In the latest edition of Doctor Who Magazine (out today), actress Alex Kingston talks about River Song, and about having to keep the secret of her back-to-front identity:


Also in this issue:

• And Baby Makes Four! DWM takes a peak at what we can expect from Steven Moffat’s game-changing episode, A Good Man Goes to War. Where is Amy? Who is the Eye Patch Lady? What is River’s secret? All will be revealed... or will it...?
• Have You Met My Wife? Suranne Jones talks exclusively to DWM about what it was like to play Idris – the TARDIS given physical form, in the amazing episode, The Doctor's Wife, written by the award-winning Neil Gaiman.
• Goodbye Sarah Jane... Following the sad news of the death of Elisabeth Sladen, DWM commemorates the much-loved actress and the character of Sarah Jane Smith that she created. Doctor Who’s commander-in-chief, Steven Moffat reflects on the enduring popularity of the character in his latest Production Notes; and former Doctor Who showrunner and executive producer of The Sarah Jane Adventures, Russell T Davies shares his fond memories of working with Elisabeth. Plus, an obituary and a selection of the many letters received from readers.
• Seeing Double! DWM braved the biting cold to report on the disturbing two-part adventure, The Rebel Flesh/The Almost People and was able to talk exclusively to the cast and crew, including author Matthew Graham, actor Raquel Cassidy, and director Julian Simpson.
• Gentlemen Adventurers From 1977’s The Talons of Weng-Chiang to their own series of adventures on audio, actors Christopher Benjamin and Trevor Baxter talk exclusively to DWM about playing Victorian detectives Jago and Litefoot.
• End Of An Era As the 60s draw to a close, so too does the tenure of the Second Doctor as COUNTDOWN TO 50 reaches Series Six which introduced both UNIT and the Time Lords to Doctor Who mythology.
• Running Out Of Time! Amy and the Doctor confront nuns with guns when they land inside an abandoned alien vessel where time is the enemy in Apotheosis, the first part of a new comic strip adventure by Jonathan Morris with art by Dan McDaid.
• Return Of An Old Acquaintance... The Time Team take a trip to the subterranean layer of tycoon and extraterrestrial collector, Henry van Statten to see the Doctor confronting an old enemy. Will Dalek be to their taste?
• Gone To Pieces... Summoned by the White Guardian, the Doctor is charged with the mission of finding the six segments of the Key to Time and the Time Lady Romana is assigned to help him in his task. Fact of Fiction examines The Ribos Operation from 1978, and tracks down some fascinating facts about the adventure.
• Of Gods And Men... Should the Doctor be an all-powerful, god-like being or just a clever chap with an inquisitive streak? Toby Hadoke and Johnny Candon take sides and fight their respective corners in A Battle Of Wits...

PLUS! A FREE giant-size, double-sided poster, all the latest official news, previews, reviews, competitions, more madness from the Watcher, another prize-winning crossword, and much, much more!


Doctor Who Magazine is available from all good newsagents and supermarkets from Thursday 2nd June.

BBC Worldwide have confirmed plans to move the Doctor Who Experience to Cardiff once it closes in London.

The intention to move the exhibition to the Welsh capital was first announced in September 2010 following the closure of the long running Doctor Who Exhibition in the city. Planning permission has now been sought by Cardiff Council for the construction of a 3000 sq metre building in Porth Teigr, that will become the long-term home of the Doctor Who Experience from 2012.

Porth Teigr is a redevelopment of the old port area of Cardiff and will be the home to the new BBC Drama Village, where the Doctor Who studios will be located once they move from the current location of Upper Boat.

Working closely in partnership with BBC Worldwide, the City Council is progressing the feasibility of a commercial agreement that could bring the international attraction to the city in Spring 2012. In addition to submitting a planning application the council is carrying out ground investigations to establish substructure costs as part of the feasibility.

Philip Murphy, Managing Director for Live Events at BBC Worldwide commented:
Keith Jones, Director of BBC Cymru Wales, says:
Councillor Rodney Berman, Leader of Cardiff Council, said:
The Doctor Who Experience remains open at Olympia Two in London and tickets are currently available to book there through to 20th November 2011. Further information about the closing date of the London run and the launch of the Doctor Who Experience in Cardiff will be released after planning permission has been obtained.

The BBC are looking for Doctor Who fans willing to demonstrate their knowledge of the programme in front of the nation on prime time Saturday night television.

A new entertainment show is being planned for BBC One, called Epic Win which will see contestants pit their skills against fellow fans for the chance to win up to £3,000.

To compete you need to be aged 18 and above and prepared to go up against a fellow fan in a special Doctor Who challenge.

To find out more visit the show's BBC Website. Closing date 18th June.

