Next Monday the BBC will release a special Prequel to the second half of the 2011 series of Doctor Who.

The Prequel to Let's Kill Hitler will be available exclusively on the official BBC Doctor Who site.

Written by series show-runner Steven Moffat, the short episode will bridge episodes 7 and 8, showing how the Doctor and Amy are feeling following the events of A Good Man Goes to War.

The official site promises humour, drama and a heart-breaking moment.

The BBC has yet to confirm an official date for the return of Doctor Who in the UK.

The BBC Press Office have released details of television programmes during Week 35 (27th August - 2nd September), and Doctor Who is notable by its absence from the schedules - the series has been confirmed by BBC America as being broadcast by themselves on the 27th August.

The lack of a listing does not necessarily mean that the show will not be broadcast on that Saturday, however; Torchwood: Miracle Day was initially absent from from the Week 28 listings for the week it returned, being added to the schedule listings a few days later.

BBC programming is normally finally 'locked down' 10 days before transmission.

BBC America has released a season refresher containing highlights from the first half of Season 32.

 The second half of the series begins on the channel on Saturday 27th August.

The BBC have released a new trailer to promote the forthcoming second half of the current series of Doctor Who, due back on television in the next few weeks:



This trailer is different to the one that featured at the San Diego Comic Con to promote the series return a couple of weeks ago.

The new Doctor Who Magazine takes a look at Torchwood: Miracle Day with behind the scenes to talk to the cast and crew of this extraordinary adventure, including stars John Barrowman (Captain Jack), Eve Myles (Gwen Cooper), Mekhi Phifer (Rex Matheson), Alexa Havins (Esther Drummond), Kai Owen (Rhys Williams), Lauren Ambrose (Jilly Kitzinger) and head writer and creator Russell T Davies.

DWM asked John Barrowman, could Jack ever return to Doctor Who?

Also in this issue:

• Called to Action - Five remarkable individuals joined the Doctor in his fight against Amy’s kidnappers in A Good Man Goes To War – but could they return to help him again? Find out as DWM talks to the actors who played them: Simon Fisher-Becker (the ‘fat, old, and blue’ Dorium Maldovar), Neve McIntosh (Silurian warrior Madame Vastra), Catrin Stewart (Victorian maid Jenny), Dan Starkey (lactating Sontaran Strax) and Christina Chong (forest-dwelling soldier Lorna Bucket).
• Storytellers - Doctor Who’s showrunner Steven Moffat presents an exclusive guide to the writers of the new series. Find out who’s a wimp, who’s a polymath and who’ll break you heart (twice) in Production Notes...
• Masterpieces - It was the season that gave us Axons, Dæmons and Autons... and which introduced the Doctor’s arch-enemy, the Master! DWM takes a nostalgic look back at the adventures of the Third Doctor, Jo and the Brigadier in 1971’s Series Eight, as Countdown to 50! continues.
• Time for a Shock - As Amy and the Doctor struggle against the ravages of time, they’re shocked when an old enemy appears… Don’t miss the thrilling final chapter of the latest comic strip adventure, Apotheosis, written by Jonathan Morris with art by Dan McDaid!
• Roy's Roles - DWM pays tribute to the late Roy Skelton, the versatile actor who was the voice of dozens of characters, including the Daleks and Cybermen in Doctor Who... and Zippy and George in Rainbow.
• Nice Day for a White Wedding - Emma, Michael, Chris and Will get their hankies ready as they prepare watch the emotionally-charged, time-twisting Ninth Doctor story Father's Day. Who will blub and who will retain their composure? Find out in The Time Team
• Happy Anniversary - To celebrate the release of the 150th audio adventure in the regular monthly range, DWM catches up with the men behind Big Finish. Producers Jason Haigh-Ellery, Nicholas Briggs and David Richardson talk candidly about the past and future of the range – including the new series featuring the Fourth Doctor, Tom Baker...
• Spoilt for Choice - What’s best – assiduously avoiding all spoilers, or finding out as much as possible about future episodes of Doctor Who? Toby Hadoke and Johnny Candon argue the pros and cons in the latest (spoiler-free!)
• Smuggled In - The First Doctor, Ben and Polly enters a world of skullduggery, murder and deceit as they take on a band of merciless pirates – erstwhile crew of the notorious Captain Avery! Join The Fact Of Fiction as it goes back in time to reveal a treasure trove of secrets concerning the 1966 adventure The Smugglers

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

Writer Tom MacRae spoke to the Northampton Chronicle about his forthcoming episode for Doctor Who, which has now been named by the BBC in a recent roundup on their Doctor Who website.

MacRae hails from Northamptonshire, like the current Doctor Matt Smith:

(newslink: Northampton Chronicle)

For every year since 2001 the Guardian has released the Media 100 - a list of who they consider are currently the most powerful people in the UK Media; candidates for the list are judged on cultural influence, economic clout and political power over the course of the last year.

This year sees Doctor Who and Sherlock lead writer Steven Moffat enter the chart as number 92:

BBC executives that have an influence of Doctor Who's future in the list include Director General Mark Thompson (4), Director of Vision George Entwistle (26), and BBC1 Controller Danny Cohen (14)


Moffat's predecessor Russell T Davies was a regular in the chart when he was overseeing Doctor Who, entering the chart strongly for his 2004 involvement in bringing the series back at number 14 in the 2005 list, followed up by 28 (2006), 15 (2007) and 31 (2008). The Doctor himself has also appeared in the past, represented by actor David Tennant who was listed as number 24 in 2007.


The list is drawn up by a panel of judges, which this year included Lorraine Heggessey, the BBC1 controller responsible for the decision to bring Doctor Who back into production during 2003 (and herself ranked 46/54 during that period).

The BBC have released a trailer for the second half of Series Six, which returns to BBC1(HD) later this year; the trailer premiered at the San Diego Comic Con event taking place this weekend.


The series is also featured in the new Original British Drama trailer (34 seconds in), which includes other productions like The Body Farm, The Hour, Spooks and Page Eight.



An extended trailer has also been released for The God Complex by Toby Whithouse, episode 11 of the series:

The British Film Institute are to show a special preview screening of the Series Six second half opener Let's Kill Hitler. The screening will take place on the 15th August 2011 from 6:20pm, and will be accompanied by a Q&A session (guests to be confirmed).

As with previous Doctor Who/Torchwood events, it was fully booked by 2:30pm within hours of being announced; some return tickets might be available from the Box Office in due course.

Visitors to the special Doctor Who immersive theatre experience, The Crash of the Elysium, got a surprise yesterday when the Doctor himself popped in to see them!

A fan of the organisers Punchdrunk since seeing one of their shows in New York, Matt Smith wanted to see the current production based around Doctor Who that has been taking place at the Manchester International Festival this month; normally, videos of the Doctor appear during the show, but producers arranged for him to appear in character yesterday instead of the final video, much to the delight of the 6-12 year old audience.

Commenting on the project, he said:

The final performance of The Crash of Elysium is today.