The latest edition of Doctor Who Magazine, released Thursday, looks back ten years to the time when it had just been announced that Doctor Who was to return, and asks was the series nearly stopped before it could begin?

In the first part of a look back at how and why Doctor Who was recommissioned back in 2003, the magazine talks to the people who ensured its successful comeback, including the then BBC Controller of Drama Commissioning Jane Tranter, writer Russell T Davies and BBC Wales' Head of Drama Julie Gardner who tells the magazine: Also in this issue.

• Doctor Who’s showrunner and head writer Steven Moffat presents the three pieces that he wrote for the actors that have auditioned for the role of the Twelfth Doctor.
• Doctor Who author Bob Baker looks back on his career in an interview and speaks of his most famous contribution to the Doctor Who universe: K9, the Doctor’s robotic dog.
• As we await the announcement of the new star of Doctor Who, journalist Claire Budd and novelist Una McCormack go head-to-head to debate the burning question: Is it time for the Doctor to become a woman?
• Arriving in the far future, the Fourth Doctor, Harry and Sarah discover that the last survivors of mankind are about to face the deadly, parasitic Wirrn! The Fact of Fiction looks back to one of Doctor Who's all-time great adventures – The Ark In Space – and reveals some surprising new facts
• It’s 2010, and the dawn of a new era as Matt Smith makes his début as the Eleventh Doctor. The show may have a new leading man and a new style, but it’s still Doctor Who in the latest instalment of the ongoing cruise through Doctor Who history in Countdown to 50.
• The Time Team take a trip to pre-war England as Chris, Emma, Michael and Will settle down to watch the two-part Tenth Doctor story Human Nature/ The Family of Blood and find that the formidable Family of Blood and their sinister Scarecrow servants are following the Doctor’s trail.
• Clara’s lunch date with the legendary pilot Amy Johnson has been rudely interrupted by two identical copies of themselves… made from sand! Meanwhile, the Doctor is having trouble with his own doppelganger, and the real enemy is about to make its entrance. The latest comic strip adventure A Wing and a Prayer – written by Scott Gray with art by Mike Collins – continues.
• Change is an essential part of Doctor Who and has allowed the series to constantly reinvent and reinvigorate itself for 50 years. And, as Jacqueline Rayner tells in this issue’s Relative Dimensions, this means that the series can be a useful tool when teaching children that nothing lasts forever
• Jon Pertwee is the Doctor, as former Doctor Who Script Editor Andrew Cartmel reviews the new Blu-ray release of the Third Doctor's classic 1970 début adventure Spearhead From Space
• The Watcher takes a look at Doctor Who episode titles in A History of Doctor Who in 100 Objects, and discovers that the names of colours have become a recent trend

Plus all the latest official news, TV and merchandise reviews, previews, competitions and a prize-winning crossword.

A special edition of Doctor Who Magazine has been published today featuring telesnaps from missing Second Doctor episodes.

Although a total of 106 Doctor Who episodes no longer exist in the BBC archives, there are pictorial records of most of them in the form of photos taken of TV screens at the time of broadcast, and The Missing Episodes – The Second Doctor Volume 1 contains images from six Patrick Troughton stories across its 116 pages.

The adventures covered are The Power of the Daleks, The Highlanders, The Underwater Menace, The Moonbase, The Macra Terror, and The Faceless Ones.

The special publication also has a feature by researcher and author Richard Molesworth, which reveals how some missing episodes of Doctor Who have miraculously been found and returned to the archives over the years. Molesworth wrote the book Wiped! Doctor Who's Missing Episodes, which was updated this year for a second edition.

It is unknown as yet when Volume 2 will be published or which stories it will cover.

The new edition of Doctor Who Magazine, out today, asks the question as to who will be the Twelfth Doctor. And as speculation mounts about the identity of who that might be, the show’s head writer and executive producer Steven Moffat writes exclusively about casting Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor, and the times they’ve shared together during the production of the series.


