BBC Worldwide have announced that tickets to the official 50th Anniversary convention for Doctor Who will go on sale from 11:00am on Monday 8th July. As with the Cardiff convention last year, each of the three days over the 22nd, 23rd and 24th November will be a self-contained event running between 9:30am and 6:30pm, comprising panels, associated activities and photo opportunities.

The three main panel sessions each day are:

• The Eleventh Hour Panel
  Ever wanted the inside scoop on the world of Doctor Who? Fancied putting a question to the current Time Lord? Well now’s your chance! The Doctor Who Celebration is hosting ‘The Eleventh Hour’ panels featuring the current cast and crew, including MATT SMITH. Take a seat in the theatre and prepare to be entertained...and you might even get to ask your question.
• The Regenerations Panel:
  Featuring TOM BAKER (Saturday only), COLIN BAKER and SYLVESTER McCOY. These will be audience Q&A sessions, so get thinking of those questions you’ve always wanted to ask about travelling in the TARDIS, working with K-9 or what Tetrap food is really made of...
  
• The Special Effects Show:
  Leave your Nitro-9 at home – we’ll make your weekend go with a bang big enough to reboot the Pandorica! Everyone attending the Doctor Who Celebration is invited to an exclusive show produced and presented by special effects supervisor Danny Hargreaves. From innocent snow (or perhaps the Great Intelligence’s killer snow) and soothing water (or maybe deadly Mars water) to Cyber bombs and destroyed Daleks – Danny's worked with them all. With his team from REAL FX, he'll put on a live show that will let you in on insider secrets, prepare you to tackle the deadliest of enemies and completely blow you away - metaphorically speaking of course! Don’t worry – the universe won’t really be restarted.

As before, there will be two ticket groups - Ice Warriors and Weeping Angels - which will enable access to the panels at different times of the day. A number of other talks and panels will take place throughout the day on two stages, schedules to be announced at a later date.

Other activities taking place include:

• Walk like a Monster:
  If you can’t beat them – join them! This is your opportunity to learn just how to make those companions run for their lives – with workshops to teach you how to walk like a monster. This is a chance to learn from an expert – the woman who has the inside scoop on all the monsters, because she teaches them how to scare you into hiding behind the sofa! Ailsa Berk, the Movement Choreographer for Doctor Who, will be welcoming potential monsters of all ages four times daily – there’s no need to book in advance, simply turn up and join in!
  
• Stunt School:
  Ever wondered how the UNIT soldiers roll with the punches? Or how the companions take a tumble? Our highly-skilled team of stunt co-ordinator, Crispin Layfield, and very own Doctor stunt double, Gordon Seed, will be on hand four times a day to put you through your paces and help you learn some easy stunts – no need to book, just turn up when you feel like a piece of the action.
• Cast Photographs: (£20)
  Limited opportunities are available throughout the event to have an exclusive photograph taken with MATT SMITH. These photographs are taken by our in-house photographer and are printed for you to take home as a souvenir. These photographs are available via pre-booking only and these tickets are expected to sell out fast. Photographs are strictly limited to one per BOOKING, however, group shots are allowed with a maximum of 4 people on ONE photo.
• Autographs: (£15 each)
  You’ve got that very special picture of your favourite Doctor or companion – or maybe the wonderful official celebration souvenir book – there’s nothing that could possibly make it any better, surely? Wrong! The official 50th celebration gives you the chance to get up close and personalised, with autographs from the stars of Doctor Who. Due to the popularity of this event, we need you to pre-book the autographs you’d like to buy when you arrive at the event. Why not start your own 500 Year Diary or Journal of Impossible Things, with a signature from your favourite cast member?
• Doctor Who Adventures:
  Doctor Who Adventures has been the ultimate monster magazine for Doctor Who fans since 2006, with fact files, interviews, quizzes, comic strips, free gifts and competitions. This is your chance to design your very own monster with one of the Doctor Who Adventures artists. The Doctor Who Adventures team will be around all weekend, so there’s no need to book to start your own adventure – just turn up on the day.

A series of evening activities are also expected to be arranged.

A variety of merchandise will also be available to purchase, plus a limited edition event t-shirt that can be pre-ordered via the website once booking has opened.


Tickets can be booked via the event website from Monday. Standard tickets are priced at £45 for adults and £20 for kids, while a family ticket (two adults and two children) will cost £104 - booking fee not included.

Their Royal Highnesses, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall visited Roath Lock Studios as part of their annual summer tour of Wales yesterday, coming face-to-face with the Doctor and a number of his foes!

In the first Royal visit to the BBC Cymru Wales Roath Lock studios since they officially opened in March 2012, the visitors were taken on a tour around the studios and the Doctor Who production office. After being given a rundown on how to fly the TARDIS, The Prince and The Duchess were then introduced to the Daleks, with the Prince demonstrating his own take on their famous cry. The were also treated to displays from the show’s costume designer, locations manager, graphics artist, set decorator and production designer, plus production secrets revealed with a green screen display, demonstrated by SFX.

The visit concluded with Their Royal Highnesses meeting some of the Skillset apprentices who are currently training at Roath Lock.


