Christopher Eccleston has recorded an audio version of a short story by award-winning author Patrick Ness in aid of Read for RNIB Day.

The story, Now That You've Died, takes readers and listeners on an exhilarating journey into the afterlife. It was written by Ness especially for the Royal National Institute of Blind People, the leading UK charity helping blind and partially sighted people.

The story can be heard for free here. In return, listeners are asked to consider making a donation to RNIB to help make reading more accessible to blind and partially sighted people.

The RNIB Day campaign manager, Becca McRow, said:

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David Tennant is lending his voice to the upcoming Xbox One game Kinect Sports Rivals as the narrator.

The game is produced by British video game developer Rare. A video has been released which includes a behind-the-scenes interview with Tennant as well as footage of the recording sessions.

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Tom Baker has said he's thrilled that the classic Doctor Who series is to be screened in the UK on the Horror Channel, as reported here. The Horror Channel has completed a deal with BBC Worldwide to broadcast 30 stories from the classic series, which ran from 1963 to 1989, featuring the first seven Doctors, starting with William Hartnell and concluding with Sylvester McCoy.

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Sylvester McCoy, will be making an appearance at FantasyCon this July. The Con will be held in Salt Lake City, Utah. Tickets are now on sale.

Arthur Darvill has taken over the role of Guy in the West End production of Once the Musical.

The actor, who played Rory Williams in Doctor Who, took over the role on Monday when the production celebrated its first birthday in London's Phoenix Theatre. Darvill previously played the role on Broadway and will stay with the London production until 10th May.

Once the Musical is based on the 2006 film of the same name, written by Enda Walsh. It includes many of the songs, including the Academy Award-winning Falling Slowly performed by Darvill in the play. It tells the story of an Irish busker and a Czech girl who meet through a shared love of music. The original production won 8 Tony Awards in 2012 and the London one has been nominated for six Olivier Awards.

Doctor Who News was invited to a special preview on Wednesday afternoon when Darvill and the company performed a number of songs from the musical.


For more information on the production visit the official website or the Once the Musical Facebook page.

Pictures of the TARDIS-style police box bound for Bournemouth have been tweeted by the Dorset force as the construction moves closer to its spring installation.

As previously reported, the TARDIS-style box is being put up to combat crime and anti-social behaviour as well as act as a tourist attraction for the south coast resort, and a picture tweeted at the time showed its basic frame.

Now, though, pictures have been released showing its unmistakeable "TARDIS" look, which comes from the iconic 1929 design created by Gilbert Mackenzie Trench for the Metropolitan Police.

The first image, tweeted on 14th March, shows the steel box ready for galvanising, while the second one, tweeted on 17th March, shows it being moved on a fork-lift truck for the next stage of its build.

Once finished, the police box will be installed at the western end of the precinct in Christchurch Road, Boscombe, where it will be manned throughout the day. It will also have a phone attached to it via which the public will be able to contact the police at other times.

Weighing more than two tonnes, it is three metres high by 1.8 metres wide. It has been paid for by local businesses and organisations and is being built by AMK Industries of Christchurch, Dorset, having been designed by James Roberts at the Christchurch-based architect and design practice of Anders Roberts Cheer.

Actor Olaf Pooley has been talking to ABC News on the occasion of his 100th birthday. The centenarian told the station the secret of a long life.

A Facebook fan page for the actor has been set up here.

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A two-part, fully illustrated & extensive interview with Doctor Who companion actress Katy Manning has just been released online.

Both parts are available to be heard on her official website, katymanning.com. The interview covers her early career, her friendship with Liza Minnelli, Doctor Who, her TV/theatre work in Australia, and beyond. It's also available as a free download. Katy Manning has also recorded a comedy sketch during this interview, which is an affectionate parody of both classic Who and Big Finish.

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Marian Deuchar who was interviewed in Return To Devils End and had a scene in The Daemons where she grabbed a young child and took it indoors, died peacefully in Aldbourne Nursing Home on 24th February 2014 aged 91. Her funeral service was held at St Michael's Church as used in The Daemons.

