The Dalek Invasion of Liverpool Street

Saturday, 19 September 2015 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Fresh from their invasion of Westminster on Thursday, the Daleks selected Liverpool Street Underground Station as their next target on Friday, taking over announcements and noticeboards as part of publicity for the return of Doctor Who this weekend.


(with thanks to BBC Worldwide and TfL)




FILTER: - Publicity - Series 9/35 - Special Events

Doctor Who News

Saturday, 19 September 2015 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor Who returns to television screens around the world this weekend, and Doctor Who News will be here to bring you all the latest updates on the new series and well as information from the show's 52 year history.

Immediately after the UK broadcast of The Magician's Apprentice, we will release a review of the episode, on Doctor Who Reviews. This will contain spoilers from the episode and should be avoided until after you have managed to watch the episode.
NB: The site already contains over 2000 reviews from episodes throughout the show's history as well as Big Finish Audio adventures and Titan Comics.

We will avoid spoilers from each episode on the News page until Sunday morning, by which time the episode will have been broadcast in the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, as well as in the UK. A full list of the broadcast times can be found on This Week in Doctor Who

We hope to have initial ratings information on Sunday morning, with consolidated figures following a week later. Full ratings information for the whole series can be found in the Doctor Who Guide. The guide also contains a full cast for the series, and this will be updated shortly after transmission to include details of each character in the story.

Doctor Who News can be followed on Facebook and Twitter, Google+, and a mobile version of the site is available for phones and for tablet devices.
Get it on Google Play




FILTER: - Editorial

The Doctor's Meditation

Friday, 18 September 2015 - Reported by Harry Ward
The BBC has released The Doctor's Meditation to UK fans on the official Doctor Who Facebook page. The video is region locked and can only be viewed from a UK IP address. Fans in other parts of the world can watch the "prequel" on TV. BBC America will be airing it tonight at 10pm and will be repeated in the early hours of Saturday at 1am. Canadians will be able to watch it on SPACE tonight at 6pm. On the other side of the world in Australia, ABC 2 will be showing The Doctor's Meditation on Saturday evening at 7.30pm and again on Monday evening at the same time.

The video is available to download from iTunes, Amazon Instant Video and Google Play.

The Doctor prepares for his deadliest confrontation - distractions permitting...

The Doctor's Meditation: The Meditation




FILTER: - Doctor Who - Series 9/35

Jenna Coleman to leave Doctor Who

Friday, 18 September 2015 - Reported by Harry Ward
Jenna Coleman and Clara (Credit: BBC/David Venni) The BBC has officially confirmed the departure of Jenna Coleman from Doctor Who. The actress revealed the news exclusively on BBC Radio 1's Breakfast Show. She told presenter Nick Grimshaw: "I have left the tardis - it's happened, I've filmed my last scenes." ITV has also confirmed she is to play a young Queen Victoria in their new drama Victoria. Coleman said: "I am delighted to be cast as Queen Victoria in this ambitious drama of her life. She is a vivid, strong, inspirational and utterly fascinating woman in British history and I can't wait to tell her story." The series will be produced by Paul Frift (In The Forest Of The Night, Last Christmas).

Adventures to last me a lifetime. Thank you @bbcdoctorwho. But as they say 'It ain't over till it's over' - Jenna Coleman on Twitter.

Coleman made her first appearance in Doctor Who with a surprise role in 2012's Asylum of the Daleks, where she played the fateful Oswin Oswald, a Junior Entertainment Manager on the starliner Alaska. She returned later that year in The Snowmen, this time playing a Victorian barmaid/governess. Again, her character didn't survive the episode... Her first regular companion role came in 2013's The Bells of Saint John, which started the "Impossible Girl" story arc.






FILTER: - Doctor Who - Jenna Coleman

James Goss - Torchwood Q&A

Thursday, 17 September 2015 - Reported by Thomas Buxton
Credit: Big Finish Productions The first instalment of the new Torchwood series from Big Finish, The Conspiracy was released last week. You can read our review of the story here.

