Big Finish has released samples of several of its upcoming projects on its website, including previews of "The Coming of the Queen," the novel by Iain McLaughlin and Claire Bartlett which tells the backstory of Erimem, the character who travels with the Fifth Doctor and Peri in the audios as played by Caroline Morris; "Singularity," November's Fifth Doctor and Turlough Doctor Who audio adventure by James Swallow; and "The History of Christmas," this December's "Short Trips" anthology.

According to a report in the Mirror, Christopher Eccleston quite emphatically corrected Alan Davies' comments last week that he had not quit the sci-fi show because he feared he would be typecast, but because he was exhausted. "He claimed BBC bosses had worked his actor pal 'into the ground' with the gruelling 10-month filming schedule. Not so, Eccleston assures us. 'Alan should keep his nose out of my business,' he booms angrily. 'I rang his agent and told him he had no right to say what he did.' Er, right. And what is the former Tardis-dweller up to now? 'Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I'm out of work.'"

A sampling of press clips and items from the past five days (while your editor was on a business trip):

The Times features an extended interview with/article about Billie Piper and about her role in "Much Ado About Nothing" coming in November. "Piper has packed an awful lot into her tender age (sheÆs 23). 'ItÆs hard to get your head round the size of Doctor Who and the impression it has made,' she says, drama-school tones softened by the burr of her native Wiltshire. So unnerving was the launch, she went into hiding. 'It scared the hell out of me, if I'm honest. But then, when the first one was out and it was just part of Saturday-night viewing, it felt a bit more real.' As Rose Tyler, street-smart companion to the titular Time Lord (aged 953), Piper has been integral to the show's success: it reached 10m viewers at its peak, almost half the audience share. There was talk that she might jump Tardis along with Christopher Eccleston (the Christmas edition marks the full debut of the new Doctor, David Tennant). But no, it was just tittle-tattle. 'I was uncertain how many I was doing, because you have to wait for them all to be written. Now IÆm signed up for the duration of the second series.'" More in the interview on the website.

The Independent features an article about BBC Three Controller Stuart Murphy which mentions Doctor Who: "He has turned to Russell T Davies - alongside Paul Abbott, British television's hottest scriptwriter - to plot the channel's journey into the world of sci-fi. The result is Torchwood, a series of 13 45 minute episodes which Davies himself describes as 'X Files meets This Life'. Murphy can barely contain his excitement when recounting how he persuaded Davies to develop his success with the re-invented Doctor Who by making a post-watershed show for BBC3. 'We think it is going to be amazing,' he says. 'Each episode will be a one-off story and will be funny in a way that Casanova brought humour to period drama.' ... BBC3's ratings were done no harm at all by the opportunity to show repeats of the last series of Doctor Who, and it is not surprising that Murphy is keen to extend the channel's relationship with the Doctor."

The Sydney Morning Herald discussed Whovention, the convention that took place this past weekend, focusing somewhat on the costs of the event. NineMSN mentioned the event: "President of the Doctor Who of Australia Club, Liam Teer, said he was expecting up to 150 people to attend. He said there were a whole range of Doctor Who fans. 'Obviously we have the ones who come along dressed as characters,' Teer said. 'I was also at a trivia quiz once and there was a guy who could quote entire episodes - at that point there was 26 years worth of episodes to know the script to.' This year's Whovention will feature 'guests of honour' from the classic series, actors Frazer Hines and Deborah Watling. Robert Shearman, who wrote the first episode of the new series, titled Dalek, has also made the trip Down Under. He said he couldn't believe the success of the new program. 'We were aware it was its final chance to come back,' Shearman said. He said he would love to see an episode of the show shot in Australia. 'I think that it would be ideal if they could perhaps try and come to Australia at some point,' Shearman said. 'They (the producers) want Doctor Who to be a very cosmopolitan show.'" Other articles on the convention were at Bordermail,Seven.com.au.

The official website has menu screenshots from the forthcoming Doctor Who Series One DVD boxed set. They also (finally) confirmed the casting of Pauline Collins and Sophia Myles, previously reported on Outpost Gallifrey.

