Children in Need - Next Doctor preview

Friday, 24 October 2008 - Reported by Anthony Weight

The BBC Press Office has announced that the first two minutes of the forthcoming Doctor Who Christmas special, "The Next Doctor", will be broadcast as an exclusive preview for the episode as part of this year's Children in Need charity telethon.

Children in Need, the telethon in aid of which is shown on BBC One every November, is this year to be broadcast on Friday 14 November from 7pm. Doctor Who has featured in the programme in various capacities before, including special mini-episodes made specifically for the telethon in 2005 and 2007. Earlier this month it had been rumoured in the media that a special production featuring all seven surviving actors to have played the Doctor might have been in preparation for the evening, but this has proved groundless.

The full episode of "The Next Doctor" is expected to be broadcast by BBC One in the UK on Christmas Day

FILTER: - Specials - Series 4/30 Specials - Press

Easter Special Director Announced

Wednesday, 15 October 2008 - Reported by R Alan Siler

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".

FILTER: - Specials - Production - Series 4/30 Specials

National Television Awards nominations

Sunday, 12 October 2008 - Reported by Anthony Weight

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.

FILTER: - Awards/Nominations - Series 4/30

Series 4 DVD box set details

Wednesday, 8 October 2008 - Reported by Anthony Weight

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.

FILTER: - Series 4/30 - Blu-ray/DVD

Velile Tshabalala interview

Monday, 6 October 2008 - Reported by Anthony Weight

Actress Velile Tshabalala, who plays the character of Rosita in the forthcoming Doctor Who Christmas special The Next Doctor, has given an exclusive interview to the West Sussex Gazette, a local newspaper based in the south of England.

Tshabalala was appearing last weekend at a living history event in Amberley, West Sussex. To publicise it, she spoke to the Gazette's entertainments reporter, Phil Hewitt, and also talked about her role in "The Next Doctor", saying: "I am just so excited about it. We filmed it in April in Cardiff and Gloucester and Monmouth and so it has died down a bit, but now it is getting closer and I just can't wait.

"It is just a one-off Christmas special but out of all the episodes I could have been asked to do it is far better that it is this one."

On the subject of whether she might reappear in future episodes, Tshabalala added: "I would love to do more. At the moment I am just being positive about it, that I did it and that I had a great time. But I would love to be in it again if I can."

She also spoke briefly about her character's role in the episode, information regarding which is included in the spoiler box below.

I have to be very careful what I can say and can't say about it all. You have to bear with me! But she is an East Londoner, very Cockney.

The Doctor is faced with another Doctor. Rosita is the assistant to the other Doctor but as the episode goes on she starts helping the Doctor we know.

FILTER: - People - Specials - Series 4/30 Specials

New DVD Titles in the Pipeline

Saturday, 27 September 2008 - Reported by Marcus

Infomation from the BBFC website indicates the titles of four more stories due to be released on DVD in 2009.

From the First Doctor's era The Rescue and The Romans will be released as a double set. The Rescue is a two parter featuring the arrival of Maureen O'Brien as Vicki, while The Romans is a four part romp set around the court of the Emperor Nero. Both stories were first shown in 1965.

From the Sixth Doctor's era we have The Twin Dilemma which was Colin Baker's debut story, shown in 1984 and Attack of the Cybermen, first shown in 1985.

FILTER: - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD

E-Space Trilogy coming to DVD

Saturday, 20 September 2008 - Reported by Marcus

The British Board of Film Classification has passed a trailer for the Fourth Doctor E-Space Trilogy.

While classification by the board is no guarantee of a DVD release, it is the first official indication that the stories should be available in the next few months.

The three stories, Full Circle, State of Decay and Warriors' Gate, were first shown in the autumn and winter of 1980-81. They come from Tom Baker's final season and feature the arrival of Adric, played by Matthew Waterhouse, and the departures of K9, voiced by John Leeson, and Romana, played by Lalla Ward.

Thanks to Mark Snyder.

FILTER: - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD

Canada: Series Four on CBC Tonight

Friday, 19 September 2008 - Reported by Mike Doran

Series Four of Doctor Who will debut tonight Friday September 19th on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation at 9:00pm EDT across Canada (9:30pm in Newfoundland). In some markets this will put Doctor Who in direct competition with Series Two ofTorchwood which is currently running on " style="color: rgb(44, 111, 154); text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; ">SPACE.

The CBC is launching Series Four with Partners in Crime. At this time there is no word on if or when the 2007 Christmas special Voyage of the Damnedwill air on CBC.

The CBC have updated their Doctor Who Websitefor Series Four.

FILTER: - Canada - Series 4/30

Series Four Soundtrack On Its Way

Friday, 19 September 2008 - Reported by DWNP Archive

Posted By John Bowman

Silva Screen Records is to release music from Series Four of Doctor Who in mid-November.

A news item on its website says the tracks, composed by Murray Gold, will include Song Of Freedom - the choral piece that marked the Daleks' defeat in Journey's End. The Doctor's Theme is another of the tracks, but no other titles are known yet.

The exact date of the CD's release has still to be announced.

FILTER: - Murray Gold - Audio - Series 4/30

2009 Specials Casting Rumours - UPDATED

Thursday, 11 September 2008 - Reported by R Alan Siler

The Sun is reporting inside information on some major cast news for the 2009 specials starring David Tennant. Details are found in the Spoiler box below.

Remember, consider all such information as strictly rumour until confirmed publicly by the BBC.

UPDATE - SEP 12: The BBC today rejected one of the claims. The details are in the Spoiler box.

The Sun is reporting that casting for the 2009 specials includes Catherine Tate, John Simm, Bernard Cribbins and Paul McGann.

On September 8 it wrote that insiders had revealed that Tate, Simm and Cribbins would make returns. "Fans will be delighted to see Catherine back. She was one of the wackiest companions of all time and she brought heaps of humour.

"And it’s great to have John back - he and David Tennant have a real nemesis chemistry."

Donna's return would be in light of the events that occurred at the end of Series Four, in which the Doctor wiped her mind of all knowledge of him and of her adventures in order to save her life. The Sun's source commented: "Anything can happen in Doctor Who. His assistants are always recurring and Donna is no exception. When you’re a Time Lord you can go back to any point in history and meet whoever you want."

And The Sun reported today that one of the specials would be a "flashback" tale that would feature the return ofPaul McGann to the role of the Doctor, which he played on screen only once, in 1996. "Fans loved Paul’s Doctor and feel he was never given the proper chance to shine. Reference is often made to the Time War which wiped out the Time Lords and this will give them a taste of that," The Sun's source revealed.

According to the story, flashback scenes will see him battered from the Time War and shorn of the long hair he had in the 1996 TV film.

UPDATE: According to Digital Spy on September 12, the BBC has quashed the story of the McGann casting. A spokeswoman is quoted as saying: "There is no truth to the story at all."

FILTER: - Specials - Production - Series 4/30 Specials - Press

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