New series experience at South Africa Comic-ConBookmark and Share

Thursday, 30 August 2018 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Comic Con Africa (Credit: Comic Con)BBC Studios (formerly BBC Worldwide) have announced that it will be hosting a special Doctor Who experience at South Africa's first Comic Con to tie in with the next series due to air in the country later this year.

The event is taking place in Johannesburg between 14th and 16th September, and will feature VR experiences, video games, trivia and fan giveaways, plus a special showing of Peter Capaldi's finale and the arrival of a new Doctor!

The series itself will be shown in South Africa as a Showmax exclusive, and has been described as:
Bigger and bolder than ever, Series 11 marks the arrival of the Thirteenth Doctor – a super-smart explorer of the universe, alongside a team of new friends and delightful characters. The new series heralds a brand-new era for Doctor Who with a world-class team at the helm. The show will be full of action and adventure, humour and heart – an unmissable high-end drama everyone will enjoy.

BBC Studios can be found at Stand B113 in the Exhibition Hall.




FILTER: - Doctor Who - South Africa - Special Events

Katy Manning and John Leeson at Charity Event in CoventryBookmark and Share

Wednesday, 22 August 2018 - Reported by Marcus
John Leeson and Katy Manning are to appear at a charity event this Thursday in Coventry.

The People's Dispensary for Sick Animals, PDSA is holding a Doctor Who-themed open day later this week at the Coventry PDSA Pet Hospital. The open day will give local families, animal lovers and budding vets the chance to go behind the scenes of the busy Pet Hospital to see where life-saving pet operations are carried out.

John Leeson, who has been the main voice of the Robot Dog K-9 since his first appearance in Doctor Who in 1977, will be attending along with actress Katy Manning, who played companion Jo Grant alongside the third doctor.

The stars will be joined by a host of baddies and props from the hit sci-fi series, including a TARDIS, Dalek, Cyberman, and K9 himself, who will, of course, be given a free doggy MOT. The free family event is being held at the Pet Hospital on Barkers Butts Lane on Thursday 23 August 11am to 4pm.

Senior Vet at Coventry PDSA, Kurt Vandamme, said
If you’ve ever wondered what goes on inside a pet hospital, all will be revealed! There will be plenty going on for the whole family, with tours of the operating theatre and x-ray suite, a sponsored dog walk, charity car wash, free dog MOTs and plenty of entertaining activities for children.

We’re holding this open day as it will give people the chance to learn more about the charity, which has been saving the lives of pets every single day for 100 years.
The event will raise funds for Coventry PDSA Pet Hospital, which costs around £850,000 annually to run and doesn’t receive any government funding. The special appearances have been arranged by Fantom Events who have donated their services to PDSA free of charge, as well as making a generous donation to Coventry PDSA.

Kurt added
We’d like to thank Fantom Events for their fabulous support for our open day. We’re really looking forward to meeting the Dr Who stars, and giving our in-depth pet hospital tours. We’ll be giving people an insight into how pets get diagnosed, what happens in an operating theatre and how we help poorly pets recover after surgery. There will be hands-on demonstrations and children will even be able to experience life as a PDSA vet!
Coventry PDSA Pet Hospital treats sick and injured pets in need, providing a vital lifeline for local owners who are struggling to afford vet care for their beloved pets. The dedicated team can see as many as 130 pets a day and perform nearly 50,000 treatments a year, ranging from major life-saving surgery and x-rays, to routine vaccinations and treatment of long-term illnesses.

Nationally PDSA runs 48 Pet Hospitals across the UK, and treats more than 5,000 pets a day – that’s 13 pets a minute! For more information visit the website.

Please note Katy Manning and John Leeson will be signing promotional cards only with every donation.




FILTER: - Charities - Special Events

Doctor Who Escape RoomsBookmark and Share

Monday, 23 July 2018 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Doctor Who Escape Rooms (Credit: Escape Hunt)BBC Studios and Escape Hunt have announced that Doctor Who-themed live escape rooms will be appearing around the United Kingdom in December.

Mat Way, Global Director of Live Entertainment at BBC Studios, said:
It has been a long-term ambition of the team to be able to bring about Doctor Who-themed escape rooms. Our main role here at BBC Studios is to continually extend the fans enjoyment of our brands, and so to be announcing six new live entertainment games across the country to fans is something really exciting.

Richard Harpham, CEO Escape Hunt PLC, said:
Following the success of our original Escape Hunt games, we are thrilled to be partnering with BBC Studios to create Doctor Who - The Live Escape Game. Going on an Escape Hunt is all about stepping into and experiencing new worlds so strength in the science fiction genre is absolutely key to our content strategy. Doctor Who represents the very best in British action adventure and has a loyal and dedicated fan base that spans all generations. We look forward to bringing the show to life for all of them in its first ever live escape game experience at Escape Hunt venues across the UK.