Also this issue:

• How many Doctors? If you thought there just eleven Doctors, think again! And we’re not just referring to the surprise appearance of John Hurt at the end of The Name of the Doctor. Discover the Doctor’s forgotten incarnations in The Sixty-Seven Doctors!.
• The Captain's Back! He fought at the Third Doctor's side as UNIT's Captain Mike Yates, confronting Autons, battling Daleks, and resisting the control of mad computers... DWM talks exclusively to Richard Franklin about his relationship with his alter ego.
• Choc's Away! Clara makes her comic strip début in the first part of a brand new adventure, A Wing and A Prayer, written by Scott Gray with art by Mike Collins. When a sandstorm forces the TARDIS down in the Iraqi desert in 1930, Clara is overjoyed to meet the legendary Amy Johnson, currently engaged in her bid to become the first woman to fly across the world. But something else is hiding in desert sands. Something small and sinister...
• Changing History: the Sixth Doctor uncovers a plot by the Cybermen to change their own history by using Halley’s comet to destroy the Earth, in Attack of the Cybermen, The Fact of Fiction places this serial from 1985 under the microscope, revealing more facts about the story than a Cyberman can shake a clenched silver fist at. Excellent!
• Power Mad! DWM's Countdown to 50 reaches the final days of the Tenth Doctor era and the five Specials shown from Christmas 2008 to New Year’s Day 2010, as the chorological tour through Doctor Who history continues. So eager to help people, the Tenth Doctor crosses a line and breaks the rules...
• Sun Burn: Chris, Emma, Michael and Will are on the edge of their seats as the seconds count down to disaster for the ill-fated SS Pentallian and her crew as it plunges down into the hungry fires of a sun. Will our Time Team chums survive the tension of the nail-biting Tenth Doctor adventure, 42? Or will it just be one big meltdown?
• Don't Interrupt! There’s nothing more annoying than having your viewing of a brand new episode of Doctor Who disturbed by a phone call or a knock at the door. But, as Jacqueline Rayner relates in this issue’s Relative Dimensions, with a husband and two children, it’s not always easy to maintain that perfect peace and calm, even for just 45 minutes...
• Yum, Yum: WOTCHA! is full of Goodies this issue as the mysterious white one shines a light on some of Doctor Who’s more notable, enduring and often quoted misconceptions – including that there was an episode featuring a giant kitten that climbed up the Post Office Tower! All this to be found in A History of Doctor Who in 100 Objects. Plus The Six Faces of Delusion continues the Goodies theme; a selection of new previously unknown definitions from The Stockbridge English Dictionary; The Top Ten Nursery Rhymes with a Doctor Who twist; and an unforgiving spotlight on another Supporting Artist of the Month.

PLUS! All the latest official news, TV and merchandise reviews, previews, ratings analysis, competitions, a prize-winning crossword and much, much more!

The latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine is in the shops Thursday, and marks the centenary of legendary actor Peter Cushing’s birth, as well as the release on DVD and Blu-ray of Dr Who and the Daleks and Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150 AD in which he starred. DWM takes a look at the life of the man who was the big screen Dr Who...

Also in this issue:

• The Cyber-Planner: "I thought the coolest thing in the world would be writing Batman, and it absolutely was... until the point that I wrote Doctor Who." Neil Gaiman tells us about writing the recent episode Nightmare in Silver!
• And The Winnder Is... The votes are in for the 2012 Season Survey and the winners are revealed, including: Favourite Story, Best Director, Best Writer, and what was top of your wish list for the forthcoming 50th anniversary – as well as a chance to vote in our 2013 poll.
• Countdown to Destruction! The TARDIS takes the First Doctor, Vicki and Steven to a doomed alien world where a conflict rages between the survivors of two crashed spaceships, the Drahvins and the Rills in Galaxy 4. This overlooked serial from 1965 is the subject of this issue’s Fact of Fiction, which reveals new and fascinating facts about the production.
• Good Things: Doctor Who’s top man Steven Moffat answers questions from DWM readers, including how he times the length of episodes, and how would he feel about an American version of Doctor Who?
• Noble Companion: DWM’s journey through the history of Doctor Who reaches 2008 and the show's thirtieth series in Countdown to 50. Donna Noble becomes the Doctor’s travelling companion and together they encounter Sontarans, crazed Ood, Davros and Agatha Christie, and visit ancient Rome, parallel worlds, and the Shadow Proclamation.
• Youth Today! Chris, Emma, Michael and Will roll back the years when they sit down to watch The Lazarus Experiment from 2007. What will our trusty Time Team make of Professor Lazarus’ quest for eternal youth?
• Final Reckoning... The Promethians have won, mankind has been reduced to a state of barbarism and the Doctor and his friends Ian and Barbara are at the mercy of the Tribe of Gum. All hope is lost. Or is it? The Doctor has a plan, but is it already too late? Events reach a staggering climax in the sixth and final instalment of the epic comic strip adventure Hunters of the Burning Stone, written by Scott Gray, with pencils by Martin Geraghty.
• It's The End... Columnist Jac Rayner recalls how she helped her children face the reality of death – both fictional and in reality in this issue’s Relative Dimensions.
• The Reason We're Writin': The Watcher tackles the thorny subject of Doctor Who mispronunciations in A History of Doctor Who in 100 Objects; presents a Grecian themed challenge to readers with The Six Faces of Delusion; outs another hapless Supporting Artist of the Month; and goes Wild with a list of Top Ten Westerns. All this and more in this issue’s hilarious Wotcha!
  

