Update: Outpost Gallifrey has received the full cover illustration and blurb for Doctor Who Magazine issue #355; click on the cover for a larger version. (Thanks to Tom Spilsbury/DWM)

Radio updates: Billie Piper will be on The Chris Moyles Show on BBC Radio 1 show this Wednesday morning, March 23, at 7.00am. And BBC Radio 5 Live presenter Simon Mayo announced this afternoon that Christopher Eccleston will be the guest on his show on Thursday 24th March, just after 2:00pm GMT. The show can be heard at the Five Live site.

BBC Birmingham, in association with local fans, have organised a small display in the public area of their new studios in The Mailbox, Birmingham City Centre, to publicise the return of "Doctor Who". The display comprises replicas of the TARDIS, a Dalek and an Auton, and it commenced today (March 21).

BBC Ouch (yes, you read that right) has a Doctor Who feature today celebrating the new series and a serious topic: "As Doctor Who returns to BBC ONE on Saturday nights, disabled comedian Laurence Clark takes a humorous look at how the series has portrayed disability over the years."

The latest issue of Radio Times has the TARDIS on the cover - which, opened, reveals the Doctor and Rose standing inside. The 16-page collectors special features interviews with Russell T Davies, Christopher Eccleston, Billie Piper and Ed Thomas (production designer) and a look at the effects and make-up of the series. There are also really nice photos of various creatures from "Rose" and "The End of the World" - including Lady Cassandra, the Tree people from The Forest of Cheem and the Moxx himself. Also noted on the back of the special it says that the title for episode 8 is Father's Day(though this wasn't the actual title a few weeks ago, but could have recently changed...)

In today's issue of The Sun, Christopher Eccleston is interviewed... and it says that he is "not completely sure" he wants to do a second series, citing the fear of typecasting. "I need to think about it," he tells the paper. "It's more than a huge responsibility to shoulder. And no, I don't want to be thought of as The Doctor to the exclusion of everything else I've done or may do in the future. So I'll have to think long and hard about it before I make the final decision to say yes or no. I am keenly aware that the whole thing could be a poisoned chalice." He says that Davies will write six episodes of the second series and he calls the new show "amazing". It also says he did watch some old episodes when he was offered the role, contradicting what he told DWM. This story is also reported by ContactMusic and icWales. Meanwhile, the internet version of the Sun quotes Eccleston: "The first scene had me as the Doctor chasing this very brilliant, very famous actor down a street while he was dressed as an alien pig. I thought, æIt doesnÆt get much bonkers than this!Æ It was such fun to do.ö

Eccleston told the Manchester Evening News, however, that is is "proud" to be the latest Doctor. "I didn't even think about it," says Christopher of his surprise move. "I approached writer and executive producer Russell T Davies. I read that he was going to do it and emailed him and said, 'When you draw up an audition list put my name on it'. It was just because I'm a fan of his writing and worked with him on The Second Coming. I loved his other stuff as well, Queer As Folk most of all I think, because it changed television in a way. So it was easy. Which is a great in a way because it is a big deal. I now realise," he laughs. The article says the experience was "a gruelling and often surreal shoot for the actor who had to deal with new experiences such as paparazzi hounding the set for snaps of his co-star Billie. 'We just looked after Billie and ignored it,' says
Christopher. But what was more galling for the actor was the first episode of their work being leaked onto the internet. 'It's kind of sick,' he says. 'It saddens me because we've all worked really hard on it and we want it to be seen as it's intended to be seen.'" On a second series, he does hedge a bit: "I won't allow myself to be absorbed completely. . . . I've been in the game 18 years so there's a certain amount of knowledge of how this business works and how you should conduct yourself with the public and things. But I've met a number of Whovians, real serious Doctor Who fans, and they've been so kind and generous to me and excited about the series. They're not interested in gossip about me or the set, but interested in the myth of the Doctor. I think I can handle that."

Lots of Billie Piper coverage today. The Daily Star says that Billie "will NOT be tuning in to see the re-launch of the classic sci-fi series - because she'll be out getting blitzed. The former pop singer ... confessed: 'I won't be watching on Saturday. I'll do what I always do on transmission dates . . . I'll go to the pub and get lashed! ... I'm too close to Dr Who at the moment because we only recently stopped filming. If I watch when it starts I'll be too critical and I'll be looking for all the things I could have done better. I'll wish I could have changed things. It's better for me to see the show in a few months' time when I know there is absolutely nothing I can do about it all.'" The Mirror also reported this online. Also, according to the Newsquest Media Group, Piper "has admitted she didn't enjoy her singing career." She also discusses her foreknowledge of the show: "I am too young to be a Doctor Who fan but I knew the music, it's like a track at a wedding reception. You know what the song is but can't place it." And today's Times says that "Doctor Who's assistant is by tradition a bit of a bimbo, so the role might do Billie Piper no favours." The article discusses some of her personal life issues over the past several years in the music industry before it turns to Doctor Who: "I worry about the Who gig. Everyone presumes that the role will finally airlift her out of her previous life and on to the A-list, but I think it's quite a long shot. First, the career track record for former assistants of the Doctor is poor. It was, after all, the only thing strong enough to kill off Bonnie Langford's television career. And secondly, in the first episode of the new Who at least, Billie underwhelms." (Ironically, most of the comments made about her is that her performance in the first episode is one of the best things about it...)

