The Daily Mirror is reporting that the TARDIS interior will be redesigned for Matt Smith's arrival in the TARDIS and the move to HD filming. The Mirroralso says that the designers will "improve the quality of the police box exterior", and credits the change to incoming showrunner Steven Moffat, who scripted a line in the 2007 episode "Blink" noting that the TARDIS's police box windows were the wrong size, an in-joke aimed at the Outpost Gallifrey Forum (now the Doctor Who Forum). The TARDIS redesign story has been picked up by the Daily Telegraph, METRO and Digital Spy.

Cardiff's Western Mail has reported on recent filming in Newport for the second of the 2009 Doctor Who specials.David Tennant and Lindsay Duncanwere filmed with the TARDIS in a snowy street. Spoilery photographs and set reports from fans who were present at the filming can be found in this thread in the Doctor Who Forum.

In other news, the Guardian's TV and radio blog has an entry speculating about casting for the companion in Series 5. The Radio Times will have 21 different covers for Comic Relief's Red Nose Day, including one with David Tennant(also covered at The Wire). And the Daily Telegraph reports that the Royal Shakespeare Company is preparing to film their recent production of Hamlet starring David Tennant and Patrick Stewart.

Thanks to the posters on the Doctor Who Forum's "Media Watch" thread.

Today's Sun announced that Doctor Who could be returning to the stage in a new show later this year. The article reports that the stage show will a multi-media light and sound show with 3D-footage, and will feature many of the Doctor's best loved characters, including "flying DALEKS, croaky CYBERMEN and stocky SONTARANS in the family event."

The paper mentions that plans are at an early stage, and that BBC Worldwide will make a decision in a month or so. Venues mentioned include the Birmingham NEC and the London O2.

Says an insider: "The BBC know they’ve got a massive hit show on their hands, so they want to take it to the next level. They want it to be a Doctor Who experience which will blast fans with amazing visuals and music. The emphasis will be on technology so it’s unlikely any of the show’s stars will be on stage. But they are expected to feature in video elements. That said, the idea of using real actors hasn’t been ruled out."

The story has also been picked up by Digital Spy, What's on TV, the Retford Times and the Gloucestershire Forester.


Australia: the Mercury reports that a stage show based on Doctor Who opens this week at the Peacock Theatre in Tasmania; entitled "Who, Knows", the show follows the adventures of Russell Lambert as he becomes the president of the Doctor Who Club of Tasmania. (with thanks to Dwayne Bunney)

The BBC Press Office have confirmed that filming has now begun in the United Arab Emirates for the forthcoming special Planet of the Dead.

Says producer Tracie Simpson: "We rarely take Doctor Who abroad although we did visit Rome for series four's The Fires Of Pompeii which gave us some spectacular footage. The locations in Dubai are a perfect match for writer Russell T Davies's vision of the episode and we expect to film some incredible scenes while we are here."

Additional photos from filming are available on the BBC's offical Doctor Who website for download as wallpaper.

News on filming has also been mentioned in the local Dubai paper The National: "While filming in crippling sandstorms in Dubai this week may have proved troublesome for mere mortals, the cult sci-fi figure the Doctor, hero of the popular BBC programme Doctor Who, emerged victorious over the climatic horrors of planet Earth. Hundreds of production crew descended on the desert around the city this week to film part of an episode of the programme. The location remained a closely guarded secret despite being in the wide open desert, with production company staff and all technical crew from Dubai required to sign confidentiality agreements."

Further media coverage from: CBBC, WalesOnline, Scottish Herald, Daily Record, Evening Post, Press Association, and Arabian Business.

Posted By John Bowman

Extensive damage was caused to a bus due to be used in Dubai for filming the Doctor Who special Planet of the Dead.

Dubai newspaper 7DAYS has uploaded a report with a picture showing the double-decker's roof crushed. It says the vehicle was damaged by a crane operator at Dubai port as it was being brought into the United Arab Emirates state. The left side of the bus was also crushed inwards, windows were smashed, the frame was bent and paint was ripped from the roof. The vehicle is currently being repaired. (NB: The 7DAYS report could be considered to contain a minor spoiler.)

The accident has also been covered by BBC News, The Sun and Telegraph. (NB: Both newspaper reports contain plot details.)

Although parts of the story's script had to be rewritten the BBC said that filming was "continuing as normal". Another bus is being used for filming in Cardiff.

The images below show more of the damage that was caused to the bus. (NB: These pictures are copyright and courtesy of 7DAYS. They may not be copied or published anywhere else without permission of 7DAYS.)

David Tennant's performance in the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Hamlet, has won him the best Shakespearean performance award from the Critics Circle. Tennant shared the award with Sir Derek Jacobi who won for his performance of Malvolio in the Donmar Warehouse's production of Twelfth Night. Tennant described the experience of playing Hamlet "a dream I never imagined I would get to fulfil".

Former companion and Blue Peter presenter, Peter Purves's autobiography is being published by Green Umbrella Publishing on 10th February. The book, which is being promoted as a scandalous read, will cover Purves time on Doctor Who, working with the first Doctor William Hartnell, as well as his later work on Blue Peter and Kick Start. He will be making several appearances at signing sessions around the UK.

