Members of the BBC's Radiophonic Workshop will be performing live at the weekend to mark Doctor Who's 50th anniversary.

Fresh from their recent appearance at Portmeirion's Festival No 6, Dick Mills, Paddy Kingsland, Peter Howell, Roger Limb, and Mark Ayres will be performing a 75-minute set at the London Electronic Arts Festival in Shoreditch on Saturday 9th November at 2pm.

The Radiophonic Workshop's most famous piece of work was undoubtedly the Doctor Who theme, realised by Delia Derbyshire from a composition by Ron Grainer, and the Workshop also created countless special sounds for the series during its classic era.

The concert, at the Shoreditch Electric Light Station in Coronet Street, will not only include music ranging from Doctor Who to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, it will also feature archive video from Doctor Who and many other programmes for which the Workshop provided sound design and music. It will be a 5.1 surround sound show and will feature The Doctor Who Suite - part of which will bring Derbyshire's original 1963 theme together with Howell's 1980 reimagining of it in one 15-minute presentation.

It coincides with the start of a comprehensive reissue programme of the entire Radiophonic Workshop back catalogue. These will initially be on 180g audiophile vinyl in restored original artwork and audio remastered from original tapes by Ayres, and will be issued on the Music On Vinyl label, to be followed by digital and CD releases and a new compilation of Radiophonic material from the vaults.

BBC Radiophonic Music and BBC Radiophonic Workshop will be rereleased on Monday 25th November, with the former available to pre-order here and the latter here. BBC Radiophonic Music - originally put out in 1968 as a specialist demonstration library disc for BBC drama producers - was released commercially in 1971. BBC Radiophonic Workshop was originally released in 1975 and was a compilation of the Workshop's output to date. Both showcase the dawning of processed sound, treated sounds, and sound design.

They will be followed in the new year by the albums 4th Dimension and Through A Glass Darkly.

In addition, Kingsland, Limb, Mills, Howell, and Ayres are working with White Noise's David Vorhaus on a new album of Radiophonic material set for release next year on a major label. This will feature collaborations with a number of key figures in contemporary electronica, all of whom have been influenced by the Workshop down the years.

The Workshop will also be putting out very limited issues of rare and unreleased tracks from the archives, including some rare Doctor Who moments and a remixed and reimagined version of the original Doctor Who theme realised by Derbyshire. This has been produced from her original tapes and will be the first stereo version of the track to appear.

A 2,500-word Workshop retrospective by Joe Muggs is due to be published in The Observer on Sunday 24th November.

The Radiophonic Workshop was formed in 1958 and was based in BBC studios at Maida Vale in London. It closed in 1998 but during its lifetime had an inestimable influence on musicians and sound engineers, and was described by electronic dance music publication Mixmag in 1997 as "the unsung heroes of electronica". On 17th May 2009, Radiophonic Workshop musicians played live for the first time when they gave a concert at the Camden Roundhouse as part of the Short Circuit festival.

A host of guests for the BBC's Doctor Who Celebration was announced today - but fans going to the event on the anniversary itself face missing the special episode.

Fifth Doctor Peter Davison will be at the convention at ExCeL in London for all its three days - 22nd to 24th November inclusive - and joining him there on the actual anniversary day, Saturday 23rd November, will be William Russell and Carole Ann Ford who, as Ian Chesterton and Susan Foreman, were companions to the First Doctor and were in the first episode of Doctor Who when it was originally broadcast exactly 50 years earlier. In addition, Waris Hussein, who directed the first story, will also be there on the Saturday.

Arrangements have been made for a free 2D showing of the simulcast of The Day of the Doctor that day, but not everybody going to the event on 23rd November will be able to get into it.

BBC Worldwide said: Saturday attendees who miss out on tickets to the screening and who want to see the episode as it is broadcast will therefore have to make alternative plans to watch it as it goes out - if they can.

Also appearing on all three days will be special sounds wizard Dick Mills and visual effects supremos Mike Tucker and Mat Irvine. The rest of the additional guest line-up and their appearance days is as follows:
As previously reported, current Doctor Matt Smith, Sixth Doctor Colin Baker, and Seventh Doctor Sylvester McCoy will also be there on all three days, while Fourth Doctor Tom Baker will be there on just the Saturday.

A video of the main guest panel for the BFI's Eighth Doctor celebratory event was uploaded for viewing this morning.

