Starships and Spacestations will be the next Doctor Who guide in the BBC Books series.

Written by Justin Richards, it is due to be published on May 1.

A press statement said: "The Doctor has his TARDIS to get him from place to place and time to time but the rest of the universe relies on more conventional transport.

"From the British Space Programme of the late 20th century to Earth's empire in the far future, from the terrifying Dalek fleet to deadly Cyber ships, this latest Doctor Who guide documents the many starships and spacestations that the Doctor and his companions have encountered on their travels.

"He has solved mysteries on spacestations and stopped invasions spearheaded by starships. He has been held prisoner in space, escaped from the moon, witnessed the arrival of the Sycorax and the crash-landing of a space pig.

"More than anyone else, the Doctor has seen the development of space travel between countless worlds.

"In this stunningly illustrated book, Doctor Who historian Justin Richards documents the amazing story of Earth's ventures into space, examines the many alien fleets who have paid Earth a visit, and explores the other starships and spacestations that the Doctor has encountered on his many travels."

There is no cover image as yet.

Dalek and Big Finish writer Robert Shearman has a press launch for his new bookTiny Deaths, which he describes as "a collection of odd little sci-fi and horror tales". The launch will be held at 7 pm on Wednesday 16th January, at Calder Books, 51 The Cut, Southwark, London. Shearman will be reading one of his short stories, and autographing afterwards. Admission is free.

He will also be appearing on The Book Cafe, the live arts programme on BBC Radio Scotland, on 21st January at 13.15, to talk about the new book and his work on Doctor Who.

Also of note, on 24th January one of his stories, Love Among the Lobelias, will be read on Radio 4 at 15.30 by fellow Who writer and new series starMark Gatiss.

Doctor Who has another award triumph to add to its collection.

DigiGuide users named the series Best Sci-Fi in the DigiGuide TV and Radio Awards 2007, with the show taking nearly half of the votes cast in the category.

Battlestar Galactica came second, Torchwood was third, Stargate Atlantis fourth, The 4400 fifth andJourneyman sixth.

DigiGuide is an interactive TV and radio guide, and this was the first year the awards, also referred to as the Digis, were run.

It is not known how many users took part in the poll.

People

The Sun reports that David Jason has been approached for a Doctor Who role, but was unable to accept because of his contract with ITV.

The Daily Star writes that David Tennant has been "unsettled" by the attentions of an overeager fan; the story is also reported by MSN and Digital Spy.

The Daily Telegraph cites Billie Piper as the prime example of "thoroughly nice people" in an article on being nice and its drawbacks.

Merchandise

The Doctor Who Annual was the top-selling annual this Christmas, reports The Bookseller. This is the second year in a row that the BBC Books annual has beaten the traditional winner, the Beano Annual.

Also, The Sun has a story about the new line of Doctor Who models from Airfix.

Torchwood

The Daily Telegraph has a behind-the-scenes look at Torchwood's second series. The article quotes Russell T. Davies saying that the first series was too angst-ridden: "I think that was us in the office, being in such a rush to make it that we were projecting our worries onto the screen," Davies says. The article also quotes Freema Agyeman, speaking about how the move to Torchwood fits with the character development of Martha Jones.

SFX continues its "Torchwood week" with interviews with writer/producer Chris Chibnall, producer Richard Stokesand Gwen Cooper herself, Eve Myles.

It looks as if this second series of Torchwood may be the last for Chris Chibnall. Digital Spy reports that Chibnall will produce the forthcoming Law & Order: London for Kudos and ITV.

And finally, from the Western Mail, the sales negotiator for a Welsh house-builder refers to a Cardiff apartment complex as being "right next to the Torchwood tower". Is the Rift blurring the borders between fiction and reality?

Thanks to "PolyG" of the Doctor Who Forum.

The new issue of Doctor Who Magazine, issue 391, is out now.