Brand Republic says that the BBC "will offer users the opportunity to watch exclusive web previews of upcoming programmes, such as BBC Four's 'The Thick of It' and BBC Three's 'Nighty Night', as well as interactive programmes previously only available under the red button. In addition, users will be able to watch catch-up clips of 'Top of The Pops' and 'EastEnders', previews of seasons like 'The Lost Decade' and clips from classic shows like 'Doctor Who'."

(Thanks to Steve Tribe, Paul Engelberg, Peter Weaver, Faiz Rehman)

According to BBC News, the recent Doctor Who charity dinner featuring David Tennant and Billie Piper raised over £20,000 for the BBC Children in Need appeal. "The actors took a break from filming the new BBC Wales series to join diners at a fundraising event in Cardiff. Money raised through the 'Doctor Who Galactic Dinner' will help improve the lives of children and young people. Writer and executive producer Russell T Davies presided over a special auction of coveted Doctor Who memorabilia. Guests bid up to £4,000 for some of the items, which are destined to become valuable collectors' items. More than 250 guests attended the event at the city's Macdonald Holland House Hotel. The dinner was one of a number of events being held across the UK to raise money for the annual charity event. This year, appeal organisers will distribute more than £2.6m to support vulnerable children and young people throughout Wales - with a total of £35m being given across the UK as a whole. 'We always knew it was going to be a fantastic event, but it exceeded all our expectations,' said David Tennant, who has taken over the role from Christopher Eccleston. Billie Piper, who plays the Doctor's assistant, Rose, said: 'Everyone had an amazing night. Thank you so much to all the generous people who were there raising so much money.' Menna Richards, controller of BBC Wales, said: 'The Doctor Who team made a fantastic contribution towards raising a huge sum of money for Children in Need. But they couldn't have done it without the amazing support of all those Doctor Who fans who bid for prizes and gave so much money to the event.'" Also covered at CBBC News.

We've received the cover illustration and press release for issue 362 of Doctor Who Magazine, which are located below. Click on the thumbnail for a larger version of the cover. (Thanks to Tom Spilsbury/DWM)

In an article about filming of the new series near Merthyr Tydfil,icWales makes several comments including "The BBC are filming 18 episodes for the new series. And the action, which also features Coronation Street's Todd Grimshaw, aka Bruno Langley, will see the heroes battle new and familiar foes including Cybermen and an evil race of Catwomen." While there are actually 13 episodes in the second series, not 18, the mention of Langley is the puzzler... and has led to speculation that he's taking part in series two. The Popbitch email magazine also says that "Tom Baker IS putting it in during Season three (and maybe two) - VO's only, as 'voice of the Time Lords'. He would have appeared but only if they cast him as an alien woman, (or the master) which was rejected." However, there's no word as to whether or not any of this is true.

The Telegraph has an interview with Alan Davies, in which he discusses considering the role of Doctor Who and then deciding it was too much work! "The duffel-coated star of Jonathan Creek was once considered a favourite to play Dr Who. 'When it was mooted, I thought it was going to be six half hours, like it used to be. And then when I heard it was 13 hour-long episodes and they were going to be in Cardiff for 10 months, I thought: Oooh,' he says. 'Then they worked Christopher Eccleston into the ground, he quit and the BBC put it about that he didn't want to be typecast. The truth was they just overworked him and he was exhausted.'"

The Mirror then took Alan Davies' comments to the Telegraph as gospel, suggesting that the reason why Christopher Eccleston quit the series was because he was "overworked and exhausted." "Actor pal Alan Davies said the BBC worked Eccleston 'into the ground' before he quit as the famous Time Lord. Jonathan Creek star Davies added: 'He left and the BBC put it around he didn't want to be typecast. In truth was he was exhausted.'" Also covered at Contact Music, Female First.

The Index on Censorship play "Night Sky" appears to be back on, according to Index Online. The play features Christopher Eccleston, Bruno Langley (Adam), Navin Chowdry (Indra Ganesh in "Aliens of London") and Saffron Burrows ("Troy") and will take place on October 30.

