The new issue of Doctor Who Magazine, on sale tomorrow, features several pieces of information about the forthcoming first season of the new series, including the working titles of the first two stories and a breakdown of the writing assignments on the show. Since this is a spoiler subject, click on the spoiler button below to bring up the information (a brand new feature on our News pages!) (Thanks to DWM)

DWM's Complete First Doctor was released late last week; it includes essays on each story, photos and an afterword by original producer Verity Lambert.

According to DWM editor Clayton Hickman, "Due to circumstances beyond DWM's control, 'The Iron Legion', the first volume of collected comic strips from Panini Books has been delayed by several weeks. Originally due out in late March, the Graphic Novel will now hit UK shops on or around April 15. Apologies for the delay, but there have been certain printing problems which needed to be solved before we were happy for the book to be released to shops. We've spent many months ensuring that the comic strips collected here look their very best, and the printing also needed to be top-notch to do them justice. We hope you'll agree that the delay was worth it when you see the finished item." (Thanks to Clayton Hickman/DWM)

Issue #342 of Doctor Who Magazine will be out April 1. Included in the next issue are comments from Christopher Eccleston on winning the role of the Doctor as well as notes from Russell T. Davies and producer Phil Collinson; the first part of the "Marco Polo" telesnap archive; Alan Barnes writes about "The Evil of the Daleks" in The Fact of Fiction; the Time Team revisits the newly discovered episode of "The Daleks' Master Plan" with commentary by Andrew Pixley; part three of Pixley's "Scheduled for Success" column; the climax of the comic strip "Bad Blood"; plus the usual reviews and previews. (Thanks to Clayton Hickman)

According to the new issue of Doctor Who Magazine, recording of the four Gallifrey audios from Big Finish have now been completed. In addition to the previously confirmed Lalla Ward (Romana) and Louise Jameson (Leela), the issue confirms that John Leeson will be reprising the role of K-9, as well as two special guest appearances: Lynda Bellingham reprises her role of the Inquisitor (here known as Inquisitor Darkel) from "The Trial of a Time Lord," while Miles Richardson bridges the gap from the Bernice Summerfield audios to play the role of Cardinal Braxiatel. The series also stars Sean Calsen (Coordinator Navin), Andy Coleman (Commander Torvald), Hugo Myatt (Arkadian), and India Fisher (Sissy Pollard). The first story, "Weapon of Choice" by Alan Barnes, will be available at the end of March. The issue also confirms the titles of the two additional audio stories Outpost Gallifrey previously announced, but adds their writers:Medicinal Purposes is written by Robert Ross ("it's set in Edinburgh during the nineteenth century, and deals with the famous case of Burke and Hare") and Dead Man's Hand is written by comics writer John Ostrander ("it's set in the gambling, gun-totin' world of the American Wild West"). Finally, the writer's list for the forthcoming Short Trips: Repercussions edited" by Gary Russell has been announced; the stories include "Bobby Zierath's Story" by Trey Korte, "The Rag and Bone Man's Story" by Colin Brake, "The Farmer's Story" by Todd Green, "The Steward's Story" by Mark Michalowski, "Jake Morgan's Story" by Andie Frankham, "Professor Bulworth's Story" by Peter Anghelides, "The Bushranger's Story" by Sarah Groenewegen, "The Republican's Story" by Andy Russell, "The Assassin's Story" by Andrew Collins, "The Gangster's Story" by Jon de Burgh Miller, "The Inquisitor's Story" by Shaun Lyon, "The Diplomat's Story" by Kathryn Sullivan, "The Tramp's Story" by Joe Lidster, "The Ghost's Story" by Trevor Baxendale, "The Time Lord's Story" by Iain McLaughlin and Claire Bartlett, and "The Juror's Story" by Eddie Robson. (Thanks to Steve Tribe, Iain McLaughlin and DWM)

Further to our news story yesterday about the new writers, we've confirmed that Steven Moffat will be penning two episodes for the forthcoming season, a fact apparently mentioned in the latest DWM. Additionally, the BBC press office has put out a press release confirming the details; there's no real new information in it, though it mentions Rob Shearman's Big Finish credentials but nothing else about him, and strangely states that Paul Cornell has written 'two Doctor Who series'. BBC News has also gotten into things with an article here. (Thanks to Steve Tribe)