Commenting on the visit, outgoing Doctor, Matt Smith, said:
Jenna Coleman - who met the Queen at Broadcasting House last month - added:
Executive producer and lead writer Steven Moffat said:

Rhodri Talfan Davies, Director BBC Cymru Wales:
Danny Cohen, Director BBC Television:


Videos from the visit can be found on the BBC News site, which include Matt and Jenna's thoughts on meeting the Prince (and his chances of being the next Doctor!), and of the TARDIS set visit (which includes a brief discussion between Jenna and Prince about the 50th Anniversary Special). Photo galleries are also available from both BBC News and the BBC's Doctor Who website.

Remembrance of the Daleks is to be shown on BBC America this month as part of the channel's celebratory strand Doctor Who: The Doctors Revisited.

Airing on Saturday 27th July in omnibus form, it will be preceded by a documentary at 7pm ET/PT entitled Doctor Who: The Doctors Revisited – The Seventh Doctor, in which Sylvester McCoy, his companion actors Sophie Aldred and Bonnie Langford, plus current lead writer and executive producer Steven Moffat will be among the people examining the darker side of this particular incarnation of the Doctor. They will also be viewing some of his surreal adventures and discussing The Rani.

Remembrance of the Daleks, written by Ben Aaronovitch and directed by Andrew Morgan, was originally shown over four episodes in October 1988 and saw the Doctor return to Coal Hill School as well as the Totter's Lane junkyard first seen in the show's premier episode. In addition, it continued the story arc of the Dalek civil war, and marked the last appearance of the Daleks and Davros in the original run of the show.
BBC America is celebrating the programme's 50th anniversary by showing a story per Doctor per month.

Award-winning Children's Laureate Malorie Blackman has written the seventh e-book short story in the range celebrating Doctor Who's 50th anniversary.

The Ripple Effect, to be released on Tuesday 23rd July by Puffin Books in partnership with BBC Worldwide, sees the Seventh Doctor and Ace encountering Daleks - but these are Daleks with a difference.
Blackman said: An extract is available via The Guardian's website, and a promotional video featuring Blackman will be available on the BBC's Doctor Who YouTube channel from Thursday 11th July.

Blackman, who will be the Children's Laureate until 2015, has written more than 50 books, including the critically-acclaimed Noughts & Crosses series of novels for young adults. She is acknowledged as one of today's most imaginative and convincing writers for young readers and has been awarded numerous prizes for her work, including the Red House Children's Book Award and the Fantastic Fiction Award. She has also been shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal. In 2005, Blackman was presented with the Eleanor Farjeon Award in recognition of her contribution to children's books, and in 2008 she received an OBE for her services to children's literature.

Details about the e-short for the Eighth Doctor will be revealed on Tuesday 6th August.

.As previously reported, Splendid Chaps is a year-long performance/podcast project to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who hosted by comedian Ben McKenzie (Dungeon Crawl, Melbourne Museum Comedy Tour) and writer John Richards (ABC1 sitcom Outland, Boxcutters podcast)

Described by its creators as part intellectual panel discussion, part nerdy Tonight Show, Splendid Chaps is a combination of analysis, enthusiasm and irreverence. The first episode went to number 1 on the iTunes TV & Film Podcast chart in Australia, and to number 4 in the UK.  The podcasts to previous episodes are now available at www.splendidchaps.com or at  iTunes.

Tickets are now on sale for their 7th Doctor show! This show discusses the seventh and final Doctor of what we now call the classic era, played by variety performer and actor Sylvester McCoy. Famous for escapology, spoon playing and putting ferrets down his trousers, McCoy’s casting raised a few eyebrows, but his performance changed many doubters’ minds – especially when combined with Sophie Aldred as Ace, and under the new direction provided by the incoming production team under Andrew Cartmel. Of course, no-one knew that the program’s days were numbered…

Splendid Chaps are also looking at the theme of “religion” in Doctor Who. The Doctor has been all across space and time and encountered zealots, fanatics, kindly priests, and beings who believed themselves to be gods or demons or the devil himself. But what does the program say about religion, faith and belief? Is the Doctor Who universe truly a rational one in which the supernatural is really just advanced science, or is The Beast really the Devil? Is faith worthwhile, and if so, what does the Doctor believe?

Hosts Ben McKenzie, John Richards and Petra Elliott are joined by guests including writer and game designer Paul Callaghan, comedian and television writer Dave Bloustien, and for their discussion of religion, the Reverend Dr Avril Hannah-Jones, Uniting Church minister and founder of the Church of the Latter Day Geek (as seen on Adam Hills In Gordon Street Tonight)! Plus a very special musical performance from the one and only Lee Zachariah, and all the usual prizes and surprises!

Space: The Public Bar, 238 Victoria Street, North Melbourne (opposite Victoria Markets)
Time: Sunday 14 July; recording starts 5 PM
Accessibility: This venue is wheelchair accessible.
Tickets: $15 (plus booking fee where applicable)
Bookings: via trybooking.com or at the door (subject to availability)
Podcast: not yet available; released 23 July 2013.