Eccleston, meanwhile, is taking part in the Pride of Britain Awards to be seen on ITV1 (various regions) at 9pm on Tuesday 11 October; the Scotsman has an article about it noting that "as ever there will be a star-studded list of talent taking part in the show, including Catherine Zeta-Jones, Michael Douglas, Bono, Victoria and David Beckham, Jamie Oliver, Christopher Eccleston, Bob Geldof, the Duchess of York and the England cricket team."

BBC Norfolk has a feature interview with Sylvester McCoy taht was filmed at the Great Yarmouth Film Festival. You can watch it on the BBC's website here.

Pamela Salem ("The Robots of Death," "Remembrance of the Daleks") is interviewed by BBC Wiltshire; her various Doctor Who roles are discussed in the interview.

David Tennant will appear at the 40th anniversary gala for the Royal Lyceum Theatre Comapny (RLTC) in January according to The Scotsman: "A galaxy of stage stars is set to gather for a night of 'indulgence, luxury and merriment' to toast the 40th birthday of one of Edinburgh's best-loved theatres. Members of the public will have the chance to rub shoulders with the likes of Brian Cox, Billy Boyd and new Dr Who actor David Tennant at the glittering gala evening..."

John Barrowman will be appearing again on the talk show "Loose Women" on Tuesday 18 October at 1.30pm; this may be a repeat of his earlier appearance. He's also the featured cover star of the current issue of the UK gay glossy gay magazine "Attitude" with an in-depth interview and new photo shoot inside. The interview includes his take on the show, the convention circuit and the fans.

An obituary for Roger Brierley, whose passing we previously reported, can be found at the Telegraph.

Mark Gatiss appeared on Jonathan Ross's radio show on BBC Radio 2 on 1 October, along with his "League of Gentlemen" cohort Reece Sheersmith, there to promote the DVD release of their film version of the series. Ross did ask Gatiss about "Doctor Who", and although the conversation mostly ended up being a jokey discussion of whether there'd ever been any musical versions of the series (with Gatiss signing a couple of lines of "Doctor in Distress" !), Gatiss did confirm that the episode he's writing for this year is episode seven, and it is another historical. He also mentioned that he'd been talking to Steven Moffat recently, whose young son is apparently upset that David Tennant's new costume "isn't like the old Doctor Who".

Gatiss also attended the British film premiere of "Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" at the Odeon, Leicester Square, London, according to BBC News, since he voices one of the characters - Miss Blight. Indeed, the film blurs the boundaries nicely between old and new series, thanks to many of its participants: as well as Gatiss's vocal involvement, it was co-written by Bob Baker (who co-wrote The Claws of Axos, The Mutants, The Three Doctors, The Sontaran Experiment, The Hand of Fear, The Invisible Enemy plus Underworld, and wrote Nightmare of Eden) and has Peter Sallis (Penley, The Ice Warriors, 1967) voicing Wallace, Edward Kelsey (Slave Buyer, The Romans, 1965; Resno, The Power of the Daleks, 1966; Edu, The Creature from the Pit, 1979) voicing Mr Growbag, and Nicholas Smith (Wells, The Dalek Invasion of Earth, 1964) voicing the Rev Clement Hedges. And, of course, as previously mentioned on Outpost Gallifrey, Tom Baker narrates the UK version of the film trailer.

The Metro's Green Room column had a comment about singerCharlotte Church last week: "Charlotte Church would love to star in the new Doctor Who series but only if she can get a crash course in acting. 'It's filmed in Cardiff so I can do the accent but I'm really rubbish at acting,' she admits."

Newsquest Media Group ran an article about a Dalek prop: "Daleks wanted to rule the universe - but one of the evil aliens settled for Farnworth instead. The arch enemy of Dr Who travelled down Plodder Lane, causing heads to turn and traffic to grind to a standstill. But luckily the motorists and pedestrians were not in danger of being exterminated, for the Dalek - the Doctor's most feared opponent in the long-running BBC series - is owned by gadget-mad Paul Flanagan. The 52-year-old, from Plodder Lane, Farnworth, snapped it up for ú1,000. ... Mr Flanagan said: 'I've always been a big Dr Who fan and I've built two Daleks myself in the past but I had to sell them when I was going through my struggling actor stage. I'm going to be playing the role of Dr What - a time travelling baddie in a panto production of Sleeping Beauty at the Princes Hall Theatre in Aldershot and I'm providing all my own props so I had to get my hands on a Dalek.'"

