BBC Goes to Court to Identify Leaker

Monday, 2 July 2018 - Reported by Marcus
Jodie Whittaker as The Doctor (Credit: BBC/Steve Schofield)The BBC has gone to court to try to obtain details to identify the individual responsible for leaking clips from Jodie Whittaker's first full episode as The Doctor.

Last week a 53 second clip, thought to be from the debut episode of the new series, was released unofficially online. The clip has since been removed by BBC Worldwide.

The BBC has confirmed it has requested a clerk at the California federal court issue a subpoena to Tapatalk, a mobile community platform in the United States, in order to get information allowing them to identify the source of the leak.

A spokesman for BBC Studios said
We take theft and illegal distribution of our content extremely seriously. We will strive to protect our programme-makers, audiences and licence fee payers from any breaches of security - ensuring Doctor Who fans enjoy the final and fully completed version of the episode when it premieres
The unfinished clip had temporary music and had not gone through the grading process which determines the final visual look of the scene.

Doctor Who has been plagued by leaks ever since it returned in 2005 when footage from Rose was released via a Canadian third party company. In that case the individual responsible for the leak had their employment terminated.

A leak 2013 was more embarrassing for the Corporation, when BBC Worldwide released the US Blu-Ray disc of the season climax before it had aired on television.

Doctor Who is due to return to screens this Autumn.




FILTER: - BBC - Production - series 11/37

BBC to Close Maida Vale Studios

Tuesday, 5 June 2018 - Reported by Marcus
Delia Derbyshire,, Desmond Briscoe, BBC Radiophonic Workshop (Credit: BBC)The BBC is to close its Madia Vale studios, the former home of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop and the place where many of the iconic sounds used in Doctor Who were created.

The studios, based in west London, have been used by the BBC since 1933 when the corporation took over the former Maida Vale Roller Skating Palace and Club and converted it to music studios. Since then it has hosted tens of thousands of recordings, from grand orchestral performances by the BBC Symphony Orchestra to rock recordings by the likes of Led Zeppelin, Radiohead, Jay-Z, The Beatles and David Bowie, to popular artists such as Bing Crosby, who, in 1977, made his last recording in the studios, three days before he died.

From 1958 until 1998 it was the home of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, the body charged with producing most of the music and special sounds when a new science fiction series was launched in 1963.

It was in this building that the sheet music for the new Doctor Who Theme music, written by Ron Grainer, arrived, leaving workshop staff Delia Derbyshire and Dick Mills to render the tune electronically. This they achieved by generating each note separately and physically splicing them together on quarter-inch magnetic tape. The resulting music has become one of television's most recognisable and iconic theme tunes.

It was in this building that Brian Hodgson, charged with finding a sound for the new spaceship, ran his keys across a set of piano strings and gave birth to the wheezing groaning sound of the TARDIS dematerialising. It was here the sounds of the Dalek Ship, the Sonic Screwdriver and so many more were created, some of which are still used in the series today.

The closure of the studios, after over 80 years, was announced by BBC Director general Tony Hall. He said the complex would be replaced by a new, state-of-the-art facility at the former Olympic Park in east London.




FILTER: - BBC - Production

Doctor Who Back On BBC iPlayer

Monday, 4 June 2018 - Reported by Marcus
Rose (Credit: BBC)The BBC has announced it is making every episode of Doctor Who made since 2005 available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

Ahead of Jodie Whittaker taking up the mantle of the Thirteenth Doctor, all ten series will be available to watch as box sets, plus every special from the past 13 years of the Doctor’s adventures, including mini-episode The Night of the Doctor.

Fans can take the TARDIS back to 2005 to enjoy every moment from Christopher Eccleston’s Ninth Doctor first meeting Rose right up to Peter Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor’s final moments in last Christmas’s Twice Upon A Time.

The series has been one of the BBC’s biggest successes since returning in 2005, and has seen an extraordinary number of big names appear on the show. In addition to Eccleston and Capaldi, David Tennant and Matt Smith both had star-making turns as the Tenth and Eleventh Doctor respectively, and big-name guest stars include Carey Mulligan, Simon Pegg, Derek Jacobi, Kylie Minogue, Andrew Garfield, Felicity Jones and Bill Nighy.

