The soundtrack, which is due for release in February, will cover music from this year's Christmas Special, A Christmas Carol and will include a performance from Katherine Jenkins (Abigail Pettigrew), who will be singing Abigail’s Song
The music is composed by Murray Gold and performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Crouch End Festival Chorus. The album will be available both on CD and for download.
Monday, 20 December 2010 - Reported by Chuck Foster
BBC Magazines will be launching a new partwork magazine in April 2011, entitled Doctor Who: Monster Invasion.
The magazine was first published in April during Matt Smith's first series, but was only available in southwest England in a test run to see how it might be received. This original series of six issues introduced a new card game with some 90 cards to collect; there were also special 3D cards that enabled the collector to interact with the magazine's website, which also provided further information about the cards and magazine, and also games to play.
(This website is still active, and it is possible to sign up for a newsletter for more information on developments.)
It isn't clear as yet whether the April launch will be a completely fresh start or will build upon the card series previously released.
Comic artist Jamie Smart has recently announced that he is working on the project, via his blog:
(Jamie successfully submitted a test piece in 2009) Just before Christmas I was called up to the BBC, given a hard drive filled with top secret images from the (as yet unscreened) new series, and sent away to work on six more pieces. The magazine was released in a test area of the country, and then for the most part of this year I sat and waited.
Word came in a little while ago that it had gone well, they were to roll the magazine out across the UK, and would I consider carrying on? A long-term contract like this, to produce weekly work for over a year, is usually a dream to freelancers, but I did have concerns. There are already a handful of other projects I need to be working on next year, and I’ve been real worried that I’m trying to take too much on. But then the sense of reason kicks in, it’s Dr Sodding Who. What an opportunity.
"Partwork" magazines are those that are regularly published as part of a series, normally to build up a collection, and Doctor Who is no stranger to the format! Back in 2006, Battles in Time also revolved around a collectible card game, and was published until 2009. Last year then saw the launch of the Doctor Who Files, a DVD collector series which initially released the first four series of 21st Century Doctor Who, but has since continued with classic series stories (as well as completing the David Tennant Specials in the next couple of months).
From Monday there are just four days left of the WhoNewsiOS app charity appeal. WhoNews is a Doctor Who news application which offers news from over 30 websites. For a full list of features please click here.
Paul Gee, creator of the app is donating all profits from sales to charity between 23rd November and 23rd December. Below are updates from his blog.
9th December: From 9th - 23rd December all profits from WhoNews will be going to Cure Leukaemia, a charity that enables patients access to potentially life saving, ground breaking drugs and treatments. The charity supports the Haematology Centre at the University Hospital Birmingham, UK and also those hospitals working with the centre through joint research into the condition. This includes Birmingham Women’s Hospital, Coventry, Wolverhampton, Stoke on Trent, Dudley, Worcester, Stafford, Heartlands and Sandwell. Check out their website for more details.
16th December: I thought I’d also give you a little update on Andrew the young boy who inspired the appeal. Andrew turned 13 on Monday but had to spend the day in hospital topping up his platelet levels which were very low. On Tuesday he was rushed to hospital after his speech became slurred and the Doctors suspected this may have been caused by a small clot which resulted in a mini-stroke. On Wednesday his speech had improved and he under went an M.R.I scan and we hope to hear the results very soon..
Just by purchasing WhoNews from the App Store either via iTunes or on your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch you will make a donation of £1.45 in the UK or $2.80 in the US to Cure Leukaemia. Just click here to be taken to the app store.
Monday, 20 December 2010 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Wednesday saw the latest Entertainment Memorabilia Sale take place at Bonhams; the auction included three items from the classic series of Doctor Who, the results of which are given below:
Sunday, 19 December 2010 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Fineline Productions have released the first part of a new Doctor Who adventure in their original story series:
The Chattath Factor by Will Hadcroft
An inhuman creature is stalking the English countryside, leaving murder in its wake. The Doctor and Jenny arrive to investigate, but before long the Doctor is fighting for his life in the home of a dangerous scientific radical, whilst Jenny and the local vicar are besieged by creatures driven by the darkest passions.
