Matt Smith is to star in a new film, How To Catch A Monster, written and directed by Ryan Gosling. The film has been described as "set against the surreal dreamscape of a vanishing city and centred on a single mother of two being swept into a macabre and dark fantasy underworld, while her teenage son discovers a secret road leading to an underwater town." Smith is to play the, as yet unnamed lead, alongside Eva Mendes, Christina Hendricks and Saoirse Ronan. Filming begins in May. [Variety, 6 Feb 2013]

David Tennant is currently filming a new three-part thriller for BBC One, The Escape Artist, in which he plays Will Burton, a barrister who specialises in spiriting people out of tight legal corners. The show is written by Spooks creator David Wolstencroft, who said of the casting: "David Tennant is one of the most accomplished and iconic actors of his generation. I cannot wait to see him in Will's shoes.". The show also features Sophie Okonedo, Toby Kebbell and Ashley Jensen (with whom the actor appeared in his very first professional role, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui). [BBC Media Centre, 31 Jan 2013]

The actor has also been reunited with Emilia Fox for the drama Every Seventh Wave, a sequel to last year's Love, Virtually. It can be heard this Thursday on BBC Radio 4.

Christopher Eccleston took on the role of Winston Smith in the first BBC Radio 4 adaptation of George Orwell's 1984 broadcast at the weekend; on the enduring appeal of the book and his character, the actor said: "it's the human story that means that we keep coming back to it and keeps it relevant.". The adaptation forms part of a season of programmes entitled The Real George Orwell celebrating the writer, who used to work at Broadcasting House. (Eccleston isn't the only Doctor to have played the role - Patrick Troughton starred as Smith in a 1965 broadcast by the BBC Home Service.)

We reported back in September that Eccleston was amongst a number of celebrities who were making claims against News International over phone-hacking allegations - a settlement was reached last Friday, with the lawyer representing claimants reported that the actor has been "shocked and distressed" over the sixteen occasions his messages had been compromised, and that "owing to the deliberate destruction of documents by the News of the World, he will never find out the true extent to which his privacy and that of those close to him, was invaded". [BBC News/Express, 8 Feb 2013]

Peter Davison was recently subject to an internet death hoax, as a joke blog post escalated out of control across social media - the actor is of course very much alive! A number of celebrities have suffered similar reports in recent months as unfounded rumours spread through social media. However, this is not a new phenomenon as obituaries have been published in the past in print for people still very much alive! [Travelers Today, 2 Feb 2013]

Joy Whitby, former children's TV producer at the BBC, has revealed how producer Verity Lambert contacted her about a job on the recently launched Play School after she finished on Doctor Who. Surprised, she turned her down, considering her to be an over-qualified and high-powered producer! [BBC News, 31 Jan 2013]

Talking about how she became an actress, Freema Agyeman said: "No one in my family or my friend circle anywhere was in the acting business or anything to do with the industry whatsoever. I went to a very strict academic convent girls' school, and I was very into science and things like that when I was younger. And then I suddenly just went off on this tangent when I was 17 and I suddenly decided that I liked acting. But I also liked fine arts and English literature, so I would have gone and done any of them at a higher education level. I remember asking a career advisor, "What should I do?" and her advice was to apply to universities and see what happens. So I applied to either of the three at university, and I decided that fate would guide me. And it so happens that the theatre studies or the acting degree application was responded to first, so I thought it was a sign. And I learned everything as I went. I got into it quite late. I'm enjoying it, but I'm very much learning as I go - and enjoying that, actually!" [Hollywood, 5 Feb 2013]

The actress has also joined Twitter, and can be followed via @FreemaOfficial.

