Sixth Doctor, Colin Baker, has spent the last few days filming for an independent feature film, Shadows of a Stranger. The film is described as an original tale that 're-samples' Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol in a dark melange of 'ghostly' visitations, psychic travelling, and the search for one's atrophied humanity. It is being shot entirely on bluescreen.

Doctor Who Composer, Murray Gold has given an interview to The Daily Anthenaeum, in which he talks about his work on the series since its return in 2005 and the pressures of the relentless Doctor Who schedule. "There is never more than two weeks for a complete turnaround," he says. "At one point we dubbed five episodes in five weeks. It was almost impossible. I would start an episode and it would need to be finished four days later."

Writer Neil Gaiman has won the Cilip Carnegie Medal, for his fantasy tale The Graveyard Book. The award for children's fiction is the second major award for the novel, about an orphaned boy brought up by ghosts. The Carnegie Medal is awarded annually to the writer of an outstanding book for children. It was established by in 1936, in memory of the Scottish-born philanthropist, Andrew Carnegie. Gaiman has completed a script for the 2011 series of Doctor Who.

Ninth Doctor, Christopher Eccleston will star in an episode of a new BBC One six-part drama Accused, by Jimmy McGovern. Eccleston plays lapsed Catholic Willy in the series which also stars Mackenzie Crook, Juliet Stevenson, Peter Capaldi and Andy Serkis. Meanwhile Eccleston's portrayal of John Lennon in Lennon Naked, will be shown as part of the BBC Four Fatherhood season on Wednesday 23rd July.

Tenth Doctor David Tennant has been cast in a remake of the 1985 film Fright Night. Tennant will play a character originally portrayed by Roddy McDowall in a Dreamworks production, which will also star Toni Collette and Colin Farrell.

Fourth Doctor Tom Baker has written the foreword to the new AA book of Haunted Britain due to be published in September 2010.

John Barrowman is to return in his entertainment series Tonight's the Night. The show will be recording at BBC Scotland's headquarters, at Pacific Quay in Glasgow, over the summer for an autumn transmission.

Sophie Okonedo been awarded an OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours list. Okonedo, who played Liz 10 in The Beast Below, described the award as 'the cherry on the cake'. It's not known if the award will be presented to the actress by Liz 2.

The actor Jonathan Battersby has died at the age of 57.

Jonathan Battersby recently appeared in the second story of the current series playing Winder in The Beast Below. He also appeared in an uncredited role in Victory of the Daleks.

Battersby, as well as being a well respected actor, was well known in financial circles. After graduating from RADA in 1972, he worked as an actor for a number of years, including a spell in the National Theatre. In 1981 he left acting and joined the financial industry, rising to become president of the Life Insurance Association.

He retired from the LIA in 2004, and returned to his previous career as an actor, winning roles in Secret Diary of a Call Girl and Emmerdale as well as Doctor Who.

Battersby was first diagnosed with prostate cancer during his LIA presidency. He died peacefully on 22nd May 2010, at Trinity Hospice, Clapham.

Former Doctor Who companion Katy Manning will be doing the Crusaid Walk For Life this Sunday, 6th June, in London.

Manning played Jo Grant, assistant to the third Doctor, Jon Pertwee, from 1971-1973, and will return to the character when she stars alongside new Doctor Matt Smith in The Sarah Jane Adventures later this year.

She volunteered to do the walk with the deputy editor of GT magazine, Darren Scott, when she heard he had agreed to do the walk in a novelty Dalek costume. Referring to her infamous naked Dalek photoshoot from the 70s, she joked that the pair should recreate the pose, albeit fully clothed.

Crusaid’s Walk for Life is Europe’s largest fundraising walk for HIV and AIDS. The pair can be sponsored via the event website.

Neil Gaiman has posted a picture on his twitter account of a recent meeting between Steven Moffat, Richard Curtis and himself.

Gaiman has now completed his script for the 2011 series of Doctor Who, although the title is still secret. He is currently travelling in the UK in advance of the Hardback release of his Stories next month.

Curtis is the author of Vincent and the Doctor, Episode Ten of the 2010 series.

John Barrowman has given an interview to STV. The entertainer was promoting his return to Scotland where he stars in Aladdin at the at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre next Christmas.

He talked about his recent guest appearance in Desperate Housewives and the secret of his new hairstyle. Barrowman confirmed his wish to return to Doctor Who saying he would return at the drop of a hat if asked. He remained tight lipped on the future of Torchwood but appeared optimistic about the prospect of a new series.

Interview here.

The story is also covered in the Evening Times.

This weeks Radio times contains an interview with actress Alex Kingston about returning to the role of River Song.

Kingston last appeared in Silence in the Library and Forest of the Dead in 2008 – in which she perished to save David Tennant’s Doctor. Kingston reprises her role alongside Matt Smith's time traveller in a battle against the Weeping Angels, last seen in Blink in 2007.

In this current two-parter River is a younger version of the one who previously met, and admitted to having intimate knowledge of, the Doctor. Time travel can be confusing, but it does give the Surrey-born actress something of a unique perspective on the whole Doctor Who phenomenon, having played opposite both Tennant and Smith.

When she first took on the part, she spoke of the Doctor being her lover but now she’s not so sure. “I was absolutely certain. That’s what I’d assumed. But when I was reading The Time of Angels, I suddenly thought, “My God, she’s his mother!’ ”While Kingston, 47, and Tennant, 39, couldn’t have pulled that off, Smith is 20 years her junior. So is that how she’s playing it this time? A mother/son relationship? 


“Well, no, the flirtation between them still indicates they have a much more intimate relationship further down the line – and I sort of hope it is that. I hope they’re married,” she laughs, “Otherwise, if she’s his mother, the flirtation isn’t quite appropriate!"

Katy Manning has been talking to SFX about her feelings on returning to the role of Jo Grant 37 years after she made her television farewell to the character in The Green Death.

In the interview she talks about her delight in being asked to work on the show.
The magazine also contains a report on the read through which took place last Monday. They describe the script as very moving, with echoes of School Reunion and absolutely stuffed to the gills with in-jokes and little nods for the fans.

The Doctor Who team have arrived in New York as part of the publicity tour in the run up to the new series launch on BBC America this coming Saturday.

On Monday Matt Smith and Karen Gillan attended an industry screening of The Eleventh Hour at the Paley Center for Media where, along with executive producer Steven Moffat, they answered questions from the specially invited audience.

Smith talked about his audition and how he had to shoot 12 takes of the infamous fish custard scene in The Eleventh Hour. Moffat said his inspiration for the scene came from the Winnie-the-Pooh books, specifically the scene where Tigger claims to like everything, but then proceeds to reject all the foodstuffs offered to him.

Smith and Gillan had time for some sight seeing as well as attending a 'Meet the Cast' event at the Apple SoHo store and giving an interview to TV Guide Magazine and the New York Times.

The trio will attend a special screening of The Eleventh Hour on Wednesday at the Village East Cinema.

According to an interview that appeared in today's Rutherglen Reformer, Andrew Smith, author of the 1980 Doctor Who serial Full Circle, has been commissioned for a new script by Big Finish.

Smith wrote Full Circle at the age of 18. The story involved the Fourth Doctor, Romana and K9 entering the universe of E-Space. The story is notorious for introducing the character of Adric.

The new script, entitled Invasion of E-Space, has been written for the Companions Chronicles line with Lalla Ward as Romana telling the story, which features the Fourth Doctor and Adric.

Big Finish Producer David Richardson said: “I met Andrew at a convention in Glasgow last year. I was a fan of Full Circle, which was such a clever and inventive script, so I was delighted when he said he might be interesting in writing for Big Finish. It was an instant yes from me - and over the subsequent weeks we set about formulating ideas for a Companion Chronicle featuring the Fourth Doctor, Romana and Adric.”

Andrew told the Reformer: “I wanted the dialogue to sound naturalistic, as if it’s being spoken, not read off the page. You want it to sound like a normal conversation, not an unrealistic description of green and verdant hills, or whatever. I've done the first draft, and this is with (script editor) Jac Rayner now, while David at Big Finish is reading it. They will come back with notes and I'll do the next draft in the next two or three weeks."

To read the full interview, visit the Rutherglen Reformer website.