Torchwood and Sarah Jane Adventures spoilers
The latest edition of Digital Spy's "Tube Talk" column by Neil Wilkes contains small previews of both the last few episodes of Torchwood and the forthcoming Sarah Jane Adventures special. Of the latter, Wilkes says that "Although this series has been billed as appealing to a kiddie audience, it will almost definitely please classic Who fans as it could just as easily play out as an episode from the regular series." Scroll down to the bottom of the page and highlight the hidden text for the full previews.

The Runaway Bride photos
The CBBC Newsround website, always a strong supporter of Doctor Who, has put up a page of preview images from the forthcoming Christmas special. No plot spoilers are revealed in the ten images, although the settings of some scenes are shown.

General press clippings
The Mirror featured the return of Doctor Who in a list of the "Top 10 Comebacks" in its December 6th edition, and on Friday gave coverage to the story about the Doctor and Martha's alleged activities in the new series reported elsewhere earlier in the week. Some very minor spoilers.

The Sun reports on the story also covered elsewhere earlier in the week of the home-made Dalek built to deter rowdy students, and also reports on Jessica Stevenson's casting in the new series. Of Stevenson they say that: "She will soon start filming two episodes of the third series of the BBC1 drama. An insider said: 'The role will play to her comedy strengths.'"

Ananova also covers the home-made Dalek story.

icWales is carrying a Q and A with John Barrowman, promoting his forthcoming pantomime run in Cardiff. Asked what character he would ideally like to play, he replies that: "I don't know. I don't think people are ready for me to play the bad guy what with Torchwood and Dr Who, so I'd like to still play the good guys. I don't really like playing the same characters though, so we will see."

The Yorkshire Post has a story about people in their 30s who are turning their back on the conventional "grown-up" behaviour in favour of playing games, collecting toys, and, yes, watching Doctor Who. The article terms this group "New Regressives". Ian Wheeler of the Doctor Who Appreciation Society is interviewed.

Unusually far-flung coverage for Doctor Who this week, as The Times of India mentions the programme in an article by Mukul Sharma about nanotechnology with the comment: "In the British science fiction TV series Dr Who, the protagonist known as the Seventh Doctor invokes Arthur C Clarke's famous law in reverse by saying that any sufficiently arcane magic is indistinguishable from technology. Then he justifies the possibility of how a spaceship can also be grown, as opposed to being built."

(Additional reporting by Kenny Davidson and Josiah Rowe).

Today's edition of The Sun follows up yesterday's revelation elsewhere that the Doctor and Martha end up in bed together in the next series.

The article has minor plot and characterisation details, so click below - or on the link above - if you want to find out more.

Elisabeth Sladen appeared on BBC's Breakfast this morning, discussingSarah Jane Adventures. She mentioned how she became involved with the production, the differences between her original time on Doctor Who and the modern shows, and on how the series will still retain the 'good vs evil' aspects of Doctor Who but will be aimed for children, with a younger cast that she's found to be very good and a delight to work with.

She described the premise of the series from the point of view of events afterSchool Reunion, with the Doctor telling Sarah: "I took you round in time and space all these years, don't waste it girl - there's K9, go on, do what we always did". There was also a small spoiler as to why K9 won't be appearing in every episode of the series.

The article was illustrated with a clip shown from the forthcoming New Year's Day special which featured Samantha Bond as Mrs Wormwood, and also of a younger Sarah from The Hand of Fear.

On Wednesday, Radio 4's PM programme asked why which Who matters, mentioning that David Tennant had won "favourite Doctor" in DWM's 2006 Doctor Who survey.

The piece included the Who theme tune and sound clips from the series of Tennant, William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker. Eddie Mair then talked to fellow Radio 4 news presenter Shaun Ley (The World at One) about the show's enduring appeal.

Ley, describing himself as a fan, said Doctor Who had been a part of his childhood and that it was the most flexible format in broadcasting. Asked about whether Tennant deserved the accolade, Ley said that people are likely to vote for the incumbent but agreed that he'd given an amazing performance. He went on to praise Russell T Davies, saying it was quite an achievement getting two of the best actors of their generation - Tennant and Christopher Eccleston - for the part. Ley also said he had a real soft spot for Troughton: "He was a proper character actor, gave it real range, an actors' actor."

Mair ended the piece by reminding listeners that Ley was the presenter of The Worlds at One!

ANANOVA NEWS reports that Andrew Simpson, a Doctor Who fan in York, has created a new way to scare off drunk university students where he lives. Over eight months he created a life sized Dalek which he sits inside and waits for drunken students to approach before screaming "I don't like students. You will be EXTERMINATED!"

The stuntmen who synchronised the action sequences in the revived Doctor Who series have found another outlet for their training. And a rather surprising one.

According to the public sector newswire 24dash.com, you can "forget the office party - this year's corporate Christmas craze is having a punch up.

"White collar workers, bored with bland traditional December office gatherings, are queuing up to battle with their colleagues in a mock bar room brawl."

The article goes on to say that "Brawlers take tips from real industry pros - stuntmen running the event synchronised the action sequences in hit movie Harry Potter and award winning TV series Dr Who."

The BBC have released a press release for their BBC One new season programming which promises a "fresh, varied and modern BBC One" for the new year. Of the forthcoming series of Doctor Who, the PDF file says:

Christmas News

The official Doctor Who site has some excerpts from a Radio Times story about Catherine Tate and her upcomingDoctor Who appearance in The Runaway Bride.

Coverage of the BBC's Christmas schedule at icWales includes mentions of The Runaway Bride and the adaptation of Philip Pullman's The Ruby in the Smoke starring Billie Piper. These programmes and the debut of The Sarah Jane Adventures are also mentioned in another icWales story focusing on critic Garry Bushell's dissatisfaction with the Christmas schedule. (Apparently family science fiction isn't enough for Bushell -- he wants a family comedy.)

And, still at icWales, there's another story about the strong sales of the Doctor Who Annual and the Doctor Who 3D Model Making Kit.

POST SCRIPT: Yet another icWales story mentions the surprise visit by a Dalek to the Cardiff Lord Mayor's Children's Christmas Party. Of course, the Dalek wasn't the first alien in the Cardiff Lord Mayor's office...

Series Three News

One scene in the 2007 series of Doctor Who will show the Doctor and his new assistant Martha Jones in bed together -- flirtatious but fully clothed. The scene appears in a preview seen by members of the press and covered by The Daily Mail, Monsters and Critics and UPI.

The Sun and Digital Spy cover the news that Jessica Stevenson will appear in Series Three.

People

The official Doctor Who website, CBBC Newsround, The Daily Mirror and Digital Spy discuss David Tennantwinning Doctor Who Magazine's "favourite Doctor" poll.

Tennant also made New Musical Express's 2006 "If Only They Rocked" list of the "most rock 'n' roll" people not currently performing in rock bands. Tennant was #3 on the list, after Andy Nicholson (former guitarist for the Arctic Monkeys) and Hungarian prime minister Ferenc Gyurcsány -- which explains why the story is covered by Hungarian underground newspaper Pestiside.hu.

Billie Piper will appear in the Christopher Hampton play Treats, touring in Windsor, Malvern, Bath and Richmond before a planned March transfer to the West End; it's mentioned at Whatsonstage.com and the Evening Standard.

On December 18, John Barrowman will be singing Christmas songs and musical theatre hits at Queen Elizabeth Hall, alongside the Crouch End Festival Chorus and the BBC Concert Orchestra; so reveals the Hornsey and Crouch End Journal and the Crouch End Festival Chorus's website.

The Daily Record, apparently confusing actor with character, upbraids Barrowman for Captain Jack's joke about British teeth in a recent episode of Torchwood.

Broadcasting
The BBC is developing a new Merlin series, which will air in the same 7:00 Saturday slot as Doctor Who and Robin Hood; BBC One chief Peter Fincham confirmed to The Stage that Merlin will not replace Doctor Who or Robin Hood, but join them in seasonal rotation. The story is also covered at Variety.

Digital Spy has a few small spoilers for upcoming episodes of Torchwood and a quote from the debut of The Sarah Jane Adventures.

Miscellaneous

The Daily Mirror includes Doctor Who in a list of great comebacks.

The Sun has picked up the story of fan Andrew Simpson's homemade Dalek threatening noisy students, previously mentioned in other sources.

The Hampstead and Highgate Express mentions The Very Best of The Navy Lark, starring Jon Pertwee, as one of its top audio picks this Christmas.

And finally, Metro's "Cool Video of the Day" is a demonstration of the scientific phenomenon of standing waves, which produces images similar to the old-school Doctor Who titles. (Metro's reporter says, "I keep expecting Jon Pertwee's head to come flying out at me from the centre of it," but hard-core geeks like this reporter will note that it's closer to the William Hartnell titles.)

(Additional material by Kenny Davidson; thanks to "Superted" of the Outpost Gallifrey forums.)

Tom Baker is Everywhere

There's more coverage of Tom Baker's return as the voice of British Telecom's text-to-voice service, and the novelty single in which Baker "sings" "You Really Got Me" by the Kinks, at The Mirror, The Scotsman and Metro.