The inituative followes recent trials where former series of Our Girl and The Bridge were brought back to BBC iPlayer before the new series aired. The BBC says the returning series of Doctor Who will help to ensure BBC iPlayer is a must-visit destination for viewers this summer.

Dan McGolpin, controller of programming for the BBC, said
We’re reinventing the BBC for a new generation and BBC iPlayer is key to that. Bringing back these series of Doctor Who is just part of our offer this summer giving viewers the chance to uncover or rediscover the Doctor’s previous adventures. You can also watch the World Cup live in UHD, catch-up on the latest stories unfolding in Albert Square and binge-watch box set drama like Our Girl or comedy like This Country. BBC iPlayer will have something for everyone.




FILTER: - BBC - Broadcasting - Doctor Who - UK

Work Experience on Doctor Who

Saturday, 2 June 2018 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor Who 2018: Landscape (Credit: BBC/BBC Worldwide)
BBC Studios are offering a seven week training & development opportunity working on Doctor Who in Cardiff.

The offer is aimed at those aiming to work in Television drama, but who lack the knowledge to know how to achieve this.

Full details are available by contacting Hannah.Williams05@bbc.co.uk.

Closing date for applications is Wednesday 6 June.
The BBC is also looking for an Assistant Producer, a Content Producer and a Senior Content Producer, to work on the digital output supporting Doctor Who.

Duties include designing and creating assets to support the Doctor Who franchise. The jobs are being offered as 3 month contracts. Closing date for applications is Wednesday 6 June.




FILTER: - BBC - Doctor Who - Production

New Target Novalisations

Friday, 23 February 2018 - Reported by Marcus
The BBC has announced the first Target novelisations of episodes from the revived post-2005 series of Doctor Who.

Both former showrunners, Russell T Davies and Steven Moffat, will be writing novelisations of their own episodes to be published by BBC Books, under the Target imprint, to be published on the 5th April 2018.

The series will also see the first Target novelisation of a Douglas Adams story.

In the 1970's and 1980's Target books were published for most Doctor Who stories, and were the only way most fans of the series could relive the television adventures. Many came to the series through the novelisations, often written by the original script writer.

Rose (Credit: BBC Books)ROSE
RUSSELL T DAVIES


In a lair somewhere beneath central London, a malevolent alien intelligence is plotting the end of humanity. Shop window dummies that can move – and kill – are taking up key positions, ready to strike. Rose Tyler, an ordinary Londoner, is working her shift in a department store, unaware that this is the most important day of her life. She’s about to meet the only man who understands the true nature of the threat facing Earth, a stranger who will open her eyes to all the wonder and terror of the universe – a traveller in time and space known as the Doctor.



Russell T Davies is one of the UK's foremost writers of television drama, creating ground breaking shows such as Queer as Folk, Bob & Rose, Casanova, Cucumber, The Second Coming, and in 2018, A Very English Scandal for BBC One.

He was Head Writer and Executive Producer of Doctor Who when it returned to the BBC in 2005 and has written many of the new series' most memorable episodes. He was awarded an OBE in 2008 for services to drama. He divides his time between Cardiff and Manchester.
The Day of the Doctor (Credit: BBC Books)THE DAY OF THE DOCTOR
STEVEN MOFFAT


The Tenth Doctor is hunting shape-shifting Zygons in Elizabethan England. The Eleventh is investigating a rift in space-time in the present day. And one other – the man they used to be but never speak of – is fighting the Daleks in the darkest days of the Time War. Driven by demons and despair, this battle-scarred Doctor is set to take a devastating decision that will threaten the survival of the entire universe … a decision that not even a Time Lord can take alone.

On this day, the Doctor’s different incarnations will come together to save the Earth … to save the universe … and to save his soul.



Steven Moffat is best known for Press Gang, Coupling, Steven Spielberg’s movie Tintin, and for the last few years being lead writer and executive producer on Doctor Who and for cocreating, co-writing (with Mark Gatiss) and executive producing Sherlock. He has 5 BAFTAs, 2 Emmys and in 2015 was awarded an OBE for services to drama.
The Christmas Invasion (Credit: BBC Books)THE CHRISTMAS INVASION
JENNY T COLGAN


When a British space probe is intercepted by a sinister alien vessel on the eve of Christmas, it marks the beginning of an audacious invasion of the Earth by the Sycorax – horrifying marauders from beyond the stars. Within hours, a third of humanity stands on the brink of death with not a single shot fired.

Our planet needs a champion – but the Doctor is not fit for service. He’s just regenerated, delirious in a new body and a dressing gown. Forced into his battered shoes is his friend, Rose Tyler, a girl from a London council estate. Will she save the world from this nightmare before Christmas – or see it destroyed?



Jenny T Colgan has written 16 bestselling novels as Jenny Colgan, which have sold over 2.5 million copies worldwide, been translated into 25 languages, and won both the Melissa Nathan Award and Romantic Novel of the Year 2013. Aged 11, she won a national fan competition to meet the Doctor and was mistaken for a boy by Peter Davison
TWICE UPON A TIME
PAUL CORNELL


Still reeling from his encounter with the Cybermen, the First Doctor stumbles through the bitter Antarctic wind, resisting the approaching regeneration with all his strength. But as he fights his way through the snowdrifts, he comes across the familiar shape of a blue police box, and a mysterious figure who introduces himself as the Doctor …

Thrown together at their most vulnerable moments, the two Doctors must discover why the snowflakes are suspended in the sky, why a First World War Captain has been lifted from his time stream moments before his death, and who is the mysterious Glass Woman who knows their true name. The Doctor is reunited with Bill, but is she all she seems? And can he hold out against the coming regeneration?



Paul Cornell has written some of Doctor Who's best-loved TV episodes, books and comics. He’s also worked on many other TV shows. His other comics projects include his creator-owned series Saucer State and This Damned Band, and runs on Action Comics, Batman and Robin and Wolverine. He's also the author of the Lychford series of fantasy novellas and the Shadow Police novels. He’s won the British Science Fiction Association Award for his short fiction and the Eagle Award for his comics
CITY OF DEATH
JAMES GOSS


Visiting Paris in 1979, the Doctor and Romana’s hopes for a holiday are soon shattered by armed thugs, a suave and dangerous Count, a plot to steal the Mona Lisa and a world-threatening experiment with time.

Teaming up with a British detective, the Time Lords discover that a ruthless alien plot hatched in Earth’s pre-history has reached its final stage. If Scaroth, last of the Jagaroth, cannot be stopped then the human race is history, along with all life on Earth …



James Goss has adapted three Doctor Who stories by Douglas Adams for BBC Books (City of Death, The Pirate Planet, and The Krikkitmen) and has also written several original Doctor Who and Torchwood books. His novel #Haterz is in development as a motion picture. He's also written for the stage and the radio.




FILTER: - BBC Books - Russell T Davies - Steven Moffat

The Doctor regenerates on BBC iPlayer

Wednesday, 29 November 2017 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The Doctors (Credit: BBC)The BBC have announced that all of the modern Doctors' regeneration can be seen over Christmas via the BBC iPlayer in the run up to this year's Christmas Special premiering on BBC One on Christmas Day.

The Parting of the Ways (Eccleston), The End of Time (Tennant), The Time of The Doctor (Smith) will be available, and also includes The Day of the Doctor (Hurt). The McGann regneration minisode, The Night of the Doctor, has yet to be confirmed, but remains available via the BBC's YouTube channel.


The episodes form part of an initiative from the BBC to present a wide range of "boxed sets" from 16th December to enjoy over the festive period; Charlotte Moore, Director of Content at the BBC, explains:
There is no need to go anywhere else this Christmas because we have an even richer offer across the BBC than ever before. We are always home to the very best British programmes during the festive season but with so much content to fit in, it’s fantastic to give audiences a special gift on iPlayer to complement our schedules; with boxsets of some of this year’s biggest shows and a selection of more recent hits to binge on with family and friends together this Christmas.

Sit back and indulge, as we curate some of the most loved shows you may have missed first time round or favourites you want to watch again.

As well as Doctor Who, shows include the original Blue Planet from 2001, previous series of Peaky Blinders, and full series of acclaimed drama like Line Of Duty and Happy Valley, and comedies like Gavin and Stacey, Miranda and Inside Number 9. There will also be other archive programming available, such as five EastEnders Christmas Specials, which includes 1986's episode featuring Den serving Angie divorce papers - the highest rated non sport/news programme shown on British television at 30.2m viewers.