Held on Saturday 5th October as part of the organisation's Doctor Who At 50 season, it saw Paul McGann, Daphne Ashbrook, and Geoffrey Sax in discussion with season co-curator Justin Johnson, following a big-screen showing of McGann's sole TV outing as the Doctor (up to now).


Earlier, Andrew Cartmel, Nicholas Briggs, Gary Russell, and Jason Haigh-Ellery formed a panel to talk about the years between the McGann movie of 1996 and the show's return in 2005.

Comedian Toby Hadoke has added a number of dates to his tour of My Stepson Stole My Sonic Screwdriver.

The actor and writer, who is a moderator on classic Doctor Who DVD releases and is a contributor to Doctor Who Magazine, will be performing the show as follows:

• Friday 1st November, 7.45pm - Riverfront Theatre, Newport, Gwent
• Thursday 21st November, 7.30pm - Lincoln Drill Hall, Lincoln
• Thursday 5th December, 8pm - Rondo Theatre, Bath
• Thursday 16th January, 7.30pm - Oldham Coliseum Theatre, Oldham (Two-for-one ticket offer at the Coliseum until 23rd November 2013)

Stepson is a follow-up to Hadoke's acclaimed one-man show Moths Ate My Doctor Who Scarf.

The video of the guest panel at the BFI's celebratory screenings for the Tenth Doctor's era is now available to watch online.

Held on Sunday 29th September as part of its Doctor Who At 50 season, the event saw The Stolen Earth and Journey's End shown on the big screen, with David Tennant, Catherine Tate, Phil Collinson, and Graeme Harper taking to the stage afterwards for a discussion and question-and-answer session with season co-curator Justin Johnson.

A three-minute excerpt was uploaded to the BFI's YouTube channel today,
with the full Q&A - just shy of 30 minutes in length - available to watch in the BFI's video section.

With exactly a month to go now to Doctor Who's 50th anniversary, the BFI today announced the final screenings in its year-long celebration of the programme.

It will be showing the anniversary episode The Day of the Doctor in 3D on Saturday 23rd November as part of the global simulcast and cinema screenings worldwide. The time is yet to be confirmed by the BBC. Tickets will go on sale to BFI members from Friday 25th October (9am online and 11.30am by phone and in person) and to non-members from Saturday 26th October from 11.30am. They can be bought via this link. (It should be noted that the start time of 7pm given by the BFI is for guidance only. According to the BFI, the exact start time will be given 10 days before the screening.)

Justin Johnson, the programmer of the BFI's Doctor Who At 50 strand, said: Then, just over a fortnight later, on Sunday 8th December at 3.45pm, it will mark the Eleventh Doctor's era by showing The Eleventh Hour and The Name of the Doctor. The guest panel for that event is yet to be announced.

Johnson, who curated the season with Dick Fiddy, commented on its culmination by telling Doctor Who News: Tickets to the Eleventh Doctor screenings on 8th December will be allocated by ballot via the members' section, which BFI Champions can enter from Monday 4th November, and Cinema Members from Tuesday 5th November. The ballot will close on Friday 8th November and will be run over the weekend of 9th and 10th November, with all entrants being notified on Monday 11th November as to whether or not they have been successful. All tickets reserved for Champions and Cinema Members via the ballot will be held for claiming by them until 8.30pm on Friday 15th November, and any that are unclaimed by then will be released for public sale on Saturday 16th November.

As has been the case with all previous events in the season, it will undoubtedly sell out to Champions and Cinema Members, but returns and stand-bys will be a strong possibility, so keep checking with the BFI.

UPDATE - 26th OCTOBER: The BFI was forced to suspend ticket sales for The Day of the Doctor yesterday because of "an issue with card payments". Sales reopened for members today at 9am (online) and 11.30am (phone), and will reopen tomorrow to non-members.

BBC Worldwide have announced venues for the 3D screenings of the 50th Anniversary adventure The Day of the Doctor, which will be simulcast in cinemas around the world on the Saturday 23rd November.

In the UK, some 216 VUE, Cineworld, Odeon, BFI and Picturehouse cinemas will participate, with tickets going on sale from this Friday, 25th October at 9:00am.

Internationally, Germany, Russia, the USA and Canada will also have simultaneous screenings with BBC One in the UK, with some 106 cinemas in Australia and New Zealand participating later in the day, as previously announced. Further countries are expected to be announced shortly.

Full details of the announced countries and cinema chains, plus specific booking details can be found via BBC Worldwide.


Meanwhile, BBC America will announce details regarding the 3D screenings in select cinemas in the US and Canada.