BBC Norwich has posted a feature interview with Karen Davies, winner of this weekend's Doctor Who Mastermind, aired during BBC2's "Doctor Who Night" special. The EDP24 website has also reported this.

BBC Radio Leicester are running a series of interviews to find Leicestershire's biggest Doctor Who fan this week; they are interviewing fans from the county about the programme including pitting fans against one of their presenters in a light hearted quiz (which our correspondent, Del Shorley, was the first one, and won!) You can listen to the rest of the week's interviews at the site.

More coverage of the story we reported yesterday on Welsh minister Rhodri Morgan can be found at the BBC News Ireland site, icWales, the Sun, Ananova, and a new version in the Scotsman; it was also mentioned in the Metro newspaper.

(Thanks to Martin Barber, Chuck Foster, Steve Tribe, Huw Turberville, Steve Hatcher, Paul Engelberg, "NellyM", Lee Thacker, Del Shorley, Mark Murphy, and Laurence Clark)

Last Friday, BBC1 began showing a new Doctor Who series teaser trailer in which the TARDIS was shown dematerialising in some kind of underground pedestrian walkway slowly filling with a fire ball. It was first shown mid-day during afternoon programs, and then again before the news that evening prior to the Comic Relief telethon (before which they also showed one of the existing teasers of Billie in the control room.) The trailer has been added to the official site, on this page.

The official site has an online RealMedia interview with Christopher Eccleston, taken at last week's press launch of the new series.

This morning (14 March)'s Media Guardian has a report on bbc.co.uk's plans for the official Doctor Who site and its importance for the success of the new series. The relaunched site is described as "one of the BBC's most ambitious online projects to date [...] the series will depend on its official online companion to hook a new generation of viewers." As well as noting plans to include the various elements of online viewing already reported here and in DWM, the piece notes that "['Rose'] features a conspiracy theorist who has been following the Doctor's exploits through time [...] the lines between fantasy and reality are blurred further by making his site available to fans on the BBC website." The print version is illustrated with a photograph of the Moxx of Balhoon, and the story is available online here.

The Culture programme on BBC2 on March 17 at 7:00pm will be running a feature on the return of Doctor Who (advertised with the standard promo shot of Eccleston lounging against the TARDIS in this week's Radio Times). The program will be repeated at 11:20pm. Details available at the Culture website.

BBC7 has some audio teasers going out this week, a taster for the new series, though there will also be a full-length radio trailer with Christopher Eccleston himself next week. The current run of the teasers begin today, Monady March 14, and run through next Sunday, March 20; non-listeners may be able to catch them at the BBC7 website.

Today's Times ran a piece about Cardiff Millennium Stadium, including a few side mentions of its use in a future new Doctor Who series episode.

(Thanks to Paul Engelberg, Steve Tribe, John Bowman, Andrew Harvey, Dave Tanner, John Leivers, Alistair Moore, Matthew Godley, Martin Montague)

Over the past few days, billboards for the new series have begun showing up all over Britain. Below are the two best images we have of both the standard-sized billboard as well as the extended "wide" billboard, both featuring the same illustration.

At the end of Friday night's "Newsnight Review" show on BBC Two, presenter Kirsty Wark said that on next week's show they'd be looking at "the new Doctor Who." "Newsnight Review" is the arts review show that occupies the second half of the "Newsnight" broadcast each Friday.

Various articles this week have been reviewing Russell T Davies' latest television odyssey, "Casanova," the production he filmed concurrent to "Doctor Who."

According to this weekend's Media Guardian, Jane Tranter, the BBC's Head of Drama and one of the major driving forces behind the return of the show, has decided not to apply for the job of Controller of BBC One, which she had been widely fancied for. In one way this is disappointing news as having her take the job might have reassured a lot of Who fans about the show's future longevity, but on the other hand it means we keep a supporter of the show as Head of Drama, which has to be a good thing.

Russell T Davies was in exuberant form on BBC1's Breakfast today (Fri 11 March), talking about his new production of Casanova as well as Doctor Who. During his eight-minute slot, which started at 9.11am (GMT), he said that when the chance to do Doctor Who came up "I had no choice but to work on it because I love it." And now that it was finished, he said: "I love it. I'm so proud of it." A slip of the tongue earlier in the show saw co-presenter Bill Turnbull refer to him as "Russell TV Davies" and much fun was made of that when Davies appeared. Quizzed by Turnbull as to what the "T" stood for, Davies joked "Tardis" but then said it didnÆt stand for anything, it was to distinguish him from another Russell Davies in the industry. Davies then said it could stand for "Tustle", while co-presenter Sian Williams cheekily suggested "Tawdry". Davies also talked briefly about how much he had learned while working as a storyliner on top ITV soap Coronation Street. He then told of his hope that there would be a second series of Doctor Who, and the interview finished with Turnbull saying he expected to see Davies at next year's BAFTA awards, to which Davies, joking as ever, self-deprecatingly replied: "Serving, probably!" An extended clip from episode one of the new series of Doctor Who was shown during the interview.

