The Writer’s Tale: The Final Chapter

Tuesday, 17 November 2009 - Reported by Marcus

BBC Books has announced the forthcoming publication of Doctor Who: The Writer’s Tale: The Final Chapter by outgoing showrunner Russell T Davies and DWM and Radio Times journalist Benjamin Cook. It will be published in paperback on 14 January 2010.

This is a new and updated edition of The Writer’s Tale originally published last Autumn. The book has been expanded to cover Davies's final year as Head Writer and Executive Producer of the show. This edition will also include new, never-before-published photos from behind the scenes of David Tennant’s final adventures. There are 300 pages of new material taking in events from the entire five years since the show’s return in 2005.

FILTER: - Russell T Davies - Production - Books - Radio Times

Hollywood star joins cast list for Tennant's swansong

Wednesday, 11 November 2009 - Reported by Marcus

Writing in the latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine, Russell T Davies confirms that the preview of the Christmas special, to be shown on this year's Children in Need programme, will not be the pre-titles sequence, but rather a specially packaged clip from the story. This is because the pre-titles sequence from the story is too plot-heavy to work as a standalone preview.

The title of David Tennant's penultimate episode has still not been revealed, but according to Davies it will be six words long, the longest title yet. Final casting for the final episodes took place as late as October, when what is described as a "wonderful and distinguished" Hollywood actor provided the voice for one of the aliens in the story. The voice will be used in the trail for the Christmas episodes which will air directly after The Waters of Mars.

In the run up to the UK showing of The Waters of Mars, David Tennant has been co-hosting the breakfast programme on Absolute Radio. To celebrate the fact, the station mocked up a TARDIS façade for the front of the station.

In the first programme Tennant announced that he is to auction off his own bed live, which is in is own words "a nasty old bed that's seen some action." All proceeds of the auction will be going to Children in Need.

Tennant will be with the programme for the rest of the week, and a podcast of the first programme can be heard via the Absolute Radio website, along with a photo gallery and a video diary.

FILTER: - Specials - Production - David Tennant - Series 4/30 Specials

Maida Vale celebrates 75 years.

Friday, 30 October 2009 - Reported by Marcus

The BBC is today celebrating the 75th Anniversary of its Maida Vale studios, best known to Doctor Who fans as the home of the Radiophonic Workshop. A series of programmes being broadcast across the entire BBC radio network will celebrate the role the studios have had in the cultural life of the country, many including music from the classic series of Doctor Who.

The Radiophone Workshop was involved with the series from the very start when, in 1963 the unit were given the task of realising composer Ron Grainer's theme tune for the upcoming television series. Working in Maida Vale, Delia Derbyshire created the sound which has become one of the most recognisable themes in British television.. The Workshop was responsible for most of the sound effects used in the series throughout it's entire run and it was in these studios that such iconic sounds as the TARDIS materialisation and the sound of the Sonic screwdriver were created. The workshop provided much incidental music for the programme including every score from 1980 to 1985.

The Maida Vale studios were also used to broadcast news across Europe during the Second World War and were the home of Radio 1's Peel Sessions from 1967 until 2004. They also hosted early radio performances from such acts as The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and David Bowie, drama recordings for Radio 3 and Radio 4 including Dr Zhivago and King Lear and Bing Crosby made his last recording session in the studios in 1977.

FILTER: - Audio - Production - Classic Series

October Filming Roundup

Thursday, 22 October 2009 - Reported by Chuck Foster

October has seen the Doctor Who production crew busy, with a number of appearances in public places. Open the spoiler sections for more details on what has been occuring!

Filming for episode one got under way publicly at Cathedral Green in Llandaff, which was transformed into a picturesque English village called Leadworth. Scenes involved the Doctor and Amy on the village green, with the Doctor wearing the clothes of his tenth incarnation and seeming very wobbly on his feet! Later scenes recorded indicated an alien presence in the sky, and the apparent destruction of the sonic screwdriver.