AudioGo's ongoing celebration of 50 Years of Doctor Who reaches the Seventh Doctor in July, with he and Ace facing a Shockwave in the Destiny of the Doctor series. Meanwhile, the Fourth Doctor visits The Leisure Hive alongside Romana in the latest Target novelisation adaptation, and the Eleventh Doctor goes back to 1963 in the audio adaptation of BBC Books novel Shroud of Sorrow.

A video of the guest panel from the BFI's screening of The Two Doctors earlier this month was released today.

Unlike previous panels, though, it has not been uploaded to the organisation's YouTube channel but instead is available to view on its videos page.

The event took place on 15th June to mark the Sixth Doctor's era, as part of the BFI's Doctor Who At 50 season.

Lasting 15 min 34 sec, it features the actors Frazer Hines and Tony Selby, script editor and writer Eric Saward, and visual effects designer Mike Kelt in conversation with season co-curator Justin Johnson.

UPDATE - SATURDAY 6th JULY: The BFI has now uploaded the video to its YouTube channel, meaning it can be watched below:

The BFI will be showing the episodes Bad Wolf and The Parting of the Ways to mark the Ninth Doctor's era for its Doctor Who At 50 season.

The two stories, written by Russell T Davies and directed by Joe Ahearne, first aired on Saturday 11th June and Saturday 18th June 2005 respectively. They comprised the Series 1 finale, which saw Christopher Eccleston hand over control of the TARDIS to David Tennant after an epic battle against the Daleks.

The screenings are being held on Saturday 24th August from 2pm at BFI Southbank. The special guests for the accompanying panel session are yet to be announced.

Tickets are being issued via a ballot system through the members' section, with BFI Champions able to enter the ballot from Monday 1st July and members from Tuesday 2nd July. The ballot will close on Friday 5th July and be run over the weekend of 6th and 7th July, with all entrants to be notified on Monday 8th July if they have been successful or not.

All tickets reserved for Champions and members through the ballot will be held until 8.30pm on Friday 12th July, and any that are unclaimed by then will be released for public sale on Saturday 13th July.

Although all the screenings in the season so far have been immediate sell-outs, returns and stand-bys are a strong possibility, so it's always worth checking back with the BFI.

The organisation is skipping from the Seventh Doctor's era to the Ninth Doctor's because of guest availability, with the Eighth Doctor event currently planned to be held sometime in September. The precise date plus guests are still to be confirmed and announced.

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall are to pay an official visit to the Doctor Who studios in Cardiff next month to mark the show's 50th anniversary.

It will form part of the royal couple's annual Wales Week, in which they tour the country to publicise its positive aspects.

Their diary shows that on Wednesday 3rd July they will be meeting cast and crew members of Doctor Who during a set visit to the Roath Lock studios.

A spokesman for Clarence House, which is their official residence in London, said: While they are at Roath Lock the couple will meet Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman, and will encounter some of the Doctor's enemies as well. It is not known as yet which production team members will be presented to Charles and Camilla.

This won't be the first official brush with the world of Doctor Who for the Duchess of Cornwall. While opening the West Wilts Show in Trowbridge in July 2009 she encountered a Dalek and TARDIS at a display dedicated to the programme.

Earlier this month, Coleman was presented to the Queen when the monarch officially opened the rebuilt Broadcasting House in London.

The special guests for the BFI's celebratory screening of Remembrance of the Daleks next month have been announced.

The sell-out event, part of the BFI's Doctor Who At 50 season, is being held on Saturday 27th July at BFI Southbank to mark the Seventh Doctor's era and will see Sylvester McCoy, Sophie Aldred, Ben Aaronovitch, Dick Mills, and Mike Tucker taking part in the question-and-answer panel.

The BFI is running a competition to win a pair of tickets to the screening, with a copy of the BFI book 100 Science Fiction Films - to be published on Friday 28th June - also going to the winner. Enter via this link. The contest closes on Friday 19th July. Terms and conditions apply.

August's event should have seen the Eighth Doctor's solo TV venture (so far) being shown on the big screen but instead the Ninth Doctor will be honoured that month, with a story screening and guest panel being held on Saturday 24th August.

BFI spokeswoman Liz Parkinson told Doctor Who News today: The date for the TV movie screening is yet to be announced, while the story to be shown from the Ninth Doctor's era, and the accompanying guests, will also be confirmed in due course.

Because of the overwhelming demand to attend the monthly screenings, a ballot system is being run to allocate tickets and priority booking for the Ninth Doctor event will take place, as previously, via the members' section.

BFI Champions can enter the ballot from Monday 1st July and members can enter from Tuesday 2nd July.

The ballot will close on Friday 5th July and be run over the weekend of 6th and 7th July, with all entrants to be notified on Monday 8th July if they have been successful or not. Any tickets reserved for Champions and members through the ballot will be held until 8.30pm on Friday 12th July, and any that are unclaimed by then will be released for public sale on Saturday 13th July.

Although all the screenings in the season so far have been immediate sell-outs, returns and stand-bys are a strong possibility, so if all else fails keep checking with the BFI!