The San Diego Union-Tribune ran an article last week about Christmas toys and mentioned the Character Options remote control Daleks. So did The Guardian, which says that "You're going to pay ú40 for a remote-controlled Dalek that just has seven sayings and whizzes around." The Toy Retailers Association says that, although the remote control Dalek does not make it into the 'Hot Dozen', it's predicted to be one of the top ten 'Big Kidz' (sic) toys this Christmas.

The Register has an article about the three episodes of Doctor Who coming to the UMD format for Sony Playstation, noting the other three volumes will ship in December.

The Simon has an article entitled "BBC America: What Went Wrong?" about their cutting of programmes and letting other series get by them: "Instantly, I added up all these previous facts and came to the conclusion that BBC America was cutting my comedy drugs with baby powder. The bastards were altering shows û not for content, but for time. For commercials. And thatÆs when I went through the looking glass. ... IÆm BBC AmericaÆs ideal viewer, but most likely not for long. IÆm one step away from giving you a proper British two-finger salute if you donÆt change your ways soon. And I know just how you can change for the better: First, if youÆre going to show a program, show the entire show. ... Next, stop showing Benny Hill. Monty Python and Fawlty Towers are okay. As Time Goes By and Coupling are quite good and thatÆs fine too. But Benny Hill must be stopped. For the past couple months, itÆs been given a nightly slot in addition to other airings û it feels like itÆs on every other hour. ... And finally, take some more chances like The Office. I donÆt know how you missed out on airing Spaced û the incredible show by the creators of Shaun of the Dead û which Trio airs. But with that mistake behind you, you can still get plenty of other programs that will make you relevant again. There are a ton of shows to chose from, such as 15 Storeys High (Sean LockÆs inventive tale of two very odd roommates in an apartment building), The Book Group (the daring comedy by Annie Griffith thatÆs shot as though David Lynch were doing a sitcom), or Nighty Night (a dark comedy by the exquisite Julia Davis that shocks you into guffaws that you instantly feel guilty about.) Hell, how you havenÆt taken up Russell T. DaviesÆ brilliant re-invention of Doctor Who is beyond me."

The South Wales Evening Post noted the casting of Pauline Collins in the new series: "History is repeating itself for actress Pauline Collins who has been filming Doctor Who in South Wales. The Shirley Valentine star has signed up for an episode of the next series after its smash-hit revival by Swansea writer Russell T Davies. It will mark her second appearance in Doctor Who - nearly 40 years after she first appeared in the legendary TV series. She plays Queen Victoria in the new series alongside new doctor David Tennant and Billie Piper as sidekick Rose. She's now 65 years old but was just 27 when she first appeared in Dr Who in April 1967, alongside Patrick Troughton. It was before she found fame in TV's Victorian drama Upstairs Downstairs - and then film stardom as Shirley Valentine in 1989. Pauline has been busy filming in the Welsh countryside for a story line in which aliens threaten the Victorian British Empire. An insider said: 'Pauline was loving every minute of it. She found it very amusing that she played a fashionable young woman in the 1960s but now she's playing a wrinkly Queen Victoria.' The BBC team has filming in the hillsides above Merthyr Tydfil with Queen Victoria being taken in a horse-drawn carriage protected by troops. And the doctor lands his Tardis next to the military convoy to come to Queen Victoria's aid against the alien attack. The new series, featuring scenes filmed in Gower, is due out next year after a Christmas special." Also reported atDigital Spy.