Doctor Who News put some questions to the producer of the series, James Goss.

DWN: Like any long-running franchise, the 'Torchwood' brand carries the weight of expectation on its back - how much pressure did you feel to satisfy its devotees in producing the new series for Big Finish?

JG: Massively. The Torchwood fans care enormously about that show - there was no point in just doing half-a-dozen stories that would fit nicely in the 2015 Torchwood Annual. We wanted to make something really special and make the fans as massively excited as we are.

Based on the production experience to date, how smooth a transition do you feel the show has made from TV to audio? Has having John Barrowman, Eve Myles and many of the other 'Torchwood' regulars aboard helped in this respect?

The cast have been enormously, enormously supportive. They're all tremendously busy but have made time for us, somehow. John records in a studio in Palm Springs, Gareth came in straight after finishing a gruelling theatre tour, Kai travelled halfway across the UK for the recording... the list goes on. And they're an utter delight in the studio. At every single recording the engineer spends most of their time laughing. It's that much fun.

It's really great to decide we're going to just tell stories concentrating on brilliant Torchwood characters. There are so many of them, and it makes each release feel special.

We'll of course learn more about how the Committee factors into Torchwood's ongoing history as more of Season One hits shelves. Was the lack of references to team members, events etc. aside from Gwen in 'The Conspiracy' an intentional move to allow newcomers to experience it without feeling bogged down by past continuity?

Yes. David Llewellyn did a very clever job of making it easy to get into. People are always worried that it's going to be difficult, or require complicated knowledge. We've worked hard to make sure that it's not.

The Conspiracy is just a thing that's around, ticking away in the background, nudging events here and there. It's building towards a grim conclusion... eventually.

What for you has been the most fulfilling element of working to bring Big Finish's latest endeavour to life so far?

That's totally unfair. Getting the first one recorded and announced while I was in Spain was very strange, and not the most relaxing holiday (leaping around a swimming pool in the dark trying to get enough signal to find out what Twitter was doing). Recording with Gareth was staggering - it was a truly remarkable performance, the most fun you can have with Ianto Jones. The joy of getting Eve and Kai back together and watching them recreate the magic of the Welsh Steed and Mrs Peel. And then, last week, spending a day in studio with Tracy-Ann Oberman. She turned up with a spare pair of high heels in her handbag, and the whole day was like that.

It's such a delight heading to the studios - the writers have done such great, great work. They really love the show and that makes it feel so worthwhile. Emma Reeves has written Gwen and Rhys perfectly, and Joe Lidster throws all of Cardiff at Yvonne - you almost feel sorry for her.

Looking ahead, can you tease what fans and newbies alike have to look forward to as Season One progresses and as a whole new season of adventures beckons from March 2016?

We learn of Captain Jack's unique way of interrogating robots, we meet Mr Pugh, the one man who can say No to Torchwood, and two very interesting people go monster-hunting across London and stop for ice cream.

The Conspiracy is available to order from Big Finish now.

(with thanks to James Goss and Joseph Smith)




FILTER: - Big Finish - People - Torchwood

The Dalek Invasion of Westminster

Thursday, 17 September 2015 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Commuters in London would have been in for a surprise this morning as the Daleks took over London's transport network! The "Masters of Earth" could be seen today in and around Westminster Underground Station, in celebration of their (and the Doctor's!) return to television this weekend.

Daleks take over TfL! (Credit: TfL/Mike Garnett)Daleks take over TfL! (Credit: TfL/Mike Garnett)Daleks take over TfL! (Credit: TfL/Mike Garnett)Daleks take over TfL! (Credit: TfL/Mike Garnett)Daleks take over TfL! (Credit: TfL/Mike Garnett)

(with thanks to BBC Worldwide)




FILTER: - Publicity - Series 9/35 - Special Events

Tracy-Ann Oberman back as Yvonne Hartman in Torchwood

Thursday, 17 September 2015 - Reported by Harry Ward
Torchwood: One Rule (Credit: Big Finish Productions) Big Finish has announced that Tracy-Ann Oberman is to return as Yvonne Hartman in Torchwood: One Rule, the fourth release in its new series of Torchwood audio plays. One Rule is written by Joseph Lidster, who has written episodes of Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures. Tracy-Ann Oberman last appeared in Doctor Who as Yvonne Hartman in the Series 2 finale Army of Ghosts / Doomsday.