Torchwood has been nominated for best Drama Series, in the annual Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) media awards. GLAAD is dedicated to promoting and ensuring fair, accurate and inclusive representation of people and events in the media as a means of eliminating homophobia and discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. The awards will be presented at three separate ceremonies: in New York on March 28, in Los Angeles on April 19 and in San Francisco on May 9.

Former companion Louise Jameson has given an interview to Kent Life. Jameson who played Leela, talks about her relationship with fourth doctor Tom Baker and well as her work on other projects.

Scorenotes.com has uploaded an audio interview with Doctor Who composer, Murray Gold. Gold discusses both Doctor Who and Torchwood in the segment.

Radio Times has put together a selection of photographs from the recent Radio Times Covers Party. They are available on the website.

Thanks to Roger Jones, Andrew Futter, Rob Turner and Tom H.

Following on from an earlier blog report from The Guardian, the Dubai-based newspaper 7DAYS has reported that filming for one of the forthcoming Doctor Who specials will take place in Dubai. There has been no official word from BBC sources; the7DAYS article quotes an unnamed "BBC insider" confirming that the series will be filming in Dubai "later this year". The same article also states, "At least one other episode will be shot in the US, it was disclosed."

The newspaper also created a few images of Doctor Who aliens and villains in Dubai scenes; one of these is at right. The rest can be seen in the "e-paper" available on the7DAYS website after (free) registration.

Thanks to "chelwood" of the Doctor Who Forum.

Since Matt Smith's announcement at the beginning of the year, media speculation has moved onto who the companion to his Doctor will be for the next series. Whilst the media has speculated on a number of names for the role, such as Lily Allen and Rachel Stevens, most recently they have turned their attention towards former EastEnders actress Michelle Ryan.

Betting company William Hill had initially placed the odds on the actress at5/1; however the Sunday Mirror reported last weekend that Ryan had been "in secret talks with BBC bosses" over the role of companion to the eleventh Doctor, and that an announcement would be made by the BBC very soon (also reported by Digital Spy, Coventry Telegraph, Marie Claireand Den of Geek).

However, with production having now commenced on the first Doctor Who special Planet of the Dead, fans who have been watching events unfold in Cardiff over the last few days have reported on Ryan being involved with this episode. This was confirmed last night with the actress being seen performing with current Doctor David Tennant. Though there has been no official confirmation of her role from the BBC as yet, it is believed that she is playing the part of companion to the tenth Doctor for this special, with The London Paper today reporting her character name as 'Lady Christina de Souza'.

Ryan has recently been seen on television in the BBC's Saturday night fantasy series Merlin, and the short-lived re-imagining of The Bionic Woman. She also appeared in Doctor Who's new head writer Steven Moffat's previous series on the BBC, Jekyll.


Update 2200: further coverage of casting in Den of Geek and Daily Mail.

(with thanks to Lee Tucker and the Cardiff Kinda Group)

The website of The Guardian newspaper has published an article by Gareth McLean, attacking the alleged decision of the BBC to carry out location shooting for one of the forthcoming Doctor Who specials in the state of Dubai.

Although the shooting in the United Arab Emirates has not yet been officially confirmed by the BBC, McLean quotes the Corporation as having told him that "There are no restrictions governing the filming of BBC drama in Dubai." McLean attacks the possibility of the programme being filmed there, on the basis of the country's human rights record.

Says McLean: "Though Dubai might be doing an effective job of presenting itself as a glitzy tourist destination, a place associated with mind-boggling decadence and the embodiment in glass and steel of the determination of the human spirit, the fact is, you may run out of fingers counting the ways in which filming even some of Doctor Who there is wrong."

Executive Producer and Head Writer Russell T. Davies reveals that the forthcoming Doctor Who special Planet Of The Dead will serve as an "antidote" to recent adventures.

The departing showrunner told Doctor Who Magazine: "After the events of Journey's End and The Next Doctor I think it's time to get away from the past and have an adventure with lots of new elements. And lots of fun too!

"The next Special should be a nice antidote to Christmas, with a bit of sunshine if we're lucky. And with not one but two alien races that you've never seen before."

Ariel, the weekly in-house magazine for BBC staff, has published a feature in its latest edition looking at the secret preparations that led to the announcement of Matt Smith's casting as the Eleventh Doctor in a special edition of Doctor Who Confidential last Saturday. The feature reveals that the process was entirely conducted via verbal conversations, with no written record left in e-mail form and as few people as possible made aware of the casting decision.

The special edition of Confidential was organised at a secret meeting in December between executive producer Piers Wenger, BBC One controller Jay Hunt, BBC Controller of Fiction Jane Tranter and Head of Scheduling George Dixon, after Smith had been offered the role but before he had officially signed up to play it. On the day that he did sign a contract, Smith was secretly interviewed by a two-man Doctor Who Confidential crew, and then on Christmas Eve took part in a photoshoot in the basement of BBC Television Centre in London. Neither the photographer nor the stylist involved knew what the shoot was for, with the TARDIS later being photoshopped into the background of the pictures. Time was booked to show the Confidential on BBC Big Screens in town centres across the UK, without the various Big Screen producers in those towns knowing what they would be showing.

Julian Payne, the Communications Chief for BBC One and BBC Drama, tells Ariel: "Right up until the show went out newspapers were firing names at me but in the end, the media too were excited by how the announcement happened. Luck undoubtedly played a part but it was testament to a great team effort, including by BBC Wales, BBC Worldwide,
the big screens team and the Doctor Who website who all swung into action."