The new edition of Doctor Who Magazine, out Thursday, goes behind the scenes of Doctor Who Live, the special show which finally revealed the identity of the Twelfth Doctor. The magazine features interviews with the people who made it happen, including show runner Steven Moffat, presenter Zoë Ball and producer Russell Minton... and there's also has an exclusive letter from Peter Capaldi himself!

Steven Moffat told DWM:


Also this issue:

• Waiting in the Wings... Steven Moffat writes exclusively for DWM about how Peter Capaldi came to be chosen as the Twelfth Doctor.
• No Hiding ... The author of the recent episodes The Rings of Akhaten and Hide, and the creator of the acclaimed drama series Luther, Neil Cross talks exclusively to DWM about how he came to fulfil his dream of writing for Doctor Who.
• Out of the Wilderness... In the second part of The Way Back, we continue to examine the rebirth of Doctor Who in the 21st and take a look at the other Ninth Doctor whose life was cut short after just one animated adventure, Scream of the Shalka – with contributions from Russell T Davies, Julie Gardner, Jane Tranter and many more...
• Back to the Sixties: The Seventh Doctor and Ace take a trip to 1960s London where the Doctor hidden a dangerous Time Lord artefact. Unfortunately, two opposing Dalek factions also want to get their suckers on it... Remembrance of the Daleks from 1988 takes its turn under the scrutinising lens of Fact of Fiction, which reveals new and fascinating facts about the production.
• Dead Man Walking: The Doctor is killed by an impossible astronaut – and that's just the start of his problems! DWM’s journey through Doctor Who’s long history arrives at 2011 and the thirty-second series, as Countdown to 50 continues.
• Blinking Marvellous? Chris, Emma, Michael and Will are keeping their eyes open as they watch the award winning Doctor Who episode Blink from 2007. What will our fearless Time Team make of Steven Moffat’s ‘Doctor-lite’ episode, and will they escape being sent back in time by the Weeping Angels?
• Fight and Flight! The Doctor’s bug problems are bigger than ever as the over-sized insect Koragatta’s plans come to fruition and the Prime Mother and her swarm threaten the Earth, in the exciting final episode of the DWM comic strip A Wing and a Prayer, written by Scott Gray, with art by Mike Collins.
• The Best of the Best: The votes have been counted in the 2012 DWM readers merchandise poll and the winners are revealed, including your favourite fiction and non-fiction books, audios, and DVD releases. Plus, we also reveal the top features, covers and interviews from DWM itself.
• Ain't Misbehaving... Mother of twins and devoted fan Jacqueline Rayner shares those occasional embarrassing moments when Doctor Who has let her down in the company of friends and family, in this issue’s Relative Dimensions.
  
• Doctor Blue? The Watcher takes his cue from the casting of Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor and selects the TARDIS Swear-Box as this issue’s A History of Doctor Who in 100 Objects; presents a Capaldi-themed joke in What a Load of Rubeish; and celebrates another extra in Supporting Artist of the Month. Plus regeneration forms the basis of the brain tease in The Six Faces of Delusion and a Top Ten Fine Wines with a Doctor Who vintage are revealed. All in this issue’s Wotcha!
  

PLUS! All the latest official news, TV and merchandise reviews, previews, competitions, a prize-winning crossword and much, much more!

The eighteenth in our series of features telling the story of the creation of Doctor Who, and the people who made it happen.

Production on the new series was progressing. The main cast were under contract and being measured for costumes and make-up.

It was on Tuesday 20th August 1963 - exactly 50 years ago today - that Doctor Who had its first studio session.

The place was Stage 3A of the BBC's television studios in Ealing, and the event was testing for what would become the iconic Doctor Who title sequence. The designer assigned was Bernard Lodge and the inspiration for the design came from a piece of 35mm film obtained by Verity Lambert. The film had been created for the children's production of Tobias and the Angel, made in 1960, and featured a howl-round effect that impressed Lambert.


The use of howl-round as an effect had been pioneered in the late Fifties by Norman Taylor, a BBC technical operations manager on Crew 9 based at Lime Grove in London. He discovered, while experimenting with a camera looking at a monitor showing its own picture, the effect of diminishing images into limbo.
Lambert would later ask permission for Taylor to be given a credit for his work on the series. Although this was rejected by Taylor's Head of Department, R W Bayliff, Taylor was given a Technical Suggestion award of £25 for his idea.


