olivia Colman have both been nominated as Best TV Comedy Actress in this year's British Comedy Awards. Colman has, in fact, been nominated twice - firstly for Rev and secondly for Twenty Twelve, with Hynes's nomination also being for Twenty Twelve. The spoof "mockumentary" about this year's London Olympics, which had a voiceover commentary by David Tennant, is itself up for Best Sitcom against, among others, The Thick Of It, which starred Peter Capaldi, and both Capaldi and Hugh Bonneville are vying for the title of Best TV Comedy Actor for their roles in those two respective shows. Meanwhile, David Mitchell is in the running for Best Male Television Comic and he is also among the nominees for the publicly-voted King and Queen of Comedy. The ceremony will be shown live on Channel 4 on Wednesday 12th December. [BBC News, 2 Dec 2012]

Tamsin Greig and Anne Reid will be among the guest stars appearing in a new darkly comic anthology that has just started filming for BBC Two. Written by Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, the six-part series, which has the working title of Inside No 9, will take a look at what goes on behind closed doors at six very different residences sharing the number 9. [BBC Media Centre, 3 Dec 2012]

Sheridan Smith - companion Lucie Miller to the Eighth Doctor in the Big Finish audio dramas - is to return as mystery-solver Jonathan Creek's sidekick Joey Ross in a new episode of the BBC One crime-comedy-drama. Filming on The Clue of the Savant's Thumb, written by David Renwick, starts later this month, with the 90-minute Jonathan Creek special due to air next Easter. [BBC Media Centre, 5 Dec 2012]

The BBC have now confirmed the line-up for Christmas Day on BBC One, with the hour long Doctor Who Christmas Special The Snowmen to broadcast from 5:15pm - the earliest the show has been scheduled since its return in 2005 (and also the time when original series premiere An Unearthly Child was scheduled back in 1963).

The afternoon will see the film Shrek Forever After following The Queen's Speech at 3:10pm; the animated film Room on the Broom then follows at 4:35pm, with the News and Weather at 5:00pm. After Doctor Who, Strictly Come Dancing kicks off at 6:15pm, with a festive Call The Midwife at 7:30pm, an hour long Eastenders at 8:45pm, and evening prime-time finishing with The Royle Family at 9:45pm.

ITV1's schedule sees Doctor Who pitted against You've Been Framed (5:00pm), Emmerdale (5:30pm), and Paul O'Grady's For The Love Of Dogs (6:00pm). Meanwhile, Downton Abbey will go head-to-head with Eastenders at 8:45pm.

Publicity Images:

The BBC have released a variety of publicity images to promote The Snowmen, featuring characters and scenes from the episode. Portrait images are also available, depicting several of the main cast: as well as Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman they include Tom Ward as Captain Latimer, Joseph Darcey-Alden as Digby, Ellie Darcey-Alden as Francesca, Liz White as Alice, and Richard E Grant as Dr Simeon.

David Tennant has been talking to STV's Moviejuice about his starring roles in the new seasonal film Nativity 2: Danger In The Manger! in which he plays twins Donald and Roderick Peterson. Not only was the film improvised in its entirety, it was also shot in sequence, and Tennant said of the improvisational nature of the film: "It was terrifying. But that's why you do certain things, isn't it? 'I've never done that before, that'll be utterly terrifying – so I'll have a go.'" The film also stars Jessica Hynes as Angel Matthews, Ian McNeice as Mr Peterson senior, and Jason Watkins as Mr Shakespeare. [STV Entertainment, 26 Nov 2012]

Katy Manning will be on tour in the Agatha Christie murder-mystery A Murder Is Announced early next year. Performances are as follows: Thursday 17th to Saturday 19th January: Capitol Theatre, Horsham; Tuesday 22nd to Saturday 26th January: Buxton Opera House; Tuesday 29th January to Saturday 2nd February: The Derby Theatre; Monday 4th to Saturday 9th February: Lincoln Theatre Royal; Tuesday 12th to Saturday 16th February: The Gordon Craig Theatre, Stevenage; Wednesday 27th February to Saturday 2nd March: Haymarket Theatre, Basingstoke; Tuesday 5th to Saturday 9th March: Lyceum Theatre, Crewe.