FILTER: - BBC - Doctor Who - Series Specials - UK

Twice Upon A Time teaser from BBC America

Tuesday, 28 November 2017 - Reported by Chuck Foster
BBC America have released a teaser for Twice Upon A Time via their Twitter feed to promote the broadcast of the special on Christmas Day:






FILTER: - BBC America - Series Specials

Competition Roundup

Thursday, 23 November 2017 - Reported by Chuck Foster
A roundup of competitions now open for entry - all competitions are open worldwide with a closing date of Sunday 3rd December 2017.

BBC Worldwide: Shada [order from Amazon UK

"Delicate matter, slightly. It's about a book..." Chris Parsons is happily engrossed in studying post-graduate physics at Cambridge, when one day he finds an old book, sitting on a dusty shelf in an ageing professor's library. Written in a language nobody can read and made of a paper that can't be torn, this is no ordinary book. And when it enters his life, everything changes for young Chris Parsons. Soon finding himself aboard an invisible space-ship, chased by monsters made of molten rock; aboard an alien prison on a distant planet and attacked by a horde of mind-control zombies. Chris also meets a strange man with a very long scarf who claims he can travel through time and space... in a police box. It's going to be a busy day for Chris Parsons. An abandoned Doctor Who classic is brought to life. Starring Tom Baker and written by Douglas Adams, this is “Shada” for a modern audience, with footage upscaled to high definition, and incomplete footage now completed using high-quality animation.
Shada (Credit: BBC Worldwide)To be in with a chance to win the story on Blu Ray, simply answer the following question:
This release isn't the first time Shada has been animated, but what was the main difference between the original and the 2003 online version of the story?
Please send your answers along with your name, address and where you heard about the competition (news site, news app, other website, etc.) to comp-shada@doctorwhonews.net with the subject "It's just a Gallifreyan Nursery Book". Open to readers within the United Kingdom. Only one entry per household will be accepted.

BBC Audio: The Five Doctors [order from Amazon UK

Jon Culshaw reads this classic novelisation of Doctor Who's special 20th Anniversary TV adventure, featuring the Doctor in each of his first five incarnations. Each one has been removed from his time-stream and - with one unfortunate exception - brought to the Death Zone on Gallifrey. There they, along with an array of their loyal former companions, encounter numerous deadly obstacles including Daleks, Cybermen, Yeti, the Master and a fiendish set of puzzles. Who is the ultimate enemy they must all unite to defeat? Based on Terrance Dicks's epic TV adventure, first broadcast in 1983, The Five Doctors offered readers a chance to turn the clock back and meet some old friends – and some old enemies.
Doctor Who: The Five Doctors (Credit: BBC Audio)To be in with a chance to win the audiobook courtesy of BBC Audio, simply answer the following question:
What was unusual about the publication date of the original Target novelisation of The Five Doctors?
Please send your answers along with your name, address and where you heard about the competition (news site, news app, other website, etc.) to comp-fivedoctors@doctorwhonews.net with the subject "Above, Between, Below". Open to readers worldwide. Only one entry per household will be accepted.

BBC Audio: The Classic TV Adventures Collection Two [order from Amazon UK

Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker and Peter Davison star as the Doctor in these narrated full-cast TV soundtracks of classic Doctor Who TV serials. Each one is enhanced with linking narration by a member of the original cast, including Frazer Hines, Caroline John, Richard Franklin, Louise Jameson, Lalla Ward and Janet Fielding. The six stories included in this volume are The Krotons, The Ambassadors of Death, The Mind of Evil, Horror of Fang Rock, City of Death and Warriors of the Deep, and they feature encounters with crystalline monsters, lost aliens, an alien mind parasite, a Rutan scout, Scaroth of the Jagaroth, and the combined might of the Silurians and the Sea Devils.
Doctor Who: Classic TV Adventures - Collection Two (Credit: BBC Audio)To be in with a chance to win the audiobook courtesy of BBC Audio, simply answer the following question:
Which of these stories has yet to be scheduled for release as an audiobook (book adaptation)?
Please send your answers along with your name, address and where you heard about the competition (news site, news app, other website, etc.) to comp-classictv@doctorwhonews.net with the subject "Sound Invasions". Only one entry per household will be accepted.

Galaxy 4: Return to Devil's End Signed Print [order from Galaxy 4

Personally signed by RICHARD FRANKLIN and JOHN LEVENE with facsimile printed signatures of JON PERTWEE and NICHOLAS COURTNEY. This image taken during the RETURN TO DEVIL'S END video shoot in Aldbourne has never before been released. A4.
Return To Devil's End print (Credit: Galaxy 4)To be in with a chance to win one of the prints courtesy of Galaxy 4, simply answer the following question:
Which real-life village represented Devil's End during filming for The Daemons?
Please send your answers along with your name, address and where you heard about the competition (news site, news app, other website, etc.) to comp-galaxy4@doctorwhonews.net with the subject "Fancy a dance, Brigadier?". Open to readers worldwide. Only one entry per household will be accepted.




FILTER: - BBC Audio - BBC Worldwide - Blu-ray/DVD - Competitions

Australian cinema outing for Twice Upon a Time

Tuesday, 14 November 2017 - Reported by Chuck Foster
This Christmas will see the Doctor Who Christmas Special shown in cinemas around Australia on Boxing Day:

Twice Upon A Time in Australian Cinemas (Credit: BBC Worldwide/Sharmill Films)BBC Worldwide Australia and New Zealand and Sharmill Films are giving Doctor Who fans a special gift this Christmas with an event screening of this year’s Christmas Special Doctor Who: Twice Upon a Time. The epic finale to the Peter Capaldi era of Doctor Who will be coming to Australian cinemas on Boxing Day, featuring the return of Pearl Mackie and special guests Mark Gatiss (Sherlock) and David Bradley (Game of Thrones). The event will also introduce the Thirteenth Doctor, played by Jodie Whittaker (Broadchurch), who is the first woman to take on the role.

The cinema event will also feature two exclusive bonus pieces, taking audiences behind the scenes to the filming of this holiday special and celebrating the tenures of Peter Capaldi as the Doctor and Steven Moffat as showrunner and lead writer.

Fans throughout Australia will be able to enjoy the event in select cinemas through Sharmill Films. Information on participating cinemas and purchasing tickets for Doctor Who: Twice Upon a Time can be found here.

Louise Hill, Live Entertainment Executive, BBC Worldwide ANZ, said:
Doctor Who fans love watching the show on the big screen and with Peter Capaldi regenerating into the first female Doctor, this promises to be an iconic episode.

Jacinta Palmer, Marketing Manager of Sharmill Films, said:
There’s nothing quite like the big screen experience, and we’re thrilled to give fans the opportunity to bid farewell to the fantastic Peter Capaldi in cinemas nationally, and to usher in Jodie Whittaker’s hugely anticipated debut as the 13th Doctor.

As well as this great chance for fans to come together and watch Doctor Who: Twice Upon a Time on the big screen, the episode will also be available on ABC iview immediately after the UK broadcast and will air on ABC at 7.30pm December 26th. Straight afterwards fans can join Rove and his guests for a special regeneration episode of WHOVIANS, 8.30pm ABC COMEDY.





FILTER: - Australia - BBC Worldwide - Cinema - Series Specials

Children in Need 2017

Friday, 10 November 2017 - Reported by Chuck Foster
This year's annual fundraising evening Children in Need will take place from 7:30pm on Friday 17th November, and as in previous years will include a preview of the upcoming Doctor Who Christmas Special. The preview is currently scheduled to be shown during the first half hour.

Children in Need 2017 - Peter Capaldi, Pearl Mackie and David Bradley (Credit: BBC/Simon Ridgway)
Children in Need 2017 - Peter Capaldi (Credit: BBC/Simon Ridgway) Children in Need 2017 - Peter Capaldi (Credit: BBC/Simon Ridgway)
Children in Need 2017 - Pearl Mackie (Credit: BBC/Ray Burmiston) Children in Need 2017 - Pearl Mackie (Credit: BBC/Ray Burmiston)


Donate here!





FILTER: - BBC - Charities - Children in Need - Pearl Mackie - Peter Capaldi