Joining the cast of One Rule are Dan Starkey as Ross Bevan and Catrin Stewart as Meredith Bevan.

It’s been three weeks since the Mayor of Cardiff was killed by a shop dummy and the fight is on to see who will replace him.

Yvonne Hartman is visiting the city to retrieve an invaluable alien device. She's in charge of Torchwood One, she's saving the British Empire and she doesn't care about local politics. But she is going to find herself caught up in that fight. There’s a bloodthirsty alien stalking the streets and there’s a special offer on at the all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet.

It’s the 26th of March 2005 and it’s the day that everything changes.

Producer James Goss said:
When we presented the idea of using Yvonne, Matt Nicholls at BBC Worldwide came up with a brilliant caveat – he suggested we could have Yvonne, but not the all-powerful Queen Bee of Canary Wharf. Instead he wanted her to come thoroughly unstuck in Cardiff.

Writer Joseph Lidster said:
Torchwood was my first piece of writing for television and it remains my favourite series. Not just the television episodes but the books, audiobooks, radio plays, all of it. I'd have been gutted not to have been involved in some way - I'd have happily gone into the studio and made the tea!

James Goss gave me a choice of available characters but it was Yvonne who leapt out at me. She's one of my favourite characters to have appeared in Doctor Who - she has questionable beliefs but she genuinely thinks she's doing the best thing for her country. She's also incredibly funny and brilliantly performed by the magnificent Tracy-Ann Oberman.

Torchwood: One Rule will be released in December from the BigFinish.com.





FILTER: - Big Finish - Torchwood

German broadcast date of Series 9 announced

Thursday, 17 September 2015 - Reported by Pascal Salzmann
Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman as The Doctor and Clara (Credit: BBC/David Venni)In an exclusive to DWN, German broadcaster FOX revealed the broadcast details of Series 9. The series will premiere with the complete two-parter of The Magician's Apprentice and The Witch's Familar, dubbed to German, on 3rd December 2015 at 9:00 pm. The series then continues with two episodes every Thursday at the same time.

Find out more about all international broadcast dates of the series premiere in our DWN Guide and keep up to date with what is going to be broadcasted around the world in This Week in Doctor Who.





FILTER: - FOX - Germany - International Broadcasting - Series 9/35

SPACE: special message to Canadian fans

Thursday, 17 September 2015 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Canadian broadcaster SPACE celebrates the return of Doctor Who this weekend with a special message from Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman:


The premiere of The Magician's Apprentice will be preceded by a number of Doctor Who episodes, plus a special edition of their regular magazine InnerSpace.

TORONTO (September 16, 2015) – Space’s highest-rated series in the history of time returns with all-new episodes when Season 9 of DOCTOR WHO premieres this Saturday, Sept. 19 at 9 p.m. ET. Peter Capaldi returns as the Doctor alongside Jenna Coleman and guests including GAME OF THRONES’ Maisie Williams. Now that the Doctor and Clara have established a dynamic as a partnership of equals, they’re relishing the fun and thrills that all of space and time has to offer. Tangling with ghosts, Vikings, and the ultimate evil of the Daleks, they embark on their biggest adventures yet. Missy (Michelle Gomez, BAD EDUCATION) is back to plague the Doctor once more, the Zygons inspire fear as they shape-shift into human clones, and a new arrival moves in cosmic ways.

This season, the Doctor is ready to stand against any monster who threatens the universe including Missy, who revealed herself to be the Master in the Season 8 finale. To celebrate Missy’s return in the Season 9 premiere, “The Magician’s Apprentice,” Space has lined up a marathon of past DOCTOR WHO episodes featuring the Doctor’s childhood friend turned life-long enemy, the Master. The DOCTOR WHO MASTER MARATHON kicks off Saturday, Sept. 19 at 12 noon ET with Season 3 episode “Utopia,” featuring David Tennant in the role of the Doctor.

