A long lost ITV play starring Second Doctor Patrick Troughton has been found stored at the Library of Congress in Washington. Freedom in September was originally shown as part of the Play of the Week strand in September 1962. Troughton plays Prince, a journalist who helps a Russian dissident. The play is one of a number of missing plays found in part of the archive of the New York-based public service television station WNET.

John Barrowman wowed a crowd of thousands at Salford's Proms in the Park on Saturday. The actor, who plays Captain Jack in Doctor Who and Torchwood, performed numbers from The Pink Panther and Mack and Mabel as well as Don't Rain On My Parade and I Am What I Am. Barrowman said: “I've had a wonderful time. I think it's a really great opportunity for people to come and hear a variety of different types of music - from the classical Proms music to my kind of entertainment. It's what the BBC do so well bringing different types of music all across the country."

Colin Baker's tour as Inspector Morse arrives at the New Theatre Oxford this week and Baker has been talking to the Reading Post. He told the paper that he’s also a big fan of the new series especially Matt Smith. "I’m very pleased with the new one, I think he’s brilliant", he says.

Meanwhile filming continues in Cardiff on the 2011 series of Doctor Who with Director Richard Clark tweeting "I'm scared filming this. The kids are gonna freak", and "Big finale today. Complex. Lots to co-ordinate. But it's looking seriously gorgeous."

News of some guest stars for Series Six comes via the Alphabet Kidz website which reports that one of their young actors, Jamie Oram, has won a role of Harry in episode four, currently being filmed in Cardiff. This will be Oram's first TV drama role although he has appeared in a number of commercials. Alphabet Kidz is a Children's and Young Performer's TV Acting, Modeling and Voice Over Agency.

The website also gives details of the actors playing his parents.

Emma Cunniffe, who plays the mother, has appeared in The Lakes, Great Expectations, All the King's Men, Clash Of The Santas, Appointment With Death, Clocking Off, and alongside Christopher Eccleston in Flesh and Blood. In 2004, she played Mozart's wife Constanze in the acclaimed BBC docu-drama about the life of the famous composer, The Genius of Mozart. On stage she won the Barclays Theatre Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her performance in The Master Builder in 1999.

Daniel Mays, who plays the father, appeared in the Mike Leigh films All or Nothing in which he played Jason, a thug who abused his girlfriend, and Vera Drake, in which he played Sid, the protagonist's son. He starred as Adam, a young heroin addict in the improvised BBC drama Rehab which saw him awarded the Best Actor award at the Palmare-Reims Television Festival in 2003. TV work includes Top Buzzer, Funland, Atonement, White Girl and Ashes to Ashes. In addition to his TV and film work, Mays has also starred in six stage plays at the Royal Court Theatre, London.

Filming starts in Cardiff at 8am Monday morning, on the 2011 series of Doctor Who, the sixth since the series returned in 2005 and the 32nd since the series began in 1963.

The first production block is believed to consist of Episodes Three and Four, both directed by Richard Clark who returns to the series after a gap of three years. Production will start with Episode Three, penned by Neil Gaiman.

Gaiman attended the read through of the episode last month and wrote on his blog
Filming for the series is expected to continue over the next few months at various locations in South Wales and Western England. For the latest infomation on the 2011 Series see our Series Guide.

Matt Smith has been spending the break since the filming of the Christmas Special holidaying on the Spanish island of Ibiza and looking for a new place to live on Barry Island, both activities heavily documented by the British tabloid press.

Karen Gillan has also had every move followed by the press with the Daily Mail reporting on such events as the actress dropping her phone while shopping in London.

Mark Gatiss has written a script for the 2011 Series of Doctor Who according to a tweet from Director Richard Clark who posted last month In the thick of Dr Who. New drafts coming along. Mark Gatiss story wonderful.

Gatiss has previously written three stories for Doctor Who. The Unquiet Dead in 2005 was the third story broadcast after the series returned and featured the Ninth Doctor meeting Charles Dickens. The Idiot's Lantern in 2006 saw the Tenth Doctor battle against The Wire in the guise of Maureen Lipman and Victory of the Daleks earlier this year saw the Eleventh Doctor join forces with Winston Churchill against the iconic Pepperpots. Gatiss has also appeared in the series playing Richard Lazarus in the Series Three story The Lazarus Experiment.

Away from Doctor Who he has co-created Sherlock along with Steven Moffat. Other television work includes The League of Gentlemen, Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased), SF:UK, Agatha Christie's Marple, The Quatermass Experiment, Fear of Fanny, The Wind in the Willows and The Worst Journey in the World. Gatiss has also appeared in many BBC Radio plays and written and performed in many Big Finish Doctor Who Audio Productions.

Other writers so far confirmed for Series Six are showrunner Steven Moffat and Neil Gaiman.

Speaking at the Edinburgh International Television Festival, Steven Moffat has announced that the next series of Doctor Who will be split in two with a 'gamechanging' cliffhanger in episode 7.