In 2011, Palmer recalled how Taylor had brought the effect to him in his role as an Investigations Engineer, responsible for developing new operational techniques:
It was this film sequence for Tobias and the Angel that had caught the attention of Lambert and which she showed to Lodge as the type of effect she would like for the opening of her new drama series. The sequence impressed Lodge and he suggested feeding the letters from the Doctor Who title into the sequence.

Clive South, who was part of the technical team, recalls that TC3 was used to create the effect which was recorded on to film at Lime Grove. He said:
Hugh Sheppard, who was on camera for the session, recalls Taylor lighting matches to trigger the howl-round.

Geoff Higgs, who was working in videotape in 1963, talked about some of the complications in recording the sequence:
Lodge used just one part of the old Tobias and the Angel footage: the very start, the opening line that comes up and then breaks away. Everything else was new.

Complete with the Ron Grainer music, realised by Delia Derbyshire and Dick Mills, the opening sequence would become one of the most memorable and inspired in the history of British television.

The writer of the eighth Puffin Books e-book to celebrate the 50th Anniversary is the author of the TimeRiders series of books, Alex Scarrow.
With careers as a rock guitarist, graphic artist and game designer Scarrow became a successful author, writing adult thrillers and screenplays, but it is the world of Young Adult fiction that has enabled him to further develop concepts he originally delved into when designing games. Commenting on his latest commission, he said:
The author can be reached on Twitter via @AlexScarrow, and more details about the TimeRiders series can be found via this website.

A promotional video featuring Scarrow has been made available via the BBC's YouTube channel, and the Guardian has also published an extract from the e-book.

A party celebrating the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who is to be held in London in November.

Organised by Jeremy and Paula Bentham together with Tony Clark, The Doc Lands @ 50 Party will be free to attend and will take place at a venue in Docklands on Saturday 23rd November, starting around 7pm after the BBC's Doctor Who 50th Celebration at ExCeL has ended that day. The party is open to all people aged 18 and over, whether or not they are going to the ExCeL event.

Jeremy told Doctor Who News: If the broadcast of the anniversary episode and any other Doctor Who programming by the BBC coincides with when the party is taking place, it will be shown on the venue's large-screen TV.

Food and drink will be available to buy at the party – although fish fingers and custard will not necessarily be on the menu!

Entry to The Doc Lands @ 50 Party will be by allocated ticket only, and capacity is strictly limited to 1,500 places. To apply for tickets, e-mail Jeremy at jjbentham@aol.com by Monday 9th September, using the subject line Doc Lands ticket applications and stating your name as well as how many people will be in your group. Before applying, though, people are urged to consider their transport options for getting home afterwards, as the party will finish late.

Successful applicants will be contacted in early November, when they will be told the exact location of the party and will be sent their group or individual tickets too.

Since the show's return to TV in 2005, the organisers have held a series of highly popular event parties in London.

Sunday 18th August sees the broadcast of the first four instalments in the Doctor Who Revisited series on Australian and New Zealand television. The screening of this specials are part of the 50th Anniversary season of Doctor Who on the UKTV channel.

This is a late change to the programming schedules in both countries, and consequently has yet to appear on UKTV's websites and electronic programme guides.

The Doctor Who Revisited specials will screen in a two hour block of four episodes, covering the first four Doctors. They are expected to screen in Australia at 4:30pm and in New Zealand at 4:40pm or 4:50pm.

UKTV describes the specials as follows:

These programmes provide an introduction to each of the previous incarnations of the Doctor, and are designed to work alongside a specially curated selection of stories. Featuring interviews with key cast and crew along with classic clips and a montage of the Doctors’ key moments, iconic lines, and monsters, these programmes are the perfect companion pieces to some of the classic and newer Doctor Who. Featuring contributions from Steven Moffat, John Barrowman, David Tennant, Caroline Skinner and Neil Gaiman, among others.

When originally seen on BBC America earlier this year, the four specials were presented in conjunction with screenings of stories including The Aztecs, The Tomb of the Cybermen, Spearhead from Space and Pyramids of Mars. All four stories have previously screened on UKTV as part of the 50th Anniversary season.

The specials replace other planned Doctor Who screenings on UKTV. Australia was due to screen Doctor Who America Specials: The Science of Doctor Who and The Timey Wimey Stuff of Doctor Who, whereas New Zealand either had The Three Doctors or Spearhead from Space (the website currently lists the first, whereas the electronic programme guide has the latter).

