Tom Baker, Louise Jameson, and Philip Hinchcliffe will be the special guests at next month's BFI screening of The Robots of Death.

The announcement was made at yesterday's première of the colour-restored story The Mind of Evil. Big-screen showings with guests are being staged by the BFI for each Doctor this year as part of its Doctor Who At 50 season.

The four-part adventure is being screened at BFI Southbank on Saturday 20th April at 2pm to mark the Fourth Doctor's era. Tickets go on sale to the general public at 11.30am tomorrow. They were made available to Champion members last Monday and to standard members last Tuesday. All three screenings held so far sold out to members before tickets were due to go on general release, but returns and stand-bys are possible.

It was also announced yesterday that the story marking Fifth Doctor Peter Davison's era will be shown on Saturday 4th May. The title is due to be revealed later this week.

BBC Worldwide have announced the re-issue of eleven books featuring all eleven Doctors as part of the celebration of Doctor Who's 50th Anniversary, each featuring a new cover and special introduction.

The books hail from various periods in the history of Doctor Who in print, and feature a variety of well-known authors:

• The First Doctor: Ten Little Aliens, by Stephen Cole (2002)
• The Second Doctor: Dreams of Empire, by Justin Richards (1998)
• The Third Doctor: Last of the Gaderene, by Mark Gatiss (2000)
• The Fourth Doctor: Festival of Death, by Jonathan Morris (2000)
• The Fifth Doctor: Fear of the Dark, by Trevor Baxendale (2003)
• The Sixth Doctor: Players, by Terrance Dicks (1999)
• The Seventh Doctor: Remembrance of the Daleks, by Ben Aaronovitch (1990)
• The Eighth Doctor: Earthworld, by Jacqueline Rayner (2001)
• The Ninth Doctor: Only Human, by Gareth Roberts (2005)
• The Tenth Doctor: Beautiful Chaos, by Gary Russell (2008)
• The Eleventh Doctor: The Silent Stars Go By, by Dan Abnett (2011)

A screening of the colour-restored story The Mind of Evil is to take place in Birmingham.

The event – part of the Flatpack Festival – will also see Restoration Team members Peter Crocker and Steve Roberts discussing with Paul Vanezis the meticulous work that was involved in bringing the six-part adventure back to its former glory.

The showing, presented in association with the Shock and Gore horror and fantasy festival, will be held at The Electric Cinema in Station Street on Saturday 30th March, starting at 1pm and finishing at 4pm.

It offers fresh hope of a pre-DVD-release big-screen viewing for people who were unable to get tickets to this coming Sunday’s BFI première screening in London, which sold out to members before going on public release - although returns are possible.

A Doctor Who Showcase Symphonic Spectacular was held in Liverpool last night to pay tribute to the programme.

Hosted by Mark Williams, it took place at the BBC Worldwide Showcase - being attended by some 700 TV buyers from around the world - and saw Ben Foster lead the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra as well as the Sense of Sound choir through compositions by Murray Gold, with Elin Manahan Thomas and Daniel Keating-Roberts providing solos.

Earlier this week, Steve Macallister, the president and managing director of sales and distribution at BBC Worldwide, had said that Doctor Who would feature as one of two themed evenings at the showcase.

The programme was as follows:

• The Madman With A Box
  
• I Am The Doctor
  
• Brianosaurus
  
• Abigail's Song
  
• Battle In The Skies
  
• The Majestic Tale Of A Madman In A Box
  
• Liz, Lizards, Vampires & Vincent
  
• This Is Gallifrey/Vale Decem
  
• The Final Chapter Of Amelia Pond
  
• Doctor Who Theme
  

Scenes from The Angels Take Manhattan provided a suitable backdrop for the penultimate piece.

As has been the case with previous musical outings, various monsters put in an appearance too, including Daleks, Ood, Cybermen, Silurians, the Silence, and Saturnynians (from The Vampires of Venice). The Symphonic Spectacular also featured a compilation of the Doctor's regenerations.

More pictures from the event can be seen on BBC America's Anglophenia site.

A special screening of the opening two episodes of Series 6 is to take place across Australia and New Zealand on Thursday 14th March, the BBC has announced.

