BBC Worldwide Americas have announced changes to their previously released plans for the first classic series releases of 2008. "The Complete Davros Boxed Set" and the stand-alone "Remembrance of the Daleks Special Edition" have been indefinitely pulled for now. In their place, March 4 will see the release of Planet of Evil and Destiny of the Daleks, both starring Tom Baker. In April, two more titles will be released: The Time Warrior starring Jon Pertwee, and a new addition to the schedule, Timelash with Colin Baker. The general release rate for the year is increasing but there may be some irregularities to the schedule thereafter. (Thanks to Steve Manfred for the news)

BBC Video and Warner Home Video have announced several planned Doctor Who DVD releases for North America. On March 4, The Complete Davros Collection will be released, as will individual releases of Destiny of the Daleks(1979, starring Tom Baker) and the Remembrance of the Daleks Special Edition (1988, starring Sylvester McCoy). The 1973 Jon Pertwee story The Time Warrior and 1975 Tom Baker story Planet of Evil (both also starring Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith) will be released on April 1.

BBC News have reported that Billie Piper will be returning to Doctor Who, portraying her original role of Rose Tyler.

The news was originally reported in today's Daily Mirror, which went on to say: The Time Lord, played by David Tennant, starts with Donna (Catherine Tate) as his helper, is then joined by Martha (Freema Agyeman) and then reunites with Billie's character Rose for the finale. A source said: "With Donna, Martha and Rose competing to assist him, Dr Who is going to be spoilt for choice." The paper also reported that the actress will be in at least three episodes of the new series. (also reported by The Hollywood News, Daily Record, Ananova, and Marie Claire)

The breaking news was actually reported on our very own Doctor Who Forum last night by fans present at filming in Cardiff, including photos of Billie Piper at the location. These can be found in the forum here if you really want to see them! Thanks to Brian_Damage and PMount for the reports.

Update: The official Doctor Who website has now confirmed that Piper is returning as Rose in Series 4, but adds, "Anything you may read elsewhere about when, how or for how long Rose returns to Doctor Who should be treated as pure speculation at this point."

Meanwhile, the BBC have also issued a general press release on the Christmas line-up, with the principal item being Doctor Who: "BBC One reaffirms its position as the one to watch with a formidable line-up of television's biggest and brightest award-winning stars. David Tennant stars as The Doctor in a very special edition of Doctor Who, alongside the one and only Kylie Minogue, who plays a waitress on the Titanic."

The cover art for the upcoming Beneath the Surface DVD box set has been released, although the cover's designerClayton Hickman has noted on The Doctor Who Forum that this is not the finished version.

The set includes three classic stories: Doctor Who and the Silurians and The Sea Devils starring Jon Pertwee, andWarriors of the Deep starring Peter Davison. The three stories will be available as individual releases in addition to their inclusion in the box set.

Beneath the Surface is set for release in the UK on 14 January 2008.

The British Board of Film Classification has now classified the extras for the UK DVD release of Warriors of the Deep.

Totalling nearly 68 minutes, they will include documentaries entitled The Depths - Making Warriors of the Deep andThey Came From Beneath The Sea, as well as a feature about model-maker and visual effects wizard Mat Irvine.

As reported previously on Outpost Gallifrey, the four-part Peter Davison story is to be included in a box set also comprising Doctor Who and the Silurians and The Sea Devils.

All three stories and their extras have now been classified. A release date for the box set has yet to be announced.

(Thanks to Nicholas Caluda.)

The BBC have officially released a promotional image of a Sontaran, the race of clone warriors from the classic series who are returning to the show in series four of the new series.

The BBC News Online report, featuring the photo, also states that their return adventure will see new companion Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) meetFreema Agyeman's Martha Jones for the first time. Tate, Agyeman and David Tennant are all featured alongside the Sontaran in the promotional shot.

The official website also has a report and images, one of which is included right. The image is BBC copyright, and used purely to promote the programme.

UPDATE (NOV 4): The Press Association has named the Sontaran in the picture as Commander Skorr, played by Dan Starkey.

The British Board of Film Classification has passed a number of extras for the DVD release of The Sea Devils in the UK.

Included on it will be a 36min 35sec documentary entitled Hello Sailor! - Making The Sea Devils, plus a photo gallery and continuities.

The six-part story was classified on October 29. Outpost Gallifrey reported in September that the Jon Pertwee adventure would be part of a three-story box set also comprisingDoctor Who and the Silurians and Warriors of the Deep.

It was revealed in May that The Sea Devils was being prepared for release on DVD, with the news that the Restoration Team were hoping to track down naval personnel who were involved with or who witnessed the filming - in particular, a rating believed to have shot some cine footage.

A release date for the box set has not yet been announced but the BBFC classified Warriors of the Deep on November 1 - the same day it did the extras for The Sea Devils.

Extras for Doctor Who and the Silurians were classified on October 31, and the story was classified on November 1 - with episode seven listed as "Episode 7/Doctor Who - Next Week", which implies a contemporaneous trailer for The Ambassadors of Death is included at the end.