Toby Jones was named Best Actor at the London Evening Standard 2012 British Film Awards for his role as Gilderoy in the psychological thriller Berberian Sound Studio. [BBC News, 4 Feb 2013]

Daniel Blythe gave a reading of his Doctor Who book Autonomy to pupils at the Hepworth J&I School in Huddersfield. He visited the school to give a presentation on how he became an author and his Doctor Who connections. [Huddersfield Examiner, 1 Feb 2013]

In Memoriam:

The actor Peter Gilmore, who guest-starred as Brazen in the 1984 story Frontios, died aged 81 on 3rd February - 29 years to the day since the adventure's fourth and concluding episode was transmitted. He was best-known to TV viewers as shipping magnate James Onedin in the BBC period drama The Onedin Line and also made 11 appearances in Carry On films. [The Guardian, 6 Feb 2013]

Robin Sachs, who played a professor in Torchwood: Miracle Day, has died at the age of 61. He was the son of Leonard Sachs and was also known to sci-fi/fantasy fans for his roles in Buffy, The Vampire Slayer, Star Trek: Voyager, Babylon 5, and Galaxy Quest. [BBC News, 5 Feb 2013]

Two people from the Hartnell era have been reported as passing away in January: Reg Pritchard, who played Ben Daheer in The Crusade, and Keith Marsh, who played Conway in the Peter Cushing movie Daleks' Invasion Earth: 2150AD. [The Stage, 7 Feb 2013]

The special guests for the screening of The Mind of Evil at the BFI Southbank next month have been announced. The announcement was made at the screening of The Tomb of the Cybermen on Saturday.

The event, which takes place on Sunday 10th March at 2pm, will see cast and crew from the episode on stage during the Q&A panels. The guests are:

• Katy Manning - companion Jo Grant
• Richard Franklin - Mike Yates
• John Levene - Sergeant Benton
• Tim Combe - Director
• Terrance Dicks - Script Editor
• Plus members of the Restoration Team

Tickets for the screening sold out within 5 minutes of going on sale to BFI members on 5 February at 11.30am.

Delia Derbyshire - the woman who brought the original Doctor Who theme tune to life in 1963 - is to be played by Sarah Winter, her agent reports. The actress has been seen previously on television as Lady Jane Grey in the documentary series Bloody Tales of the Tower, and as Mary Martin in At Home with the Georgians, and has appeared in films such as The Other Boleyn Girl and The Butterfly Tattoo. She has also been involved in a number of short films and theatrical productions.

Filming for the drama continues tomorrow back at BBC Television Centre, where the building has been undergoing some redecoration to 'restore' it to a 1960s feel!

Issue 13 of the free online Doctor Who fiction magazine Inferno Fiction has been published. Edited by Colin-John Rodgers, it features the following:
The stories can be read here.

The 50th Anniversary season of classic Doctor Who stories on UKTV in Australia and New Zealand continues.

Sunday 10th February sees the broadcast of the five-part 1968 Patrick Troughton story The Dominators. It screens in New Zealand at 3:40pm and in Australia at 4:00pm. New Zealand has a additional showing on Monday 4th February at 3:30am.

The Dominators was first broadcast in Australia in 1970. It was not screened in New Zealand until 2000, a full 32 years after the UK broadcast.

UKTV is showing stories every Sunday throughout the year in the lead-up to the anniversary in November. The Dominators is the second of four stories to be aired as part of the channel's celebration of the second Doctor this month. The next two stories are The Mind Robber (17th February), and The Seeds of Death (24th).

Up-and-coming broadcasts from both 20th and 21st Century series of Doctor Who can be found via UKTV's Doctor Who sections for Australia and New Zealand.

Stack Magazine:

The latest issue of the New Zealand edition of DVD retailer JB Hi-Fi's free in-store magazine Stack (issue 37, February 2013), features Doctor Who on the cover as well as a two-page article (also online) about the lasting appeal of the series.

To mark the anniversary screenings on UKTV, JB Hi-Fi in association with DVD distributor Roadshow is running a promotion of Doctor Who on DVD throughout 2013, showcasing a different Doctor's era each month.

Original Doctor Who cast member William Russell is to appear in the 50th Anniversary drama An Adventure in Space and Time. His agent, Feast Management, reports that the actor will be playing the role of Harry - no other details of the character are known at present.

It was confirmed yesterday evening that Russell would be played in the drama by Jamie Glover.

Hot on the heels of the announcement of Jamie Glover as William Russell, it has now been confirmed by FlashForward Publicity that the actress Jemma Powell is to play Jacqueline Hill in the 50th Anniversary drama An Adventure in Space and Time.

The actress made her cinematic debut in The Hole, and has since appeared in a number of films, including Symmetry of Love, The Seasoning House, and Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. On television she has played a range of roles including Foyle's War, Footballers Wive$: Extra Time and The Legend of Dick and Dom. On stage, her credits include The Storm by Alexander Zeldin in the West End.


