The official Doctor Who website has revealed the cover illustration for the forthcoming UK DVD release of Genesis of the Daleks, due out on 10 April (with extras previously announced). Click on the thumbnail for a larger version of the cover.

Update: We now have a much higher resolution image courtesy Tenth Planet (originally from 2Entertain).

Australia's ABC Network has confirmed in emails sent out to fans today that they at last have negotiated rights to show the series' second season and Christmas special to Australian audiences some time this year. "The ABC has secured the rights to broadcast the second series of the (new) Doctor Who and The Christmas Invasion," says the email announcement. "A broadcast date has not been set. Please check you local television guideon a regular basis for scheduling information." Previously, the network said they were looking into the rights but had not secured them; this is the first indication that they will indeed be showing the second series and special. (Thanks to Adam Kirk, Kerry Hewitt, Brad Truran)

Here is today's second set report from the filming of The Idiot's Lantern, this time with a small collection of photos, courtesy correspondent John Campbell Rees. Click on each thumbnail for a larger version of each photo (which go along with the set report in spoiler tags!)

We have a report today from fan Emma Sandrey witnessing the filming of episode 7 of the new season, The Idiot's Lantern today in Florentia Street, Cathays, Cardiff. As always, our set reports are hidden within the spoiler tags, so click on the spoiler link below to read it.

Series Two

Noted in last week's release of Doctor Who Magazine: the title presumed for episode 8, The Satan Pit, is actually the title for the second half of the story, episode 9. No idea, though, about the first episode's title.

This Is Plymouth has a feature on Jessica Atkins, an eleven-year-old actress from Looseleigh who will be in the forthcoming episode "The Girl in the Fireplace" (which the article says will be airing in March, but other rumors suggest a series two start date of mid-April). "Filming for the episode took place in Newport in Wales last October, where Jessica, who also goes to Widewell Primary School, took the fame game in her stride, chatting with David Tennant and hob-nobbing with the other stars. She said: 'Everything was really cool and fun. I'm a big fan of the series - I love it and have watched all the episodes. At first it was a bit nerve-racking meeting all the stars. But David Tennant was lovely. He showed me around, we had a long chat and he was really friendly. Mum was more scared than I was anyway. When David took me on to the set, mum was walking behind us just speechless. The whole experience was just amazing. I saw the inside of the Tardis which was really weird - it looked unreal. And a Dalek without a head, which looked a bit spooky. Each morning a car picked us up from our hotel in Cardiff and we'd travel to the set with Noel Clarke who plays Mickey - Rose's boyfriend. He was my favourite. When it was finished and they said 'that's a wrap, that's the end of Jessica's part' they all clapped. I couldn't say anything because I thought I might cry. But it's a good feeling to get home and know you've done it.'" The article notes that she got the part through being a member of the national Italia Conti Agency and had to audition for the part at BBC Broadcasting House last September. "A week after the audition they called to say I'd got it. My brother was the first to tell me and I didn't believe him. Then mum said 'You've got the part' and I was so happy I just rolled around on my bed screaming. ... I had 13 lines and there's a big bit where just me and the Doctor talk. The episode is really quite scary - it was a little frightening just filming it." More at the website. Interestingly, this is the first item to mention that Noel Clarke might also be in this episode.

The news last week about the casting updates printed in Doctor Who Magazine were picked up by The Mirror, The Daily Record, Monsters and Critics.

Dancing On Ice

The Dancing on Ice competition heats up this weekend as series one starJohn Barrowman and classic series starBonnie Langford continued to compete on the popular UK series. Here's the recap:

Readabet took their first four-figure bet on the series late last week with a 1000 pound wager reported on Barrowman (whose odds were said to be 10/11). Langford was their second favorite at 7/4. "'At this stage it looks like a two horse race between John Barrowman and Bonnie Langford but don't write off David Seaman, he has pulled off some great saves in the past,' said Hills spokesman Rupert Adams."

The Mirror featured verdicts on the remaining contestants, noting that Barrowman was "a wonderful showman, one of my favourites to reach the final. Last week he fell on his arse. I can't believe the others gave him such high marks." They also said of Langford, "Absolutely brilliant. Despite being the oldest and a busy mum she's doing amazingly death-defying routines. She pushes herself the hardest - a potential winner." The Daily Recordalso featured, in their 'Crockomter', "John Barromwan - put his back out and injured his ankle. He also sliced partner Olga 's hand open with his blades. But he's 10-11 favourite to win, say bookies William Hill, who took a 1000 bet on him this week. ... Bonnie Langford - The former child star of Just William took to wearing a helmet while training after bashing her head. She also slashed her partner Matt Evers' face with her boot blade during a spin."

On Friday the Daily Star interviewed Barrowman: "Barrowman says he is so scared before he steps on the rink he's worried he'll wet himself on live TV. The 38-year-old, who starred as Captain Jack Harkness in Doctor Who, is more petrified of leaving a puddle of pee than taking a tumble on the slippery surface. And the US actor, who's hot favourite to win the ITV1 show, says the spangly-tight costumes he has to wear as he whirls around only add to his predicament. He said: 'As we're about to go on, I get totally emotional and feel like bursting into tears. Millions of people are watching and it's terrifying. I always feel like peeing myself - especially as the costume is so ridiculously tight. It feels like I'm going to spring a leak and have a big wet stain on my costume.' John, who will start filming Doctor Who spin-off show Torchwood in April, also revealed he got on the good side of new Time Lord David Tennant, 34, when the pair met recently. He said: 'David showed up at my dressing room and I thought, 'Oh my God, it's Doctor Who'. I said to him: 'David, you're even more handsome in real life'. And he replied: 'You know what? I think you and I are going to get along just great.'"

Saturday's Edinburgh News asked, "Who would ever have thought that Bonnie Langford would one day become a cool (quite literally) trend-setter north of the Border? And yet apparently that's exactly what's happened thanks to her battling performances on ITV's Saturday ratings-winner Dancing On Ice. For the past few weeks, the quintessential English rose, who first achieved fame as the precocious Violet Elizabeth Bott in Just William way back in 1976 (although she made her TV debut long before that in Junior Showtime), has been attracting a whole new generation of fans with her never-say-die approach to the show, in which celebrities are paired with ice-skating professionals who teach them a new routine each week. Now, while the one-time Doctor Who girl is no stranger to dancing - she also starred in the Hot Shoe Show in the 80s - it's the ice part of Dancing On Ice that has been causing her problems. Twice now, Bonita (as she was billed in the movie Bugsy Malone) has cracked her head after a fall. Despite this, however, her exploits, along with those of her fellow contestants John Barrowman, ex-Corrie star Sean Wilson, The Bill's Stefan Booth and Gaynor Faye of Fat Friends, have sparked a boom in the number of people taking skating lessons at Murrayfield ice rink. As delighted rink manager Billy Dunbar said this week: 'It's been amazingly busy in here, and our professional coaches are almost struggling to keep up with the demand.' ... Of course ice-skating isn't without its dangers, as fans of the show, and in particular David Seaman, found when he fell on his partner and almost flattened her. In fact, with the fourth round of Dancing On Ice going out live tonight it remains to be seen if his partner, Pam O'Connor, will be fit enough to take to the ice having damaged her shoulder in the fall. And that's the reason the nearest you'll get me to an ice rink these days is a seat in front of the telly tonight, phone in hand getting ready to vote for Bonnie. Be honest, if she doesn't win, could you really bear to hear her thweam and thweam and thweam until she's thhick?"

Finally, Saturday night, the results were in: Yahoo News reported that Barrowman was the latest celebrity to be voted off "Dancing On Ice". "Despite coming third overall out of seven after the judges' vote, John and his partner, world junior gold medallist and three times Russian champion Olga Sharutenko, were forced into a skate-off after the public phone in. They went head to head with soap star Stefan Booth and his partner Kristina Cousins in the skate-off after both pairs received the lowest public support. The judges were divided over the two performances with two votes apiece and the deciding vote going to Olympic gold medal skater Robin Cousins. He chose to save Stefan from the chop and said: 'I have gone with the showman who has delivered technical skating tonight.' After his performance John said: 'I had a little bump but I got through it - it's very nerve wracking.'" Langford now continues as the only Doctor Who representative on the show.

People

The BBC's internal magazine Ariel has featured obituaries for two Doctor Who personages who recently passed away: former production managerGary Downie and former visual effects designer Tony Oxley. Says the magazine about Downie in an obit written by former Doctor Who director Fiona Cumming, "His career was multi-faceted -- dancing, choreography, tv production, writing, stage production and psychotherapy. I first met Gary in BBC drama serials, where he worked on a variety of programmes -- I, Claudius, Poldark, Nicholas Nickleby, Wuthering Heights, All Creatures Great and Small, Star Cops and, of course, Doctor Who. He was production manager on Underworld, Silver Nemesis, Black Orchid, Dimensions in Time and The Two Doctors, working with a variety of Doctors and companions. He and his long-term partner, John Nathan-Turner [former Doctor Who series producer], formed Teynham Productions, together with Ian Fraser and myself, to present Pantomime, which took us all back to our roots in theatre. Gary, who contributed time and money to supporting charities in Brighton and abroad, developed a late interest in psychotherapy, which afforded both his clients and himself a deep satisfaction. The loss of JNT in 2002 was a dreadful blow to Gary, followed as it was by the onset of cancer which he fought for two years. He was fortunate to have the support of a nucleus of caring friends to help him through the illness. In December, he and Barry Hannam celebrated their civil contract. Shared by friends of both John and Gary, it was a joyous occasion. We shall miss him." Of Oxley, former series visual effects designer Michealjohn Harris noted that he "had an extraordinary range of interests and abilities which he applied to a diversity of work in the course of a long and successful life. Tony acquired an interest in machinery of every imaginable kind early in life, spending boyhood hours finding out how all manner of machines worked on a war department machinery dump. After the war, he began work for City Display, a company specialising in film and display models. This work expanded into making animated models, including a model whale for Moby Dick – designed and built by Tony himself. He joined the BBC as a visual effects design assistant and soon became much in demand, especially by Doctor Who and light entertainment productions. Despite his dreams of a quiet retirement, Tony found, almost overnight, that he had become a freelance special properties designer. He worked as a contractor for the BBC with the same interest and dedication until, because of changes in BBC management, this work came to an end. Tony was a singular man of huge talent and ability. His passing is a great loss to his family and to all those in tv and film who admired him."

David Tennant has been voted onto a list of the world's "100 Sexiest Men" by the readers of New Woman Magazine. While such notables as Brad Pitt (#1), Jake Gyllenhaal (#2), Johnny Depp (#4) and David Beckham (#14) were obvious choices, Tennant made the list at #20. Reported at the Daily Record, Daily Mail, UTV, The Independent, 24 Dash, MI6, The Age Australia. Also, Tony Head (soon to be seen in the series 2 episode "School Reunion") was #81 on the list. Says the Bath Chronicle, "Tony, who kept the nation guessing throughout the 1980s as the Gold Blend man, has hung on to his sex symbol status thanks to his role as Giles in cult show Buffy The Vampire Slayer. ... He is also a vice-president of the Royal United Hospital's fundraising appeal, Forever Friends. 'We are thrilled that Tony features as a winner in this list,' said Ruth Wilkinson, from the appeal. 'As well as being a very attractive man Tony is a wonderful person and we are extremely grateful to have him on board. From fundraisers, such as last year's Valentine phone call auction, to singing on stage with Clare Teal at the Jamie Cullum concert, Tony is a totally pro-active supporter of the appeal and therefore we would rate him over Brad Pitt any day.'"

Tennant also appeared on Virgin Radio in early January on a call-in show during their "Who's Calling Christian?" segment; listeners are urged to have their favorite celebrities call into the show, and Tennant obliged. The website has an audio clip.

Sixth Doctor Colin Baker and actor Jeremy Bulloch ("The Time Warrior," "The Space Museum") will lock swords in an episode of the popular BBC1 daytime series Doctors this Wednesday, 8 March at 2:05pm. "The stars play two men who prepare to settle an old score by fighting a fencing duel to the death! Can Boba Fett call upon his bounty hunting skills to beat the time travelling Dr. Who? Which one will end up at the Riverside Surgery? Colin Baker plays Charles Dillon and Jeremy Bulloch plays Victor Hendon, two foolish old men who decide it is time to settle a long standing feud originating back to how Victor treated Charles’ sister, Betty, with his philandering ways when the two were married. Victor now wants to remarry his ex-wife much to Charles’ disgust so they decide to battle it out in a traditional and gentlemanly way. But there’s not a Blaster Pistol or a Tardis in sight!"

Says icWales today, Tom Baker is "tongue-tied" and "will get Welsh lessons after the voice of BT's new call service was caught out by Wales on Sunday. The stripey-scarfed Doctor Who legend has been signed up by the phone company to front BT Text, which allows mobile users to send messages to landlines. ... So Wales on Sunday put it to the test, sending 10 messages containing Welsh place names and common Welsh words. And the result - the former Dr Who became Dr What?! Names like Llanrwst and Llanfairfechan came out garbled while he gave up on words like cwtch, opting to spell them out instead. And when we put him to the test with Britain's longest place name -- the Anglesey town of Llanfairpwllgwyngy- llgogerychwyrndrobwyllllantysiliogogogoch -- the star sounded like he had been enjoying a night on the tiles! Now 72-year-old Tom is to return to the studio to record some Welsh pronunciations after BT bosses were confronted by our dossier of disappointing diction. The star had already spent 11 days recording every sound in the English language - 11,593 phrases, which covered every single sound in each of their different contexts. 'These did not cover every word or place name, but instead the aim was to create a soundbank of all the sounds in the English language, which could be stuck together by the computer to create new words,' explained BT's voice-text supremo Wendy McMillan-Tiller. 'As part of this process we also took into account a long list of exceptions, including numerous Welsh place names, which each needed an individually crafted pronunciation to be created and loaded onto the system.' But she admitted that even Doctor Who struggled when confronted with the mighty foe of the Welsh language. 'As far as possible, we will do our best to amend words that are pronounced incorrectly and welcome feedback on any commonly used words that the voice cannot currently recognise, along with their correct pronunciation,' she said. 'We will certainly try our best to take on board the most frequently used words such as cwtch and Urdd Eisteddfod, but cannot promise to amend every single word. Indeed, part of the fun of the service is testing the voice to see if you can catch it out.' The service will see the Liverpool-born legend reading out texts for the next three months including common abbreviations like b4 - and, for the juvenile amongst you, even swear words! 'What appeals to me most is the thought that I will be bringing good news to people whether it is a cheeky message, a birthday greeting or just a quick hello,' he said. 'Whatever it is, hopefully my voice will bring a smile to people's faces.'"

The Independent mentioned Tom Baker's gig for BT but asked, "who are his rivals behind the microphone?" The article then mentions Michael Jayston, who played The Valeyard during Season 23, "The Trial of a Time Lord". "Tom Baker has paid tribute to the 'wonderful warmth' of the voice of this classical actor, who was once considered for the part of James Bond. Like Baker, Jayston has played Doctor Who, although, unlike Baker, he was an evil doctor. The 70-year-old played Raquel's dad in Only Fools and Horses and provided the voice-over for Finisterre, the first film made by the UK pop trio Saint Etienne, for which he describes in his narration as 'a quick glance at the London nobody knows'. His voice can also be heard between tracks on their album of the same name."

Also... says Friday's The Sun, Tom Baker "wants to be a transvestite in Coronation Street. The eccentric former Dr Who star, 72, said it would be the 'ultimate' role. Speaking on ITV1's Today with Des and Mel yesterday, he said: 'I would be mysterious, not made-up well and in need of a shave.'" BBC News also called Baker one of their "faces of the week".

The Mirror features an interview with Mark Benton, who played Clive during series one. "His cheeky face and bulky frame are instantly recognisable. Strangers shout after him in the street and hail him as a longlost friend. Yet few people actually know his name. Mark Benton has found a strange sort of notoriety, thanks to his starring role in the popular TV ads for the Nationwide building society. He plays the infuriating bank clerk who flogs 'Cracker-Jacka-Tracker' mortgages to 'brand new customers only' - a catchphrase that has started to follow him around." Doctor Who is mentioned only very briefly.

Paul McGann will be starring in a lavish production of the classic Agatha Christie tale "Sleeping Murder" for ITV this evening, according to both ITNand Channel 4. McGann will be featured alongside Geraldine McEwan as Miss Marple, along with Dawn French, Sarah Parish and Una Stubbs.

Books

Trade magazine The Bookseller this week reports on the forthcoming BBC Audio releases of David Tennant reading the first batch of Tenth Doctor novels, noting that Tennant's work will be released on CD in July. Also, Ben Dunn, former BBC Books commissioning editor and now editorial director at Fourth Estate, is profiled in the magazine, briefly dealing with his experiences at BBC Books: "He also commissioned the hugely successful set of tie-in novels to the new Doctor Who series, as well as a number on non-tie-in Doctor Who books. But the Beeb was going through a period of great upheaval while he was there and it was, he says, a demoralising place to work." The Bookseller's diary column, 'Bent's Notes', also has a small piece noting comments by Ben Dunn: "Fourth Estate's popular culture guru Ben Dunn... has revealed the slightly unsavoury side of his previous role commissioning "Doctor Who" novels at the BBC. He was deluged with submissions for novels from 'Doctor Who' fans, and, after the inevitable rejection letters, often featured in online fiction as an evil overlord who eventually gets his come-uppance. In one classic, The Revenge of Fanwank, Dunn's brain is taken over."

Miscellaneous

Auditions for Big Brother this week included one of the contestants auditioning as a Dalek! Says BBC News, "More than 1000 people have turned up to audition for the next series of Channel 4's reality TV show Big Brother. Would-be contestants, some in fancy dress, queued for up to four hours to get a chance to impress the producers of this year's seventh UK series. One participant dressed as a Dalek in an attempt to get noticed by the programme-makers."

Silicon.com has more to add on the Tom Baker/BT item, including this commentary: "Speaking loosely as we were of BT, the incumbent telco announced a rather fun initiative this week... The company's text-to-voicemail service, which takes an SMS message and turns it into an audio voicemail recording for landline phones, is to be voiced by none other than Tom Baker – former Dr Who legend and now the voice of Little Britain. Oh, the fun you could have. Such services are certainly proving popular – not to mention confusing for those who don't know they have such an option at their disposal, though to date it has normally been voiced by a machine. One member of the silicon.com team reported a very confused phone call from 'the wife' who expressed some alarm at the fact a robot had apparently just called her at home and demanded: 'If you are going to the shops, don't forget to buy my razors' in a voice akin to Baker's old foes the Daleks. Very unsettling. But since Tuesday of this week Baker's warm and reassuring tones have been giving 2.3 million BT customers their messages. But don't worry, poor old Tom isn't working his fingers to the bone jotting down notes and putting in calls -- there is still a large amount of automation to this process. ... 'There is no limit to the words the voice can say,' added BT, '... even rude ones.' Now there's an idea. If the Round-Up knows anything about human nature it's that it goes without saying customers will inevitably get 'Sir' Tom to say some pretty smutty things. BT is also claiming the service can read abbreviations and keystrokes such as smiley faces. Baker said of his involvement with the project: 'Daleks!! Quick to the TARDIS.' Oh alright he didn't, according to BT he actually said: 'It's a big responsibility to be Britain’s voice of text.' It's not really, is it Tom? It probably pays the bills but it's not exactly open heart surgery. Tom continued: 'What appeals to me most is... ' It's the money isn't it? Say it's the money... '... the thought that I will be bringing good news to people whether it is a cheeky message, a birthday greeting or just a quick hello. Whatever it is, hopefully my voice will bring a smile to people's faces.' The Round-Up is a little unconvinced -- suspecting the actor was not the source of that quote at all -- but is willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, because he's Tom Baker."

Saturday's Mirror had a brief article about the upcoming "Primaeval," ITV's 6 million pound answer to Doctor Who. "As Professor Nick Cutter - a time-travelling scientist - Douglas Henshall will rival fellow Scot David Tennant's Time Lord. And just like the Doctor, he'll even have a blonde former teen pop star to assist him... in the shape of S Club 7 bopper Hannah Spearitt. In her first TV role since making the Beeb's series about the band, Hannah will play feisty zoologist Abby Lister. Move over Billie Piper

The latest issue of the British satirical magazine Private Eye features a lookalikes section comparing 'The Romantics' (with David Tennant) presenter Peter Ackroyd to a Sontaran. They show a picture of him next to a picture of Linx from 'The Time Warrior' and speculate whether the Director General of the BBC is aware that aliens have invaded his staff.

(Thanks to Paul Engelberg, Steve Tribe, Simon Cooper, Nick Salmond, Ed Martin, Peter Anghelides, Peter Weaver, Faiz Rehman)

This week's issue of Doctor Who Magazine has details of the latest additions to the crew and cast of Series Two. According to the magazine, the director for Block Five (two episodes out of Episodes 8 to 13) is James Strong, whose previous directing credits include BBC One's Rocket Man and episodes of Casualty and Holby City.

Further casting announcements for Block Four (episodes unconfirmed, but we're told very likely to be in Mark Gatiss' episode "The Idiot's Lantern," include Edna Dore as Maeve -- Dore's forty-five-year career has included roles in series from "Z Cars" and "Dixon of Dock Green" to "EastEnders", "Our Mutual Friend" and "The Bill"; and, as Trish, Nina Sosanya, well known for a leading role in Channel 4's "Teachers", as well as co-starring with David Tennant in "Casanova" and Billie Piper in "Much Ado about Nothing" last year.Abdul Salis plays Kel, Abisola Agbaje is Chloe andChristopher Driscollplays a Security Guard. The cameo appearance by TV psychic Derek Acorah is also confirmed in the magazine.

According to Phil Collinson, the series producer, Block Three filming was nearing completion as DWM went to press and that the readthrough for Episodes 7 and 11 (Block Four) had been scheduled for Wednesday 18 January, with a day's rehearsal the next day before starting filming. Block Five is starting pre-production and Block Six will be a single episode and filmed last, with some double-banking alongside Block Five (repeating a pattern from the previous series' schedule). Director Graeme Harper is now editing his episodes, Episode 1's final mix took place on Friday 6 January, and Episode 4's incidental music and special effects were due to be completed by Friday 20 January.

Meanwhile, the first four editions of the second series of Doctor Who Confidential, BBC Three's accompanying documentary series, now have titles, and DWM confirms that these are 'New New Doctor', 'Fear Factor', Friends Reunited' and 'From Script to Screen'.

Finally, the magazine confirms that there will be a second series of 'vanilla' (meaning no extras) DVD releases this year, this year broken into five volumes... the first one will feature "The Christmas Invasion" and "New Earth," with the other four featuring three episodes each. The series will follow the same pattern as last year's Series One releases, with a boxed set with extra features in the autumn.

For more, including the latest Production Notes column and additional information, pick up the latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine (#366), on newsstands today.

As Outpost Gallifrey previously had reported, we now have confirmation from the Sci-Fi Channel, via their published schedules online, that the first season of the new series will debut in the US on Friday, March 17 at 9:00pm. "Rose" will air that night twice, in fact, once at 9pm and then three hours later at midnight, as well as on Sunday, March 19 at 11:00pm and then the following Friday, March 24 at 8:00pm. "The End of the World" then airs right after, on Friday, March 24 at 9:00pm and again at midnight, and then Sunday night (Monday morning) at midnight. Details on later showings into April will be coming soon.

BBC Worldwide today confirmed the DVD releases in the UK of Genesis of the Daleks starring Tom Baker and Infernostarring Jon Pertwee. "Genesis" is listed by the official Doctor Who website as being due out 10 April, though some retailers are suggesting 27 March, while "Inferno" is due out 29 May.

Genesis of the Daleks will include commentary by Tom Baker, Elisabeth Sladen, Peter Miles (Nyder) and director David Maloney; "Genesis of a Classic," a 62-minute featurette looking at the making of the story, produced by Ian Levine and edited by Adi Denney, and featuring interviews with Baker, Sladen, Miles, producer Philip Hinchcliffe, executive producer Barry Letts, script editor Terrance Dicks, actors Guy Siner, James Garbutt, Dennis Chinnery, Roy Skelton, Cy Town, John Scott Martin and Michael Wisher, BBC sound person Dick Mills, lighting director Duncan Brown, visual effects designer Peter Day and makeup artist Sylvia James; "The Dalek Tapes," a 53-minute documentary produced by John Kelly, "which looks at the history of the Daleks and covers all of their appearances in the classic series" and includes rare Dalek clips and classic interviews and is narrated by Terry Molloy; a 7-minute featurette about Doctor Who models; a 6-minute continuity compilation which includes voice-overs; production text and photo gallery. Also included are PDF versions of the 1976 Doctor Who Annual and the Radio Times billings for the original transmission.

Inferno will feature commentary by Nicholas Courtney, John Levene, script editor Terrance Dicks and producer/director Barry Letts; "Can You Hear the Earth Scream?," a 35-minute "making of" documentary which includes interviews with Dicks, Letts, Levene, Courtney, Caroline John, Ian Fairbairn and stunt arranger Derek Ware; "The UNIT Family (Part One)", a 36-minute documentary featuring a look at the first half of the "UNIT family" from the Third Doctor's era with interviews with Letts, Courtney, Levene, Dicks, John, Ware and UNIT Creator Derrick Sherwin; "Visual Effects Promo Film," an excerpt from an early sales pitch from the BBC Visual Effects department featuring rare Doctor Who footage; "The Pertwee Years Intro," a short intro by Jon Pertwee originally included on BBC Video's "The Pertwee Years"; a Jon Pertwee radio announcement; a PDF of the 1971 Doctor Who Annual; Radio Times billings; plus photo gallery and production notes.

Articles on the restoration work are now available at the Restoration Team site on both Genesis of the Daleks andInferno.

Catching up while the editor's been away for a few days...

Awards

BroadcastNow says that Doctor Who "has picked up a nomination for best drama series at the Celtic Film and Television Festival awards. It is one of 26 nominations garnered by Welsh companies for this year's awards, in which 50 indies have been recognised in 17 categories. Ireland leads the way with 30 nominations, followed by Scotland on 27 while Cornwall scooped 10 and Brittany with two. Doctor Who will square up against another Welsh series, Con Passionate, made by Teledu Apollo, and Irish show Pure Mule from Accomplice Television. Other nominees include critically acclaimed documentary series Tribe (BBC Wales), Rick Stein's The Teaching Challenge (Brook Lapping) and new documentary Iran: An Bealach In Airde (Crossing The Line Films). ... Recognising the development of the sector, the new media awards will be decided on by a specially selected jury of industry experts. Winners will be announced at the festival in Cornwall at the end of March."

Series Two

As originally reported online in the Outpost Gallifrey Forum, Maureen Lipman will be in episode 7, "The Idiot's Lantern." Lipman has been featured in many television series and films including "Coronation Street," "The Pianist," "Love's Labour Lost," "Carry On Columbus" and "European Vacation". Says the original poster, "I know she's in the ep, and I know she's filming her scenes at Alexandra Palace in North London (where original BBC transmissions used to be broadcast from in the 1950's) but it's my speculation that she plays the evil lady continuity announcer in the episode."

Elisabeth Sladen talked briefly about her return to Doctor Who in February's Collector's Gazette, after appearing at the Scifishack stand at Birmingham NEC's Memorabilia show in November. "Having just finished filming, she chatted about her latest trip back to see the Time Lord: 'It was lovely going back - there were so many flowers in my dressing room, I thought I'd died!' she laughed. 'And the atmosphere on set was uncannily familiar. It was fine working with a different Doctor. Once you call someone the Doctor, you actually believe it is the Doctor. I'd already seen him change incarnations before so this was no great leap of the imagination. I think it's wonderful to allow a character from the past to come back. I'm hoping that the newer viewers who don't know me will understand, and I hope the fans like it. It's certainly an experience I would not have missed.'"

Yesterday's South Wales Evening Post talks about two child actors, brother and sister Amy and Christopher Jenkins of Rhos, who "have chalked up an impressive acting CV despite being aged just 11 and eight respectively. Ystalyfera pupil Christopher has landed a part in the next series of the BBC's Dr Who, and is already a regular on S4C's Pobol y Cwm, where he plays Aled."

BBC News says that the staff of a South Wales brewery "had to make sure they had not been transported to another dimension when the cast of Doctor Who turned up for filming. Billie Piper, who plays the Doctor's assistant Rose Tyler, 50 extras and the film crew spent the day at Magor Brewery, near Newport, to shoot scenes. The production of thousands of bottles of lager was halted while filming took place in two areas of the site. Brewery bosses said they were asked to help when another location cancelled. And with its stainless steel brewing equipment, it became the perfect setting for the sci-fi series. David Ginley, the site manager for the brewer said: 'We received a call from BBC Wales and were pleased to help them out. The brewery itself is a modern brewery with lots of tanks and pipework so became the perfect setting for an industrial landscape which is what they wanted. Everybody was so excited about it - Doctor Who is so high profile and everyone was really excited and interested to see how something like that is made.' Mr Ginley said that although he didn't know what part of the storyline was being filmed at the site, he did see a number of Doctor Who's enemies. 'There were aliens and things. I didn't see any daleks though, but you never know, do you?' Staff at the site were able to meet actress Billie Piper, but there was no sign of the Doctor himself. Mr Ginley said: 'We didn't get to see David Tennant but it was an exciting day for everybody at the brewery and we are all looking forward to watching the scenes in the finished programmes.'"

The Inquirer said that "A group of Cardiff drinkers in the The Gatekeeper pub were nearly put off their pints when a troop of Cybermen wandered past their window. According to the South Wales Echo, the outside of the pub was the scene for an invasion of robo-warriors yesterday. Cybermen are the arch-enemas in the UK’s favourite sci-fi telly show Dr Who. Since the show is being filmed by BBC Wales, it has made Cardiff the new Area 51 for alien attacks. The drinkers at the Gatekeeper probably thought they were due for another one. Cybermen, when I was seven, gave me bad dreams for weeks, but seem to have gone through a bit of an upgrade lately. Gone are the clunky silver suits which have been replaced by a smoother silver iPod finish. Hopefully they have removed that nasty flaw in their breathing gear which makes them short circuit if they sniff gold."

People

Artist Andrew Skilleter will be releasing a "limited Artists Edition" of his original MythMakers DVD item from Reeltime Pictures. The video interview re-release will sport a new cover and will feature a stylish eight page full colour illustrated booklet on quality paper containing new text, photographs and artwork, including background on the filming and Andrew’s twenty year involvement with the legendary Terrance Dicks. Also included is the very first reproduction anywhere of a new painting for "Shada", the creation of which is shown in the DVD. Each booklet and DVD disc are signed by Andrew Skilleter and are available directly from the author through email contacthere.

Tom Baker is listed to appear on "Des and Mel" on ITV1, February 1 (1.30-2.30pm according to DigiGuide).

Caroline John (Liz Shaw from Season 7 of the classic show) is appearing in a new play, "Nightingale" at the New End Theatre in Hampstead, a play written and directed by actress Lynn Redgrave. The official theatrewebsite has information about the play, whereas the Guardian has a modest review.

BBC News are running a story about a missing BBC Wales designer who worked on their interactive projects, including last month's "Attack of the Graske". "A memorial service is being planned for a BBC Wales employee presumed to have drowned while swimming in the sea off Colombia early on Boxing Day. Steve Absolum, 32, went missing near Santa Marta on the Caribbean coast and no trace of him was found after an extensive air-sea search. He had been an interactive designer for BBC Wales' New Media output since 2002. Among his achievements was running the interactive content for the tsunami relief concert in Cardiff last January. .. BBC Wales controller Menna Richards said: 'He was central to the development of interactive programmes, including Scrum V, BBC Cardiff Singer of the World, the tsunami relief Cardiff concert and the recent Doctor Who.'"

The Times celebrated Tom Baker's birthday with the following: "The actor Tom Baker is enjoying a comeback in the cult TV comedy Little Britain, now in its third TV series. His is the booming voice of the narrator, never seen, who makes outrageous comments about the imaginary characters of Britain. He was the fourth and longest serving Doctor Who for seven years from 1974 and he still travels the world speaking at conferences and answering interminable questions from fans via the net. He recounts numerous episodes of his riotous personal life in his autobiography Who On Earth Is Tom Baker? and reflects on the problems of getting older, 'I feel I am starting to look less and less like Tom Baker. People used to mistake me for Shirley Williams, but now they just seem to mistake me for my Great Aunt Molly.' He spends much of his time at his home in France and tries to avoid meeting other actors. He says: 'They seem to be a bit like me in that they are not really certain who they are.' Tom Baker is 71 today."

David Tennant is listed as appearing on the series "Posh Nosh" on 3 February from 9.50 to 10pm on BBC2: "Comfort Food. Spoof cookery series featuring a pretentious rich couple. Simon and Minty demonstrate how toad-in-the-hole can get you through the death of a close personal friend. Starring: Arabella Weir, Richard E. Grant, David Tennant."

The Daily Record said of Saturday's "The Romantics" with David Tennant, "He's flying the flag for Scotland on a national, and inter-galactic, stage as the new Doctor Who. But here's a chance to see Scots heart-throb David Tennant doing something a little less mainstream - yet still travelling through time. After shooting to fame in Russell T Davies' adaptation of loose-loined Casanova last year, Tennant plays French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau - a man whose musings are attributable to the explosion of romantic poetry in the 18th century from literary luminaries such as Keats, Wordsworth and Byron. Sliding through time from Paris in the 1700s to contemporary France, Tennant's philosopher sees the impact his musings had both in his day and in ours. ..."

Leonard Lewis has died; according to "Stage And TV Today" and the Internet Movie Database, the prolific TV producer died on 2 December. His sole Doctor Who credit was overseeing the Eastenders scenes on "Doctor Who: Dimensions In Time", the Children In Need 1993 charity special. His other TV credits include When The Boat Comes In and Flambards.

Colin Baker writes for the Bucks Free Press, "If you had told me a couple of years ago that the flagship programme on Christmas Day might one day be Dr Who, I would have suggested that you seek specialist medical help immediately. But building on the excellent series transmitted last year, the special festive episode introducing David Tennant as Doctor number ten was the undoubted success amongst what was a predominantly lacklustre batch of offerings this holiday. In fact, it was the only programme that tempted the Baker family away from the delights of enjoying each others' company. Once again that genius Russell T Davies has produced not only a great script and a great new Doctor, but just when you thought the story was over and the world saved, there was a judiciously crafted hefty sideswipe against those most un-Christmasey characteristics greed, selfishness and political expedience, that so depressingly regularly nudge humanity and honour out into second place. A contemporary message every bit as powerful as that in Dickens's Christmas Carol. To offer the viewers whirling dervish Christmas Trees and homicidal Santas without losing credibility is quite an achievement. And I am glad to be able to confirm what I already knew that David Tennant would be an worthy recipient of the Tardis baton."

Official Sites

The official Doctor Who website has updated the January/February calendar on its News page and is listing a repeat showing of 'The Parting of the Ways' for 5.35pm on Sunday 5 February on UK Gold. They also note that the commentary track for "The Christmas Invasion" was "the most popular MP3 downloaded from bbc.co.uk over Christmas. 64,000 of you listened to the running commentary by Russell T Davies, Julie Gardner and Phil Collinson between Christmas Day and New Year's Eve, making it even more popular than Radio 1's Best of Moyles podcast that week. The free MP3 track is still available on the site, and, thanks to the nifty work of a fan, appears to be listed in the iTunes podcast directory thing. Er, thank you, mysterious stranger. And thanks to everyone who made the Commentary so successful."

The new series will have a new spinoff website come transmission time; the BBC has registered domain names cybusindustries.com, cybusindustries.net and cybusindustries.co.uk, which presumably will be tie-in websites for when "Rise of the Cybermen" and its second half air in the UK. A Cybus Corporation fan site has been extremely popular for several months, though is unrelated to the show's production.

Broadcasting

Doctor Who was mentioned in the "Ask Matt Roush" column of the US' TV Guide magazine yesterday. "Question: Now that the Sci Fi Channel is going to air the new Doctor Who series from the BBC in March, what do you think of the show, and will it make a mark here in the U.S. with sci-fi and genre fans, now that Enterprise is gone and Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel/Firefly are also gone? -- Brian B. Matt Roush: I'll be honest. I'm far from a Doctor Who expert or even a fan. The few times I ever tried watching the earlier incarnations of the show on PBS or wherever, I was underwhelmed. But I doubt I gave it much of a chance. Now that I'm more invested in the genre, especially since Farscape rekindled my passion for space fantasy and Battlestar Galactica confirmed it, I'll approach this series with an open mind. It certainly seems to be arriving with a fair amount of buzz and hype, so I can't imagine why this wouldn't work to Sci Fi's advantage."

According to a report at BBC News, the BBC's Director-General Mark Thompson has mentioned "Doctor Who" as an example of their output during a defence of the past year's £36 million expenses bill. "Programme-making accounts for the overwhelming majority of hotel and travel costs in an organisation such as the BBC with output as diverse as Doctor Who, which is made in Cardiff and on location, and news coverage of events such as Hurricane Katrina."

One of our readers sent e-mail to the CBC's programming department asking when season two of the new series would be aired in Canada and was told, "Unfortunately we don't have a scheduled start date for the upcoming Doctor Who season at this time. If you stay tuned to CBC Television there will be promotional advertisements for the new season when that date is set."

Miscellaneous

EntertainmentWise says that "Sci-fi fans are dribbling at the prospect of owning the definitive Dr Who toy -- a brand new full-size Dalek replica. There has been a stampede to reserve the official BBC models -- which scoot about on wheels and have been crafted using moulds from a real Dalek used used in the latest series of the show starring Billie Piper and David Tenant. The 5'5" models will not be ready until April -- but the toy-makers have already seen a huge demand for the replicas and have been flooded with £500 deposits. There will also be the option of a model which screams Exterminate! and has working lights." icWales also mentions it and theDaily Star says that "Billie Piper has an amazing sci-fi secret - she sleeps with a Dalek. She has snapped up the ultimate big boy's toy for her bedroom."

The South Wales Evening Post said about the Series One Boxed Set on Friday that "As with most things in life, us DVD reviewers have to take the rough with the smooth. Fans of the 2005 revival of Doctor Who could watch and re-watch their hero's exploits when the series was released in four volumes. But those in the know waited for the full bells and whistles set to come out towards the end of the Doctor's triumphant comeback year. It duly appeared, and it was definitely worth the wait - a plush, Tardis-shaped package with all 13 episodes and a great deal more on top. Which is what I meant about taking the rough with the smooth. I was sent the discs, but sadly not the fancy packaging. That was the rough. The smooth side was that I got them for free when the full set would have set me back anything up to 69.99. Having said that, most shops were selling them for a good deal less. So what do you get for your money? Obviously, all the episodes, with crystal clear pictures and 5.1 surround sound, with commentaries absent from the earlier releases. Some are more entertaining than others, with Russell T Davies an absolute scream whenever he features. Then there are documentaries and making-of features galore, video contributions from co-star Billy Piper, writer Mark Gattiss and Davies himself, plus a sneak preview of the next series - bearing in mind this came out before the Christmas special that introduced us to new Doc David Tennant. Anyone who already owns the earlier releases will find the extras an expensive luxury. But those who waited for the box set will find it a worthwhile investment." They also noted about the release of "City of Death" that "Baker is as entertaining as always and the budget even stretched to location shooting in Paris, adding a rare sheen to the show. The effects aren't bad for their time, either, given the shoestring figure they were produced with. A solid package of extras, including a PDF version of the 1980 Doctor Who annual, complete this latest addition to Who's DVD back catalogue."

The Financial Times notes that "For one delicious moment during the recent Doctor Who holiday special, I actually thought the new Time Lord on the block was going to emerge as a kind of Austin Powers-meets-Pete Doherty Doctor. As readers from six to 60 know, the Doc periodically regenerates and literally inherits a new look, and on Christmas Day we were treated to a deconstruction of the conceit as Christopher Eccleston was reborn as David Tennant (of TV Casanova fame). The new hero was shown rifling through a rack of clothes, consciously deciding what kind of profile he wished to present to the world. This is when the promise of a 1960s-style rocking Doctor was tantalisingly hinted at. Tennant fingered a regimental military Sergeant Pepper-style jacket, as worn by Doherty in the Libertines, and by Mick Jagger and the Fab Four before him. I reckon he'd have looked great in it, possessed as he is of a cheeky McCartneyesque physiognomy and mod-style fringe. But no, the BBC wardrobe department bottled it. The regimental number was put back and, instead, the Doc alighted on what looked like a pinstripe suit in a dark brown/aubergine colour with a natty purple stripe, well co-ordinating shirt and tie, and a big fawn duster coat. When he'd put it all together he looked like a Prada catwalk model, decidedly more Euro traveller than time traveller." Read the full article at the website.

Times Online, ikn a story about motherhood, notes that "Motherhood is like a benevolent, society-sustaining form of multiple-personality disorder. Well, being a woman is like a benevolent, society-sustaining form of multiple-personality disorder, but motherhood is where it reaches its apogee. I’m sure there can’t be many mothers who didn’t watch the last series of Doctor Who without a few nods of recognition — specifically the episode in which the Doctor discovered the Emperor Dalek, who was controlling the minds of the six million smaller Daleks scattered across the universe. Additionally, of course, the Emperor Dalek is much wider at the bottom than the top, rather cranky, and has a limited ability to get up stairs — although it was unlikely, in his case, to have been caused by an extra two stones and a compromised pelvic floor."

Yesterday's Frankston Standard/Hastings Leader asks, "Who else would land a bright blue TARDIS in a Frankson eye clinic's car park when nobody was looking and then just as quickly take off to some other dimension with it? Photos of a mysterious object and a note apparently from the doctor left at the clinic have had staff scratching their heads all week. The large blue "police" box, which certainly looks like Dr Who's famous TARDIS (Time and Relative Dimensions In Space vehicle), were found under the door of the Cranbourne Rd clinic last Tuesday. A letter accompanying the photos read: "I hope you don't mind, but I parked my TARDIS in your car park over the weekend to refuel. I programmed my time computer especially so as to arrive on a Sunday, in order that I not cause any disruption to your workday routine. All the best for the coming year (it's a good one, by the way)." It was simply signed The Doctor. Ophthalmologist Dr Stephen Bambery has no doubt the letter was from Dr Who. "We have all been trying to think if it was anyone we knew playing a joke on us. The staff would like to know who it was, but I'd still like to believe it was really Dr Who. Whoever was behind it has gone to an amazing effort."

Other items: Digital Spy ran an article about a "close friendship" between David Tennant and Billie Piper during the filming of the new series... of course, it's the exact same story that ran eighteen months ago in various papers, with the name 'Eccleston' in place of 'Tennant'; TV Shows on DVDconfirmed the delay of the Canadian DVD release of the Series One Boxed Set; Hecklerspray has a brief article about the contestants from "Dancing on Ice" including John Barrowman.

(Thanks to Paul Engelberg, Steve Tribe, Peter Weaver, Paul Hayes, Nick Campbell, "Alex" in Canada, Neil Marsh, Faiz Rehman, Darren Pickles, Karen Baldwin, Neil Chester, Wayne Barry and Anthony Dry at Kasterborous)