Having fielded off Downton Abbey in the Christmas ratings, Doctor Who will face the popular ITV1 drama again in this year's National Television Awards, taking place at the O2 Arena in London on 25th January. The nominees for the Best Drama Award also include BBC1's Merlin and last year's winner Waterloo Road.

Meanwhile, the Doctor Who team are up against sister show Torchwood in both the Drama Performance: Male and Female nominations, with Matt Smith facing John Barrowman and Karen Gillan facing Eve Myles respectively. The categories also include Martin Clunes (for Doc Martin, ITV1), David Threlfall (Shameless, C4), Jaye Jacobs (Waterloo Road, BBC1), and Suranne Jones (Scott & Bailey, ITV1).

Voting for the shortlist of nominees is now open, with the results to be announced at the award ceremony hosted by Dermot O'Leary, broadcast live on ITV1.

David Tennant is to narrate an hour long show dedicated to everybody's favourite ogre; Shrek: Once Upon A Time will see the actor reveal how "an ogre with a Scottish accent single-handedly changed the face of animation". The show will be broadcast on BBC3 on 23rd December and repeated on the 29th. [Teen Now, 13 Dec 2011]

John Barrowman is urging people to carry a donor card - the actor is one of a number of celebrities backing the For Cole campaign: "Get signed up and save a life. Everyone should be on it. I've carried a donor card for years. It's so easy to do now online or even by text." [Scottish Sun, 14 Dec 2011]

The actor also revealed that his favourite Christmas movie is 2003's Elf. [Digital Spy via YouTube, 13 Dec 2011]

Simon Callow (Charles Dickens, The Unquiet Dead/The Wedding of River Song) will be performing excerpts from his new book Charles Dickens and the Great Theatre of the World in Portsmouth on Tuesday 7th February 2012 - exactly 200 years after the birth of the author in the self-same city. The performance takes place at the New Theatre Royal, which has previously staged semi-professional productions of Fury From The Deep, The Evil of the Daleks, and The Dalek Masterplan (based on The Daleks' Master Plan). [reported by John Bowman, 12 Dec 2011]

Neil Gaiman (writer, The Doctor's Wife is to appear on BBC America's Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!: Royal Pain in the News, which will be broadcast on 23rd December. The writer also reveals his favourite moments from the last series of Doctor Who during a behind-the-scenes video. [BBC America, 13 Dec 2011]

Naomi Alderman (writer, Borrowed Time) talks about the Doctor and the influence of religion: "In fact, there has been some portrayal of actual religion, including a positive portrayal of Buddhism in Planet of the Spiders. But I suspect that the answer is that the UK is a fundamentally not-very-religious country, and that Doctor Who accurately represents our suspicions and our non-confrontational but deep-rooted agnosticism. To go back in history and have the Doctor ‘prove’ that Moses, Jesus and Mohammed didn’t exist would clearly be offensive and far too confrontational for British people. But to have him meet the ‘prophet’ or ‘god’ of an imaginary civilization and find that they are either misguided or plain manipulative I think is a way of saying what - dare I say it? - most British people quietly think about religion: that it’s fine as long as it’s comforting, but shouldn’t be taken too seriously or followed blindly. The Doctor is an atheist hero." [Jewish Journal, 13 Dec 2011]

Matt Smith reflects on the cancellation of Doctor Who Confidential: "It's a pity as I think it's a show which can reinvent itself year on year and it's one of the biggest shows on BBC3. But I guess people come in and have new ideas and want to have their own fresh take on it but, hey, some you win, some you lose..." [What's on TV, 8 Dec 2011]

Arthur Darvill was on hand to open a new PlayPod in the playground at Whitehall Infant School, Walsall. Installed by charity Children's Scrapstore, the play area was made with the practical application of scrap material. The actor said: "“It’s simple-looking from the outside, but a world of magic and wonder within. Watching the children playing with all this stuff I wonder how we haven't thought of it before. It's fantastic to see the kids having so much fun with things that would otherwise be thrown away." [Birmingham Mail, 10 Dec 2011]

Elisabeth Sladen has featured in the Top Ten Actresses to trend during 2011 on the social communication network Twitter. The actress, who died in April, was the fifth most discussed of the year, with Elizabeth Taylor topping the trend category. [Twitter Year in Review: Hot Topics, Dec 2011]