The currently known cast for An Adventure in Space and Time are:

William Hartnell:	David Bradley
Verity Lambert:	Jessica Raine
Sydney Newman:	Brian Cox
Waris Hussein:	Sacha Dhawan
William Russell:	Jamie Glover
Jacqueline Hill:	Jemma Powell
Carole Ann Ford:	Claudia Grant

The latest edition of Doctor Who Adventures is guaranteed to raise a stink as it takes a look at the universe's whiffiest creatures!

Also in issue 306:

• The winner of the design-a-gadget competition is revealed
• There's a free mystery gift
• Choose your own adventure game
• Comic-strip adventures with the Doctor and Decky Flamboon - what are they investigating and why is Decky in danger?
• Honking jokes
• Trump facts
• Posters
• Puzzles

As well as being available in print form, the publication can also be downloaded as an app for the iPhone and iPad from the App Stores in the UK and USA.

The actor Jamie Glover is to play the role of William Russell in the drama An Adventure in Space and Time, agent Curtis Brown has confirmed. Jamie (the son of Julian Glover and Isla Blair) has made a number of theatre and television appearances, most recently on television as Dr. Michael Evans in Father Brown and on the stage as Garry Lejeune in Noises Off. However, he is perhaps most recognisable from television as deputy head Andrew Treneman in the BBC series Waterloo Road.

With the role of Carole Ann Ford confirmed to be Claudia Grant earlier this week, Jacqueline Hill is now the only member of the original TARDIS crew still to have an actress announced.

Production-wise, Philip Kloss has now been confirmed as the Film Editor for the drama - his Doctor Who credentials include the David Tennant episodes The Doctor's Daughter, Midnight and The End of Time, and also Day One of Torchwood: Children of Earth. Meanwhile, Suzanne Cave is Costume Designer - her credits include Bert and Dickie (which featured Matt Smith), both The Hour and The Hour 2, Cricklewood Greats and Silent Witness.

Filming:

Filming has continued this week in a private residence in Chipstead made up to look like a 1960s home; writer Mark Gatiss teased followers with a profile of the actor David Bradley who plays William Hartnell and was present at scenes shot here. Today marked the first day filming for Brian Cox, who plays Sydney Newman, with scenes being filmed at the 1950s-style Rivoli Ballroom in Brockley.

BBC Worldwide have announced the Doctor Who stories that will be released on DVD in the United Kingdom up to September this year. As well as the titles known previously, the list confirms the inclusion of the colourised Third Doctor adventure The Mind of Evil, the incomplete Second Doctor tale The Ice Warriors, and also the animated 2003 story Scream of the Shalka - which starred Richard E Grant as the (very) short-lived online 'Ninth' Doctor.

The complete list of dates are as follows:

25th February:	The Ark in Space: Special Edition
11th March:	The Aztecs: Special Edition (plus Galaxy 4 reconstruction)
6th May:	The Visitation: Special Edition
27th May:	Inferno: Special Edition
3rd June:	The Mind of Evil
24th June:	Terror of the Zygons
15th July:	Spearhead from Space Blu-Ray
5th August:	The Green Death: Special Edition
26th August:	The Ice Warriors
16th September:	Scream of the Shalka

Unlike last month's release of The Reign of Terror, there has been no word on whether August's The Ice Warriors will also feature animated episodes, with only the condensed reconstruction of episodes two and three that accompanied its original VHS release in 1998 confirmed so far. No new information on features to accompany other releases in the list have been revealed since our previous updates.

As yet there has been no indication of how the final four existing episodes - The Tenth Planet(1-3) and The Underwater Menace(2) - are to be presented.

The Visitation:

In addition to above, the BBFC have now classified the features that will be presented on the second disc of The Visitation Special Edition, due in May:

00:45:08:13 GRIM TALES   -  REVISITING THE VISITATION
00:27:29:06 DR. FOREVER! -  THE APOCALYPSE ELEMENT
00:32:11:20 DOCTOR WHO   -  THE TELEVISION CENTRE OF THE UNIVERSE

The main disc will contain the original features from the 2004 release, though has revised production notes compiled by Nicholas Pegg, and (of course) newly remastered episodes.