Voyage of the Damned's director James Strong, shares extracts from his personal production diary, while DWM eavesdrops at the episode's Tone Meeting:

"It mustn't look like an Earth forklift," points out showrunner Russell T Davies, as the team discusses the climactic sequence where Kylie Minogue herself dispatches villain Max Capricorn. "We'll do a makeover!" suggests production designer Edward Thomas. "Pimp my truck!" laughs Russell.
But when Ed adds that you need a licence to drive said forklift, producer Phil Collinson buries his head in his hands. Yes, he's crying.
"I'm just mesmerised by the the idea of us teaching Kylie Minogue how to drive a forklift truck!" admits executive producer Julie Gardner.
"Can we check to see whether she has a forklift licence already?" requests Russell, optimistically. "Oh this is insane!"

Also in the 12 pages of coverage of Voyage of the Damned, there are interviews with actors Geoffrey Palmer, Russell Tovey, Jimmy Vee, Clive Rowe and Debbie Chazen; dozens of new and unseen photos from the making of the Special; and a detailed set report, including an unexpected visit from Sixth Doctor actor Colin Baker.

Meanwhile, there's an extensive tribute to Doctor Who's first producer Verity Lambert; David Tennant answers more readers' questions in part two of an interview; Russell T Davies tells DWM about forthcoming changes to the production team of Doctor Who; the Doctor and Martha encounter gothic horrors in Part One of a new comic strip, Universal Monsters; Planet of the Ood writer Keith Temple discusses Donna's first visit to an alien world; DWM visits the set for Torchwood Series Two and catches up with the programme's stars to ask what next for the Underground Adventurers.

Also in DWM 391, the Time Team witness the Attack of the Cybermen; Neil Harris confesses to a very private hobby in You Are Not Alone; and discover the man behind Mr Copper, in an eye-opening interview with actor Clive Swift!

DWM 391 is on sale from 10 January 2008.

Big Finish Productions has announced some new releases and projects for 2008. Recently. they have begun experimenting with online digital downloads. Currently the only title available though this method is Phantom of the Opera. The forthcoming Stargate series is slated to feature this as well. There is currently no announcement on the Doctor Who line being released in this way.

Doctor Who Magazine Issue 393 will include a free Fifth Doctor audio adventure, Cuddlesome. Written by Nigel Fairs, it is a chilling tale of cute 1980s nostalgia toys for grown-ups taking on a life of their own.

The second season of adventures for the Eighth Doctor and Lucie Miller begin in January with Dead London by Pat Mills. The cover for this title can be found below.

Information on the Sixth Doctor release for January, The Condemned, can be found by clicking on the Spoiler Tagbelow.

Meanwhile, Nigel Fairs, producer of the Tomorrow People range at Big Finish, has confirmed to the Doctor Who Forum that the sixth series of The Tomorrow People has been cancelled due to factors beyond their control. The previous audio CD adventures in this range have been removed from their website.

Davison's daughter for companion role?
As previously reported on this page, Georgia Moffett, daughter of Fifth Doctor Peter Davison, will be appearing in an episode of Doctor Who this year. However, several media sources (including Digital Spy and the NottinghamEvening Post) are reporting that Moffett is being considered for a regular role as the Doctor's companion in the 2010 series. The same reports say that Felicity Jones, who will appear in the forthcoming Agatha Christie episode, is also in the running for the role of the next companion. The story appears to derive from a comment by Phil Collinson in the most recent issue of Doctor Who Magazine.

Tennant promotes cancer research
David Tennant has become a patron of the Association for International Cancer Research (AICR), and will film a video for the Scotland-based charity. Fife Today, Digital Spy and the AICR website have more information.

