Steven Moffat, the new lead writer and executive producer of Doctor Who, will be interviewed on BBC Radio 3's Night Waves programme this coming Tuesday, the 15th of December. The programme is presented by Matthew Sweet, runs from 9.15-10pm, and according to Sweet "He's one of a series of people we're talking to next week who have also recently taken over important cultural appointments."

Sweet is himself a long-term Doctor Who fan, who has written several articles about the programme in the mainstream British press in the past decade, particularly for The Independent newspaper. He has also written professional Doctor Who fiction himself, in the form of audio dramas and short stories for Big Finish Productions.

Night Waves can be heard live worldwide on the internet, and listened to again on the BBC iPlayer. You can keep track of all major Doctor Who-related programmes on British TV and radio this Christmas with our broadcast summary.

The BBC's Doctor Who Advent Calendar isn't the only spot on the web with a daily Doctor Who treat this month. SFX is making a daily countdown to The End of Time on its blog. Highlights so far have included an interview with Russell T Davies, split into three parts here, here and here, as well as pieces on "27 Things SFX Loves About New Who", "How New Doctor Who Has Changed Everything" and "The Greater Spotted David Tennant"; the last includes a summary of all the places David Tennant will be appearing on UK TV and radio this month, as well as some that he probably won't but could. Meanwhile, the BBC's Director of Vision Jana Bennett, the woman in overall charge of the BBC's television services, has written a blog entry praising Doctor Who's place at the heart of the corporation's Christmas television line-up.

Speaking of Tennant, filming has begun on the pilot for Rex Is Not Your Lawyer, the American TV series starring Tennant as a Chicago lawyer who suffers from panic attacks. The Sun, The Daily Telegraph and The Daily Star have short articles about Tennant's casting in the NBC series and his future in Hollywood.

In other news, Karen Gillan's former drama coach brags about her ex-student in the Daily Record; thisissouthwales.co.uk has a brief item on an appearance by Colin Baker and 117 toy Daleks; and the Wigan Evening Post has an item on a Doctor Who fan who's built a replica TARDIS to raise funds for a local cancer centre.

Finally, in response to a fan's query on Twitter, Star Trek: The Next Generation actor Brent Spiner expressed interest in playing a villain on Doctor Who.


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Ninth Doctor Christopher Eccleston is to play Beatles star John Lennon in a new play commissioned by BBC Four, with Torchwood star Naoko Mori playing Yoko Ono.

Lennon Naked is a 90-minute film charting Lennon's life over the period 1967-1971, as he transforms from "Beatle John" to enduring and enigmatic icon.

Ben Stephenson, Controller, BBC Drama Commissioning says: "Securing Christopher Eccleston to play John Lennon is further testament to the calibre of drama on BBC Four. The Women We Loved season currently on air is attracting record audiences and the channel is steadily building a reputation for portraying some of this country's best loved icons."

Richard Klein, Controller, BBC Four, says: "BBC Four is the place where dramas look to explore that space between artists' public works and private lives, shedding light on the artistic process while offering intelligent entertainment."

Lennon Naked is currently filming in London. The 90-minute drama is written by Robert Jones (The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Party Animals) and will be broadcast in 2010. Full details from the BBC Press Office.

ITV Studios has confirmed that Phil Collinson is to join Coronation Street as the show’s new Producer, taking over in the summer of 2010.

Collinson was Producer for Doctor Who from the start of its return to production in 2004 until the end of Series Four. He was one of the main creative forces behind the return, working closely with Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner.

After leaving the series he moved to Manchester as BBC Head of Drama for the region. In his book "The Writer's Tale", Russell T Davies comments that he believes the BBC offered him the Manchester job to prevent losing him to Coronation Street earlier. He will join Coronation Street next March, and after a suitable handover period will take over from current producer Kim Crowther in the Summer.

Speaking of his new role, Collinson said: “I am absolutely thrilled to be joining Corrie, the nation’s favourite street and a show I’ve been a huge fan of all my life . It goes without saying that it’s a tremendous honour to be entrusted with building on Coronation Street’s success and creating the must-see storylines for 2010 and beyond. Kim will be a tough act to follow but I will be working with one of the best teams in the business and I can’t wait to get stuck in.”

Bernard Cribbins is to receive a Special Award at this year’s British Academy Children’s Awards, which will take place next Sunday at the London Hilton.

Cribbins, who plays Wilfred Mott in Doctor Who, is receiving the award for his outstanding creative contribution to the industry. The citation says "His name is synonymous with quality, traditional entertainment for children in a career spanning six decades and covering film, television and other entertainment mediums."

BAFTA Chief Executive, Amanda Berry, said:
On television Bernard Cribbins has appeared in many classic programmes including over 100 apperances on Jackanory as well The Good Old Days, The Avengers and Worzel Gummidge alongside Jon Pertwee. He has a long career in British Films starting in 1957 with an appearance in The Yangtse Incident alongside William Hartnell, before moving onto classics such as The Railway Children and three of the Carry On... films. In 1966 he starred with Peter Cushing in the second Dalek movie, Daleks' Invasion - Earth 2150 AD.

Cribbins will be presented with the award by his Doctor Who co-star Catherine Tate.

He said

On Tuesday Bernard Cribbins was a guest on BBC Breakfast and later on BBC Radio Five Live talking about his career.

Cribbins will also be at the BFI Southbank on Saturday 16 January 2010 to discuss his work for children and families in film and television. The event is a co-production by the BFI and BAFTA and will be followed by a screening of Daleks' Invasion - Earth 2150 AD.