Monday morning's Independent features an article with comments from production designer Edward Thomas, writer Mark Gatiss and Christopher Eccleston. "Towards the end of the last series, I don't know if he was faring well. He had become something of a cartoon character," Thomas said about the original series. "No doubt that article about why we shouldn't bother to bring him back will be written, but great stories never have a set time. Like Tarzan or Sherlock Holmes, they can stand constant reinterpretation. It pisses me off when purists say: 'Why have Disney done The Little Mermaid and changed the ending?' Well, they've reinvented it so that many more millions of children than have ever read the original Oscar Wilde story can come to know and love The Little Mermaid. A good story is a good story. The very worst thing you can do is let it gather dust on the shelf." Says Gatiss, "Chris endows the role with this extraordinary energy. He plays the Doctor with this full-tilt brio that actually frightens me. He also possesses this great credibility. When Christopher Eccleston tells you a Dalek is lethal, you instantly believe it." Says Eccleston about the best parts of the role: "The Doctor is... completely non-judgemental. He accepts everything and everyone, whether they're black or blue, gay or straight. If he meets an alien, his first reaction is not revulsion, but joy. He celebrates life in all its forms, shades, colours and creeds. Without being didactic, that's a very strong message."

In addition to a, fairly anodyne, regular review, in it's weekly "Wednesday Whinge" spot, the Manchester Evening News made the following comment: "It's a shame that an episode of the new Dr Who series - the first since 1989 - has been leaked onto the internet in advance of its Easter screening, but surely there is some poetic justice in the sci-fi hero who travels through time and space arriving three weeks ahead of himself."

Today's icWales has an article called "Chris is just what the Doctor ordered" in which Russell T Davies "has hit back at critics who slammed new Time Lord Christopher Eccleston as Doctor Who." Davies notes that the Doctor "has [his] own identity. After all he has two hearts and is 900 years old. He does not need to wear a silly coat!"
With many scenes filmed in Cardiff, he defends his decision to pass the city off as London in various scenes. "We had to base it around London as we are selling the series to America and Australia," referring to current goals to sell to the two countries that have not been announced yet for any broadcast of the new series. "We had to set it somewhere which will be recognised by a global audience. However, Cardiff does feature as itself in two episodes and we filmed an earthquake in Cardiff Bay." He also notes that he hopes the BBC commissions a second series, and in the meanwhile he says of his popular drama "Queer as Folk": "There won't be another Channel 4 series although I would like to do another one in time to tell how the characters have moved on. However, we are looking at a musical."

An article in today's Sunday Mirror says that Christopher Eccleston has been linked to actress Siwan Morris. Eccleston "swept beautiful Siwan Morris off her feet at a party in Cardiff last year and they have enjoyed a string of romantic dates in the Welsh capital while he's been filming the new series of the cult TV show," says the article. "Siwan ... is an award-winning actress who is tipped to be a big star of the future. A pal said: 'She's the prettiest thing on Welsh television and an extremely talented actress - Chris is smitten.'" Morris played Griff Rhys Jones's daughter in the ITV1 comedy-drama "Mine All Mine" produced by Russell T Davies, and Liv Jones in the Welsh soap "Bryncoe."

A lengthy new series clip appeared on "Test the Nation," an entertainment quiz series on BBC1. The clip was from the first episode, the scene where the Doctor told Rose to "run for her life" after helping her escape. The clip was shown in response to the question "In which show connects these 3 characters..." with pictures of Billie Piper, Bonnie Langford, Peter Purves. A clip from a Hartnell story and "Trial of a Time Lord" were also shown.

Previews are airing for the new series in Canada -- on the big screen! A trailer produced by CBC has been shown in movie theatres during the forthcoming film previews, including the new Bruce Willis movie "Hostage" and other films.

The Independent talks about the new series' challenge sending kids behind the sofas. The article examines the series' history, some of its challenges, and also its potential future.

March 12's The Independent featured a brief question/answer with Russell T Davies in which he gave some off-the-cuff answers. "You wouldn't know it but I'm very good at ... Drawing. One of my very first jobs was as a cartoonist for BBC Wales." "When I was a child I wanted to be ... A teacher, because my mother and father, and then both my sisters, were teachers." "My favourite building ... Granada Television in Manchester. So solid and Sixties with a neon Granada sign beaming out over the city. Just what a TV station should be like." "All my money goes on ... My bank account. I'm a good saver. It's a funny old job, writing; you're only as good as your next idea." "My favourite work of art ... I've got an autographed print of Charlie Brown and the Kite-Eating Tree, signed by Charles M Schulz. One of the greatest artists ever." "The best invention ever is ... The word processor and all its descendants. Allows infinite rewriting, 'cos that's where the real work is done."

