As expected, the British press, and some overseas papers, have been reporting on the return of the Daleks for the new series. We've added more links to various media reports below...

The Sun has run with the ball, claiming "victory" in their campaign. Their Page Three item features the expected Dalek flanked by two topless young women in the buff, a traditional Sun feature.

There's also a bit of spoiler in today's Telegraph; click on the spoiler tag for information.

The following is a list from the British Board of Film Classification of cleared extras from the Lost in Time DVD set, with running times and other miscellaneous items. We don't know what the "Untitled" items are, but otherwise, no big surprises from the lists published previously. (Thanks to Richard Bignell)

Great news this morning: the BBC and the Terry Nation Estate have achieved an agreement that allows the Daleks to return to Doctor Who in the new TV series, despite word to the contrary earlier in the year. Tim Hancock of the Terry Nation estate told BBC News, "I am absolutely delighted that the Terry Nation estate and the BBC have been able to reach agreement on terms for the use of the Daleks in the new Doctor Who series. We look forward to working closely with the production team in the forthcoming months." The Nation estate, said BBC News, had accused the BBC of trying to "ruin the brand of the Daleks" by trying to wrestle control of the image. "We are absolutely delighted that the Daleks will be back," publicist Antony Wainer of the DWAS told BBC News. "Doctor Who without Daleks would be like Morecambe without Wise or Wimbledon without strawberries." By the way, for those wondering: this was NOT a publicity stunt. According to several sources, this went straight down to the wire, a desire by both sides to reach an equitable agreement. There was never any attempt to use the "will they/won't they" as a publicity tactic for the new series (and we get that straight from the source). The Sun newspaper, naturally, is claiming "victory" in their "campaign" to bring back the Daleks (obviously unaware that they likely had nothing whatsoever to do with it) and the Media Guardian has an amusing quote in their August 4 edition: "Oh Lordy. Stand by for a gloating 'It was the Sun wot won it' style headline in tomorrow's current bun, after the BBC today announced that the Daleks would, indeed, be returning to give Chris Eccleston the willies in the new Doctor Who series. The Sun will no doubt be claiming its Save The Daleks campaign - launched last month after the BBC said negotiations with the estate of Doctor Who writer Terry Nation to bring the croaky-voiced baddies back had broken down - made all the difference. Maybe they have a point. After all, the impact of plastering a Dalek with Sun stickers, a Sun hat and a cross of St George flag and wheeling it through New York's Times Square, accompanied by reporter Bryan Flynn, should not be underestimated."

We're keeping track of the various news reports that come in as this story breaks (thank you Paul Engelberg, Steve Tribe, Chuck Foster, Richard Kirkpatrick); the following is the running list of news reports as we get them.

Official Doctor Who Site (BBC) BBC News The Scotsman Waveguide The Sun The Register News.com.au Sydney Morning Herald Telegraph (second article) Brand Republic The Age (Australia) The Guardian (subscription)

Reuters Irish Examiner The Telegraph The Examiner Ireland Online The Guardian Yahoo! News NewsWales The Independent The Mirror IC Wales FilmForce

Also covered in the Associated Press, the Daily Mail, Belfast Telegraph, South Wales Echo, the Times, the Journal, the Birmingham Post and various other publications and online sources.

The following is a press release issued by the BBC a short while ago (with thanks to the BBC website).

According to today's BBC press release about the return of the Daleks (see below), in addition to the three names we've already mentioned as cast in the new series -- Camille Coduri, Noel Clarke and John Barrowman -- two new ones appeared: Penelope Wilton and Annette Badland. Penelope Wilton (at right, left side) is the former wife of actor Ian Holm ("Lord of the Rings") and has starred in the films "Cry Freedom," "The French Lieutenant's Woman," "Blame it On the Bellboy," "Calendar Girls," "Pride and Prejudice" and "Clockwise". She's also played Simon Pegg's mother in "Shaun of the Dead," and on television, starred in "Ever Decreasing Circles" alongside Richard Briers, the BBC telefilm "The Borrowers," "Victoria and Albert," "The Tales of Beatrix Potter," "Tom's Midnight Garden," and with new series producer Russell T Davies in "Bob and Rose". Wilton was given the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth in 2004. Her IMDb profile is here. Annette Badland (at right, right side) is a character actress with extensive television credits including "Poirot," "Jackanory," "Holby City," "All Creatures Great and Small," "Casualty" and "Doctors," as well as roles in "Secret Society," "Little Voice," "Beautiful People," "Hollow Reed," "Out of Order" and "Sacred Hearts"; you might remember her from the small part of Griselda Fishfinger in Terry Gilliam's "Jabberwocky". Her IMDb profile is here.

As reported by Outpost Gallifrey some time ago about the story being on the 2005 list of DVD releases from BBC Worldwide, Roadshow/ABC Video in Australia - the licensees responsible for releasing the Doctor Who DVDs in that country - have announced that The Claws of Axos starring Jon Pertwee will be released there in April 2005 on DVD. This is in addition to the previously announced "The Leisure Hive" (October), "Lost in Time" (December) and "Ghost Light" (February). Of course, the date is always subject to change and no word as yet has been received as to its "official" status as a UK release, though it will likely be early in the year. (Thanks to Richard Gray and dvdbits.com)

While retailers have been reporting for some time that the BBC Radio Collection audio release of The Crusade is planned for February 2005, we now have word that, in fact, the long-delayed The Underwater Menace is due in February, according to a BBC Audiobooks customer service spokesperson. We don't know if this means that "The Crusade" was delayed, or both will be out at the same time, but we'll keep you posted. (Thanks to James Hadwen)

While a report today on the Sci Fi Online site says that the first UK DVD release of 2005 will be the Patrick Troughton story The Mind Robber, it's been denied by the Restoration Team, who say that the first 2005 release is "definitely in colour"! Nor will it be either Attack of the Cybermen or The Claws of Axos, both of which we reported months ago were on the tentative 2005 list (and which, we still believe, will be part of the 2005 collection.) In fact, the first release is "something much more interesting than any of those," we're told. All these are, of course, just rumors until confirmed by BBC Worldwide.

According to her website, Camille Coduri, who plays Rose's mother Jackie in the new Doctor Who series (as we noted in yesterday's news column), will be in six out of the thirteen episodes of the first season (yet again confirming that many of the stories of the first year are interlinked). Says her site, "Camille is thrilled to be appearing in the re-launch of the popular family science fiction show, which originally ran from 1963 to 1989 on BBC TV. She says she is 'having a brilliant time' and that working on the show is 'so exciting.'"

August 2, 2004  •  Posted By Shaun Lyon