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Siv-Art Productions has announced that Sylvester McCoy is joining the Inspector Chronicles guest cast that already includes Robert Picardo (The Doctor in "Star Trek: Voyager", "Stargate: Atlantis"), Chase Masterson ("Star Trek: Deep Space Nine"), and Mayim Bialik ("Big Bang Theory", "Blossom"). They'll all be joining existing cast members Travis Richey (Inspector Spacetime on "Community"), Eric Loya, and Carrie Keranen.

Instead of a second season of the web series, the team will be producing a feature-length film. "Untitled Web Series" will now become The Inspector Chronicles: Untitled Motion Picture About A Space Traveler Who Can Also Travel Through Time.

The film is currently entering the pre-production phase, and is seeking help from fans and investors. Pledges can be made here.

Matt Smith will be playing football for England when he takes part in this year's Soccer Aid.

And he'll be facing a former nemesis in the shape of Michael Sheen - who provided the voice of the sinister House in The Doctor's Wife - at the charity event at Old Trafford on Sunday 8th June. Doors open at 5pm and kick-off is at 8pm, with the match being broadcast live on ITV.

It is being held in aid of the global children's charity UNICEF, with Smith signed up for Robbie Williams's England team. Meanwhile, Sheen is heading the opposing Rest of the World side. Joining Smith on the England squad will be Bradley Walsh, who appeared in The Sarah Jane Adventures story The Day of the Clown.

Before he became an actor, Smith's dream was to be a professional footballer, and he played for the youth teams at Northampton Town, Nottingham Forest, and Leicester City, but the spinal condition spondylosis wrecked his sporting hopes. However, he retains links to the game through his avid support for Blackburn Rovers, and the 2010 episode The Lodger saw the actor don a number 11 football shirt as the Doctor and lead fictional pub team The King's Arms to victory.

Williams, who is UNICEF's UK ambassador, said: And UNICEF UK executive director David Bull said: In the past six years, Soccer Aid has raised more than £12m to help children around the world.

Tickets for the match cost from £20 for adults and from £5 for under-16s and over-65s, with premium seats at £40 (plus booking fees), and can be bought via the Soccer Aid site.

Sheen features briefly in his kit in the promotional video below, while The Lodger guest star James Corden can also be seen cheering:


Other celebrities on the England team are Stephen Moyer, Jamie Theakston, Mark Owen, Jack Whitehall, Damian Lewis, Paddy McGuinness, John Bishop and Olly Murs, while Sheen's celebrity players will include James McAvoy, Nicky Byrne, Adam Richman, Patrick Kielty and Gordon Ramsay. Former professional footballers joining the England side are Teddy Sheringham, Jamie Redknapp, David Seaman, Paul Ince and Jamie Carragher, with Jaap Stam and Edwin van der Sar among those playing for Rest of the World.

UPDATE - 8th JUNE: Sadly, Matt Smith was unable to take part in the game because of an injury. In a statement, he said:

The publishers behind the unofficial Peter Cushing Dr. Who fannual are seeking story pitches for a similar follow-up volume - this time centring on UNIT.

Entitled The U.N.I.T Fannual 1974, the setting will be "the near future" following the end of the Doctor's exile on Earth, with the stories showing how the organisation is coping without his help as scientific adviser.

In the Writer's Guidelines, editors Scott Burditt and Shaqui Le Vesconte say: The main characters will be Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, Captain Yates, Sergeant Benton, Jo Grant, Corporal Bell (who appeared in The Mind of Evil and The Claws of Axos), Sgt Osgood (who was in The Daemons), and Dr Harry Sullivan. Other characters associated with UNIT from The Invasion to The Three Doctors can also be used, with the editors stating that Harry Sullivan has been included as the sole exception. As far as the fannual's continuity is concerned, he has been newly seconded as UNIT's medical officer and does not yet know of the absent Doctor's physiology.

It is preferred that the Doctor doesn't appear in the stories, although he can be mentioned as being away, for example. The guidelines say that this book "is essentially U.N.I.T's 15 minutes of fame - so don't overshadow them!"

They further state: They add: The fannual website also gives a recommended reading/viewing list.

Burditt told Doctor Who News that the announcement of the follow-up publication had gone down very well with fans, adding: Story pitches should be sent via fannual@outlook.com. The same address can be used by people interesting in contributing art and comic strips.

