BBC America has announced that their new BBC America HD channel will launch in July with the HD broadcast of Torchwood: Children of Earth and the latest Doctor Who special, Planet of the Dead. Torchwood: Children of Earth will air on BBC America HD and BBC America on five consecutive nights, beginning on Monday, July 20. Planet of the Dead will follow on Sunday, July 26. (As previously announced, the 2008 Christmas special, The Next Doctor, will air on BBC America on Saturday, June 27.)

It is not known whether earlier plans for "Children of Earth" to be aired on the same day on BBC America and BBC One are still on track. British television channels traditionally announce their schedules closer to broadcast date than American channels do, so the UK broadcast date for "Children of Earth" will probably not be confirmed for several weeks.

Full details for the launch of BBC America HD, including broadcast times and information about "Being Human" and "Primeval", are available here and here.

The BBC has announced that Scottish actress Karen Gillan is to play the new companion, alongside Eleventh Doctor Matt Smith, in the next series of Doctor Who, due to be broadcast in the spring of next year.

Twenty-one year-old Gillan previously appeared in last year's episode "The Fires of Pompeii", as the Soothsayer. BBC News reports that she studied acting at Telford College in Edinburgh, and has also appeared in The Kevin Bishop Show and the forthcoming film Outcast, starring James Nesbitt.

In the press release, executive producer and chief writer Steven Moffat is quoted as saying: "We saw some amazing actresses for this part, but when Karen came through the door the game was up. Funny, and clever, and gorgeous, and sexy. Or Scottish, which is the quick way of saying it. A generation of little girls will want to be her. And a generation of little boys will want them to be her too."

Gillan herself says: "I am absolutely over the moon at being chosen to play the Doctor's new companion. The show is such a massive phenomenon that I can't quite believe I am going to be a part of it. Matt Smith is an incredible actor and it is going to be so much fun to act alongside him – I just can't wait to get started!"

The news is also being reported by, among many others: Children's BBC, InTheNews.co.uk, Digital Spy, Den of Geek, Broadcast Now, The Stage, The Sun and The Guardian.

The Restoration Team has posted details of the upcoming DVD box set release of the final Patrick Troughton adventure The War Games on its website. The extras include:

• Commentary, with contributions from actors Frazer Hines, Wendy Padbury, Philip Madoc, Jane Sherwin and Graham Weston, co-writer Terrance Dicks and script editor Derrick Sherwin.

• War Zone (dur. 36' 23") - cast and crew recall the making of Patrick Troughton's epic swansong. With actors Frazer Hines, Wendy Padbury, Bernard Horsfall, Jane Sherwin and Graham Weston, director David Maloney, producer Derrick Sherwin, co-writer Terrance Dicks, designer Roger Cheveley, Doctor Who Magazine editor Tom Spilsbury , new series writers Paul Cornell, James Moran and Joseph Lidster. Narrated by Gerard Murphy.

• Shades of Grey (dur. 21' 45") - just how did the technical and artistic constraints of monochrome television conspire to effect the unique look and feel of early productions? With actors Frazer Hines, Wendy Padbury and Jane Sherwin, script editors Terrance Dicks and Derrick Sherwin, director Timothy Combe, production designer Roger Cheveley, graphic designer Bernard Lodge and sound designer Brian Hodgson. Narrated by Gerard Murphy.

• Now and Then (dur. 9' 35") - the ongoing series visits the locations of 'The War Games' forty years on…

• The Doctor's Composer (dur. 17'32") - prolific composer Dudley Simpson looks back at his first five years of work on Doctor Who.

• Sylvia James - In Conversation (dur. 8' 27") - make-up designer Sylvia James talks about her work on Patrick Troughton's Doctor Who stories.

• Talking About Regeneration (dur. 24' 12") - the concept of regenerating a show's main character into an entirely new physical form proved to be both a lifesaver for the show and an increasingly important part of its mythos. This feature explores the ideas involved and takes a closer look at each of the Doctor's regenerations. With actors Peter Davison and Kate O'Mara, writers Rob Shearman, Joseph Lidster and Gareth Roberts.

• Time Zones (dur. 15' 21") - historians discuss the reality behind the various time zones featured in 'The War Games'. With political historian Dr. Martin Farr, military historian Crispin Swayne, Newcastle University's Lindsay Allison-Jones and author Prof. Susan-Mary Grant.

• Stripped for Action - The Second Doctor (dur. 13' 46") - the continuing series of features focussing on the Doctor's comic strip adventures looks at the Second Doctor. With former Doctor Who Magazine editors Alan Barnes and Gary Russell, comics historians Jeremy Bentham and John Ainsworth.

• On Target - Malcolm Hulke (dur. 20' 00") - the first in a series of features on the Target range of TV story novelizations looks at the work of writer Malcolm Hulke. With authors Terrance Dicks, Gary Russell and David J Howe, artist Chris Achilleos.

• Devious (dur. 12' 15") - for over a decade, a group of friends on England's south coast met on weekends to shoot an amateur Doctor Who film - 'Devious' - which takes place between the events of Patrick Troughton's swansong 'The War Games' and Jon Pertwee's introduction in 'Spearhead from Space', and features their own previously unknown incarnation of the Doctor. To segue back into 'Spearhead', the team decided to put up the money to employ Jon Pertwee for a day… in what was to become his last ever appearance as the Third Doctor. This feature also has a commentary from the production team.

Plus of course the usual Photo Gallery, Subtitle Production Notes, PDF material and Coming Soon trailer. If you look carefully on all three discs, you might find some interesting Easter Eggs hiding away, including a somewhat different take on 'The Trial of Doctor Who'. And so might I! And so might he!

The Restoration Team has released details of the upcoming Delta and the Bannermen DVD starring Sylvester McCoy as the Doctor and Bonnie Langford as Mel. Included in the set are:

• Commentary with actors Sylvester McCoy and Sara Griffiths, director Chris Clough and script editor Andrew Cartmel.

• But First This (dur. 6' 07") - Andy Crane presents a behind-the-scenes report from the location shoot, including interviews with Sylvester McCoy, Bonnie Langford and Ken Dodd.

• Wales Today (dur. 2' 15") - a location report from the BBC Wales news programme, featuring behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with Sylvester McCoy and producer John Nathan-Turner.

• Episode One - First Edit (dur. 30' 28") - the first edit of episode one, without music and sound effects, runs six minutes longer than the transmitted version and many scenes were significantly re-ordered between the two.

• Interview Rushes (dur. 16' 31") - raw location interviews with Sylvester McCoy, Bonnie Langford and Ken Dodd, conducted for the 'But First This' item.

• Hugh and Us (dur. 7' 13") - actor Hugh Lloyd interviewed about his career and his part in the story.

• Clown Court (dur. 5' 40") - The Seventh Doctor is called to the dock by judge Noel Edmonds to view out-takes and answer charges of "impersonating a Time Lord", in this extract from The Noel Edmonds Saturday Roadshow. Also includes out-takes from the recording of the sketch.

• Stripped for Action (dur. 21' 32") - the ongoing look at the Doctor Who comic strips focuses on the Seventh Doctor's appearances. With writer and editor Scott Gray, writers Simon Furman, Paul Cornell and Andrew Cartmel, artist Lee Sullivan, former Doctor Who Magazine editors John Freeman, Gary Russell and Alan Barnes.

• Trails and Continuity (dur. 3' 17") - BBC1 trails and continuity announcements from the story's original transmission.

• Plus of course the usual Radio Times Listing PDF, Coming Soon trailer, Programme Subtitles, Subtitle Production Notes and Photo Gallery.

DVD sales sites have begun listing release dates for several stories for DVD release in the UK.