The Sunday Herald also discusses Doctor Who. "Having dropped hints with the BBC throughout his career, as his knack for writing superior popular television became ever more reliable û Queer As Folk, Bob And Rose, Mine All Mine û Davies has finally been given the keys to Doctor WhoÆs Tardis, the iconic inter-dimensional phone box that has gone unused for far too long," says the article. The lengthy piece features comments from Davies as well as DWM deputy editor Tom Spilsbury, and even quotes author Lawrence Miles and Nicholas Courtney (although for the latter, it appears that quotes he's made in the past have been used.)

Sunday's Observer ran an article called "Why aliens still beguile us" that notes that "Doctor Who is carrying a lot of hopes. The BBC is banking on the rejuvenated time lord's ability to vanquish all opponents (not least Ant and Dec on ITV) and revive family viewing. It seems unlikely that a post-Dalek generation would get excited by an army of croaking jelly moulds, but the doctor will, no doubt, be tackling more blood-curdling foes this time round. .. Of the three-quarters of Scots who told lottery researchers that they are believers, half say extraterrestrials will soon be in touch with us." The article then goes into a discussion of extra terrestrial intelligence.

Finally, according to an Outpost Gallifrey source, the new series DVD boxed set released in either October or November will be a boxed set in "TARDIS packaging."

(Thanks to the following for updates today: Paul Engelberg, Steve Tribe, Paul Hayes, Derek Hall, Kenyon Wallace, Craig Hinton, Andrew Eaton, Darrell Paterson, John Walker, Nick Smale, Anthony Forth, David Rafer, John Bowman)

The Times ran a front page story on Thursday morning on Doctor Who, mostly the same information as in our previous report quoting Christopher Eccleston about his Doctor's accent. Eccleston said of the original series that he "found the character of the Doctor 'too authoritarian' and tried to avoid watching it." On the cover of the Times is an image marked in our spoilers tag below.

BBC Breakfast featured a very lengthy series of installments on the show, including some footage from the press launch (in which DWM editor Clayton Hickman was quoted as saying, "If the kids don't like that, then the kids don't deserve to have any television ever shown to them again!") and extended interviews with Eccleston and Billie Piper. BBC News' Newsnight program this evening (Wednesday 9 March) featured a report on the return of the series. Host Stephen Smith arrived in a TARDIS, sat behind the sofa and introduced a montage of clips, including scenes from the show, interview clips with news media people and children who haven't a clue what "Doctor Who" actually is. The new series also appeared on an edition of Newsround with several clips from the first episode of the new series and brief interview clips with Eccleston and Piper.

SFX Magazine now has a review of the first episode to go along with the spoilers we mentioned to you that were on their site in the last press clips report. Check out the review, and read that article about their coverage of the press launch. Meanwhile, you can find those spoilers under our spoilers tag below.

Today's The Sun has an article with huge SPOILERS from what we believe is the second episode (called "The End of the World") about several new aliens. We've listed them in the spoilers tag below; note that this is pretty extensive and the article features photos (which we haven't reproduced but you can see them on the Sun site.)

BellaOnline today ran an article "Doctor Who 101ùA Newbie Viewing Guide to the Classic Series" which takes a lighthearted look at the original series in preparation for the new. A very amusing line in its Trivia section: "The special effects were bad even in their own day, thanks to a virtually non-existent budget. Imagine, if you will, creating a green lumpy monster by wrapping someone with green-painted bubble wrap. They did that. Yes, this show was famous for its cheesy effects."

The Guardian features a story, "Why can't Daleks go up stairs?" which discusses the peril of the classic monsters and how they've been updated for the new series. "As terrifying as Dr Who's arch enemies might have seemed, the fact that they could be outwitted by a simple staircase made them a shade less menacing. It's a design fault that has been rectified in the new BBC television series, due to begin at Easter."

The leak of the first episode was mentioned on American public radio network NPR's show Talk of the Nation hosted by Neal Conan, during a story called "Movies, Technology and the Future of Viewing". Conan mentioned the first episode and that downloaders "must feel that it's pretty cool to see the new Doctor Who three weeks before the BBC airs it," although the story itself was about the transformation of media and the new digital age. Also, a Reuters story on the Rose leak was on the front page of Yahoo (USA Yahoo, not UK Yahoo) for a while today... obviously, though America doesn't yet have a broadcast deal, it's still in the American consciousness.

The CBC Television network in Canada now has its own website for its broadcast of the new series. Meanwhile, on Thursday March 10th at 9:15am (EST) CBC Newsworld will be airing a feature on the leaking of the first episode of the new Doctor Who series. CBC's Allison Smith will be interviewing Canadian fan and DWIN member Rod Mammitzsch about the new series of Doctor Who, and the recent leak of the first episode onto the internet.

Today's Daily Record features an interview with Jimmy Vee, the 3'8" actor who plays a role in the new series. We've fully protected this information with our spoilers tag; read it below.