Baker is also providing his voice to Little Britain the Video Game, which is covered at PSP World, Pro-G,WorthPlaying.com and Games Asylum.

People

Catherine Tate is profiled in The Sunday Times, in advance of her appearance in The Runaway Bride on Christmas Day.

An interview with Sophia Myles in The Independent mentions her relationship with David Tennant, and the Tenth Doctor action figure she keeps in her purse when the two are separated: "I'm pretty excited about the fact that my boyfriend has an action doll. How cool is that? Now, all I'm waiting for is for the Doctor Who people to make a Madame de Pompadour doll so I can do a bit of Barbie and Ken action with them ... You know what I'm talking about." Myles is appearing in Dracula on BBC One opposite Love and Monsters' Marc Warren.

Paul Cornell mentions on his blog that he'll be watching his next Doctor Who story being filmed this Thursday.

The Observer asks Torchwood's Naoko Mori what she would save if her house was burning down. (The answer: Kermit the Frog and family photos.)

John Barrowman is supporting the canine charity Dogs Trust in their campaign against giving dogs or puppies as presents. Barrowman made an appearance at Dogs Trust West London Rehoming Centre as part of the campaign, titled "A Dog is for Life, Not Just for Christmas." Covered at the Dogs Trust website and (appropriately enough) at K9 Magazine. (Who knew the tin dog had his own magazine?)

And it seems that Victoria Beckham (who famously bought her husband Doctor Who: The Complete Shooting Scriptsfor Christmas last year) may be buying Billie Piper's old house in Los Angeles. The story, with mention of Piper, is popping up everywhere from Canada to India to New Zealand.

Miscellaneous mentions

The UK Sunday Express newspaper has printed praise for both Doctor Who and Torchwood as part of a front-page article claiming that "Ten million families have switched off their TVs because of the diet of sex and violence." The piece, by journalist David Stephenson, carries a quote from a spokeswoman for Tessa Jowell, the UK government's Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, which praises Torchwood as being at the head of digital television programming, along with the sketch show Little Britain and US import Curb Your Enthusiasm. "Increasingly programmes on digital channels are giving those on their terrestrial neighbours a run for their money," the spokeswoman said. Praise for Doctor Who itself comes in a quote from BBC Director of Vision Jana Bennett, responding to comments from the actor David Jason that it was one of the few programmes he was happy for his daughter to watch. "We’re delighted that David Jason appreciates Doctor Who and Robin Hood," the American executive said, "because we created them as programmes we hoped the whole family would enjoy, along with others like Planet Earth, Strictly Come Dancing and How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?"

Scotland on Sunday has a review of the bestselling Doctor Who Annual 2007.

Jed Mercurio, writer of the medical drama Bodies, complained to The Times about the current vogue for family drama, or, as he described it, "juvenilia, things that are really children’s drama dressed up a bit for an adult audience."Bodies lost to Doctor Who at the BAFTAs this year, and Mercurio seems to be referring to Doctor Who in his commentary. He concludes, "If I give it a year people will have seen how boring it is to have endless Doctor Who spin-offs. Then, hopefully, people will go ‘we’ve made idiots of ourselves, let’s make something good again'." The Stage responds to Mercurio, calling him "bitter" and mentions in passing, "While I have my own feelings about Torchwood (i.e., it isn't very good), from the clips disc that just landed on my desk of the forthcoming Sarah Jane Adventures, I'm personally glad that somebody's making a bit of exciting drama for a bona fide children’s audience."

Also at The Stage, ITV's Controller of Drama mentions David Tennant and Billie Piper as examples of the type of "new talent" ITV hopes to show more of in the future: "Look at Billie Piper and David Tennant - even though they have worked before - the viewers feel like they have been in on their transition to mainstream television. They feel like they have been involved in the process and that’s what we are trying to do with more of our drama and new talent."

(Additional material by Kenny Davidson and Paul Hayes; thanks to "Russwhover" of the YaWho discussion group.)

The Daily Mail has run an article about star autobiographies that do not sell well. Billie Piper's book 'Growing Pains' is mentioned. The article does not go into details on her book sales, but a quick look atamazon.co.uk list it as 283 in Books. Amazon's synopsis of the book includes the following passage:'Billie Piper has won over the critics and the British public for a second time by re-inventing herself as an actress in BBC productions of Much Ado About Nothing, The Canterbury Tales and, of course, Doctor Who . So how did she get from there to here? This is the funny, honest and insightful story of an extraordinary young life.'.