In a world-first multiple cinema screening for Doctor Who, The Impossible Astronaut and Day of the Moon will be shown at selected Event Cinemas, Greater Union and Birch, Carroll & Coyle Cinemas, and Village Cinemas across the two countries, starting at 7pm on the day.

There will also be a "best-dressed" prize at each cinema for the Doctor Who fan with the most impressive costume, from Time Lords to monsters.

Sharon Wilson, BBC Worldwide Australasia's head of marketing for global brands, said: The screening has been arranged as part of the celebrations for the show's 50th-anniversary year.

Written by Steven Moffat and directed by Toby Haynes, the 90-minute two-parter stars Matt Smith as the Doctor, Karen Gillan as Amy Pond, Arthur Darvill as Rory Williams, Alex Kingston as River Song, and Mark Sheppard as Canton Everett Delaware III.

In The Impossible Astronaut, the Doctor, Amy, and Rory receive a secret summons that leads them to the Oval Office in 1969. Enlisting the help of a former FBI agent and the irrepressible River Song, the Doctor promises to assist President Nixon in saving a terrified little girl from a mysterious Space Man. In Day of the Moon, the Doctor is locked in the perfect prison, while Amy, Rory, and River Song are being hunted down by the FBI. But with the help of the president and Neil Armstrong, the Doctor is able to mount a rebellion against an alien invasion dating back to the very beginnings of human civilisation.

Tickets for the high-definition big-screen showings can be bought online at Event Cinemas or Village Cinemas (booking fees may apply) or at the box offices of the cinemas involved. The websites list the cinemas taking part in this special event.

UKTV, which is wholly owned by BBC Worldwide Australasia, is the media partner for this screening, which has been devised by BBC Worldwide Australasia.

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 the first two episodes are now available at www.splendidchaps.com or at  iTunes.

Tickets are now on sale for their March show, in which the Splendid Chaps TARDIS will be visiting Adelaide. They'll be discussing the frill-fronted velveteen Time Lord Jon Pertwee, and looking at the notion of Family in Doctor Who - why are there so few families in the early years of the show? What’s with all the distant aunts? How did it change the show when companions’ families started to appear after Rose?

Hosts Ben McKenzie, John Richards and Petra Elliott are joined by New York Times best-selling author Sean Williams plus other guests poached from the Adelaide Fringe Festival as Splendid Chaps makes the exciting move into colour and corduroy.

Splendid Chaps: A Year Of Doctor Who: "Three/Family"
Space: The Tuxedo Cat – The Yellow Room, 199-200 North Terrace, Adelaide.
Time: Sunday, March 10; show starts 2 PM (note that as we will be recording, latecomers will not be admitted until interval).
Tickets: All tickets $15 (plus booking fee where applicable).
Bookings: trybooking.com, tickets also sold at the door (subject to availability).
Podcast: not yet available; released 23 March 2013.
Accessibility: This venue is wheelchair accessible.

Australian fans attending Whovention: Gold this weekend were fortunate enough to see a world premiere preview of the animated fourth episode of the forthcoming The Tenth Planet DVD.

To rounds of very enthusiastic applause, a warm and appreciative crowd saw clips from the animated episode, during panels hosted by Dan Hall (Pup Ltd and commissioning editor of the Doctor Who DVD range) and Austen Atkinson of Australian based animation company Planet 55 Studios. During the panels a number of animated clips were shown, including the famous William Hartnell regeneration scene (see images below) and other behind the scenes material. Video from the animated episode will be available next week on doctorwho.tv.  Fans reacted very positively to the material, as well as to queries from Dan Hall as to whether more missing episodes should be subject to similar animation in the future. Mr Hall noted however that while the existing business model for BBC Worldwide DVD releases did not currently allow more than two episodes a release to be animated that future options for allowing the release of more animated material may become more feasible at some later stage.

Also featured on the panels were Planet 55 Studios animators Colin Bennett, Josh Campbell & Chris Chapman who discussed the painstaking hours of work required to recreate the missing episode of The Tenth Planet as well as the two animated episodes from the newly restored Reign of Terror DVD. Austen Atkinson confirmed that work on the animated Tenth Planet episode was likely to be completed in the next month with the DVD release due in the second half of 2013. Dan Hall also confirmed that an announcement on whether the missing episodes of the forthcoming The Ice Warriors DVD would be similarly animated will be announced in the near future, also on doctorwho.tv.