PLUS! All the latest official news, TV and merchandise reviews, previews, ratings analysis, competitions, a prize-winning crossword and much, much more!

A special souvenir magazine from the makers of Doctor Who Magazine has been released:

Please note: this is a special release and is not included in any regular DWM subscription.

The latest edition of Doctor Who Magazine is out this Thursday, and delves into what to expect as the current run of episodes draws to a close.

Speaking about The Name of the Doctor, Steven Moffat said:

Also in this issue:

• New Episode Previews! DWM previews the final three episodes of the latest series – The Crimson Horror, Nightmare in Silver and The Name of the Doctor – and talks exclusively to writers Mark Gatiss and Neil Gaiman, and returning guest stars Neve McIntosh (Vastra), Catrin Stewart (Jenny) and Dan Starkey (Strax).
• Old Friends and Enemies: The Doctor reflects on the many battles he has had throughout his lives, and must travel to the past to save the future of the Earth... Don’t miss the penultimate chapter of our comic strip epic, Hunters of the Burning Stone, written by Scott Gray, with art from Martin Geraghty, David A Roach and James Offredi.
• Farewell to the Creator: DWM takes a look at the life and career of the late Raymond P Cusick, and pays tribute to the man who designed the Daleks back in 1963.
• 100, Not Out! Gaffer Mark Hutchings is the only person to have worked on every single episode of Doctor Who since its return to production in 2004. With more than 100 episodes under his belt, Mark shares his memories of working with three Doctors over nine years...
• Childish Questions: Doctor Who's commander-in-chief Steven Moffat responds to readers’ queries – and reveals not only how the Statue of Liberty made it to Winter Quay without being seen, but also how what changes he would have made if he’d script-edited the very first episode, An Unearthly Child...
• Martha not Arthur: It's 2007 – the Tenth Doctor is joined in the TARDIS by Martha Jones and together they confront the Macra, the Daleks and the Master! DWM’s journey through five decades of Doctor Who continues with Series 29 in Countdown to 50!
• And Then There Were None! The Fourth Doctor and Leela find themselves on a remote island defending a lighthouse from attack by an alien Rutan in Horror of Fang Rock. The Fact of Fiction takes a long, hard look at the four-part adventure from 1977, and reveals a wealth of fascinating new facts about the story.
• Daleks USA! The Time Team travel across the Pond to 1930s America where Chris, Emma, Michael and Will discover that the Daleks are responsible for the construction of the Empire State Building in the two-part adventure, Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks
• Everyone's Favourite: Writer, passionate fan and mother of twins Jacqueline Rayner reveals that when it comes to choosing favourite moments and episodes, everyone in her family has their own personal choices in her latest candid column, Relative Dimensions.
• True Blue: The Watcher reveals how Margaret Thatcher had a lasting influence on Doctor Who in A History of Doctor Who in 100 Objects; challenges readers with The Six Faces of Delusion, champions another Supporting Artist of the Month and provides deliciously culinary theme to Ristorante Italiano Top Ten. All this and more in this issue’s Wotcha!

PLUS! All the latest official news, TV and merchandise reviews, previews, competitions, a prize-winning crossword and much, much more!

This month sees the publication of Nemesis of the Daleks, the fifteenth volume in the ongoing series of Doctor Who Graphic Novels, published by Panini Books. The Graphic Novels are collections of comic strips that originally appeared in the pages of Doctor Who Magazine and other related titles.

Nemesis of the Daleks, named after the book’s opening strip, is the second volume of Seventh Doctor comic strips (picking up where A Cold Day in Hell!, published in 2009, left off). The stories in this collection originally appeared in 1989 and 1990. At that time the strips not only ran in Doctor Who Magazine but also in a second Marvel Comics UK title, The Incredible Hulk Presents. Comic strips from both titles are included in this book, with a number of stories reproduced for the first time since their original publication.

The book includes the popular ‘back up’ strips featuring Abslom Daak from 1980 issues of Doctor Who Weekly and Doctor Who Monthly, to tie-in with the character’s appearance in the Nemesis of the Daleks story. There is also a detailed commentary by former Doctor Who Magazine editor John Freeman, featuring input from the writers, artists and editors who worked on these strips, with reproduced script pages and rough pencil drawings.