It has been reported that Mark Gatiss will be appearing in episode thirteen of Doctor Who, the finale of the second half of the current series due to be broadcast later in the year. The news comes as part of an interview with one of his co-stars, interviewed by Cultbox (note: the link contains a number of possible spoilers for A Good Man Goes To War as well as episode thirteen).

Gatiss was previously announced as one of the writers for this series, with his script - directed by Richard Clark (The Doctor's Wife) - originally slated as episode three before being moved into the second half as episode nine.


Earlier contributions to the series include the scripts for The Unquiet Dead, The Idiot's Lantern and Victory of the Daleks, plus an appearance as Professor Lazarus in The Lazarus Experiment; he also provided the uncredited voice of "Danny Boy" in his Dalek tale. He was the narrator for the second series of the behind-the-scenes programme Doctor Who Confidential.

He is one of the few people to contribute both behind and in front of the camera for Doctor Who.

(with thanks to Will Martin/Cultbox)

Alex Kingston (River Song) talks about her new role as the titular Luise Miller:
[Evening Standard, 1 Jun 2011]

Billie Piper (Rose Tyler) reflects on her time, post-Doctor Who:
[The Mirror, 21 May 2011]

[Norwich Advertiser, 26 May 2011]

In the run-up to the BAFTAs, writer Mark Gatiss reflected on his workload over the last year, the importantance of BBC commissioning, and the hot-topic of ratings:
[The Observer, 22 May 2011]

Writer David Fisher commented on how he was asked to get the physics right in his Doctor Who stories:
[East Anglian Daily Press, 23 May 2011]

[The Late Late Show, 10 May 2011]

The London production of Shakespeare's comedy Much Ado About Nothing - starring the former Doctor/companion teaming of David Tennant as Benedict and Catherine Tate as Beatrice - opens later today, 1st June, at Wyndham's Theatre.

The play, which has been previewing for the past two weeks, sees Tennant return to the London stage for the first time since January 2009 when he played Hamlet.

Much Ado About Nothing was written around 1600 with the earliest recorded performances being two that were given at Court in the winter of 1612–13. In the play marriage seems inconceivable for reluctant lovers Beatrice and Benedick whose endless witty sparring threatens to keep them apart forever. Meanwhile two young lovers Claudio and Hero are to be married imminently but the devious scheming of a resentful Prince looks set to thwart the nuptials.

This version is set in the 1980s and sees Tennant appearing in a white naval uniform while Tate dons the dungarees of a a beer-swilling, cigarette smoking, feminist.

The play is directed by Josie Rourke, Artistic Director of the Bush Theatre,and runs at Wyndham's Theatre in Charing Cross Road until 3rd September.

The third annual French Comic Con takes place at the Paris-Nord Villepinte Exhibition Center between the 30th June and 3rd July, during which the two opening episodes of Series Six, The Impossible Astronaut and Day of the Moon, will make their French debut.

The two episodes form part of a series of events taking place around special Guest of Honour, Doctor Who's head writer Steven Moffat; timings have yet to be confirmed, but include:

• a public Masterclass on his work as a scriptwriter
• a public meeting on Doctor Who
• a signing session
• the screening of the French premiere of the first two episodes of Series Six
• a screening of A Study In Pink, the first episode of Moffat's other creation, Sherlock

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

(with thanks to Aurélie Demonchaux/Beans on Toast)

The BBC have released two introductions to this weekend's mid-series finale, A Good Man Goes To War, the first featuring director Peter Hoar and the second with Karen Gillan, Steven Moffat, Alex Kingston and Arthur Darvill teasing over the identity of River Song. (warning, the videos contain some plot discussion):

BARB have now issued final ratings for the week ending 22nd May making Doctor Who: The Rebel Flesh the 13th most watched programme of the week.

The show was once again the highest non-soap drama of the week and held the 6th position in the BBC One chart.

The chart does not include iPlayer figures where over 1 million have already accessed this episode.

This week's Radio Times once again features Doctor Who on its front cover - though for once centre of attention falls to the Doctor's companion Amy Pond! (Please note the cover may be considered a spoiler for those who haven't seen the preceeding episode, The Almost People)



The magazine includes an interview with head writer Steven Moffat, who was asked about the future of the Doctor's most popular adversary, the Daleks:

Unsurprisingly the media picked up on these comments, with some suggesting that the Daleks were to be rested indefinitely; Moffat clarified his statements this morning on Twitter:

News links: Radio Times, BBC News, The Sun(1), The Sun(2), Metro, Guardian, Telegraph, Independent, Express, Anglotopia, Aberdeen Press and Journal, On The Box, The Register, NME