Note: not all cinemas will simulcast the episode, please check the relevant cinema time for confirmation.

A party is to be held at Buckingham Palace next month to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who, it has been revealed.

In what is arguably the biggest honour that could be bestowed on the show in its very special year, the Countess of Wessex - who is believed to be something of an admirer of the programme - will host the reception on Monday 18th November as the countdown to Doctor Who's golden milestone reaches its final few days. The guest list has been kept under wraps, but people involved with the show both in front of and behind the cameras over the years are expected to be on it.

The show enjoys a strong royal connection, with the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall visiting its studios in Roath Lock in the summer. Original producer Verity Lambert was awarded an OBE in the 2002 New Year Honours List for services to film and TV production, while Russell T Davies - the producer credited with Doctor Who's successful revival in the 21st century - was awarded an OBE in the 2008 Birthday Honours List for services to drama.

Buckingham Palace has featured and been referenced in the programme, with the Doctor averting its demolition by the starship Titanic in Voyage of the Damned, while in the later story Planet of the Dead the Doctor stated that he had parked the TARDIS in its grounds with the full approval of the Queen. (In alternate timelines, the starship Titanic did destroy the Palace [Turn Left], and it was the home of the Holy Roman Emperor Winston Churchill in The Wedding of River Song.) It is to be presumed that the current royals are either unaware of or were highly amused by the implication in Tooth And Claw that they are werewolves!

UPDATE - 20th OCTOBER: The event has now been published on the Royal Diary web page.

Amidst some confusion over the DVD releases of the recovered The Enemy of the World and The Web of Fear, BBC Worldwide have confirmed that these will be single disc releases as described by online shopping sites and not two discs as the covers released earlier today indicated.

The BBFC have now classified The Enemy of the World, confirming the running time for the episodes:

Episodes One-Three:
00:23:45:01 DOCTOR WHO - THE ENEMY OF THE WORLD - EPISODE 1
00:23:50:17 DOCTOR WHO - THE ENEMY OF THE WORLD - EPISODE 2
00:23:07:09 DOCTOR WHO - THE ENEMY OF THE WORLD - EPISODE 3

Episodes Four-Six:
00:23:46:11 DOCTOR WHO - THE ENEMY OF THE WORLD - EPISODE 4
00:24:22:05 DOCTOR WHO - THE ENEMY OF THE WORLD - EPISODE 5
00:21:38:11 DOCTOR WHO - THE ENEMY OF THE WORLD - EPISODE 6

No other features have been announced for either this or The Web of Fear at present.


Amazon UK have both The Enemy of the World (25 Nov 2013) and The Web of Fear (24 Feb 2014) available for pre-order; BBC Worldwide have advised that the latter's general release date is currently provisional and may well change.

The BBC Shop is offering the DVDs with exclusive slipcases, and will also be selling a special celebratory t-shirt (artwork to be confirmed).

United Kingdom: The National Media Museum in Bradford will play host to an 'invasion' of Daleks during the October half-term (26 Oct - 3 Nov). Doctor Who Family Fun will give visitors the chance to learn about the Doctor's foe in the Science of the Daleks event, and will also be able to participate in making a light-up TARDIS, a moving Dalek or even create their own monster to take home. Other events include behind-the-scenes on the making of the show, plus a screening of this year's Nightmare in Silver. Learning programme coordinator Elaine Richmond said: "We hope families will join us this half term to help keep the Museum from the clutches of the dreaded Daleks. We’re very excited about this event and promise a lot of Doctor Who-themed fun and activities in anticipation of the 50th anniversary episode next month."

UK: The University of Central Lancashire are planning a special event on the 16th November: Doctor Who: The Science Behind The Scenes will be a day of presentations about the show and the science it uses, including topics like Science Fact or Science Fiction?, The Psychology of Doctor Who and Is Time Travel Possible? There will also be workshops, make-up, costumes and mask-making, and a area to have memorabilia assessed and valued! [EventBrite]

UK: The popularity of Doctor Who Experience at Cardiff Bay has led to the town council to consider additional parking space in order to ensure that the perceived lack of space is leading to a drop-off in number of visitors to the area. A BBC Worldwide spokesperson commented: "An improvement in parking in Cardiff Bay will support increased visitor numbers but there is no suggestion that visitor numbers at the Doctor Who Experience are falling. We do receive comments from potential visitors and visitors post-event about the lack of parking in the Bay and we welcome the move to improve the situation." [Wales Online, 19 Sep 2013]