John Barrowman has appeared in a video promoting pet travel with Virgin Atlantic, during which he talks about his three dogs and how he feels about the service provided by the airline. [Virgin Atlantic via YouTube, 8 Dec 2011]

Paul McGann will be the subject of In Conversation With ..., to take place at Liverpool's St George’s Hall Concert Room in February. The interview includes clips and photographs of the actor's life and work, and will also see his five favourite songs performed live on stage. The event is rounded off with a Q&A from the audience. McGann said: "I was thrilled to be asked, then bashful terror set in until my mate David Morrissey calmed me down and assured me, having done it himself, that you can’t actually die from talking about your life and work in a beautiful room surrounded by friends and family and your favourite music. Guess I will just have to trust him!" [Click Liverpool, 8 Dec 2011]

Karen Gillan spoke about Jean Shrimpton, who she plays in BBC Four's forthcoming We'll Take Manhattan: "She left a lovely message saying she really enjoyed it. David Bailey loved it too. And they're really honest people so that means something to me. I find her really, really intriguing." [Evening Standard, 23 Nov 2011]

John Barrowman helped tackle a thief at the Glasgow hotel he was staying at during his stage tour: "We heard this woman scream and shout, 'Stop him, stop him.' We saw this young boy running down the hallway. ... I grabbed the kid's ankles, yanked him to the ground and then pulled him out into the hallway. I pinned him down." The actor responded, however: "I'd like to find out the boy's story and give him a second chance. Maybe he could work in the pantomime over Christmas to give him a sense of responsibility." [Scottish Daily Record, 25 Nov 2011]

Bill Bailey is under strict instructions not to talk about his role in the Christmas Special: "I will be just about to tell you what happens and then a tranquilliser dart will thud and the phone will go dead. They’ll [the Beeb] be all over me like a rash if I divulge any of the secrets, but yes just to say I have a cameo in it and great fun it is too. It’s fulfilled a lifetime's ambition for me, being a Doctor Who fan." [East Anglian Daily Times, 19 Nov 2011]

Eve Myles comments on Torchwood fandom: "I used to think Torchwood fans were a bit scary. I was petrified – these people know that I've got 57 freckles on my face, they know everything. And being such a fiercely private person, I started to feel like I was having to cocoon myself. ... I started doing signings and meeting fans, and it proved me wrong. These people were completely energised and generous and excited, and loved what we did. Why else make a programme? If people aren’t energised about it, if people don’t want to watch it, blog about it, meet up in groups about it, why am I in front of this camera?" [Western Mail, 19 Nov 2011]

Nicola Bryant will be performing in the SoundPower Orchestra's Christmas concert at the National Trust's Gibside Chapel on Saturday 3rd December at 2pm; the orchestra will be playing a piece with words and music by the actress herself. [Nicola Bryant website]

Billie Piper has been asked to be a spokesperson for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals after she expressed regret at her behaviour towards animals in her youth: "Peta is very happy to hear that Ms Piper regrets the casual cruelty that she perpetrated against animals when she was a child - that's the difference between a person with the real potential to be kind and someone who denies wrongdoing, takes pleasure in it and escalates the damaging behaviour. ... We will be asking Ms Piper to be a spokesperson for our campaign to sensitise children, parents and teachers to the need to develop compassion in childhood through humane-education training in schools and at home." [Contact Music, 21 Nov 2011; Guardian, 18 Nov 2011]

John Barrowman is to present an edition of the BBC's comedy musical quiz show Never Mind The Buzzcocks, to be recorded on 30th November; though the brodcast date is unknown at present, it seems likely to be the tenth episode of the series due the following week on 5th December. [John Barrowman website]

Karen Gillan has been nominated as a Screen Nominee for the Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland Awards; other nominees in this section include documentary filmmaker Mark Cousins, producer Christopher Young, and writer/director Lynne Ramsey. [Glenfiddich]

Alex Kingston attended the Pearson Teaching Awards that took place at Downing Street on 2nd November, where she presented the award for Outstanding New Teacher of the Year; photos from the event can be found on Flickr. [Number 10, 30 Oct 2011]