A revised autobiography of Frazer Hines's autobiography (originally published as "Films, Farms and Fillies" by Boxtree in 1996) entitled Hines Sight is being released; the hardback book is being published by Frazer Hines himself, with assistance from David Howe and Sam Stone, and also features 16 pages of photos from the actor's own collection covering his life and career, plus a foreword by variety entertainers Ian and Janette Krankie.

For full details and ordering information visit the Frazer Hines website.

"Barry always had a warm respect for the fans of Dr Who. As Barry’s family, we would like to thank everyone for their good wishes on the websites and forums following the news that Barry had died. We have been very touched that the many messages and tributes show such an appreciation and understanding, both of his work and of the very kind and wise man that Barry was."

Barry Letts, producer of Doctor Who through one of its most fondly-remembered periods with Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor from 1970 to 1974, has died at the age of eighty-four.

Previously an actor, Letts moved behind the camera in the 1960s, finding work as a director on several programmes for BBC television. He first worked on Doctor Who as director of the 1968 Patrick Troughton serial Enemy of the World, before accepting the job of producer during production Jon Pertwee's first season, in 1969. Working closely in association with script editor Terrance Dicks, Letts oversaw the creative direction and production of the programme for the following five seasons.

In addition to his producing role, Letts also directed several serials during his time in charge of the programme - Terror of the Autons, Carnival of Monsters and Planet of the Spiders. He also handled much of the direction for Inferno after Douglas Camfield was taken ill, and after leaving the series as producer he directed The Android Invasion for his successor, Philip Hinchcliffe. He also co-wrote The Daemons with Robert Sloman (under the pseudonym 'Guy Leopold') and worked closely with Sloman on the writer's other scripts for the programme.

Letts' legacy to the programme included the creation of the character Sarah Jane Smith, played by Elisabeth Sladen on the BBC to this day, and the decision to cast Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor. The latter was a decision for which Tom Baker was always ready to express immense gratitude, as when Letts appeared on his episode of "This is Your Life" in the year 2000.

Letts remained fond of and connected with the series right up until his death. When producer Graham Williams broke his leg during production of season 16 in 1978 Letts helped to keep an eye on the series, and more officially he served as Executive Producer in 1980, overseeing the inexperienced John Nathan-Turner's first season in charge of the programme. For many years thereafter Letts also penned novels, novelisations and radio serials connected to the programme. He also appeared on DVD commentaries and in various documentaries.

He also gained extensive credits outside of Doctor Who, most notably as producer of the BBC's "Classic Serial" strand during the late 1970s and early 1980s. In this role he produced many acclaimed and award-winning adaptations of classic novels, including "Great Expectations", "Alice in Wonderland" and "Jane Eyre". Later, he directed episodes for the soap opera "EastEnders".

Click here to read a 2004 interview with Letts on the BBC Doctor Who website.

Updated 13th October

The Guardian has published an obituary, describing Barry Letts' varied career and impact on Doctor Who.

Outgoing Doctor David Tennant is to guest host the Absolute Radio breakfast show for a week in November. Tennant will join his friend and regular host Christian O'Connell, who revealed the partnership on his Twitter page: "All done deal - David Tennant will be co-hosting the Absolute Radio Breakfast Show with me for a week in November! And i mean in from 6-10am!" Tony Moorey, Absolute's programme manager, said "It's hard to think of a celebrity more loved by the British public. When you combine that with David's sense of humour and the on-air relationship he's formed with Christian O'Connell in recent interviews, it's clear that these shows will be must-listen makes. Seriously, who wouldn't give Doctor Who a show?" Absolute Radio was was previously called Virgin Radio.

Jonathan Ross will be joined on his BBC Radio 2 show by John Simm on Saturday 26th September. The programme is available on FM in the United Kingdom and on the internet globally.

Doctor Who has won the first British Fantasy Award for Television, announced at FantasyCon on September 19. Rob Shearman, convention guest and writer of the episode Dalek, collected the award on behalf of Russell T. Davies. Paying tribute to the achievement of Russell Davies and Julie Gardner in making the new series so successful, Shearman mentioned that when people had originally heard he was to work on a new series of Doctor Who, some had laughed at the very idea of resurrecting that tired old show.

At the same awards, Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale lost out in the non-fiction category to the autobiography Basil Copper: a Life in Books, but Torchwood novelist Sarah Pinborough won the short story category for "Do You See?"

The final part of the Darksmith Legacy series, The End of Time by Justin Richards, is coming out this week. To celebrate, there is an exclusive Darksmith Collected Party for fans who have collected all 10 books and completed the quests online. All players who complete the final quest will automatically be entered into a free prize draw to win tickets to this event where they can meet the authors, come face to face with some monsters and get an exclusive sneak-preview of things to come.

James Moran has just announced a new web project starring Gareth David-Lloyd and Tracy-Ann Oberman. Girl Number 9 is a dark thriller created exclusively for the internet.

Thanks to Faiz Rehman, Robert Davis, Stephen Theaker

The BBC News website has made available a video interview with well-known scriptwriter Richard Curtis, who last week confirmed that he will be writing for the next series of Doctor Who, which is currently in production. In the short interview - conducted by BBC News Entertainment Correspondent Lizo Mzimba - Curtis says that he expects the episode to be shot in November. He also says that the script contains some comic moments, in line with his career as a comedy writer, and that showrunner Steven Moffat required him to rewrite the Eleventh Doctor's dialogue to make it less formal and more colloquial.

Please note that the full interview does contain some very minor spoilers about the episode's setting, so should not be viewed if all details about forthcoming episodes are being avoided.