The Chattath Factor has been a long time in development, with author Will Hadcroft commencing work on the story in 2002 after publication of his children's book, Anne Droyd and Century Lodge. On developing the story, Hadcroft recounts the influence of the successful partnership of Barry Letts and Terrance Dicks on his approach:
I watched the Reeltime Myth Makers videos interviewing Barry and Terrance to remind myself how they went about putting a story together. Something that stood out was their insistence on having a theme, a thread running through the adventure. It wasn’t that the writer should lecture the viewer/listener about a moral point or some political issue, but rather choose a theme that served as a foundation to the story and stick to it.
So I settled on the theme of man’s dual nature, the saint and the sinner, Number Six and Number One, in the same person. I also wove in as a secondary theme my preoccupation with the spirituality versus reason debate, and had the two opposing views represented by Pastor Daniel Jacobs and Doctor Joseph Winston.
Keen to make my Doctor Who story a good one, I pondered on what tended to work best in the TV series. Adventures set in the Middle Ages, the 19th century or the war years always hit the spot. The Talons of Weng-Chiang, Horror of Fang Rock, The Visitation, and The Curse of Fenric were all highly regarded. So I set my story in the 19th century.
Gareth and I treated the project the way Barry and Terrence used to handle the TV series: the writer does three rewrites, and then if it still isn’t up to scratch, the script editor tidies it up.
It has been produced and directed by Gareth Preston:
This is in part a homage to the Philip Hinchcliffe/Robert Holmes era of the programme, a period myself and Will are very fond of. Probably the biggest challenge production-wise was getting the sound of the monsters right. Hope you like them.
It was also marvellous to have John Ainsworth in the cast. Back in the eighties he had played recurring timelord villain Askran in the Audio Visuals, the fan audios which originally inspired me to create Fine Line. So I was delighted to have John and his cultured voice in one of my productions.
Thanks to all the actors and Will for their talents and patience with me getting around to sharing their efforts with the rest of the world.
The story was recorded in 2006, but with other projects taking priority, it wasn't until last year that it was finally mixed; since then, music has been especially written by Peter Dudley for Will Hadcroft in the style of Dudley Simpson, with part two in preparation for release in the next month or so.
You can find the first and successive episodes of The Chattath Factor from the Fineline Productions website, along with the previous stories in the series.
Barney Harwood (Totally Doctor Who, The Infinite Quest) is to become the 35th presenter of the long running BBC children's show Blue Peter. He joins joins current presenters Helen Skelton and Andy Akinwolere on 17 January 2011. [BBC Press release]
Sophie Okonedo (Liz Ten, The Beast Below, The Pandorica Opens) was award with an OBE for services to drama in the Queen's Birthday Honours list for 2010. She received press attention when the medal fell from her dress and landed at the feet of the Prince of Wales, from where she had to retrieve it. The ceremony took place at Buckingham Palace on 17 December.
Catherine Tate (Donna Noble) will feature in Sky 1's Little Crackers tomorrow (Monday) night at 9pm. Catherine has written and directed a short 10 minute film about her time as a shy schoolgirl who "would rather wet herself in class than put her hand up to ask to go to the toilet". You can watch a preview of her film and more on the Little Crackers website.
David Tennant and Derek Jacobi (Professor Yana/The Master, Utopia) will be reading Bedtime Stories for CBeebies over the Holiday period. Full schedule here.
Arthur Darvill (Rory Williams) and Katherine Jenkins (Abigail Pettigrew, A Christmas Carol) have done Q&A's with Digital Spy about their time working on this year's Christmas special.
Saturday, 18 December 2010 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Last month we listed odds on shows broadcasting over Christmas Day from betting company Paddy Power; with one week to go before the festive programmes go head-to-head once more for the largest audience of the day, here's a sample of the odds you can find online as of tonight:
Paddy PowerLadbrokesWilliam HillOdds Bet On the Day For the Week For the Week On the Day BBC1 2:00 Top of the Pops 100/1 100/1 66/1 - comb 3:00 The Queen 33/1 - 20/1 33/1 BBC1 4:30 The Gruffalo - - - 100/1 BBC1 5:00 The One Ronnie 50/1 50/1 50/1 125/1 BBC1 6:00 Doctor Who 9/2 9/4 4/1 5/1 ITV1 6:00 Emmerdale 16/1 33/1 25/1 125/1 BBC1 7:00 Strictly Come Dancing 50/1 - - 125/1 BBC2 7:00 Top Gear 33/1 33/1 25/1 - ITV1 7:00 Coronation Street 7/1 7/1 3/1 25/1 BBC1 8:00 Eastenders 4/9 2/5 1/2 1/2 ITV1 8:00 All Star Family Fortunes - - 100/1 150/1 BBC1 9:00 The Royle Family 4/1 4/1 7/2 7/2 ITV1 9:00 Poirot - - - 150/1 BBC1 10:00 Come Fly With Me 10/1 20/1 16/1 28/1 BBC1 10:30 BBC News 33/1 - - -
Other programmes are also under consideration for the Christmas week, which include Upstairs, Downstairs, The Nativity, Harry Hill's Christmas TV Burp, and Rock and Chips.
It is quite clear from the charts that the top four programmes for Christmas Day are consistently Doctor Who, Coronation Street, The Royle Family and Eastenders, with the latter ranked highest by all companies! All four performed well last year; though the Doctor Who top spot was 'muddied' by BBC1/BBCHD rating considerations, this year the results should be clear ...
... tell everyone you know to watch A Christmas Carol!
Saturday, 18 December 2010 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Buzz Magazine - the free TV listings magazine that comes with The Sun on Saturdays - today features Matt Smith and Karen Gillan on the front cover, with the issue itself featuring the two Doctor Who stars chatting together.
Matt on his friendship with Karen:
We’ll go to the supermarket every night, get a sandwich, and trot home to learn lines. Sometimes we’ll phone each other and say: ‘How’s it going? Really badly? Me too. Do you want to come over and practise?
I’m terribly fond of Karen - we’re good pals. I’ve learnt how to make her laugh during filming. I can say a word in a silly voice, and she’ll go. Karen can do it to me to. It’s that old Smith-Gillan banter - it’s become quite famous on set.
Karen agrees:
We have such a laugh, except when he does his ‘moth thing’ because I am scared of moths.
The Sun is also giving away a DVD featuring David Tennant's final story The End of Time and Matt Smith's first, The Eleventh Hour.
The BBC has confirmed the times that the red button preview for A Christmas Carol, announced here last week, will be available.
Follow internet sensation and video blogger Charlie McDonnell as he gives you an exclusive insight behind the scenes of A Christmas Carol and watch out for some extra special festive treats along the way. Check back each day at 6pm for the latest update from Charlie.
Friday, 17 December 2010 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The BBC have released information for next Saturday's Doctor Who Confidential, which broadcasts immediately after A Christmas Carol, on BBC3 and BBCHD.
All the behind-the-scenes merriment of a good old-fashioned Doctor Who Christmas.
Meet the Doctor and his companions as they set Cardiff alight and go backstage with the stars of the Dickensian Christmas Special.
Michael Gambon talks of swapping his wizard's wand for a taste of the Doctor's time-travelling magic and Katherine Jenkins waxes lyrical about her acting debut. Plus interviews with Matt Smith, Michael Gambon, Katherine Jenkins and Steven Moffat.
A clip is available from the programme that features Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill presenting their interpretation of the carol "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas":
A preview of the show is also available, introducing the cast and crew from the Christmas Special, plus Matt, Karen and Arthur at the Cardiff Lights ceremony last month:
Silva Screen have announced that a new Doctor Who soundtrack will be released early next year.
BBC Magazines will be launching a new partwork magazine in April 2011, entitled Doctor Who: Monster Invasion.
From Monday there are just four days left of the 
The BBC has confirmed the times that the red button preview for A Christmas Carol, 
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