UK: Special Events Group Limited are arranging for a mass Doctor Who themed wedding which is expected to take place at the Bloomsbury Ballroom in London on 24th November. [Doctor Who Wedding]

UK: As part of the BBC's plans to simulcast The Day of the Doctor across cinemas in 3D, Cineworld in Crawley Leisure Park aim to host a special day to celebrate, including an appearance by Simon Fisher Becker, who played Dorium in the series. Money raised from the day will be donated to the charity Autism All Stars. [Crawley Observer, 2 Oct 2013]

UK: Doctor Who features as a session at next weekend's Film and TV Conference in Norwich; Doctor Who and Beyond: Science Fiction & Fantasy TV takes place on the 12th October at 11:15am and is expected to feature writer Phil Ford amonst panel speakers. [Norfolk Eastern Daily Press, 27 Sep 2013]

UK: Three fans have set off on a round-trip from Pontllanfraith in Wales to Munich in Germany - each dressed as the Doctor - in order to raise money for Parkinson's research. Richard Shelton said: "Three years ago I took part in a similar rally across Europe to Croatia. We want to raise between £1,000 and £2,000 for Parkinson's UK and have £800 so far." [South Wales Argus, 20 Sep 2013]

UK: A Dalek ended up "chasing" a pensioner in Southampton as fan Chris Baker was in the process of moving home. Tony Holland had in fact offered to pull the prop along; as Baker observed: "This dalek is worth quite a few thousand pounds and I wasn't sure it would survive being pulled along by a mobility scooter! But Tony was very keen to assist and I saw no harm in giving it a go. He did a great job. We kept having to stop as people wanted to have their picture taken with the dalek." [Daily Star, 25 Sep 2013]

UK: Chester Zoo have released a video featuring their penguins - all with Doctor Who related names! [YouTube, 25 Sep 2013]

United States: The Norman Public Library in Tulsa is to hold a Doctor Who event on the 4th October to celebrate the show's 50th anniversary. The library website states: "The event is open to all ages and features games, crafts, Doctor Who-themed snacks and a chance to look at and check out the library’s collection of Doctor Who books." [Pioneer Library System, 1 Oct 2013]

US: Fans are attempting to have the Empire State Building in New York lit for the 50th Anniversary; an online petition states: "We are asking the Empire State Building to light up “TARDIS Blue” on November 23rd to celebrate 50 great years of Doctor Who. The Empire State Building regularly uses their spectacular light show to celebrate special moments in pop culture, such as sports events, the 15th anniversary of The Lion King, and Wrestlemania, as well as all the holidays and occasions it’s more known for being lit up for. As far as we know, however, they’ve never lit up to celebrate a SciFi show. What better place to start than the iconic series Doctor Who?" [Change Petitions]

US: Fans from the Tech Valley Center of Gravity in Troy, New York, have built a "TARDIS photo booth" for use at community events; creator Mick Cipollo said: "There was a concept for Troy night out first for a video booth for 30 second clips of 'why you enjoy Troy.' Then Laban Coblentz, founder and chairman of Tech Valley Center of Gravity, thought it should be in a TARDIS. I thought is was a good idea also." [All Over Albany, 27 Sep 2013]

Canada: A candidate in the Edmonton council elections has turned to Gallifrey for inspiration; Jim Gibbon used the Doctor's language to make up his campaign signs, Vote Gibbon Ward 5. Gibbon said: “You need to take your time and see what the person (a candidate) is all about”. [Canoe, 2 Oct 2013]

Australia: The Thuringowa Library in Townsville, North Queensland has had an exhibition of Doctor Who memorabilia courtesy of fan Robyn Gandini, who will also be making a presentation about her collection on the 5th October. [ABC, 30 Sep 2013]

AU: Actor and fan Santa Strohfeldt has been building his own TARDIS, and aims to have it completed in time for Peter Capaldi's debut at Christmas. His creation can be found in Southport on the Gold Coast. [ABC, 25 Sep 2013]

New Zealand: Another TARDIS builder, Michael Fenton from Inglewood, Taranaki, explains how his prop now helps him to teach school children: "What started as a gimmick for the careers expo became really cool for kids when I was teaching science and mathematics at high school. The whole idea is to show that stuff you're learning at primary and high school can be useful in the real world. I was trying to show students that you don't have to wait until you're older, you can actually do this stuff now." [Stuff, 19 Sep 2013]