Off The Telly calls the 2005 series of "Doctor Who" the 4th greatest Saturday night television series ever broadcast: "Is it controversial to claim that the original run of Doctor Who stopped being good Saturday night telly back in 1980 (let's leave aside the fact, that after then it wasn't even transmitted on Saturday nights that often)? That's not to say it wasn't a good series in its own right, but somehow in its last decade, the original series lost the audacity and spectacle that once made it the perfect warm-up for The Generation Game. This then, is what has made the 2005 series such a great piece of Saturday night viewing. It seems simple now, but what the new production team obviously realised was that if Doctor Who was going to survive on Saturday nights in 2005, it had to face its audience head-on and ask for no concessions. Given that the BBC were perfectly placed to promote the series (and explain any ratings shortfalls, should there have been any) as some kind of public service opt out for those disinterested in the usual fare, the fact that they instead decided to take on Saturday Night Takeaway in a straight-out, no handicap battle was admirable. In fact it's probably not an overstatement to claim that this was the most important decision made regarding the revamp. It informed not only the budget, but the casting, the storylines and, of course, the all-important (at least according to the Doctor Who production team) tone. Securing the services of Christopher Eccleston was almost as vital. Prior to the announcement of his casting it had been difficult to differentiate the revived Doctor Who from the countless other remakes and niche cult programmes floating about. But the choice of Eccleston as the Doctor demanded that the series receive the same type of media coverage as Casualty and EastEnders (rather than Hex or, dare we say it, Buffy). In the course of only 13 episodes, Doctor Who 2005-style immediately gained a place at the top table of Saturday night programming. It had Game for a Laugh's pace and inventiveness, Bob's Full House's ratcheting tension, and Pop Idol's ability to laugh at itself. It also had great stories, never more so than when Steven Moffat was at the typewriter, which seemed totally fresh, yet iconic and replete with fantastic visual images. What makes Doctor Who even greater though, is that at the time of writing it is the only major Saturday night series that is still on its way up, and for that reason alone, it's currently the only Saturday night series really worth bothering about."

Also, in the final edition of its article "The Glory Game", "Off The Telly" contacted a range of television professionals and asked them to nominate the greatest Saturday night television programme ever. Two of the featured correspondents chose "Doctor Who"... Michael Leggo, Director of Broadcasting and Programming, Unique Communications Group says "I vote for Doctor Who. As a child it was for me an appointment to view before that concept had been born, and the Daleks' impact at the time has not been over-hyped in the wake of the recent revival. My father was a film cameraman and he took my brother and me to a BBC staff Christmas party for children, where there was a Dalek. My brother would not stay in the room, even when the top was lifted off and the Dalek shown to be empty inside. I remember having nightmares about the Zarbis (giant ant-like monsters) but I still wanted them to return, for the Doctor to fight them again. I lost touch with the series somewhere after the Tom Baker era. As for entertainment, I'll let others judge Noel's House Party, but early Gen Games with Bruce would be very high on my list." Peter Bazalgette, Chairman, Endemol UK says, "The recent new series of Doctor Who has clinched it for me. It pioneered drama as entertainment on the night, and made sci-fi popular, and Russell T Davies re-invented the Saturday family audience show."

The Boston Globe has published its list of the Top 50 Sci-Fi Shows Of All Time; a certain Time Lord entered the list at Number 8.

The official Doctor Who website has sounds and photos for your mobile phone. "You can now download some of our Doctor Who sounds and pictures directly to your mobile by either texting WHO to 81010, or typing bbc.co.uk/mobile/drwho into your mobile browser. You'll need a suitably swish phone, and to read the following small print: Each SMS message sent to the BBC for this service will cost 12-15p (network charges vary). The BBC cannot guarantee that this WAP push message will work on your handset. So far as may be permitted by law, the BBC disclaims all liability for any loss or damage."

Finally, British comedy legend Ronnie Barker died this past week at the age of 76. Barker played Able Seaman Johnson in "The Navy Lark" alongside Jon Pertwee, and was always in trouble when CPO Pertwee's plans failed. His obituary at BBC News is here.

(Thanks to Paul Engelberg, Chuck Foster, Peter Weaver, David McCambridge, Andrew Burns, Paul Hayes, John Bowman, Rich Kirkpatrick, Joe Siegler, Dan Garrett, Vince Stadon Martin Barber and Lee Horton)

The BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) have cleared an additional extra for the new box set release of the first series of Doctor Who this November: "Backstage at Christmas". This extra is a look inside the filming of "The Christmas Invasion" and serves as a preview for the second series of the show. (Thanks to Ceri Laing)