Meanwhile, Colin Baker will be in the touring production of the Wilkie Collins thriller The Woman In White, starting at The Lighthouse Theatre, Poole, from Tuesday 22nd to Saturday 26th January. From Monday 28th to Thursday 31st January it will be at The Grand Theatre, Blackpool; Thursday 14th to Saturday 23rd February, Lincoln Theatre Royal; Tuesday 26th February to Saturday 2nd March, Garrick Theatre, Lichfield, finishing its run at the Theatre Royal, Windsor, from Monday 4th to Saturday 9th March.

Baker was voted off I'm A Celebrity . . . Get Me Out Of Here! earlier this week. He was the fourth contestant to go. As previously reported, he joined the ITV1 reality show, based in a jungle in Australia, earlier this month.

Bernard Cribbins narrates the CBeebies panto Jack And The Beanstalk, which airs as a simulcast on the CBeebies channel and BBC One on Friday 21st December at 4.30pm. Featuring all the CBeebies presenters, it was performed at The Palace Theatre in Manchester. [BBC Media Centre, 27 Nov 2012]

Sheila Hancock will be among the new celebrity contestants on this year's Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Day special on BBC One, with previous contestant Ann Widdecombe making a guest appearance. [BBC Media Centre, 28 Nov 2012]

David Morrissey has begun filming the second series of BBC Scotland's crime drama Field Of Blood in Glasgow. He plays editor Murray Devlin. Filming will continue until late December, with the thriller to be shown next year. [BBC Media Centre, 29 Nov 2012]

Director Farren Blackburn has his first feature film released in the UK and USA next spring. Hammer Of The Gods, which stars Charlie Bewley and James Cosmo, is set in Britain of 871AD and tells the story of a young Viking warrior sent by his father, the king, on a quest to find his estranged brother, who was banished from the kingdom years earlier. [Bleeding Cool, 27 Nov 2012]

A six-part spy thriller by Toby Whithouse has been commissioned by BBC Cymru Wales for BBC One. Set in the world of 1970s espionage, The Game will tell the story of the invisible war fought by MI5 to protect the nation from the threats of the Cold War. The drama is to be executive-produced by Whithouse, Brian Minchin, and Faith Penhale (head of drama at BBC Cymru Wales). [BBC Media Centre, 30 Nov 2012]

Adam Simmonds, the newly-elected police and crime commissioner for Northamptonshire, wants to see police boxes back on the county's streets. He said: "I would like to bring a focal point back into villages. It's all about putting the police back on to the streets and I would love to be able to put Tardises back in every community." He added that he hoped to work with Northampton-born Matt Smith to launch his Blue Box Initiative. [Northampton Chronicle & Echo, 25 Nov 2012]

In Memoriam:

The actor Roger Hammond has died at the age of 76. A contemporary of Waris Hussein, Derek Jacobi, and Clive Swift at Cambridge University, he trained at RADA and had a varied and accomplished career on the stage and TV as well as in film and on radio. Hammond appeared in three episodes of Doctor Who, firstly as the Elizabethan philosopher, statesman, scientist, author, and jurist Francis Bacon in The Executioners (episode 1 of The Chase) in 1965 and then as Doctor Runciman - the resident physician at Brendon School - in the first and final parts of Mawdryn Undead in 1983. [The Stage obituary by Martin Jarvis, 23 Nov 2012]

The Snowmen, will make its Australian debut on Boxing Day, Wednesday 26 December 2012 at 7.30pm on ABC1.

The previous two Christmas specials, A Christmas Carol and The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe, also debuted in Australia on Boxing Day.

The title of this year's Doctor Who Christmas special will be revealed tonight during the Children In Need telethon on BBC One.

As previously reported, the fund-raiser will be showing a bespoke storyline as a prequel to the special, as well as giving viewers a sneak preview of the special itself.

