Incoming Executive Producer, Steven Moffat, is to take part in a discussion on Sherlock Holmes as part of this year's BBC Proms Literary Festival.

Moffat, who together with Mark Gatiss is co-creator and Executive Producer of the BBC's new modern-day Sherlock, is joined by A. N. Wilson, author of The Victorians. They talk to Matthew Sweet about the enduring appeal of Sherlock Holmes and his special love of Mendelssohn.

The event takes place on Monday 7 September at 5.45pm at the Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall of the Royal College of Music. It is free to anyone who turns up, although capacity is limited, and it will be turned into a radio programme for broadcast Monday night on BBC Radio 3. David Warner will be giving some readings from Conan Doyle, and there'll be a Q and A at the end.

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David Tennant takes over as the host of the PBS series MASTERPIECE Contemporary on October 25, 2009. As host, he introduces the programme at the beginning of each episode and provides commentary throughout. The season starts with the U.S. Premiere of Endgame, a feature length film depicting the secret talks that ended apartheid in South Africa starring William Hurt, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Jonny Lee Miller.



The website whoviannet has launched a project to create a scrapbook to present to David Tennant at Christmas, to thank him for all his hard work, commitment and dedication to the show over the past four years. They are asking for contributions from Tennant's fans. Details on their website.

You can now follow the Doctor Who News Page on

Mary Tamm's new autobiography First Generation is released on 14th September. Tamm played the first incarnation of Romana alongside fourth Doctor Tom Baker. Colin Baker has written the foreword to the book which is available in two versions: a standard paperback and a special hardback edition. The hardback edition will only be available direct from Fantom Films and is limited to 200 copies, individually numbered, with extra photographs and signed by Tamm.

John Barrowman will be a guest on the Jonathan Ross Radio show, on BBC Radio 2, on Saturday 5 September. Barrowman is preparing to step into high heels when he takes on the role of Albin in La Cage Aux Folles at the Playhouse Theatre, London, for a limited run from 14 September to 28 November 2009.

Astrid Peth, better know as Kylie Minogue has been confirmed as one of the guests in Radio 2's Thank You For The Music concert in London’s Hyde Park on Sunday 13 September 2009, celebrating the Music of Abba. Minogue will perform two Abba hits, Super Trouper and When All Is Said And Done, alongside Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. Tickets are available from See tickets and the concert will be broadcast live on Radio 2.

Finally the outgoing Tardis Team of David Tennant and Russell T. Davies have given a 20-minute "exit interview" to Boing Boing Video.

Catherine Tate has won the Portal Award for Best Actress on Television for her portrayal of Donna Noble. Tate beat Mary McDonnell of Battlestar Galactica to the top position in the awards which have run since 1999 and are voted on by thousands of readers. It is the first time Doctor Who has won one of the major acting awards.

David Tennant was runner up as Best Actor being beaten by Jensen Ackles of Supernatural. Billie Piper was runner up in the Best Guest Star Category with Turn Left coming second in the Best Episode category.

Outgoing executive producer Russell T Davies featured as a character in Wednesday's Afternoon Play on BBC Radio 4.



As well as Davies as a character, the play features the TARDIS and a Dalek. It can be heard worldwide for the next seven days on the BBC iPlayer, and is repeated on Radio 4 next Tuesday.

Thanks to gazhack of Gallifrey Base

Details posted on Amazon.co.uk reveal that a new edition of The Writer’s Tale, Russell T Davies and Benjamin Cook’s detailed account of the making of series four of the new Doctor Who, is to be released in January 2010. The book, which takes the form of collected e-mail correspondence between Davies and Cook, proved extremely popular on its original release in late 2008. The new edition will contain over 300 pages of new material, detailing the conclusion of Davies’s time on the programme, culminating in the final special episodes to star David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor.

America's Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) has announced that the Royal Shakespeare Company's recent production of Hamlet starring David Tennant and Patrick Stewart will air in the US as part of the network's "Great Performances" series in 2010. The RSC says that the television adaptation "will retain the quality and tone of the critically acclaimed stage production but filming will take place on location"

The BBC announced earlier this year that the film would air in the UK on BBC Two later in 2009.

Tennant will also be seen on PBS as host of the "Masterpiece Contemporary" series, which returns on October 25.

Press coverage of the PBS broadcast of Hamlet can be seen at Playbill, Variety and wire service articles from The Associated Press and the UK's Press Association, each of which were picked up by many newspapers.

Actor and singer John Barrowman's song I Made it Through the Rain is the highest new entry in the UK's official Radio 1 Top 40 charts, entering at number 14.

Speaking on Fern and Reggie's Chart Show yesterday, Barrowman said:
The song has been championed by BBC Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles through his Radio 1 Breakfast Show and Twitter posts. Moyles has previously influenced chart entries, with a promotion back in the 2007 New Year to use new download rules to get former Doctor Who companion Billie Piper's song Honey to the Bee into the charts - famously overshadowing a similar attempt by fans aiming to enter Doctor Who music composer Murray Gold's song Love Don't Roam.

The actor/agent Michael Summerton died on the 16th June 2009, aged 65.

Summerton started out in the theatre and then moved to television with a role in the BBC Soap Compact; he then went on to play one of the very first Daleks to appear in Doctor Who.

In later life he became an agent, running his own company Michael Summerton Management Ltd which specialises in choreography and dancing, and was notable is being the agent for Arlene Phillips and Bruno Tonioli, both featuring as judges in the popular BBC series Strictly Come Dancing.

The actor Harry Towb has died at the age of 83.

Towb had a long and distinguished career in British film and television appearing in many classic programmes during a career lasting nearly sixty years.

Towb had two roles in Doctor Who. He first appeared as Osgood alongside Patrick Troughton in the 1969 story The Seeds of Death. He later appeared alongside Jon Pertwee in the 1971 story Terror of the Autons where, in one of the most memorable scenes of the classic series, he was eaten by a plastic chair.

More from BBC News

The official BBC Doctor Who site has confirmed that actor John Simm will be reprising his role as The Master in the forthcoming Christmas specials. Though no other details have been confirmed the site reports that they will publish an interview with Simm later in the year.

The announcement follows a special preview shown at the San Diego Comic Con, during which the character appeared with other known cast members for the episodes (Bernard Cribbens, Catherine Tate). It also confirms reports of the actor seen on location during filming for the episodes back in March/April this year.

No name has been given for the episodes so far, though Den of Geek have suggested that it might be called "The End of Time".

Update: a new BBC website article reports that as well as John Simm, Alexandra Moen will also be reprising her role as Lucy Saxon, the Master's wife from his previous appearance.