AND FINALLY... Over the past several days it's been a whirlwind keeping up with all the press clips, so I'd like to thank and credit the following people who have been providing updates, news and information: the incomparable Paul Engelberg and Steve Tribe, without whom this couldn't possibly happen; plus Paul Hayes, Malcolm Prince, John Ryan, John Molyneux, Steve Roberts, Paul Vanezis, Chuck Foster, Graeme Burk, Mike Doran, Rowan Bridge, Matt Chayt, David Baker, Darin Patea, Andrew Harvey, Richard Dinnick, Matthew Godley, Nick Johnson, Shannon Patrick Sullivan, Assad Khaishgi, Ian Beard, Richard Carletta, Michael S. Lucart, Kevin Elhart, James Crout, Simon Howe, Kenny Davidson, Ryan Piekenbrock, and Benjamin Elliott.

Interestingly, the Guardian has posted a second and far more upbeat review of the new series, perhaps suddenly realizing theirs was the only negative review... and including quotes from some of the people who attended the press launch. "They've kept the feeling of the show. It's still Doctor Who and I think Christopher Eccleston is very good," former script editor Terrance Dicks is quoted as saying. "I'm so pleased. The last Who, I hated it. It was aimed at the mid-Atlantic; I've always said it should be made in England. They've kept the feeling of the show. I think Christopher Eccleston is very good. There's a gap in the market for something both good and popular. There's stuff that's critically acclaimed and stuff that's popular, like reality TV. But this does both." Says Barry Letts, the producer of the series during the Jon Pertwee era, "I was desperate for it to work and it has. Russell T Davies said what he was doing was carrying on the torch from our time. He's a big fan. It's a relay race, you stagger on for so many years, then pass the baton on when you're exhausted. They've managed to give a few nods to the past, which the old Doctor Who fans will appreciate, without making it confusing for anybody coming to it fresh. They've done a brilliant job of updating it." And Tom Spilsbury, deputy editor of DWM, notes that he "really enjoyed it. Chris and Billie were great. It was great to see everyone else enjoying it. They laughed at the funny bits and were scared by the scary bits. It bodes very well for the series. I think kids will love it. It's exactly the sort of thing I fell in love with as a child. Christopher Eccleston still feels like a Doctor Who. He'll be looked back on by kids in 20 years' time as their doctor."

The Guardian's Media Monkey column posted some quips regarding the press launch, including the following. "BBC1 controller Lorraine Heggessey was very much the regal Time Lady at the launch of Doctor Who - and deservedly so. Monkey is sure the series will be a huge smash for a Saturday teatime audience, and probably be the crowning glory of Heggessey's reign at BBC1 - she certainly had to battle for years to get it on air. Heggessey showed she could mix it with rabid Whovians in an impeccably pitched speech to the audience gathered in a Cardiff hotel last night. After a little bit of Welsh, she won over fans by quoting from no less than the good Doctor in an episode from way back in 1964 after he had defeated the dalek invasion of London. ... As many know, Lorraine Heggessey is shortly to give up her BBC1 post and regenerate into the chief executive of Talkback Thames. But will one of her last BBC1 acts be to recommission Doctor Who for a second series? Many in the commercial arm of the BBC certainly hope so and executive producer Russell T Davies attested last night that he had already worked out the storylines. When Monkey put the question, all the great lady could offer was a enigmatic, Gallifreyan-style smile." Regarding any possible unflattering articles or reviews: "it may well be due to the fact that many hacks were exhausted after returning to London via an uncomfortable coach that took three hours to reach London from Cardiff. One reporter was overheard asking if it had really been worth it as he hunted for a cab in the vicinity of Baker Street station at 2am." Also noted were some of the guests that turned up: "Matt Lucas, from Little Britain, Charlotte Church and Robson Green. But one unexpected attendee was Beryl Vertue, the stately executive producer of the sitcom Men Behaving Badly. Vertue told Monkey that her son in law, Steven Moffat, had written two episodes of the new Doctor Who series and was currently in Australia and desperate for a report about the launch and first episode. Vertue then revealed that in the 1960s she has been the agent of Who legend and daleks' creator Terry Nation when he had negotiated his copyright agreement with the BBC, the one that caused the BBC all that trouble last year when Nation's estate refused to allow the metallic monsters into the new series. Everyone was all smiles last night, but there must have been times over the last year when the BBC wished it had driven a harder bargain back in 1963."

BBC News today collected several of the various news stories seen in today's papers in an article entitled "Papers feature Dr Who's monsters". (We spend all this time collecting and collating a couple of hundred stories in a couple of days, and then BBC News goes and does the job for us!)

Richard Wilson, who plays the role of Dr. Constantine in the two-parter written by Steven Moffat, was interviewed byManchester Online regarding the upcoming Red Nose Day charity event. Says the article: "During the launch, he spent a morning chatting with a group of teenagers there who suffer from a variety of stress and anxiety disorders, and gave them an insight into his imminent appearance on our screens again - this time in Dr Who. 'I play a doctor in an episode set in the Second World War and am in two episodes. I was excited when I was approached to play a part and as soon as I read the script for the episodes they wanted me to feature in I made my mind up that I wanted the role. As well as the kudos of starring in Dr Who, it was also good to play alongside Christopher Eccleston, because although I know him socially I'd never had the opportunity to work with him until now. He's made a very good Dr Who and has brought a fresh touch to the role.'"