Now, in addition, the official site said today that the story title would be revealed and a glimpse would be given of what the Doctor will be facing in the Christmas episode.

The Children In Need broadcast begins at 7.30pm, with the prequel scheduled to air between then and 8pm and the trailer set to go out at some point between 8.30pm and 9pm, although these timings may change.

Doctor Who is once again up for one of the American People's Choice Awards after making it on to the 2013 short list of nominees for Favorite Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Show.

It faces competition from Once Upon A Time, Supernatural (which beat Doctor Who last year in the same category), The Vampire Diaries, and The Walking Dead. The nominees for all 48 categories in the CBS awards show honouring TV, film, and music were announced yesterday at The Paley Center in Beverly Hills.

People can vote as often they like until Thursday 13th December, and the award winners will be revealed on CBS on Wednesday 9th January 2013.

Paul McGann is to be interviewed as part of the Personal Development Planning Week at the Liverpool John Moores University on Tuesday 23rd October. The actor will be there to discuss how his own career has developed. The event is only open to university staff and students. [LJMU, 15 Oct 2012]

Russell T Davies is to be a guest on BBC Radio 2's Graham Norton show on 27th October, to tie in with the premiere of his new children's show Wizards vs Aliens on CBBC on 29th October. Questions can be submitted to the show address.

Arthur Darvill is adding theatrical composition to his ever-growing list of activities; the actor/musician said: "I write music as well, so I work a lot with Sean Walker. We've been working on a twisted version of The Bacchae called The Lightening Child (written by Che Walker) with carnival music, so I've co-written music for that. We made it really big and refused to scale it down. Finally, the Globe said they would love to do it, so we’ll be doing that next summer." [Independent, 17 Oct 2012]

Actress Chase Masterson talks about working with two Doctors on the forthcoming Big Finish audio dramas The Shadow Heart and Night of the Stormcrow: "They were all absolutely charming and very welcoming to me, and it was big fun to see them exude the same playfulness and brilliant quirks that they displayed on screen. Tom and Sylvester were particularly generous with stories of working with other British greats, including Olivier and Gielgud and McKellen, and I even got Sylvester to do a command performance on the spoons. Some of my now-favorite career moments include hearing Sylvester recount stories of the roots of his career in vaudeville, as well as tales of his upcoming, key role in The Hobbit trilogy. Also truly lovely and deserving of her reputation as a favorite Companion is the gorgeous Louise Jameson. What is even more stunning about Louise is the richly aware person she is, and her kindness and personal attention to everyone she comes into contact with." [Star Trek, 11 Oct 2012]

Nina Toussaint-White is currently playing one of four twentysomething white witches in the new contemporary ITV2 comedy-drama Switch. The six-episode show, which started on Monday 15th October, is set in Camden Town and Kensington, with Toussaint-White's character, Jude, as the fashionista of the group, and she said she couldn't believe how alike she was to her. "When I first read the script I thought, 'That's me!' I could see myself in the role because we are so similar. We're both quite bolshie, energetic people. Jude is a hedonist. I wouldn't say I'm a hedonist as such, but I sometimes speak before I think. I like to go out and have fun and party. She's confident and loud, fun and care-free, and I think that's what I'm like," she said. [ITV Press Centre]

BBC Four is to show Mark Gatiss's documentary Horror Europa on Tuesday 30th October at 9pm, it has been confirmed. The 90-minute journey through European horror cinema is a follow-up to his 2010 series A History of Horror for the same channel. [BBC Media Centre, 18 Oct 2012]

Phil Collinson is leaving his post as Coronation Street producer but will be staying at ITV to take up a new role of drama development. He has produced the soap opera since July 2010 and will hand over the reins to current Emmerdale producer Stuart Blackburn in January 2013. He said: "It's been an honour to produce Coronation Street and I'll be sad to leave. But the drama can only stay at the top of its game if the producer is re-energised every two to three years." [ITV Press Centre, 17 Oct 2012]