Other highlights of Whovention: Gold (organised by the Doctor Who Club of Australia) included Louise Jameson describing her complex relationship with Tom Baker; Camille Coduri recalling her shock of first learning about Christopher Eccleston's departure as the Ninth Doctor via the media and original series composer Dudley Simpson announcing that there will be orchestral concerts of some of his Doctor Who scores in the United Kingdom in the near future. Rob Lloyd also performed his popular stage show “Who, Me” in Sydney for the first time for a one-off performance on the Saturday night.

Podcasts recorded at Whovention: Gold, including an interview with Dan Hall, are also now available at the Preachrs Podcast website or iTunes.

The 50th anniversary of Doctor Who may still be months away, but the Doctor Who Club of Australia (DWCA) is kicking off a year-long calendar of events with Whovention: Gold. Featuring international and local guests, exclusive activities and a few surprises, the convention promises to be the biggest in the club’s 35-year history.

Over the next weekend, 22-24 February, Bankstown Sports Club will welcome fans and guests from across space and time to celebrate the beginnings of the original series in 1963 as well as the hugely successful 2005 revival.

Star guests include Louise Jameson (Leela), who accompanied Tom Baker’s Fourth Doctor during one of the most popular periods in the show’s history. Louise will also perform her one-woman show “From Women’s Eyes” on the Friday night. Separate tickets are available for fans unable to attend the full weekend.

Camille Coduri (Rose’s mum, Jackie Tyler) will talk about the show’s revival in 2005 and her part in those first two hugely popular seasons.

Original series composer Dudley Simpson will also share anecdotes from 15 years working with four Doctors.

Dan Hall from Pup Ltd and commissioning editor of the Doctor Who DVD range is flying in to join Austen Atkinson, of Central Coast animation company Planet 55 Studios. Together, they will share exclusive behind-the-scenes material from the newly restored Reign of Terror DVD. And maybe a few other surprises…

Also, Rob Lloyd is bringing his popular stage show “Who, Me” to Sydney for the first time for a one-off performance on the Saturday night.

Other activities include roaming Daleks, a Doctor Who script writing workshop hosted by NIDA teacher Judith Duncan, panels, autograph sessions, a Saturday night VIP dinner with the guests, Doctor Who Mastermind, cosplay competition, debate, charity auction, raffles and the dealer room stacked with Doctor Who merchandise for sale.

Weekend, VIP dinner and single day tickets are available. For more details and to buy tickets, please visit the Whovention website: http://whovention.dwca.org.au.

The BBC has released details of three forthcoming books featuring the 11th Doctor, with new companion Clara also in one of them. All three hardback titles will be published on Thursday 11th April.

Nicholas Briggs has been a prolific Doctor Who contributor since 1999, when he began work on the Big Finish Doctor Who audio dramas, for which he is now executive producer. Nick is also an actor, and since Doctor Who’s return to television in 2005 he has worked on set with all three of the new Doctors as the voice of the Daleks, also providing the voice of the Cybermen and other aliens.

Justin Richards is creative consultant to BBC Books' range of Doctor Who titles, has written for stage and screen, and has penned novels and graphic novels. Together with Jack Higgins, he has also written several action thrillers for older children.

Tommy Donbavand is the author of the 13-book Scream Street series, published in more than 12 languages worldwide, and was the winner of the 2011 Hackney Short Novel Award.

The BFI is to screen The Robots of Death to mark the Fourth Doctor's era as it celebrates Doctor Who's 50th anniversary, it was announced today.

The four-part story, which first aired in 1977, will be shown at BFI Southbank on Saturday 20th April at 2pm. The guests will be announced in due course.

Tickets go on sale to the general public on Tuesday 12th March but will be available on Tuesday 5th March to people with a standard BFI membership and on Monday 4th March to Champion members.

Screenings that the BFI organised for last month, this month, and next month - honouring the First, Second, and Third Doctors - all sold out to members before tickets were due to go on general release.

The organisation has a Doctor Who At 50 season this year, showing a story per Doctor per month as well as digitally-restored prints of the two Dalek films, with question-and-answer panels featuring special guests at each session. In addition, the BBC Two docudrama An Adventure In Space And Time about the show's genesis, written by Mark Gatiss and currently being filmed, will debut at the BFI in November.