5th October: Alun Vega: The scene involved the Doctor and Amy hurrying up a lane, and running across to the icecream van. Then the Doctor ran off, jumped over the flowerbed at the side of the White House, and ran inside. Amy ran after him, but took the more conventional route through the front gate. As they came up the lane, the Doctor shouted something about a "cricket bat" and another fan thought she heard Amy say something about "12 years of therapy". Someone else reckoned they thought the Doctor said he was having food cravings - which I guess might be post-regeneration trauma. This is the sort of scene that they cover from multiple angles, which is why it took them the entire 4 hours I was there to film it!

6th October, Fiona Oram: We got on set about half nine in the rain and were suprised to see filming underway. The following scene was shot at various angles. First off Amy was trying to get the Doctor into a car (not police a black rover) His Tie kept getting trapped in the door! Dialogue we could hear was 20 minutes till the world ends and do you know who I am? My friend had been on set a bit longer and had heard also the Doctor say that You (something) are always trying to lock me away! Hence people I find out later have conme to the conclusion that Amy is a police officer. Later on the scene was reshot (after more rain) and same Dialogue however Matt was looking at something behind him before speaking to Amy and she shouts NOOO! And drags him quite literally by the tie to the car. This scene was shot quite a bit due to constant downpours! After lunch they went through the same scene again and seemed to be happy with that. Then the filming moved to the green and we watched Matt and Karen rehearsing running up the green. While we were being moved to the other side of set Matt was practising his scene with a guy in hospital overalls. We also walked past the red phone box which was being set up for special effects. When the shot was ready Matt and Karen were running up towards a white screen and Matt turns around to hospital overalls person and starts talking. Dialogue heard was "Coma" and something about staring at a dog! Then the heavens opened and they attempted to film again but was starting to prove impossible. The fire engine was filmed leaving with the blues flashing and ladder pushed out.

7th October, Haffertee: First scene we saw shot was Matt Karen and the guy in hospital overalls. They seemed to look up at the sky then a dog barks and Matt goes towards the beer garden and starts talking down to something. Hello prisoner x is said. Then we hear Level 20 planet scanning the earth 6 billion people. Then we are told phone box explodes aerials turn fire engine ladder goes up and down. Helicopter flies out of little boys hand. Then Matt said something about not testing all sonics settings. Setting four thousand and do you think they will notice? Then the sonic blew up.

One take of the destruction of the sonic screwdriver slightly hurt Matt Smith, something that caught media attention! The incident was reported in the South Wales Evening Post, Daily Mail, Sky News, and The Sun.

Filming for this week took place at the Old Vicarage in Rhymney, and saw the old TARDIS prop in use(a new version of the police box had been seen in previous filming). Matt Smith and Karen Gillan were again on-site for filming. On one day the police box was on its side, with the doors seen to be opening in the opposite direction to normally seen on screen.

Fiona Oram:The old TARDIS is there Matt and Karen run from it (Well Karen practically drags him) Smoke comes pouring out of the TARDIS. Karen keeps saying come on ! Matt keeps trying to run back to TARDIS to save "her" But Karen keeps trying to pull him back. Couldnt hear a lot. Karen is in Policewoman outfit again and Matt is still in Tens outfit ! Lots of kithen equipment neing taken in new microwave etc. (Not for drinks etc as base only round the corner)

This week sees filming taking place at the ancient St. Gwynno's Church, and had led to the first view of the updated TARDIS interior, albeit as the backdrop to the police box prop out on location.

The filming has also revealed the 'monster' of this episode in the graveyard.

FILTER: - Karen Gillan - Production - Filming Reports - Series 5/31

TARDIS at the Garden of Wales

Thursday, 22 October 2009 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The National Botanic Garden of Wales will play host to the TARDIS during the Autumn half-term:

The world-famous police box is making an unscheduled stop this half-term amid the Mediterranean plantings in Lord Foster's stunning glass dome to promote the forthcoming episode of Doctor Who - entitled The Waters of Mars - in which the Great Glasshouse has a starring role.
The Garden's Head of marketing David Hardy said everyone was really looking forward to the TARDIS’ arrival: “David Tennant and the whole Doctor Who crew were filming here back in February. The Great Glasshouse plays the part of a plant-filled biome on Mars. It looks like being a thrilling episode and confirms Lord Foster's glasshouse as not only the biggest one on this planet but also the first one on Mars!”

FILTER: - Specials - Production - Press

BBC Trust launches review

Friday, 25 September 2009 - Reported by Marcus

The BBC Trust has launched a review of BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Four and the Red Button.