Stephen Cole will be returning to the novel fold next January, penning To the Slaughter, an Eighth Doctor novel from BBC Books. Says the new issue (#341) of Doctor Who Magazine, which announced it, "the Doctor and friends find themselves in Changing Rooms ... but on a planetary scale!" The issue promises news from editor Justin Richards about the future of the novel line, in light of the new series, in issue 342. (Thanks to DWM)

Issue #341 of Doctor Who Magazine is out and features news on an important discovery (one we've been waiting for the issue's release to report on): a full set of telesnaps from six of seven episodes of the lost Doctor Who serialMarco Polo have been recovered. "Marco Polo" is the only story from the show's first season that is missing completely from the archives, other than extensive behind-the-scenes photographic evidence... but not visuals from the actual broadcast itself. Fan Derek Handley was instrumental in the recovery, having contacted serial director Waris Hussein recently and discovered that Hussein did indeed have telesnaps from the six episodes he was responsible for directing in his possession (Hussein did not direct episode 4, "The Wall of Lies," and therefore does not possess telesnaps from the story.) The prints themselves are beautiful, and include such lost treasures as the legendary moving map that Mark Eden (as Marco Polo) narrated over during the story. The telesnaps - originally shot by John Cura as photographic evidence for the story's director, in the days far before VCRs - were arranged to be returned to the BBC and Hussein negotiated directly with Doctor Who Magazine to be able to run them; DWM will run all six episodes' telesnaps in sequence, one per issue, starting with #342. Hussein also possessed old videotapes of other items he directed for the BBC (but none of them are Doctor Who.) Further details on the recovery of the Marco Polo telesnaps can be found in this month's issue of DWM.

Both Doctor Who Magazine #341 and an internal BBC magazine, Ariel, have announced the writers signed for the first season of the new Doctor Who series. Joining producer Russell T. Davies, who will pen 8 episodes himself, are:

• Mark Gatiss, best known as the writer and co-creator of "The League of Gentlemen" and the author of several Doctor Who stories including the novels "Last of the Gaderene," "St. Anthony's Fire," "The Roundheads" and "Nightshade" and the Big Finish audios "Phantasmagoria" and "Invaders from Mars," and who penned several of the P.R.o.B.e. videos for BBV
• Steven Moffat, the creator of BBC2's popular comedy series "Coupling" which won "Sitcom of the Year" at the British Comedy Awards, and whose previous Doctor Who credit was the teleplay for the Comic Relief special "The Curse of Fatal Death" with Rowan Atkinson, Julia Sawalha and Jonathan Pryce
• Paul Cornell, the popular writer whose work includes episodes of "Casualty," "Wavelength," "Doctors," "Children's Ward" and "Springhill," and whose Doctor Who works include such novels as "Happy Endings," "Love and War," "The Shadows of Avalon" and both the screenplay for and novelisation of BBCi's "The Scream of the Shalka"
• Rob Shearman, an acclaimed playwright and stage writer who has written Big Finish's most popular Doctor Who audio teleplays including "The Holy Terror," "The Chimes of Midnight," "Jubilee," "Scherzo" and "Deadline," and who was awarded Writer of the Year at 2003's Doctor Who Magazine awards in London in November

Producer Mal Young told Ariel, "I've never received so many requests from writers and actors to be involved in a drama series, as I have had for Doctor Who." Added producer Julie Gardner, "Finding writers for the new series of Doctor Who has been one of the best jobs I've ever had. The talent available was exceptional." Davies himself noted that he believes that he has "the best people in the business now working on the best show. They'll be writing stories ranging across the whole of time and space. The Doctor and Rose already have the best allies on their journey - brilliant writers with brilliant scripts. It's an honour to work with these people who are so talented; they shouldn't be allowed to travel together!" Outpost Gallifrey has learned that one of these newly confirmed writers will pen two scripts for Davies; another unnamed participant decided to withdraw at an earlier time (solely due to schedule complications). All are said to be working off of "very basic" ideas - rather than full outlines, as has been reported elsewhere - from Davies, who will generate the major framework of the first series and is leaving the actual details to these experienced TV writers. Filming on the new series begins "in the spring." More details as we get them. (Thanks to BBCi and DWM)