The BBC has released a 40 second launch trail for Torchwood: Miracle Day via the official website.



Miracle Day premieres in the UK on 14 July at 9pm with the The New World.

Matt Smith is to star in a new 90 minute BBC drama filming this summer that will explore the true-life story of two men whose partnership brought them gold medals in the 1948 London Olympics. Entitled Bert and Dickie, Smith will play the role Bert Bushell, who alongside Dickie Burnell won the double sculls rowing event. [Daily Mail, 1 Jul 2011; BBC Press, 26 May 2011]

Currently in the States, Smith was also seen to don Batman's costume in Los Angeles! The actor appeared in a play called Gotham Autopsy, part of the 24 Hour Plays event. [Telegraph, 20 Jun 2011]

David Tennant is expected to be at the UK premiere of his new film, Fright Night, which will take place at the O2 Arena in London on 14th August as part of the Empire Presents Big Screen festival. The film goes on general release on 2nd September. [The Wharf, 30 Jun 2011]

John Barrowman discussed the perception of being gay in the acting industry and how it can be changed with more openness: "We still have a whole lot of people out there who are not openly gay because they think it’s going to affect their jobs and stuff. Now I’m not out there to out people, and if that’s what you choose to do, that’s your choice, and I don’t see anything wrong with that. But I must say, if you’re doing it because you think it’s detrimental to your career, the more of us who come out and do things openly – I guarantee you, there’s a lot of us in Hollywood. And if we all just come out and don’t worry about it – in fact, not even come out, just live. If we could just be ourselves and live and not pretend and not lie and not have beards, things would be a lot different. And the public, in a way, has to accept that stuff. If a big Hollywood A-lister came out, do you really think it’s going to affect the films? People are not that stupid. And I think we need to give the people more power in that sense. There might be an area of society that will never believe it, will never want to believe it, but that’s their choice. I don’t have a choice, they do." [After Elton, 27 Jun 2011]

Doctor Who's head writer Steven Moffat spoke to Wired about making the shows, and commented on writing for the character: "When the new Doctor has worked, he’s been in tune with the times, yeah. I look at Tom Baker’s Doctor and that’s the ’70s to me. It’s nostalgic and wonderful. But because Doctor Who is an old show, it must never look old. It must always feel new. I’m not trying to make Doctor Who for the old fans. I’m trying to get the next generation of children to fall in love with the show." And on the audience: " It’s a big fat mainstream hit in Britain, and if you’ve got a big hit, you have to keep romancing the casual viewer. Keeping people happy who watch it now and then—that’s the hard part." [Wired, 28 Jun 2011]

Torchwood's head writer Russell T Davies put forward his view on why cuts in things like the BBC licence fee affect culture: "that is truly something of great cultural value - it's very easy to say that a school is more important than a play, that a hospital is more important than a drama, and that's because we're talking a totally false language in which these things are comparable and one reduces the other - that's the language of economics that simply does not fit cultural life. Reflecting on recent comments made by prime minister David Cameron on cleaning up the watershed, he said: "I'm delivering Torchwood to BBC1, we're delivering these episodes with weekly edits, it has sex, it has violence in it - (the watershed) does seem more stringent than ever, I have to say. I've always thought if your drama depends on a sex scene or a swear word that it's possibly a very slightly odd drama: I think that's true of some dramas, something like Queer as Folk, that's actually quite rare so I don't think we should automatically take a stand of saying these things are automatically good, because you've got to take it as it comes. It does seem more diligent than ever, that's why I'm surprised he is saying it needs policing - it seems to be policed ever since as we all know, with Jonathan Ross and the whole of the BBC came tumbling around our ears, compliance has been mad; but no matter how mad compliance gets, with diligence with hard work and with a very very close eye on the guidelines you can get strong material transmitted, I do believe that." [Front Row, 21 Jun 2011]

Writer Neil Gaiman (The Doctor's Wife) appeared on The Late Late Show, ostensibly to talk about his writing and the new series American Gods based on his books, but discussion inevitably veered towards Doctor Who, being a fan, and of course his episode this year!
[The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, 28 Jun 2011, via Ferguson's YouTube Channel]

Russell Tovey (Frame, Voyage of the Damned/The End of Time) will be playing the role of Henry Baskerville in the new adaptation of the classic Conan Doyle tale being made for Steven Moffat's other current series, Sherlock. [Russell Tovey on Twitter, 20 Jun 2011]

Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson was recently revealed to own one of the old Doctor costumes worn by Sylvester McCoy (who has a role in Jackson's The Hobbit). Actress Frances Barber (recently seen as Madame Kovarian in A Good Man Goes To War) reported: "Sylvester and I were in Peter’s house and he said: 'Look in that cabinet', in there was Sylvester’s Dr Who costume. Peter bought it on eBay. Isn’t that wacky?" [Express, 28 Jun 2011, reported from Doctor Who Insider]

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.