Here is the full list of strips included in the graphic novel. (Titles marked * are reprinted for the first time in this collection.)

• Nemesis of the Daleks (Doctor Who Magazine #152-155)
• Stairway to Heaven (Doctor Who Magazine #156) *
• Once in a Lifetime (The Incredible Hulk Presents #1)
• Hunger from the Ends of Time! (The Incredible Hulk Presents #2-3)
• War World! (The Incredible Hulk Presents #4)
• Technical Hitch (The Incredible Hulk Presents #5)
• A Switch in Time! (The Incredible Hulk Presents #6)
• The Sentinel! (The Incredible Hulk Presents #7) *
• Who’s that Girl! (The Incredible Hulk Presents #8-9) *
• The Enlightenment of Ly-Chee the Wise (The Incredible Hulk Presents #10) *
• Slimmer! (The Incredible Hulk Presents #11) *
• Nineveh! (The Incredible Hulk Presents #12) *
• Train-Flight (Doctor Who Magazine #159-161)
• Doctor Conkerer! (Doctor Who Magazine #162)
• Abslom Daak: Dalek Killer (Doctor Who Weekly #17-20)
• Star Tigers (Doctor Who Weekly #27-30, Doctor Who Monthly #44-46)

Doctor Who Magazine is out now and sssssuggests that there's sssssomething very sssssspecial in the new issue.

Writer Mark Gatiss tells DWM how excited he was to bring back one of Doctor Who’s iconic monsters in Cold War:

Also in this issue:

• The New Series- full previews of the episodes to hit screens over the next few weeks.
• Hide and Seek - Jessica Raine, soon to be seen as Doctor Who’s original producer Verity Lambert in An Adventure in Space and Time and star of Call the Midwife, reveals all about guest-starring in the forthcoming episode Hide – and how she believes in ghosts!
• Where There's a Wills - Anneke Wills looks back on her time as glam-girl Polly, companion to the First and Second Doctors – and how thrilling it was to be present at the first-ever regeneration.
• The Martian Chronicles - As the Ice Warriors return to menace the Eleventh Doctor, DWM winds back the clock to 1967 and the Doctor’s first encounter with the Lords of the red planet. Discover a wealth of fascinating facts about what happened to the Second Doctor, Jamie and Victoria when they fought Varga on Britannicus Base as The Ice Warriors is thawed out in The Fact of Fiction.
• Man At The Top - Doctor Who lead writer and executive producer Steven Moffat answers more of your questions – including what Blink and his his other stories were originally called...
• Road Rage - The Tenth Doctor and Martha Jones get stuck in traffic when they travel into the future for a visit to New Earth. The Time Team get caught in the Gridlock, but what will Will, Emma, Chris and Michael make of it all?
• Tribal Dance - The Doctor faces his past in more ways than one as the Hunters are revealed to be the unearthly Tribe of Gum! The Doctor, Ian and Barbara attempt to unravel the mystery in Part Four of our epic comic strip, Hunters of the Burning Stone, written by Scott Grey and illustrated by Martin Geraghty.
• Second Helpings - it’s 2006 and Doctor Who has become the most talked about show on TV! David Tennant is the new Doctor, Billie Piper plays Rose – and the sky's the limit on the trip of the a lifetime. DWM's trip through five decades of adventure reaches Series 28 in Countdown to 50!
• Practical Parenting - What do you do when your children swap Time Lords for another interest? Jacqueline Rayner soothes the fevered brow of Doctor Who-loving parents everywhere in Relative Dimensions
• Caught in a Vacuum - The Watcher ponders the triangular nature of one of Doctor Who’s greatest design innovations in A History of Doctor Who in 100 Objects, jumps to the left for a Rocky Horror-themed Six Faces of Delusion and dazzles with more entries from the Stockbridge English Dictionary. Its WOTCHA!

PLUS! All the latest offical news, reviews and previews from the worlds of Doctor Who, prize-winning competitions and crossword, and, much, much more.

Major news about the casting for the 50th Anniversary special has been leaked, thanks to a mistake in the distribution of Doctor Who Magazine.

The official magazine is due to be published next Thursday, but many subscribers have received their copy today complete with news on the casting of the anniversary episode, due to be shown on the programme's 50th Anniversary next November.

Doctor Who Magazine and the BBC have asked us not to publish details of the casting until the news is officially released next week.

Doctor Who Magazine have released a special magazine devoted to the surviving images from the missing episodes of the William Hartnell era:


The magazine is in the shops now.