John Barrowman talks to everyone

Torchwood star John Barrowman's autobiography, Anything Goes, ghostwritten by his sister Carole, will be published on January 24. The Times has a joint interview with the siblings. The Stage also interviews Barrowman, who makes a passing comment about gay actors who remain in the closet; this comment is picked up by other sources, including The Guardian, Digital Spy and Pink News. Some of these sources slightly misrepresented Barrowman's comment, and The Stage has posted a clarification. Scotland on Sunday has an extensive talk with Barrowman, which includes comments about how the actor would like to have children with his partner Scott Gill. These remarks have been picked up by Digital Spy, Actress Archives, Now Magazine andShowbiz Spy. Some of these sources also note Barrowman's on-screen kiss with James Marsters in the first episode of Torchwood's second series; The Sun has pictures of the kiss. And Off the Telly has yet another Barrowman interview.

Other Torchwood news
Digital Spy interviews Eve Myles, who says that in the upcoming series her character Gwen Cooper will be monogamous with her boyfriend Rhys. The Sun and Digital Spy pick up comments from Rhys actor Kai Owen, originally reported in the South Wales Echo.

SFX has Q&As with the Torchwood cast and crew on their website all this week; interviews with Kai Owen and Gareth David-Lloyd are already up, and talks with writer Chris Chibnall, producer Richard Stokes and Eve Myles will follow later in the week.

Tate complaints continue
The BBC has defended Catherine Tate's Christmas special against complaints about its content, reports theGuardian. The Daily Star, The Press Association, The Sun, the Bedford Times & Citizen, Nottingham'sEvening Post and the Biggleswade Chronicle note that a Conservative Member of Parliament has added her voice to the complaints about the special. Some viewers objected to foul language used by Tate's character Nan in the special; others complained about the portrayal of a Northern Irish family in one sketch. (The latter charge is refuted by a columnist for the Belfast Telegraph.) Tate will return to Doctor Who as Donna Noble in the 2008 series.

Miscellany
The Evening Standard has a story about David Tennant's upcoming role as Hamlet for the Royal Shakespeare Company.

The Guardian profiles Billie Piper, and Wales on Sunday and The Press and Journal (Aberdeen) pick up a months-old quotation in which the actress said she had forgotten how to play Rose Tyler. Meanwhile, the coverage of her wedding to Laurence Fox has reached China Daily, and the Daily Mailand Evening Standard say that Fox's uncle Lawrence Fox chose not to attend the ceremony, because his young children were not invited.

Montreal-based filmmaker Kara Blake has made a documentary on Delia Derbyshire, who realized the original version of the Doctor Who theme music and other avant-garde sound as part of the BBC Radiophonic Workship; the Montreal Mirror discusses Blake's Derbyshire project, titled "The Delian Mode".

Mark Johnson, creative director of digital agency Sequence, will speak at a digital media forum in Swansea about the games and other web content Sequence has created for the BBC's Doctor Who website. The Western Mail and Swansea's Evening Post write that Johnson will speak at amperSANDat the National Waterfront Museum on Wednesday, January 16.

The Manchester Evening News notes the closing of the "Doctor Who Up-Close" exhibit, which brought over 225,000 visitors to Manchester's Museum of Science and Industry.

A replica Dalek has been donated to the Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital, reports BBC News.

Political commentator Andrew Sullivan is one among many bloggers who are linking to a page which asks whether the Doctor is a revolutionary or a "tool of The Man", and when in the series' long history each descriptor might fit him.

And finally, a columnist for Singapore-based Asia-Pacific Broadcasting discusses watching William Hartnellepisodes on a friend's mobile phone in Kuala Lumpur.

Thanks to Ian Berriman and Sean Palmerston, and "PolyG" and "aaaa" of the Doctor Who Forum.

Doctor Who has been nominated for three Visual Effects Society (VES) awards. "Voyage of the Damned" was nominated for Visual Effects in a Broadcast Miniseries, Movie or Special and "Last of the Time Lords" for Visual Effects in a Broadcast Series and Animated Character in a Live Action Broadcast Program or Commercial. Variety has the full list of nominees.

In other awards news, Doctor Who lost the People's Choice Award for Favorite Sci-Fi Show to Stargate Atlantis.