The second Doctor swan song, The War Games, is due for release on July 6th. The ten part story, staring Patrick Troughton is released on 3 discs. First shown in 1969, it also features Frazer Hines and Wendy Padbury.
Extras cleared for release at the BBFC website include a feature on the truth behind the War Games, Timezones; a feature on Malcolme Hulke; a 'Now and Then' on the Locations used in the story; a feature on Dudley Simpson; and a look at the Second Doctor in Comic strips.

August 10th sees the release of a box set entitled The Black Guardian Trilogy which contains three stories from the fifth Doctor.Mawdryn Undead, Terminus and Enlightenment were originally broadcast in the winter of 1983. They cover the arrival of Mark Strickson as Turlough and the departure of Sarah Sutton as Nyssa as well as featuring Janet Fielding as Tegan Jovanka.

Listed for release in September are two stories. The first Colin Baker story, The Twin Dilemma is listed for release on September 7th. This is the first conformation that the story will be released this year. It completes the DVD releases for the sixth Doctor. Just two weeks later sees the release of the first Doctor story, The Keys of Marinus.

In addition, a special edition of the 1988 Sylvester McCoy story Remembrance of the Daleks is being issued on July 20th.

The current expected UK DVD release schedule is therefore as follows:

• 22 June 2009 - Delta And The Bannermen
• 6 July 2009 - The War Games
• 20 July 2009 - Remembrance Of The Daleks - Special Edition 
• 10 August 2009 - The Black Guardian Trilogy
• 7 September 2009 - The Twin Dilemma
• 21 September 2009 - The Keys of Marinus

The Dalek War box set (Frontier in Space / Planet of the Daleks) is still expected later this year.

All dates are subject to change.

Last night was packed with awards wins for Doctor Who as it won two awards at the Bafta Craft Awards and four awards at theBafta Cymru awards ceremonies.

The Mill won the award for visual effects for its work on The Fires of Pompeii, and Phillip Kloss scooped the award for best editing in fiction or entertainment for his work on the fourth series. Russell T Davies had also been nominated for the writing award for Midnight, but lost out to Peter Moffat, the writer of Criminal Justice.

The Bafta Cymru wins saw three out of the four awards going for work on Midnight. These were for Best Sound, Philip Kloss won theBest Editor Award, and Russell T Davies was successful this time in winning Best Writer. Euros Lynreceived the award for Best Director for Silence in the Library.

Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures had also received Bafta Cymru nominations but were not successful in their categories.

The BBC's Torchwood website has confirmed that three new Torchwood radio plays have been recorded, and will air on BBC Radio 4's Afternoon Play prior to the television broadcast of Torchwood: Children of Earth. A previous Torchwood radio drama, "Lost Souls" by Joseph Lidster, was broadcast on Radio 4 last September, and is now available for purchase on CD and download. The BBC says that the new plays will "bridge the gap between Torchwood: Lost Souls and the upcoming Torchwood: Children of Earthtelevision series."

The new plays star John Barrowman as Captain Jack, Eve Myles as Gwen and Gareth David-Lloyd as Ianto. Each play will be 45 minutes long, and will air at 2:15 pm in the "Afternoon Play" slot. They will also be available as downloads and on iPlayer for 7 days after their initial broadcast. Broadcast dates have not yet been announced.

Titles, authors and summaries for the three plays are as follows:

UK news service The Sun is reporting that former James Bond star Timothy Dalton will appear in one of the final specials starringDavid Tennant as the Doctor.

Dalton, star of The Living Daylights and License to Kill, is reportedly playing a villain in the Who episode.

As always, treat all such reports as rumour until confirmed from official sources.

BBC America has begun airing short commercials promoting their airing of the new Torchwood series, Children of Earth. According to their commercial, Children of the Earth will be broadcast in July, although specific dates have not been revealed. This seems to indicate that they will not be showing it simultaneously with its airing in the UK.

May 9 - UK Cable/Satellite network Watch has removed the paragraphs discussing their Torchwood plans for June. The following paragraphs were originally in the June Monthly Highlights, giving fans momentary hope that the BBC had decided on the UK airdate for Torchwood. The BBC has made no announcement on the UK airdate.

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