UPDATE - 6th APRIL: The publishers announced today that new story pitches must now be submitted by Wednesday 30th April to be considered for inclusion. They stated:

As previously reported, in February Lego announced that it would begin accepting proposals for Doctor Who Lego sets. It took less than two weeks for one proposal to reach 10,000 supporters, which is the threshold for Lego's review team to consider a project. (This is apparently the third-fastest that any Cuusoo proposal has reached the 10,000 supporter mark.) The proposed Doctor Who set will be considered alongside any other projects which reach 10,000 supporters by the early May deadline. Other proposals which have already reached the review stage in the current period include an Apple store, the flying train from Back to the Future Part III, and a Lego bird project. These will be considered alongside the Doctor Who project for potential production as an official Lego set.

This was the official comment from Lego:

A doodle by Sixth Doctor, Colin Baker, is being auctioned for charity as part of National Doodle Day 2014.

The event is to raise money for Epilepsy Action with celebrities donating doodles to be auctioned on ebay.

Other Doctor Who related stars taking part include John Hurt, Bruno Langley; Martin Jarvis; Terry Molloy, Bill Nighy, Felicity Kendal, Honor Blackman, Ian McNeice, Martin Clunes, Maureen Lipman, Roger Lloyd Pack, Nerys Hughes, Imelda Staunton, Sylvia Syms and Sir Derek Jacobi.

The auction is open until Sunday. Bids can be made via the website.

A doodle by Colin Baker was also auctioned in 2005.

To celebrate Doctor Who's 50th anniversary, CultBox.co.uk asked fans to re-enact their favourite Doctor Who moment. Hundreds of fans from over 30 countries sent in their videos. Here are some of their favourite entries.

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Fanfilm: That Time of Night

The team behind the Spanish fanfilm The Imperfect World is following up with a series of shorts. The first installment, That Time of Night (original title Esas Horas de la Noche) features the Tenth Doctor and Rose Tyler, and can be viewed worldwide on youtube with English subtitles. Director Marta Romero says: "The script will really hook the fans, since the relationship between the Doctor and Rose is such an elemental part of the show."

The team opened a crowdfunding page to help finance the rest of the webseries and the sequel to The Imperfect World.

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Whotopia Issue 27 is now available

In this issue; A serious study of all things sonic by Dave Columbus & Jurgen Pfeffer;
Big Finish's Unbound Collection comes under the spotlight with Matthew Kresal;
A tribute to the designer who created the iconic figure of the Daleks;
Bob Furnell takes account of some recent DVD viewing; Managing the merchandise with Paula Hammond;
Michael S. Collins highlights the early pioneers of Doctor Who; The epic journey reaches the end... or does it?
Nick Mellish investigates; Bob Furnell shines the spotlight on William Hartnell's swansong;
Whotopia reviews some of the special 50th Anniversary programming;
Jon Arnold assesses the 50th Anniversary Special; Dave Columbus reviews An Adventure In Time and Space;
The Science of Doctor Who with Thomas Spychalski;
Multi-national reports on The Day of The Doctor cinema showings;
Thomas Spychalski reviews the Blue Peter homages to Time Lords and TARDIS's;
Matthew Kresal reviews BBC Radio 2's special anniversary tribute.

The BBC have announced that actress Keeley Hawes is to join the cast of Doctor Who playing a villain.

Hawes will play Ms Delphox, a powerful out-of-this-world character with a dark secret. Travelling across space and time, the Twelfth Doctor (Peter Capaldi) and his companion, Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman), will come face to face with the mysterious Ms Delphox, when they arrive on a strange and puzzling planet.

The character will appear in the fifth episode of the series, written by Steve Thompson and directed by Douglas Mackinnon, which is currently being filmed in south Wales.

Hawes is best known for roles in The Last September, an adaptation of Elizabeth Bowen's 1929 novel, as well as playing Zoe Reynolds in Spooks, Alex Drake in Ashes to Ashes and Lady Agnes in Upstairs, Downstairs. She is currently playing Detective Inspector Lindsay Denton on the second series of the BBC Two drama Line of Duty. She was the voice of Lara Croft in several Tomb Raider video games.

Commenting on her role, Hawes said: Lead writer and executive producer Steven Moffat added: