AudioGo have released details on audio titles in their spoken word range due to be released in April. The Doctor and Mel go in search of a pool but are instead appalled when they arrive at Paradise Towers. Meanwhile, Sgt. Andy Davidson has to deal with an alien virus without the aid of Torchwood in Fallout.

Both are released on 5th April on CD, or by download from AudioGo from the 1st April.

The BBC have confirmed previous indications that the Doctor Who Experience - which closed last month in London - will be based at its new Cardiff Bay home for at least five years.

The commitment was disclosed within a BBC Careers advert for a new Commercial Manager, whose main responsibilities will be for the Cardiff incarnation when it opens in the summer.

The closing date for the role is 19th March.

Russell T Davies is to be one of the inaugural judges in a new £10,000 initiative for writers living in Wales.

The Wales Drama Award, which will be given every two years, was launched at yesterday's official opening of the BBC's Roath Lock drama studios in Cardiff - the new home of Doctor Who.

For this year's award, writers must submit a full-length, unperformed, or unproduced script in any medium and in English, with a minimum running length of 30 minutes, by July 16th. Six writers who are shortlisted will then be asked to submit a one-page outline of an original idea for development before meeting the judges in September to discuss their script as well as the idea.

The winner, who will be announced in September or October this year, will receive £10,000 and the chance to develop their script and idea with BBC Cymru Wales or National Theatre Wales. Two runners-up will each receive £1,000.

The BBC said:
The judging panel will also comprise BBC creative director of new writing Kate Rowland, BBC Cymru Wales head of drama Faith Penhale, National Theatre Wales artistic director John McGrath, and writer Abi Morgan (Sex Traffic, The Iron Lady, The Hour).

Wales's First Minister, Carwyn Jones, performed the opening ceremony at the Roath Lock production centre by unveiling a plaque on the TARDIS prop. The drama village, which took just 14 months to build, is part of the Porth Teigr renovation projection on Cardiff waterfront. Speaking ahead of the ceremony, Mr Jones said:

Open days over the weekend of 10th and 11th March gave members of the public the chance to see props from Doctor Who and Upstairs, Downstairs, as well as a look round the sets of Casualty and Pobol y Cwm, which have also shifted production to the 170,000 sq ft drama village - the BBC's largest drama production centre in the UK. An exhibition included costumes from Sherlock, which was co-created by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, and a Dalek.

Doctor Who production has moved to Roath Lock from Upper Boat. A video report on the opening, in which BBC director-general Mark Thompson mentions the beneficial effect locally of Doctor Who being made there, is available here.

Following uncertainty about the funding of the charity book, Behind the Sofa, as reported this morning by several press outlets including BBC Radio 5, the publisher Steve Berry and PayPal have reached a compromise which should see the charity book published, on time, later this year.

In a joint statement PayPal apologised to Berry for the way they handled payments for the book. They say they are working with Berry to make sure funds are released as they are needed to pay the publisher and other suppliers.

PayPal explained that they placed restrictions on Berry’s account because the payments were received months before the book was available. This was in line with their policy of protecting buyers in case they don’t receive goods that they have pre-ordered. However they admit they should have explained things better and worked more quickly to find a sensible compromise to ensure the success of the good cause.

For his part Steve Berry said he was delighted that PayPal have responded to his concerns about the handling of the account being used to fund the production of the Behind The Sofa book. He said 'We have now come to an amicable resolution and I look forward to publishing the book and fulfilling all the orders placed by generous Doctor Who fans.'

David Tennant can be seen voicing Charles Darwin for the forthcoming Aardman Animations film The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! The film also features the vocal talents of Hugh Grant (who played the Doctor in the 1999 Comic Relief spoof The Curse of Fatal Death, written by Steven Moffat), Russell Tovey, Imelda Staunton, and Brian Blessed.


Lalla Ward will be a guest on Graham Norton's Radio 2 show on Saturday 17th March. She is scheduled to appear on the programme between 12.30pm and 1pm. Executive producer Malcolm Prince told Doctor Who News that questions and comments can be submitted in advance to graham.norton@bbc.co.uk. Imelda Staunton will also be a guest on the show that day, appearing with Michael Ball at 11.30am.

Frazer Hines has been drafted in to spearhead a government campaign to raise awareness about cancer. The actor, who was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 1999 and finally given the all-clear two years ago following surgery and chemotherapy, met and talked to shoppers in Lincoln, giving them advice as part of the Department of Health's Be Clear On Cancer campaign. He said: "The thing about bowel cancer is that no-one wants to talk about it. The bowel is only a part of your engine . . . and if your engine goes wrong, you have got to have something to do with it. I made up this saying last year, when I was interviewed on The Michael Ball Show: 'Would you rather a doctor took your trousers off once or an undertaker take them off forever?'" [This Is Lincolnshire, 10 Mar 2012]

The character of Donna Noble, as portrayed by Catherine Tate, came in eighth in a Radio Times top ten of strong TV women, compiled for International Women's Day. [Radio Times, 8 Mar 2012]

Lucian Msamati is to play British MP Kayode in the new satire Belong, by Bola Agbaje, at the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs at the Royal Court Theatre in London. The play runs from 26th April to 26th May and is a co-production with African theatre company Tiata Fahodzi, of which Msamati is artistic director. [The Stage, 12 Mar 2012]

The charity book Behind The Sofa which is being created to raise money for Alzheimer’s Research UK, has run into problems with PayPal, who are refusing to release funds to the book's editor Steve Berry, until he can prove he has already spent money on the book.

The money raised from pre-orders was intended to pay for the production costs, something that Berry might now have to meet from his own pocket, as the money will be withheld until after the book is published. PayPal froze the account early on Monday after their systems alerted them that a large number of payments had been sent to the account within a short period.

Following some negative publicity towards the internet giant, including tweets from Charlie Brooker, Rufus Hound and Al Murray, PayPal have now told Berry that they will release half the money once he can provide verified paid invoices from suppliers involved in the project, leaving Berry in the position of having to finance the project before he can recoup some of the costs.

No monies paid have been lost and Berry is still determined the book will be published. He is, however, also looking into alternative funding solutions.

More details on the Behind The Sofa website.

After a few months in preview, the "massively multiplayer online" (MMO) game Worlds in Time has now been officially launched.

Robert Nashak, Executive Vice President, BBC Worldwide Digital Entertainment and Games, said:

Daniel James, CEO of Three Rings Design Inc. who created the game, said:

The game is free to play online for players aged 13 and above (those between 13-15 need parental permission to participate), meeting the games terms and conditions. Those with electonic payment facilities (e.g. Paypal) may also purchase an optional "enhanced experience".

Casting:

Reports from Spain indicate that actor Garrick Hagon is currently filming Doctor Who, with Genshiken Spain saying: "Garrick Hagon, our guest at FreakCon, is currently shooting in Almeria, filming a series of Doctor Who." This was also backed up by Rob Cavazos, who said: "I am currently working with an actor who was in the first Star Wars film. I am by no means a fanboy, but that's still pretty awesome!"

Hagon has previously appeared in Doctor Who, alongside Jon Pertwee in 1972's The Mutants as the Solonian rebel Ky.

Film appearances include A Bridge Too Far, The Spy Who Loved Me, Batman, Mission Impossible and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but as mentioned above he is probably best remembered as Luke Skywalker's best friend Biggs in the original Star Wars. Television appearances include Moonbase 3, Colditz, Cambridge Spies, and as Frank Oppenheimer in 1980's Oppenheimer.

On Location

Filming kicked off last Thursday in the Almeria region of Spain, at the Oasys Parque Temático del Desierto de Tabernas and Fort Bravo Studios. Both Executive Producer Caroline Skinner and Brand Manager Edward Russell travelled to Spain (with the latter celebrating his birthday at the weekend!), plus Doctor Who Magazine was also represented by Benjamin Cook.

A number of photos of the cast and crew on location in the Tabernas desert and at Fort Bravo Studios were captured by Spanish fans and media, including a glimpse of the story's adversary (confirming the report by by The Sun last week).

On Location Photos 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31; Adversary Images 2 3 4 5 6 7 (with thanks to Whovians.Net, Zimbio)

A Doctor Who fan has renewed his bid to claim ownership of the character of Davros.

Steve Clark says that he came up with the name and submitted it with a design (pictured right), as well as a handwritten essay entitled The Genesis Of The Daleks: The Creation Of Davros, for a TV Action competition in 1972. His entry didn't win the prize of a 17in colour TV set but he says that both the name and design were later used by the BBC without his permission. Davros was first seen in the series in Genesis of the Daleks in 1975.

He launched High Court proceedings last year for copyright breach after an attempt to come to an amicable solution with the corporation foundered. Now, with the case on hold, a teacher's handwriting could decide the matter.

Mr Clark, from Brabourne Lees in Kent, says that his original sketch, done when he was 13, has comments written on it by David Tidy, who was a teacher at Duncan Bowen School in Stanhope, Ashford, in the 1970s. He is now seeking former pupils who have books with Mr Tidy's handwriting in them, which could be used to validate the writing on his sketch and therefore his claim.

Mr Clark said:
The BBC and BBC Worldwide dispute the claim. A spokesman said:
(newslink: Kent Online)

A charity convention celebrating the fan film Power of the Daleks is to be held later this year.

The film, made by the Doctor Who enthusiasts behind the highly successful Portsmouth stage productions of The Web of Fear, Fury From The Deep, The Evil of the Daleks, and The Dalek Masterplan (the latter renamed from the original), adapts and reimagines Patrick Troughton's inaugural story.

Starring Nick Scovell as the Doctor and also featuring Nicholas Briggs, Lisa Bowerman and Barnaby Edwards in the cast, it is to be shown online in three mini-episodes in April, July, and September, but will receive a full showing on the big screen at the Power: Reimagined convention. Entry tickets pay for admission to the convention but the screening of the film is free and non-profit-making.

Teasers and a trailer for the film plus mini-documentaries about its making can be seen on the group's official YouTube channel. The trailer, which was released last Christmas, can also be seen below.



The convention takes place on Saturday 1st September at Ferneham Hall in Fareham and guests announced so far (work permitting) are Michael Troughton, who has recently published a biography about his father, and the Doctor Who Restoration Team, with more to come.

Also taking place during the day will be talks by cast and crew from the original series and remake, as well as photo and autograph sessions. Props from the remake will be on display too.

Money raised by the convention will go to Cancer Research UK and Children In Need.