A TV interview with William Hartnell dating from 1967 has been unearthed and will feature on the DVD release of The Tenth Planet.

The news broke today following the BBFC's classification of extras, which included an interview with Hartnell among them.

Doctor Who Restoration Team member Steve Roberts confirmed that it was an in-vision interview - meaning that it was on screen as opposed to just being audio - and stated that it was fellow team member Richard Bignell who had discovered it.

The interview was conducted by Roger Mills for Points West - the BBC's regional news show - and was held in the dressing room of the Gaumont Theatre in Taunton, where Hartnell was appearing in the panto Puss In Boots less than three months after last being seen in Doctor Who. The interview aired on Tuesday 17th January 1967.

The extra runs for 3 min 16 sec, and Bignell detailed the discovery of what is now the only known on-screen interview with Hartnell to exist:
Roberts also revealed that David Bradley was shown the footage as part of his preparation for playing the role of Hartnell in the upcoming BBC Two drama An Adventure In Space And Time.

The Region 2 DVD will be released on Monday 18th November and is available to pre-order.

As previously reported, the Doctor Who Series 7 double-CD will be released on 9th September 2013.


There is no information at present as to if and when the soundtracks for the two Christmas Specials The Doctor, The Widow and The Wardrobe and The Snowmen might be released.


Silva Screen have also reported that their limited edition vinyl release of the Doctor Who Series 1&2 soundtracks has been delayed due to a problem at the factory. Originally scheduled for next Monday, it is now expected for Monday 2nd September.

Win a copy of the Series 7 soundtrack!

Thanks to Silva Screen we have three copies of the CD for our readers to win. To be in with a chance, simply answer this question:
Please send your answer to comp-s7cd@doctorwhonews.net with the subject line "Run, you clever boy", along with your name, address, and where you read about this competition. The competition is open worldwide, and the closing date will be on 6th September 2013. Only one entry per household will be accepted.


There's still a chance to win a copy of Ghost Light, which closes on 24th August 2013. Answer the question below and send the usual details as outlined above to comp-ghostlight@doctorwhonews.net with the subject line "We all have a universe of our own terrors to face":

Doctor Who Magazine has seen a bumper rise in circulation but Doctor Who Adventures has recorded a sizeable fall.

Figures released at midday today by the Audit Bureau of Circulations showed that DWM had a total average net circulation of 31,692 per issue between January and June 2013 - a 10.3 per cent rise on the previous six months and a 17 per cent year-on-year increase.

However, DWA - which last time reported a slight rise - had a total average net circulation of 24,497 per issue for the same period: a drop of 23.3 per cent on the Jul-Dec 2012 period and a 23.2 per cent fall year-on-year.

Tom Spilsbury, the editor of DWM, which is published by Panini, told Doctor Who News: Jaynie Bye, of Immediate Media Co, which publishes DWA, told us: For detailed breakdowns of the latest figures, click on the relevant links in the table below.

Highlights from this year's Doctor Who Prom are to be shown on BBC One in a 75-minute programme starting at 4pm on Monday 26th August.

Two concerts were held over the weekend of 13th and 14th July, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the programme and featuring music by Murray Gold, accompanied by specially-edited visual clips. The concert programme also included the world première of Song For Fifty, Gold's anthemic tribute to the show.

The first concert was broadcast live by Radio 3 and recorded for television broadcast.

Hosted by Neve McIntosh as Madame Vastra and Dan Starkey as Commander Strax, the concerts also marked the classic era with a medley of sound effects by Brian Hodgson and music from The Daleks, The Tomb of the Cybermen, The Sea Devils, City of Death, Logopolis, The Five Doctors, and The Curse of Fenric, with Mark Ayres and Peter Howell on synthesisers and sound effects.

In addition, the Proms featured guest appearances by Matt Smith, Jenna Coleman, Peter Davison, and Carole Ann Ford.

The concerts were performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and the London Philharmonic Choir, conducted by Ben Foster, with soloists Elin Manahan Thomas, Allan Clayton, and Kerry Ingram.

As reported previously, the broadcast date was announced during Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor.

Ever since it was established in 1996, the police box at Earl's Court has been an attraction for visitors to London - not to mention Doctor Who fans, able to have their photo taken next to the "TARDIS". But little have they known how close they really were ... click on the double chevron when directions are shown on the map below for all to be revealed ...