Launching at the Bristol Escape Hunt venue in December, further rooms are due to open in Birmingham, Leeds, Oxford and Reading during 2019. More details can be found from the Escape Hunt website.




FILTER: - Special Events - UK

Who Me - Extra DateBookmark and Share

Monday, 2 July 2018 - Reported by Marcus
Who, MeA new date has been added to the schedule of comedian Rob Lloyd's Doctor Who themed one man show, Who Me!

This Tuesday the show will come to The Broadway Theatre in Peterborough.

Doctor Who is about to face his greatest challenge: his number one fan. Rob Lloyd (BBC America’s Doctor Who: Earth Conquest) is putting The Doctor on trial. Is Doctor Who (the television show) guilty of inciting in Rob a debilitating obsession, or has it shaped him into a well-rounded, mentally-sound member of society?
Remaining Dates




FILTER: - Special Events

Who, Me to tour UKBookmark and Share

Wednesday, 6 June 2018 - Reported by Marcus
Who, MeComedian Rob Lloyd is bringing his Doctor Who themed one man show to the UK this Summer.

The show sees Lloyd using a fake courtroom setting to analyse whether Doctor Who has made him an obsessive or a better person, with stories and photos from his childhood.
Doctor Who is about to face his greatest challenge: his number one fan. Rob Lloyd (BBC America’s Doctor Who: Earth Conquest) is putting The Doctor on trial. Is Doctor Who (the television show) guilty of inciting in Rob a debilitating obsession, or has it shaped him into a well-rounded, mentally-sound member of society?

WHO, ME. is a hilarious romp across the Doctor’s 54 years, 13 faces and countless adventures.
Tour Schedule




FILTER: - Comedy - Special Events

US Movie Theatre Showing for Genesis of the DaleksBookmark and Share

Tuesday, 1 May 2018 - Reported by Marcus
Genesis of the Daleks
Fathom Events, in association with BBC Worldwide, have announced a big screen outing in the United States for the 1975 Tom Baker story Genesis of the Daleks

The screening, on June 11th, is to mark the upcoming Blu-ray release of Tom Baker’s complete first season in Doctor Who.

Audiences will see a special cinema length Director’s cut of the story hailed by fans as an all-time classic. The 90-minute version was first seen by viewers in the UK on Saturday 27 December 1975 but has never been screened outside the country.

The Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) and his companions, Sarah Jane Smith and Harry Sullivan, are transported thousands of years into the past to the ancient planet Skaro where they are given a mission from the Time Lords to prevent the evil scientist Davros from introducing to the universe the most destructive race of killing machines ever created, the Daleks.

The event also features a first look at In Conversation with Tom Baker a newly recorded interview with the Fourth Doctor himself.

More details on the Fathom Website




FILTER: - Fourth Doctor - Special Events

Facebook RegenerationBookmark and Share

Tuesday, 19 December 2017 - Reported by Marcus

BBC Worldwide Americas has released a new Doctor Who Effect for Facebook Camera Effects Platform giving users the ability to experience regeneration for the first time using Augmented Reality

Users can access the effect, created by VFX studio The Mill, through the Facebook app’s camera feature - just days before the on-screen metamorphosis of Twelfth Doctor Peter Capaldi into Thirteenth Doctor Jodie Whittaker during the 2017 Christmas Special, Doctor Who: Twice Upon a Time.

Everyone using the effect will experience the excitement of a regeneration first-hand as they are enveloped in the distinctive golden glow that accompanies the unique process, which allows an alien Time Lord to change into a new body. Users can be part of this iconic moment, that has accompanied each Doctor’s regeneration since the BBC series began in 1963. The Doctor Who camera effect is available worldwide and users can share their experience with friends via Facebook Stories, posting it on their Facebook page, or saving it to share elsewhere.

Sergei Kuharsky, EVP Franchise and Digital Enterprises, BBC Worldwide Americas said
Regeneration is the most distinct and fundamental attribute of Doctor Who. As we approach Christmas Day and the next monumental moment in the series’ history, it is a great pleasure to be able to bring fans the opportunity to create and share their own regenerative process through the Facebook Camera Effects Platform
To experience the effect follow the Facebook Link




FILTER: - Special Events

Massive Demand for Doctor Who Preview TicketsBookmark and Share

Friday, 1 December 2017 - Reported by Marcus
Twice Upon a Time: Mark Gatiss, Peter Capaldi, David Bradley (Credit: BBC)BBC North's free screenings this year's Doctor Who Christmas Special, Twice Upon A Time, have received a huge request for tickets, with almost 35,000 entries in the ballot.