"The split series is hugely exciting because viewers will be treated to two premieres, two finales and more event episodes. For the kids it will never be more than a few months to the next Doctor Who! Easter, Autumn, Christmas!!"

The BBC press office describe the split transmission as the result of a request from Steven Moffat to write a new Doctor Who story arc which involves a big plot twist in the middle of the series. "By splitting the series Moffat plans to give viewers one of the most exciting Doctor Who cliffhangers and plot twists ever, leaving them waiting, on the edge of their seats, until the autumn to find out what happens."

The Guardian, who host the annual television festival, have uploaded a video clip of Moffat making the announcement here.

Doctor Who directors Richard Clark and Adam Smith will return to the series in 2011.

Both are listed in the online CV of new Production Designer Michael Pickwoad. They are listed alongside Toby Haynes who is already confirmed as director of the 2010 Christmas Special.

Richard Clark directed Gridlock and The Lazarus Experiment, both originally shown in 2007 as part of the third series since the revival. He has also worked on episodes of Life on Mars, The Whistleblowers and Gunrush.

Adam Smith directed the Eleventh Doctor's first story, The Eleventh Hour as well as the Weeping Angels two-part story The Time of Angels / Flesh and Stone. Away from Doctor Who he has worked on Little Dorrit and Skins.

Production on the next series of Doctor Who is due to continue next week, with a read-through of the Neil Gaiman story.

Doctor Who's showrunner, Steven Moffat has confirmed he will be writing five episodes of the next series of Doctor Who to be broadcast in 2011, as well as the forthcoming Christmas Special.

Talking to Den of Geek, Moffat confirmed he will be following the previous pattern established by Russell T Davies, with the Lead Writer penning five of the thirteen episodes in the series.

As previously reported Neil Gaiman will be writing one episode, thought to be the third in the series. Writers have not yet been officially confirmed for the other seven episodes in the series.

What a busy couple of weeks its been. Despite Series 5 of Doctor Who having finished, hardly a day goes by without some sort of Who-related news popping up.

For a fuller round-up, remember to look in on Doctor Who in the Media, but, to whet your appetite, here's a summary.

On Sunday, BBC 1 premiered the long-awaited first episode of Sherlock (see our earlier story), Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss's updated version of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. It stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Holmes, Martin Freeman as Dr John Watson and Rupert Graves as Inspector Lestrade. Cumberbatch has created a bit of a stir in the last few days by suggesting, first, telling Digital Spy that he may well be appearing in several episodes Doctor Who, and, then, according to the Sun that he considered becoming the eleventh Doctor before Matt Smith was cast in the role.

Again, according to the Sun, Matt Smith is eager to leave Doctor Who to pursue a career in Hollywood. However, this has been denied by both Moffat, to BBC News, and Karen Gillan, during her visit to Veuve Clicquot Gold Cup Final at Cowdray Park Polo Club! For a less sensational take on this, see this story and this story on Digital Journal.

Nicky Wire, of the Manic Street Preachers, caused a bit of a stir when he blogged on the band's website that he was writing a Doctor Who script. He's since clarified on Twitter that it's fan fiction and not a BBC commission.

Russell T Davies has been speaking to SFX about the fourth series of Torchwood and has also dealt with the rumours surrounding a Johnny Depp as the Doctor Hollywood movie! This story covers the original "exclusive" and RTD's debunking of it.

Finally, there was plenty of press coverage surrounding the start of filming of the 2010 Christmas special (see this Gallifrey Base story), guest-starring Sir Michael Gambon and Katherine Jenkins, including here, here and here.

Happy times and places!

Writing in Doctor Who Magazine, Steven Moffat has confirmed the key members of the production team for Series 32 of Doctor Who, the sixth series since the programme returned in 2005.

The team at the top will remain the same with Piers Wenger and Beth Willis continuing their role as Executive Producers on the series. As previously reported, Sanne Wohlenberg will take over as producer on the first two filming blocks of the series, following the departure of Tracie Simpson who has left to work on The Fabulous Baker Boys.

The new Production Designer is Michael Pickwoad who takes over from Edward Thomas who is now working on Outcasts. Pickwoad has recently been working on the ITV production of The Prisoner, for which he was nominated for an Art Directors Guild Award. Other series he has worked on include Miss Marple, Sweeney Todd, David Copperfield, Kavanagh QC and Murder Most Horrid. He designed the 1987 film Withnail & I, which starred Paul McGann.

NB: Press Release link contains spoilers for those who have not seen The Big Bang.

The BBC has confirmed veteran actor Michael Gambon and opera diva Katherine Jenkins will guest star in the 2010 Doctor Who Christmas special.

Production starts today and will continue until August.

Michael Gambon is one of the UK's most respected actors, best known for his role as Philip Marlow in BBC television serial The Singing Detective and for his role as Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter film series.

Katherine Jenkins is a Welsh mezzo-soprano who has sold more than 4 million copies of her studio albums. This will be her first acting role. Arriving on set for her first day of filming, Katherine Jenkins said

Steven Moffat, Lead writer and Executive Producer on the series commented: