The BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) have cleared an additional extra for the new box set release of the first series of Doctor Who this November: "Backstage at Christmas". This extra is a look inside the filming of "The Christmas Invasion" and serves as a preview for the second series of the show. (Thanks to Ceri Laing)

UK digital TV supplier Home Choice - mainly covering the London area - is now showing Dr Who on their video-on-demand channel C1, a package called "Doctor Who Through The Ages". The stories are: 'The Three Doctors', 'The Deadly Assassin' (minus drowning sequence in Pt 3), 'The Caves of Androzani', 'Timelash' (cut up into four parts), 'The Curse of Fenric' (four part version) and the entirety of the first season of the new series (in 4:3 format). It's got rather a nice menu screen in which you first choose which Doctor you want, then choose any episode of the story (rather like on a DVD). The channel is currently trailering the series with an identikit quiz (eg Peter Davison's jumper and a Dalek's skirt!) followed by a teaser of clips from various stories. (Thanks to Mark Campbell)

Pauline Collins, who nearly 40 years ago played Samantha Briggs in the Patrick Troughton serial "The Faceless Ones" and was under consideration to become a series regular until she opted out and Deborah Watling joined the cast as Victoria, has returned to the Doctor Who fold for the new series, according to reports in tomorrow's Sunday Mirror. Collins plays the role of Queen Victoria in a forthcoming episode of the second series. Says the article, "Pauline, 65, will play Queen Victoria alongside the new Doctor David Tennant and Billie Piper as sidekick Rose. She first appeared in the series in 1967 when Patrick Troughton was the Doctor. It was before she found fame in TV drama Upstairs Downstairs and then film stardom in the romantic hit Shirley Valentine in 1989. An insider said: 'Pauline found it amusing that she played a fashionable young woman in the 60s, but now she's playing a very wrinkly Queen Victoria.'" Collins is likely appearing in the second episode, "Tooth and Claw" which according to rumor takes place in Scotland. (Thanks to William Duffy, Eric Venable)

The official website today confirmed our story from yesterday that Series One Volume Two would be released on the UMD disc format used by Sony in their Playstation console system. The disc will be released on 17 October, featuring "Aliens of London," "World War Three" and "Dalek". The site notes, however, that "Volumes One, Three and Four will follow in December, although a specific date has yet to be announced. Discs will cost 17.99 each." At right is the illustration for the cover of the UMD format release; click on it for a larger version.

According to Play.com, the first series of Doctor Who from this year is not only available on DVD, plus will also be released on the new UMD format for the Sony Playstation Portable (PSP). The release will occur in mid-October and it will start with the second disc, apparently, as there's no word on the first disc being made available. (Thanks to Sean Parnell)

Outpost Gallifrey has learned that Ronald Leigh-Hunt, who played Radnor in "The Seeds of Death" and Stevenson in "Revenge of the Cybermen," and was also CA One in the Blake's 7 episode "Children of Auron," died on 12 September at age 88, and Roger Brierley, who played Trevor in "The Daleks' Master Plan" and much later returned as Drathro in "The Trial of a Time Lord: The Mysterious Planet" died on 23 September at age 70. The obituary for Leigh-Hunt can be found at The Times and one for Brierley at The Stage Online. (Thanks to Andrew Green, Ben Jolly)

Sunday 17 July	7.00pm	Rose	165,300	1.5%
Sunday 17 July	7.45pm	Confidential Cut Down 1	141,500	1.2%
Friday 22 July	9.00pm	Rose	139,900	1.0%
Friday 22 July	9.45pm	Confidential Cut Down 1	132,300	0.9%
Sunday 24 July	7.00pm	The End of the World	162,000	1.2%
Friday 29 July	9.00pm	The End of the World	151,500	1.0%
Sunday 31 July	7.00pm	The Unquiet Dead	227,000	1.8%
Friday 5 August	9.00pm	The Unquiet Dead	89,500	0.6%
Sunday 7 August	7.00pm	Aliens of London	215,200	1.8%
Friday 12 August	9.00pm	Aliens of London	101,300	0.7%
Sunday 14 August	7.00pm	World War Three	226,300	1.7%
Friday 19 August	9.00pm	World War Three	200,200	1.4%
Sunday 21 August	7.00pm	Dalek	201,500	1.7%
Friday 26 August	9.00pm	Dalek	132,600	0.9%
Sunday 28 August	7.00pm	The Long Game	129,200	1.1%
Friday 2 September	9.00pm	The Long Game	150,600	1.0%
Sunday 4 September	7.00pm	FatherÆs Day	190,600	1.4%
Friday 9 September	9.00pm	FatherÆs Day	263,800	1.8%
Sunday 11 September	7.30pm	The Empty Child	196,500	1.3%
Sunday 11 September	8.15pm	The Doctor Dances	284,900	1.7%
Friday 16 September	9.00pm	The Empty Child	132,900	0.9%
Sunday 18 September	7.30pm	Boom Town	252,600	1.6%
Sunday 18 September	8.15pm	Bad Wolf	275,000	1.7%
Friday 23 September	9.00pm	The Doctor Dances	211,500	1.4%
Sunday 25 September	7.00pm	The Parting of the Ways	216,900	1.5%

These figures continue to put the repeats outside the BBC Three top 10 for each week, but are probably high enough to keep Doctor Who in the channelÆs top 20. (BBC ThreeÆs Top 10, dominated by EastEnders, Little Britain and Nighty Night at the moment, is getting between 300,000 and 700,000 viewers.) No figures are available for the various Confidential repeats, aside from the first one. (Thanks to Steve Tribe)

The official Doctor Who website has made available the brief clips recovered after fans spotted them being broadcast several weeks ago on a BBC2 series called "Sunday Past times". The clips show a Dalek production line and Daleks outside a space capsule. The footage will reportedly be included on a DVD release next year.

Actress Sophia Myles has accepted a new role, according to her fan site sophiamyles.org: she'll be playing Madame Du Pompadour in a forthcoming episode of the second series, likely "The Girl in the Fireplace". At the moment we've received no official confirmation of the casting, but we expect this is correct. (Thanks to Maria at sophiamyles.org)