Exclusive previews will be shown in eight towns and cities in northern England.

Kicking off in Hartlepool on December 14, the Christmas tour will visit York, Hull, Newcastle, Middlesbrough, Salford and Durham, before finishing in Bradford on December 22.

Ticket holders will be able to pose on the BBC red carpet alongside props from the shows, including Daleks and the TARDIS.

David Bradley said:
It’s really exciting that Doctor Who fans in the north of England have the opportunity to see the Christmas special first. I really enjoyed playing the First Doctor and as I’m from Yorkshire, it’s extra special to me that the screenings are taking place in the north.
The ballot to apply for tickets to these exclusive previews closes this Sunday, 3 December. TTo apply visit the BBC Shows and Tours website. Tickets will be allocated via a random draw with 45% going to local postcodes, 45% going to the surrounding county and 10% to the rest of the UK.

The Doctor Who Screenings will be as follows
  • Thursday 14 December - Hartlepool Town Hall - 7pm
  • Friday 15 December - The Guild Hall, York – 7pm
  • Saturday 16 December - Jubilee Church, Hull - 7pm & 8.30pm
  • Sunday 17 December = St Nicholas Cathedral, Newcastle - 7pm & 8.30pm
  • Monday 18 December - The Middlesbrough Empire - 7pm & 8.30pm
  • Tuesday 19 December - Dock 10, MediaCityUK, Salford – 7pm & 8.30pm
  • Wednesday 20 December - Durham School - 7pm & 8.30pm
  • Friday 22 December - Old Odeon, Bradford - 7pm & 8.30pm
Please note the last few moments of the episode will be kept as a surprise until the BBC One broadcast on Christmas Day.




FILTER: - Series Specials - Special Events

Twice Upon A Time cinema outing for DenmarkBookmark and Share

Thursday, 30 November 2017 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Twice Upon A Time in Danish cinemas (Credit: BBC Worldwide/Kino)Denmark is the latest country to be added to the list of those showing this year's Christmas Special on the big screen, with the ticket sales site Kino now listing details about the presentation:

Dette års Doctor Who Christmas Special-afsnit bliver et fler-Doktor-eventyr med the Doctor (Peter Capaldi) og den allerførste Doctor (David Bradley).

I afsnittet, som hedder “Twice Upon A Time”, medvirker også Pearl Mackie som følgesvenden Bill Potts og Mark Gatiss som en soldat fra Første Verdenskrig - indtil videre kun kendt som ‘The Captain’. Som tidligere omtalt bliver dette Peter Capaldis farvel til serien.

Udover selve det særlige Christmas Special-afsnit vil der være en overraskelse på lærredet, som er guf for alle Whovians.

The presentations take place in the usual CinemaxX København, CinemaxX Aarhus and CinemaxX Odense on 26th December (4pm), 27th December (6:30pm) and 31st December (midday). Full details on how to book can be found via their website.


Denmark cinema have played host to the last few Christmas adventures with the Doctor, as well as the current Doctor's debut and a 3D outing for his first series finale!




FILTER: - Cinema - Denmark - Series Specials - Special Events

Twice Upon a Time to show in Canadian CinemasBookmark and Share

Monday, 27 November 2017 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Twice Upon a Time in Canadian Cinemas (Credit: BBC Worldwide/Cineplex Cinemas)Cineplex in Canada have announced that they will be showing the Christmas Special Twice Upon A Time in cinemas across the country on Wednesday 27th December (12:30pm) and Thursday 28th December (7:00pm). As well as the episode itself, the 100 minute programme will include two bonus presentations:

This Christmas, the Doctor comes face to face with … the Doctor! The epic finale to the Peter Capaldi era of Doctor Who, “Twice Upon a Time,” is coming to cinemas for two nights only, December 27 and 28, featuring the return of Pearl Mackie and special guests Mark Gatiss (Sherlock) and David Bradley (Game of Thrones, Filch in the Harry Potter movies). Two Doctors stranded in a forbidding snowscape, refusing to face regeneration. And a British army captain seemingly destined to die in the First World War but taken from the trenches to play his part in the Doctor’s story. This is the magical last chapter in the Twelfth Doctor’s epic adventure. He must face his past to decide his future. And the Doctor will realize the resilience of humanity, discovering hope in his darkest frozen moment. It’s the end of an era. But the Doctor’s journey is only just beginning. The cinema event will also feature two special bonus pieces, taking you behind the scenes to the filming of this very special Christmas Special and celebrating the tenures of Peter Capaldi as the Doctor and Steven Moffat as showrunner and lead writer. You won’t want to miss this extra special Doctor Who cinema event!

Participating cinemas and booking details can be found via the Cineplex website.





FILTER: - Canada - Cinema - Special Events