This forms part of the Trust’s regular series of reviews and will be the largest and most significant service review the Trust has undertaken. BBC One and BBC Two are the two most popular services that the BBC operates. It will be the first time that the Trust has looked at these services. BBC One is the parent channel of Doctor Who and its spin-off series Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures, and the programme has also frequently made use of the interactive digital Red Button services.

Diane Coyle, BBC Trustee, who is leading the review said:

"The Trust is the BBC’s governing body and we need to ensure these services are meeting audiences’ expectations. This is why we have launched this significant piece of work that will help us understand how well the BBC’s most popular services are operating. These services have a key role in helping the BBC deliver its public service mission. We’ll be looking at how they are performing against their service licences and whether they are offering value for money.

"Our research tells us that audiences want and expect more fresh and new ideas on the BBC television. This review will help us understand how best the BBC can provide distinctive programming that audiences love.

"We now want to encourage viewers to get in touch with us to let us know what they think of these BBC services."

Viewers can participate in the survey online.

FILTER: - Production

Richard Curtis video interview

Wednesday, 16 September 2009 - Reported by Anthony Weight

The BBC News website has made available a video interview with well-known scriptwriter Richard Curtis, who last week confirmed that he will be writing for the next series of Doctor Who, which is currently in production. In the short interview - conducted by BBC News Entertainment Correspondent Lizo Mzimba - Curtis says that he expects the episode to be shot in November. He also says that the script contains some comic moments, in line with his career as a comedy writer, and that showrunner Steven Moffat required him to rewrite the Eleventh Doctor's dialogue to make it less formal and more colloquial.

Please note that the full interview does contain some very minor spoilers about the episode's setting, so should not be viewed if all details about forthcoming episodes are being avoided.

FILTER: - People - Production

Richard Curtis to write for Doctor Who

Tuesday, 8 September 2009 - Reported by Marcus

Richard Curtis, the man behind some of the most successful British films and comedies, has agreed to write an episode of Doctor Who.

Speaking to the British Tabloid The Sun, Curtis said he has been asked to write for Matt Smith’s first series.

He told the paper he couldn’t reveal much about the plot. but it would feature a famous historical character battling against a monster.

Curtis was the brains behind Four Weddings and a Funeral, which became the highest-grossing British film in cinema history at the time and for which he was Oscar nominated. On television, he has been responsible for the Blackadder series as well as The Vicar of Dibley. He is a BAFTA and Primetime Emmy winner.

BBC News has confirmed, via Curtis's agent, that the writer is working on a script for Doctor Who.

FILTER: - Production - Press - Series 5/31

Filming resumes in Cardiff

Thursday, 27 August 2009 - Reported by Chuck Foster

After a few weeks away from its now 'traditional' place, filming for the new series of Doctor Who has once again resumed in Cardiff. This afternoon saw recording of scenes take place on the rooftop of Cardiff University's Glamorgan Building, with both Matt Smith and Karen Gillan in attendence. See the spoiler section for details on guests ... and enemies!

Filming today took place at what appears to be a wartime bunker surrounded by barbed wire, and features the return of the Doctor's greatest adversary the Daleks! Only partially seen, it would appear to have a more 'traditional' grey colour scheme to those seen in recent series. As well as the regulars, actor Bill Paterson was also glimpsed during the rooftop scenes.

Information and photos courtesy of Scott Frankton

FILTER: - Production - Filming Reports - Series 5/31

Postcards from America

Tuesday, 11 August 2009 - Reported by Josiah Rowe

Left to right: Davies, Tennant, Lyn, Gardner.
Image source:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jtrummer/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

As previously reported, David Tennant, Russell T Davies, Julie Gardner and Euros Lyn have sent two "audio postcards" from America to BBC Radio Wales. An extended version of the first postcard can be heard here, and the second postcard can be heard here. In the second postcard, David Tennant discusses driving in Los Angeles and his first Hollywood audition, Euros Lyn and Russell T Davies chat about Muscle Beach, and Julie Gardner explains the dangers of doggie bag culture.

FILTER: - Russell T Davies - Production - David Tennant - Radio - Julie Gardner - Broadcasting

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