Bernard Cribbins has presented with his OBE by the Princess Royal at a Windsor Castle investiture ceremony. The 82-year-old actor indicated that retirement wasn't on his mind: I love it, I can't stop, why should I? I'm still able to read and write." [BBC News, 3 Nov 2011]

Speaking at a book signing, Steven Moffat talked about the success of Sherlock: "We didn’t know Sherlock would be such a hit. It felt like a vanity project. I always thought it would be good and get good reviews, I never thought it would be an instant monster. That never happens – having good reviews with a huge audience and all the awards – you couldn’t expect it to happen." [Express, 4 Nov 2011]

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David Troughton will be performing a series of Christmas readings with his wife during the O Magnum Mysterium Christmas concert at St Mary's Church, Warwick on 21st December, appearing with the acclaimed Warwickshire choir, the Saint James’s Singers (the singers also have a Doctor Who connection, having contributed their vocals to the Big Finish story Her Final Flight).

Tickets can be booked via the Bridge House Theatre and full details are available from the Saint James's Singers website.

(with thanks to Julian Shortman)

Karen Gillan commented on how she'd like to see her character Amy leave the series: "Death would be an option. I don’t want Amy to pop up again every so often, because for me it would take away from the big, emotional goodbye. Once she’s gone, she’s gone - I want people to remember the Amy Pond era as a good one." [Mirror, Daily Record, 31 Oct 2011]

Singer song-writer Mark Eitzel commented on hiring Arthur Darvill last year in his Brighton stage show: "Not many people know this, but aside from being a great actor, Arthur’s a fantastic musician. He gave my little production 120% all the time, and we even ended up playing in a band together when I performed at the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival in Minehead. It’s weird though seeing him running round fighting Daleks or whatever – I’m like, 'That’s the guy who sang in my play?'" [Western Mail, 31 Oct 2011]

John Barrowman revealed that he is often asked out to the jungle: "They ask me on I'm a Celeb every year and each year I politely say, 'No'. But I kinda want to do it. I think it'd be fun and some of the trials are pretty out there. But my partner, Scott, reminded me that there would be no way I could cope in the jungle. If I don't eat, I get grumpy. Happy John you see on the telly would soon turn into Grumpy John and I'd probably start snapping at the other contestants." [Western Mail, 1 Nov 2011]

The actor will also be performing at the Macmillan Centenary Gala, taking place at the London Palladium on the 28th November. The show, hosted by Graham Norton, will feature a variety of performers, including Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Jimmy Carr, and Jimmy Osmond. [Theater Mania, 31 Oct 2011]

Peter Davison rates A Very Peculiar Practive amongst his best performances: "I think from my point of view it's right up there near the top I think in terms of personal enjoyment of it. I mean I loved doing it - I enjoy doing every show I do actually - but I think it just held a special place because the writing was so good. And it's one of those scripts you get where you just don't want to change a word . It really is terrific, the really well written scripts are easy to learn, they just flow and it makes the whole process so much easier. This show had it." [Bang Showbiz via The List, 31 Oct 2011]

Sylvester McCoy will be a guest at this year's Auckland Armageddon Expo, and appeared on New Zealand's NZTV's Good Morning to chat about the expo, rugby, his career, and NOT The Hobbit! (Other Doctor Who guests at the Expo include Louise Jameson, Mark Sheppard, and Morgan Sheppard) [TVNZ (video), 27 Oct 2011]

Sara Lloyd-Gregory (Carys, Torchwood: Day One) reflects on the highlight of her career: "Torchwood was amazing. It was brilliant to be working with creator Russell T Davies and the cast were incredible. I had a lot of fun playing Carys who seemed to spend a lot of time snogging people! In fact, I do spend a lot of time playing dark characters but I like that. It gives you the chance to challenge yourself, to let loose and push yourself." [South Wales Guardian, 1 Nov 2011]

Shane Rimmer (Seth Harper, The Gunfighters) has recorded an audio version of his autobiography, From Thunderbirds to Pterodactyls; the character actor reflects on his career that covers Doctor Who, James Bond, Coronation Street, Star Wars, Batman Begins, and of course the voice of Scott Tracy in Thunderbirds as well as many more. The 3CD set is due to be released on 31st November. [available from Big Finish]