Also in today's Manchester Online: a feature with several new comments. "I'd like to see an episode set in Salford in the sixties," Christopher Eccleston says, referring to his home town, and noting his northern accent. "It's good that we say to kids: `Actually people who sound like this can also be heroic and very intelligent.' It's a good message to send." On whether he's prepared for the role and to be identified with it: "The death scene in Cracker has been that for me. But I intend to keep busy and keep doing very different things. If people remember me just for this - I'd be happy to be remembered." Bruno Langley, who plays Adam in at least one episode (the reprot notes he's in two, as Outpost Gallifrey has always maintained), notes that he had nightmares about being chased by Daleks. But he says it was a price worth paying: "It's probably one of the biggest gags in the series. I was very privileged to be given that line," referring to the term "Elevate!" when the Daleks fly. The report also suggests that "a second series is already in development, although Eccleston is undecided about whether he'll return to the role."

Sky Showbiz today quotes Billie Piper, in terms of how co-star Christopher Eccleston helped her "get over her broken marriage." "Christopher and I have shared a lot during the past eight months. We had heavy schedules and personal lives and we're joined at the hip. ... We get on famously. It was instant - it just worked straight away. ... Me and Chris had a great time while we were together and that's all that concerns me. We're best buddies and always will be." The story was also picked up on Ananova

Today's Steve Wright show on Radio 2 at 3:25pm featured a radio trailer for the series, which starts "Coming soon..." and uses the "I'm the Doctor, by the way" exchange; Wright reckons Eccleston looks like a really cool Doctor - "he might go to gigs"; and a Dalek voice (Nicholas Briggs, perhaps?) proclaiming "Doc-tor Who-oo on BBC Radio 2!"

The Independent noted that the BBC invited several MPs to the press launch, and it was a "hot ticket - until, that is, the Government decided to hold yet another debate on its draconian anti-terror Bill." "Several guests are reported to be gutted, not least the Tory education spokesman, Tim Collins, a lifelong fan who has appeared on TV documentaries about the Time Lord. 'Terror debate or not, I'll be very surprised if Tim misses the screening,' reckons a colleague. 'As for the rest of us, we'll have to decide which is more important: the invasion of the Daleks, or the invasion of al-Qa'ida.' Best leave it to your consciences, chaps."

The latest edition of the BBC's in-house magazine / paper Ariel ( Week 9, dated 8.3.05 ) has a two page feature spread on the return of Doctor Who by Clare Bolt. There's precious little material that's new, although there's a little bit about the filming of "The Empty Child / The Doctor Dances," as well as mentions of 'a sub-aquatic monster' and 'a multi-tentacled Victorian submarine'. There are also a handful of behind-the-scenes photos, including the TARDIS prop being erected at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium and a rooftop being blasted with fake snow.

There were various inconsequential reports (but still fascinating due to the number) popping up all over the internet about the impending return of Doctor Who, including the New York Times, Waveguide and a variety of papers such as the Aberdeen Press and Journal, Fort McMurray Today (Alberta) and the Liverpool Daily Echo. There's also a two page interview with Billie Piper in "Now magazine", the March 16 issue. Lots of press coverage today!

Finally, the photos below are all press release photos, some from the second episode, including a larger version of one of the Tree People (Yasmin Bannerman), a group of alien monks, the Moxx of Balhoon (Jimmy Vee), the Face of Poe, an attack by Autons, and Eccleston's card trick.

(Thanks for submissions today to Paul Engelberg, Steve Tribe, Andrew Harvey, Chuck Foster, Paul Hayes, Daniel Northover, Andrew Farmer, Lorna Mitchell, Tom Beck, Andrew Foxley, John Bowman)

There are many newspaper stories out there regarding the press launch and screening of the first episode last night at the St David's Hotel and Spa in Cardiff Bay, with selections from interviews with Christopher Eccleston, Billie Piper, Russell T Davies, Julie Gardner and others. Here's a recap:

Eccleston admitted he was not a fan of the "old" series but it may have been the previous Time Lords' posh accents that put him off. "I'm different from the other Doctors," he said. "All the others spoke with this RP accent - maybe it was that that put me off. I think that it's good that we teach kids that people who speak like that can be heroic too." About Davies, he said, "I am a huge fan of his. IÆve tried to capture his speed of thought and the pace of his words, and of course they are his words."

Eccleston "revealed" that he and assistant Rose will "fall in love" but not the way you think. "It will be the first time the doctor has had a romance in the show's 40-year history," says one clip. However, Eccleston himself says, "They love each other. It's very much love at first sight. It's not a conventional love affair. It's far more mysterious than that." Billie Piper noted, "At the end of the first show when the doctor invites Rose to come with him in the Tardis I suppose it's very much like asking her out on a date. They have a very interesting dynamic and there are times when you can't put your finger on their relationship. But there's lots of holding hands throughout the series." Viewers will apparently see them saying things like: "I could save the world, but I'd lose you" and "I'm so glad I met you". About his companion, Eccleston says "There has been no heroine for 12-year-old girls before and Billie pulled that off just like that. She saves the Doctor in the first episode, she is a heroine."

