Matt Smith is to star in a new BBC Drama playing Bert Bushnell, one half of the team which took the double scull Olympic Gold Medal for the UK in the 1948 London Olympics.

The film shows how Bushnell, and his partner Dickie Burnell, overcame class differences to win the event for Britain. Filming will take place in August with Smith returning to the role of The Doctor, to film this year's Christmas Special, in the Autumn.


Meanwhile the Fifth Doctor, Peter Davison, joins Graham Norton this Saturday on BBC Radio 2 from 10am. Questions for the actor can be emailed to the show at graham.norton@bbc.co.uk

Big Finish has announced that its licence to produce Doctor Who adventures on audio has been renewed until December 2014. The licence was renewed by AudioGO, with Executive Producer Nicholas Briggs saying:

Line producer David Richardson commented on how the planned ranges can continue for the next few years:

Executive producer Jason Haigh-Ellery added:

(with thanks to David Richardson)

The first part of Doctor Who Series 6 has finished its first run in New Zealand on Prime and the overnight ratings for episodes three to seven are as follows:

Earlier in the month we reported that members of the Torchwood: Miracle Day" cast and crew would be appearing as this year's San Diego Comic Con, courtesy of Starz. Today, BBC America have announced that Doctor Who will also be represented, with Matt Smith and Karen Gillan making their first appearance at such an event.

The two time travellers will be on a panel on Sunday 24th July, alongside writer Toby Whithouse and executive producers Beth Willis and Piers Wenger, as detailed below:

A new book celebrating the Eighth Doctor's adventures on audio is to be published later this year, to tie in with the next series from Big Finish this Autumn. The book is by Will Brooks and Nick Mellish, and will be published by Pageturner Publishing.

The book also features a foreward by Conrad Westmaas, audio companion C'rizz to the Eighth Doctor from The Creed of the Kroman to Absolution.

Memoirs of an Edwardian Adventurer is due to be published on 10th October and is available for pre-order from the publishers; a version for the Amazon Kindle will be available once the book is released. Everyone who pre-orders before 1st September will have their name printed in the book as a special thanks.

(with thanks to Will Brooks)

The BBC have now updated their programme information for Week 29 with details of Torchwood: Miracle Day's second episode, Rendition, which will premiere in the UK on BBC1/BBC1HD at 9:00pm, 21st July.

The third annual French Comic Con kicks off today at the Paris-Nord Villepinte Exhibition Center, and as reported last month will feature a number of Doctor Who related activities, not least being the French debut of opening two episodes of Series Six, The Impossible Astronaut and Day of the Moon.

The two episodes will centre-case the Sunday proceedings featuring the event's Guest of Honour, Steven Moffat; from 11:30am there will be a masterclass by Doctor Who's head writer, followed by episodes themselves from 12:30pm. Afterwards Moffat will feature in a Doctor Who conference (2:30pm), followed by a signing session from 4:00pm.

Selected episodes of Doctor Who written by Moffat will also be screened, with Les Anges Pleureurs (Blink) today at 4:00pm, and La Bibliothèque des Ombres (Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead) tomorrow from 12:30pm.

Saturday is dedicated to Moffat's other successful series, Sherlock, which has also been translated into French. A conference on the dub takes place from midday with Roland Timsit (artistic director) and Gilles Morvan (voice of Sherlock Holmes); this is then followed by a signing session from 1:30pm and then a screening of the first episode, Une Etude en Rose (A Study in Pink) at 2:45pm.


The full Comic Con schedule can be found on their website.

Steven Moffat appears courtesy of a partnership with BBC Worldwide, France 4 and France Television Distribution.

(with thanks to Aurélie Demonchaux/Beans on Toast)

Starz have teamed up with Landmark Theaters to offer fans in the US the chance to attend a free advance screening of the premiere episode of Torchwood: Miracle Day, The New World on July 5th and 6th.

The official Starz Torchwood Facebook page has added these screenings to their events page.

Please note that seating is limited by capacity. No RSVP or ticket is required as seating is first come, first served. This screening is rated TV-14 and contains mature content. Must be 14 or older to attend.

This week sees a few Doctor Who inspired t-shirts available to purchase online, and a number of retailers have kindly offered Doctor Who News readers a discount code when ordering their design!

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Qwertee have launched the latest in their popular Doctor Who designs; created by "zerobriant" and "rtofirefly", the t-shirt is only available for two days.
Doctor Who News readers may claim a 40p/50¢ discount off the t-shirt by using the code doctorwhonews.net when ordering.

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Other Tees are currently running a t-shirt design based upon the Beatles' iconic Abbey Road; designed by "NanaLArt", the t-shirt is available for the next four days.
Doctor Who News readers may claim 50 cents off the price of the t-shirt by using the code WhoNewsPage when ordering.

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If you missed the chance to get Procrastinate when this was available as an offer for Doctor Who News before, it is now available to purchase from 604republic, which is a semi-permanent item in their catalogue.
Doctor Who News readers may claim 10% off their order by using the promotional code DOCTORWHONEWS at checkout.

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Sharksplode have released a design by Joel Watson based on an idea by Star Trek: The Next Generation actor Wil Wheaton, entitled "Fighting Time Lords".

The Scarlets are hosting BBC Cymru Wales's Roadshow on Sunday 3rd July, which will feature a dedicated Doctor Who section amongst the various activities taking place.

The TARDIS will be present, plus stands presenting the makeup and costumes on the show, plus the chance to see the work that goes into creating a Doctor Who monster; there will also be the opportunity to play The Adventure Games online.

The event is free to enter, and takes place at the Delme Thomas Centre, Parc y Scarlets in Llanelli between 10:00am and 4:30pm. See the Scarlets and BBC Wales websites for full details.

(with thanks to Daffydd Turner)