Peter Davison discussed the possibility of a 50th Anniversary appearance in Doctor Who: "I feel no need to turn my back on it, but I don't feel like it's the kind of thing they'd do. I'd be very surprised if they tried to do anything involving the old Doctors because it always takes a slight stretch of the imagination anyway to figure out why the previous Doctors look older - but I'm sure that can be done. But at the same time I'm not sort of longing on it. I'm perfectly happy to have played my part to go back to 'Time Crash'. I don't feel like I'm hanging on a phone call from the 'Doctor Who' offices saying let's do something special." [Contact Music, 21 Oct 2011]

John Barrowman also commented on his interest in the golden year of the series: "If I'm asked to go back I would love to go back - I think it would be great to be involved with the 50th Anniversary, since Jack was such a big part of the Who world. But, having said that, nothing's been said, so I don't sit and wait and I don't want fans to think that I don't want to do it because I would love to, but if I'm not asked I'm not going to push and bang down the door - I'll just move onto something else." The actor also suggested that should Torchwood return it was unlikely to commence filming before next September. [Scottish Daily Record via YouTube, 18 Oct 2011]

Catherine Tate (Donna Noble) will be returning to NBC's version of The Office, reprising her role of Nellie Bertram who appeared in the previous series finale back in May. The character is expected to appear in a multi-episode arc. [Theater Mania, 21 Oct 2011]

Kai Owen (Rhys, Torchwood) is encouraging local 'daredevils' to take part in a charity abseil down the West Orchards Shopping Centre's glass dome in Coventry, aiming to raise money for CLIC Sargent. The event takes place in the evenings of 29th and 30th October and is open to anyone aged 16 or over. [Coventry Telegraph, 19 Oct 2011]

Actor and writer Mark Gatiss was the guest on this week's edition of the long-running BBC Radio 4 programme Desert Island Discs; during the show he spoke about his life, growing up opposite a psychiatric hospital, his interest in the supernatural, and his successful career with The League of Gentlemen, Sherlock and of course Doctor Who. [Desert Island Discs, 23 Oct 2011]

Ray Brooks has recorded an audio version of his autobiography, Learning My Lines; the actor traces his career through rep, comedies, his various television appearances including famously the voice of Mr Benn, Big Deal, and Eastenders, and of course his role as David in Daleks: Invasion Earth 2150AD. Revealing the vulnerability of an actor's life, the candid account is full of down-to-earth humour and captivating honesty. [available from Fantom Films]

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Inadmissable Evidence has opened at the Donmar Warehouse, featuring Karen Gillan in her first theatre role; reviews of the play can be found at the Independent, Guardian, Telegraph, Daily Mail, Standard, The Stage; it was also reviewed in the BBC Radio 4's Front Row.

Matt Smith met up with wounded Royal Marine rowers on the 13th July when they were engaged in the Thames Challenge. The crew were greeted by the actor at the Leander Club at Henley, being there himself for the BBC film Bert and Dickie, the story of the 1948 London Olympic win by the duo. [Thames Challenge, 13th Jul; This is the West County, 12th Sep]

Arthur Darvill fulfilled a lifelong ambition to dive with sharks, as seen in Doctor Who Confidential last Saturday: "Something that has both excited and terrified me is the idea of swimming with sharks. I just think they are such fascinating and amazing creatures. I’ve been snorkelling a few times but to be able to swim with them in a controlled environment is just awesome. It was like something from James Bond, just stepping into this giant pool with massive sharks. I was fairly nervous but also really excited." [Chester Chronicle, 12th Sep]

David Tennant will be one of the hosts for Children in Need's Manchester Rocks concert, taking place at the MEN Arena on 17th November. Acts include Coldplay, Elbow, JLS, Lady Gaga and Hugh Laurie. Tickets will go on sale on Friday, proceeds in support of the charity. [BBC Press, 14th Sep]

Speaking at the launch of his Christmas pantomime (Robinson Crusoe And The Caribbean Pirates ), John Barrowman commented on future Doctor casting: "I think a female doctor might work, you never know. The audience might not like that. I know there's a lot of young girls and women who would love that. I think that maybe they should go out on a limb next time and try it. That always stirs things up a little bit and makes things exciting and it's nice to see different things and challenges happen like that. Listen, if Captain Jack can be an omni-sexual time agent and an assistant to the doctor, why can't we have a female doctor?" [Press Association, 13th Sep]

Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch commented about rumours of him becoming the Doctor on the Jonathan Ross Show: "The rumours started because David Tennant is a friend of mine and he said 'going up for my old job?', and I said 'I don’t think I am'. They’re huge shoes to fill. One of the reasons is the Doctor Who job is so hard, because you are on the flask, you are on the school lunch box, you have to sometimes go on the school bus as Doctor Who on promotional tours. I like to keep the work on the set." [The Jonathan Ross Show, ITV1, 10th Sep]

David Tennant can be heard in a new thirteen-part play to be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 18th-25th September; Life And Fate sees him star alongside Kenneth Branagh in an adaptation of Vasily Grossman's book centred around the battle of Stalingrad, and charting the fate of both a nation and a family in the turmoil of war. The pair can also be seen introducing their characters and what makes a radio play special on YouTube. [BBC Radio 4 details]

Karen Gillan will be guest DJ on Monster FM during Sunday 11th September (time tbc). [Monster FM]

Sylvester McCoy will be appearing in the Bath Theatre Royal production of The Mikado between 19th-24th September, starring as the titular role alongside Nichola McAuliffe as Katisha, Rebecca Knight as Yum-Yum, Alistair Donkin as Ko-Ko and Mark Llewellyn Evans as Pish-Tush. [Theatre Royal]

Freema Agyeman (Martha) can be seen playing the role of Kareema in the film Abduction, released on 23rd September; the film stars Taylor Lautner and also features Jason Isaacs and Sigourney Weaver.

John Barrowman has made it clear he'd like to be involved in Doctor Who's anniversary: "It's the 50th anniversary coming up of 'Doctor Who' and Jack is an integral part to this story and, if I'm going to be a little self-absorbed, I would hope he would be involved, it would be a shame if he wasn't. I don't think it's a question of whether I would like to come back as Captain Jack, I'd be very happy to do that any time. I know the fans would really like that. But it's a decision left up to the BBC and the drama department. So like I've said to all the fans you need to write to them if you want it to happen because I've never been asked. I know Russell thinks it might be a nice idea as did Steven Moffat but who knows?" [Bang Showbiz, 8 Sep 2011]

Mark Strickson (Turlough) comments on what his mother thought of the new series upon its return: "Mum said, 'yeah, it's much better than when you were in it.' What my mum meant by that was that they had spent a lot more money on it ... the graphics are amazing ... it's written more as a drama ... in like a movie form ... and there's lots more opportunities for character development in that way when you're not slicing it in-between Look West and Softly Softly. You look back and we got fantastic ratings. [Stuff, 9 Sep 2011]

Roger Griffiths (Commander Kess, A Good Man Goes To War) talks about how his appearance went down well with his son: I got a lot of points for Doctor Who. My youngest came home with this coolness and threw across the dining table these cards which I was on with my powers. Forget everything at that point, this is what it’s about: ‘the boy is trading your cards at school’. I got a lot of credits in the playground for that and Batman Begins." [Bakewell Today, 9 Sep 2011]

Local and national papers have reported on the tragic death of actor Gary Suller, with mention of his appearance in Doctor Who (he was a supporting artist in The End of Time). [inc South Wales Argus, Mirror, Sun, 9 Sep 2011]

Today sees the launch of John Barrowman's new album, Tonight's The Night - The Very Best Of John Barrowman. The album features fourteen of his favourite tracks from previous albums, plus two new songs especially recorded for the album, Tonight's The Night and I Owe It All To You.

The entertainer is currently engaged in a number of promotional spots for the album, plus his upcoming tour, BBC1's Tonight's The Night, and of course the current international series Torchwood.

Several radio interviews were recorded last Thursday for local stations around the country, which are being broadcast in various slots over the next few weeks, with more being recorded today. This week also sees a number of television appearances on magazine programmes such as Daybreak (ITV1 today), The Wright Stuff (Channel 5 Thursday), The Alan Titchmarsh Show (ITV1 Wednesday), and a 'regular' appearance on Loose Women (ITV1 Wednesday). He will also be promoting the album on shopping channel QVC tonight from 7:00pm.

The known schedule of appearances can be found in our Media article.