Piper likes being a new role model. "When I was singing I was a role model then and when you are in that position you can do some good." Billie says she doesn't want to go back to her singing career and described herself as being "in a great place right now" with new acting projects on the horizon. She admitted that she didn`t watch the series as a child. "It was in our house and I remember freaky music and a man running around in a long scarf, but I could never make head nor tail of it." When she took the role she said she made the decision not to watch previous series for fear of confusing her own performance, but she said Mr Eccleston took on a far more difficult role than she had. "I don`t know how Chris does it but he did it. It`s like playing James Bond the Doctor he`s established there`s nothing he doesn`t know and there`s nothing he can`t do, as an actor that must be most frustrating."

However, an article in today's The Sun swears that Billie Piper is planning to relaunch her pop career after the airing of the new Doctor Who series, but she will only agree to a deal if she is happy with the style of music. A Sun "insider" is quoted as saying, "Billie would love to make a return to the music scene but she has to be happy with whatÆs being offered. She has been having talks with a number of labels, including Sony BMG, but hasnÆt put pen to paper yet. She wants a lot of input in and outside of the studio." All of which Billie Piper has flatly denied.

One or two articles mention "fifteen episodes" being broadcast (instead of the actual 13) and that each episode is a self-contained story (some of them are actually two parters.)

Davies said he wrote it with a family audience in mind: "If you chase a cult you just become a smaller cult. If a cult fan hates this series it means they will only watch it 20 times instead of 30 times. When they brought Crossroads back and made it a bit camp it was a turkey of disasterous proportions."

Gardner said about the show's future, "We just donÆt know what to expect, there is no real yardstick. Of course IÆm nervous." She also denied that the leak of the first episode had anything to do with the BBC. "We were devastated."

Musician Charlotte Church, who we reported yesterday showed up with a Dalek from The Sun, said "It was brilliant. I have never seen Doctor Who before. I would have been two when it was last on but this was like a mini-movie."

BBC Radio 4 has a link to an interview conducted this morning with Davies and DWM editor Clayton Hickman; you can listen to it for the next day or so by clicking here.

GMTV had a feature on its programme this morning before 8:30 with Ben Sheppard who attended the press launch yesterday; the clips shown were longer than those on BBC news.

Some links to various reports: BBC Radio 1, Times Online, Scotsman, Channel 4, Megastar, ITV, icNews,Edinburgh News

So far, today's (March 8) press clips, with more to be added as the day progresses:

This morning's (March 8) Radio Times features a one-page colour feature called "Doctor Who watch" with brief comments from RTD and Julie Gardner and small summaries of the Doctor, Rose, the TARDIS and 'the monsters'. As well as one of the standard publicity shots of Eccleston and Piper, there is a large photo of the 'blue meanie' from the cover of the latest DWM, which is caption and therefore confirmed as "the Moxx of Balhoon". The article also trails: "Next week: Doctor Who, the first words..." Also in the Radio Times, the listing for Thursday 17 March confirms that The Culture Show (BBC Two, 7pm and 11.25pm) will preview "the imminent return of Doctor Who". "Will it stay true to the spirit of the past series?" This is illustrated with one of the shots of Eccleston standing outside the TARDIS.

An article in the Belfast Telegraph "looks back at some memorable moments and opponents from the past 40 years" of Doctor Who, including the Daleks (featuring an interview with Cy Town), the Zygons, the Cybermen, the Yeti, the Daemons, the Zarbi, the Kandyman, and even the giant maggots of "The Green Death".

The Dark Horizons website, another movie industry gossip site, also features a brief review of "Rose," largely positive.

icWales has a mention of the leak, and also features quotes with Russell T Davies (lifted from elsewhere).

The Mirror features an article today called "EXTER BINATE," asking "The first episode of new Dr Who ..and can Billie save the world from Wheelie Bin aliens?" referring to a very minor plot point about the first episode, mentioning the episode leak and also a few plot points. (Don't read the article if you don't want to see a few spoilers for the first story.)

The downloading of Doctor Who made the front page of today's Guardian newspaper (link is to the story itself). The story mentions the "Ain't It Cool" online website which posted some scathing reviews of the episode (to which there are complaints that positive reviews were ignored; however, one eventual positive review by Warren Ellis was eventually posted in their "Coaxial" section). Ironically, the Guardian site focuses on the negative reviews, while reactions to the leaked episode have been overwhelmingly positive elsewhere.