For an insider’s look into the iconic series, INNERSPACE PRESENTS DOCTOR WHO SEASON 9 premieres just before the season premiere on Saturday, Sept. 19 at 8:30 p.m. ET. Host Teddy Wilson helms the exclusive sit-down with stars Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman, taped this past summer at San Diego Comic-Con. In the 30-minute special, the two stars offer insight and hints as to what to expect from the upcoming season.

Viewers looking to time-travel back to the very beginning with the Doctor can find all past seasons of DOCTOR WHO on CraveTVTM.


DOCTOR WHO Programming for Saturday, Sept: 19: DOCTOR WHO MASTER MARATHON

Peter Capaldi as the Doctor (Credit: BBC/David Venni)
  • 12 p.m. – DOCTOR WHO Utopia – Season 3, Episode 11
    Jack’s back! As Captain Jack (John Barrowman, ARROW) storms back into the Doctor’s (David Tennant, BROADCHURCH) life, the Tardis is thrown out of control, to the end of the universe. There, they find the savage Futurekind ruling the wilderness, while a lonely Professor tries in vain to save the last of the human race.
  • 1 p.m. – DOCTOR WHO The Sound of Drums – Season 3, Episode 12
    Harry Saxon (John Simm, INTRUDERS) becomes Prime Minister, and his reign of terror begins. This is only the start of his ambitions, however, as he announces humankind’s first contact with an alien race, the Toclafane. An audacious plan, spanning the whole of time and space, begins to close around the Earth.
  • 2 p.m. – DOCTOR WHO The Last of the Time Lords – Season 3, Episode 13
    Earth has been conquered and the Master (Simm) rules supreme, with the Doctor a helpless prisoner. The entire human race has been reduced to slavery, as the mighty warships of a new Time Lord Empire rise from the ashes. Only Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman, THE CARRIE DIARIES) can save the world...
  • 3:10 p.m. – DOCTOR WHO The End of Time (Part 1)
    Christmas Eve, and the Doctor (David Tennant) is reunited with Wilf (Bernard Cribbins, OLD JACK'S BOAT), to face the return of an old enemy. Something terrible stalks the wastelands of London, while far away, the Immortality Gate reaches completion. But the warnings of the Ood signify an even greater danger, as the Doctor (Tennant) faces his darkest hour yet.
  • 4:35 p.m. – DOCTOR WHO The End of Time (Part 2)
    The Doctor (David Tennant) has faced Daleks, Cybermen, Angels and Devils, but now stands defeated at the end of his life, as the Master’s (John Simm, THE VILLAGE) victory unleashes the greatest terror of all. With an ancient plan closing around the Earth, only the Doctor can stop the cataclysm – but is the price too great to pay?
  • 6:15 p.m. – DOCTOR WHO Dark Water – Season 8, Episode 11
    In the mysterious world of the Nethersphere, plans have been drawn. Missy (Michelle Gomez, BAD EDUCATION) is about to come face to face with the Doctor (Peter Capaldi), and an impossible choice is looming... “Death is not an end” promises the sinister organization known only as 3W – but, as the Doctor and Clara (Jenna Coleman) discover, you might wish it was.
  • 7:15 p.m. – DOCTOR WHO Death in Heaven – Season 8, Episode 12
    With Cybermen on the streets of London, old friends unite against old enemies, and the Doctor (Peter Capaldi) takes to the air in a startling new role. Can the mighty UNIT contain Missy (Michelle Gomez, BAD EDUCATION)? As the Doctor faces his greatest challenge, sacrifices must be made before the day is won.
  • 8:30 p.m - INNERSPACE: DOCTOR WHO SEASON 9 *Special Premiere*
    INNERSPACE’s Teddy Wilson chats with Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman as the two DOCTOR WHO stars get more candid with Teddy than they ever have before, gaining insight into the new season, and hearing firsthand what working on the show means to them both.
  • 9 p.m - DOCTOR WHO The Magician’s Apprentice *Season 9 Premiere*
    “Where is the Doctor?” When the skies of Earth are frozen by a mysterious alien force, Clara needs her friend. But where is the Doctor, and what is he hiding from? As past deeds come back to haunt him, old enemies will come face-to-face, and for the Doctor and Clara survival seems impossible.




FILTER: - Canada - Press - Series 9/35

Doctor Who Magazine 491

Wednesday, 16 September 2015 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Doctor Who Magazine Issue 491 (Credit: Doctor Who Magazine)
Doctor Who Magazine Issue 491 (in bag) (Credit: Doctor Who Magazine)
The latest edition of Doctor Who Magazine is out on Thursday, and has an exclusive preview of the first four episodes of the new series, The Magician's Apprentice & The Witch's Familiar and Under the Lake & Before the Flood.

The latter two episodes from Toby Whithouse's first script for Peter Capaldi's Doctor, and also his first two-part Doctor Who story; it hinges on time travel – "fairly mind-bending time travel at that". On whether he came to regret taking the "wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey" route, he said:
Oh never, I loved it! I've always wanted to do a timey-wimey episode. In fact, it was going to be a lot more timey-wimey, but we lost some of that before we started filming. It's enormous fun to deposit something in a script, then have the reason for it happen later.

I think (Peter)'s the most 'alien' Doctor we've had since the show came back. Even though the essentials of the character remain the same – his heroism, his brilliance, his enthusiasm – he feels to me like much more of an outsider than Chris Eccleston or David Tennant or Matt Smith were. He's more strange and otherwordly. That's really interesting to play with.

Also in this issue:
  • TARDIS TAKE-OFF! The Doctor's days off and the TARDIS' take off – showrunner Steven Moffat answers readers' questions.
  • CLARA OSWALD'S 100 IMPOSSIBLE FACTS: She has been something of 'a mystery wrapped in an enigma' but we've got to know Clara better than you might think. Jonathan Morris summarises everything we know about the Impossible Girl.
  • MONSTERS OF THE MILLENNIUM: How do you go about making monsters for Doctor Who? Millennium FX prosthetic effects supervisor Kate Walshe reveals all!
  • LEGO DIMENSIONS! Official Lego products and a brand new video game.... Doctor Who is about to enter a new dimension. DWM talks to the team behind the project.
  • BEST DRESSED TIME LORD: DWM interviews costume designer Ray Holman, the man behind the Twelfth Doctor's new look.
  • "GOOD GRIEF!" As the Third Doctor returns for a brand new series of audio adventures, DWM talks to the man who is recreating the role made famous by Jon Pertwee: Tim Treolar.
  • THE WAR GAMES: The Fact of Fiction explores the Second Doctor's final story, a 10-part epic which threw the Doctor and his companions back into the events of the First World War.
  • JUNGLE FEVER! The adventure continues in the brand-new comic strip adventure, Spirits of the Jungle, by Jonathan Morris, illustrated by John Ross.
  • WHO HOMEWORK Jacqueline Rayner makes her kids' summer homework fun with an exciting Doctor Who project in her regular column, Relative Dimensions.
  • MISSING IN ACTION: Graham Kibble-White reviews The Macra Terror, a Second Doctor story missing from the BBC archives.
  • COMING SOON: DWM talks to the people involved in the latest Doctor Who CD and book releases, including Justin Richards and Miranda Raison.
  • THE UNEXPLAINED: The Watcher reflects on past Doctors and anticipates the new series of Doctor Who in Wotcha!.
Plus all the latest official news, reviews, competitions and The DWM Crossword.
AND! A giant-sized, double-sided poster!

The 100-page Doctor Who Magazine 491 is on sale from Thursday 17 September 2015.

Doctor Who Magazine Issue 491 - full cover (Credit: Doctor Who Magazine)




FILTER: - DWM - Series 9/35