A ton of reports on the leak of "Rose" to the Internet, so here's a quick guide to all of the links so far we've been able to compile (with thanks to Steve Tribe, Paul Engelberg, Paul Hayes): Evening Times, Digital Lifestyles, BBC News Technology, Disinfo.com, CBBC Newsround, Brisbane Courier Mail, The Australian, Melbourne Herald Sun, News.com.au, Advertiser Adelaide, Daily Telegraph, Manchester Evening News, This Is London,Financial Express India, Channel 4, U TV, Reuters, Times of Oman, ZDNet, Scotsman, Manchester Online, Times Online, ITV, The Register, Ananova

The rumor mills have been working overtime this weekend on news that the first episode of the series, Rose, has been leaked on the internet, courtesy an unidentified employee of a foreign broadcaster of the show. We weren't going to mention it originally, in order to help keep this from becoming even more widely known, but BBC News and other news services made that a moot point. Obviously, Outpost Gallifrey isn't going to tell you how or where to download it, but don't be surprised if you find reviews all over the web.

BBC News itself addresses the leak of "Rose" in a story that also reveals that Christopher Eccleston emailed Russell T Davies about the role. "He e-mailed me and said if we were looking for a Doctor Who, he'd be interested," Davies told Radio Times according to the news article. "It was gobsmacking because you think he's going to be doing Hamlet all the time. Which, come to think of it, he was." It says that episodes 1 and 2 were written before he was cast. "So I'd established a template for what I wanted, which fitted Chris perfectly. That was a happy accident - we both wanted to strip it down, make it more down-to-earth."

In an interview with today's Media Guardian, new series producer Russell T Davies explains how producing the new series of Doctor Who is a lifelong dream come true. When they approached him, "I worried they meant a cheap pastiche version, or an ironic version, but it was the real deal - Saturday night, proper budgets. All those things you think you'd have to fight for. Astonishing." The interview discusses his work on previous shows such as Children's Ward, Queer as Folk and Mine All Mine, as well as his thoughts on being a child transfixed by Doctor Who. "When I was eight, walking home from school down Hendrefoilan Avenue, I always used to think 'I could turn round the corner and the Tardis would be there - and I would run inside and I would fight alongside the Doctor.' It was the one programme that encouraged you to make up stories. The Tardis could land in the everyday world and no other science-fiction programme would do that. You were never going to be a member of the crew on the Enterprise when you were eight years old: it was in the future and they were the navy. Even if we don't get an audience, I hope there will be some eight-year-olds sitting there thinking the same thing. That's when I fell in love with it. I was transfixed." Read the full interview at the website.

A report in today's Observer discusses the obsession of fans with Doctor Who, framed in the context of the return of the series. It includes comments from Russell T Davies ("If we had tried to be ironic we would have died a death") and notes that there are only a few thousand fans of Doctor Who that are considered active or interested. (Strange, Outpost Gallifrey's front page got over 17,000 unique visitors last Thursday!) The report talks about websites and fandom and Doctor Who Magazine (in fact, noting DWM's circulation is "around 30,000") and how the new show, based on a preview is "not, and never will be - how shall I put this? - Doctor Who." You can read the whole article at that site.

The Ain't It Cool website, a major source of online film gossip, has published several negative reviews of the first episode of the new series along with a positive one, based upon the recent leak of an episode on the Internet.

An article in today's Times discusses the Daleks who apparently are upgraded: "In previous series of Doctor Who, the Daleks were warlike metal aliens engineered by the evil Davros on the planet Skaro. They were beings of ruthless logic with one small but significant flaw: you could evade them by running up a flight of stairs. The upgraded versions take to the air using rocket-boosters, enhancing their ability to exterminate, exterminate. The new Daleks are also bigger than the ones last seen in 1989 and have more lethal weaponry than the old guns that resembled sink plungers. But fans will have to wait: the evil forces do not appear in the first episode, to be shown on BBC1 on Easter Saturday." It also contains ver minor spoilers about the first episode.

Another Times article, much more in depth, discusses the upgrading of the Doctor Who series itself. "For 25 years, Doctor WhoÆs creaky charm captivated a nation," the article says. "Now Russell T Davies has polished it up, with slick effects and an even slicker script." It notes that the scripts themselves are "slick, witty and, most important of all, fresh. They also have Davies the MouthÆs fingerprints all over them. The DoctorÆs slightly deranged monologue sounds suspiciously like Russell T himself." The article notes that the new series has "about 800" special effects. Says The Mill's Robin Shenfield, "I'm pretty sure nothing of this scale has ever been attempted ù certainly nothing British." Mike Tucker, who's doing miniature-effects on the series, says the original show "was always pushing against the boundaries of its budget, trying to do stuff it couldnÆt possibly achieve. They would try to make the Loch Ness monster attack a village, or theyÆd have an attack with a horde of Daleks when they had only three Dalek props. It was one of its great charms. But then Star Wars came along and raised the game. These days, kids are so effects-literate." The article discusses how CGI effects have been implemented, and gives some spoilers about the new show (protected by our Spoiler tag, below), as well as noting that "Doctor Who is a huge gamble for the BBC. It will probably go out in its old slot, early on Saturday evening," noting that it will happen at the end of March.

DWM confirms the release of "The Crusade" on Monday 2 May from the BBC Radio Collection. It's narrated by William Russell, who is also interviewed as a 20-minute bonus feature on the second disc.