The Doctor Who Experience are currently promoting an exclusive 5" action figure from Character, featuring young Amelia Pond from The Eleventh Hour, dressed in her coat and hat, and suitcase in readiness to go on adventures with the Doctor!


A figure of young Amelia in her nightdress also features as part of the 2011 "wave one" of action figures from Character.

(with thanks to Mark Murphy, Brandnew Corporation)

Audience measurement service Kantar Media have reported that the opening episode of the new series of Doctor Who, The Impossible Astronaut, was the most recorded British television event of all time (so far!).

Statistial analysis of the BARB data revealed that 4.11 million viewers 'time-shifted' their watching of the programme, either through VOSDAL ("viewing on same day as live") or during the following week. The final total audience recorded for the episode was 8.9 million, indicating that some 46% of the audience did not watch the programme "live".

The previous record for time-shifted viewing was held by the Christmas Day episode of the Matt Lucas/David Walliams mockumentary series Come Fly With Me.


Dalia Gereis, the Commercial Director for Kantar Media Audiences, said:

	Programme	Channel	Episode Date	Time Shifted viewing	Total Audience
1.	DOCTOR WHO	BBC1	23 Apr 2011	4.11m	8.86m
2.	COME FLY WITH ME	BBC1	25 Dec 2010	3.29m	12.47m
3.	THE X FACTOR	ITV1	02 Oct 2010	3.17m	13.49m
4.	EASTENDERS	BBC1	25 Dec 2010	2.7m	12.61m
5.	BRITAIN'S GOT TALENT	ITV1	01 May 2010	2.55m	11.84m
6.	THE ROYLE FAMILY	BBC1	25 Dec 2010	2.53m	11.29m
7.	CORONATION STREET	ITV1	10 Dec 2010	2.5m	13.46m
8.	WAKING THE DEAD	BBC1	03 Apr 2011	2.5m	7.21m
9.	WALLACE AND GROMIT	BBC1	25 Dec 2008	2.5m	16.15m
10.	STRICTLY COME DANCING	BBC1	11 Dec 2010	2.38m	11.57m

(with thanks to Helen Brocket, Eureka Communications)

The British Film Institute have announced that there will be a special preview screening of the first episode of Torchwood: Miracle Day. The screening will take place at the BFI on 20th June 2011, with the sixty minute episode followed by a panel discussion and Q&A session with John Barrowman (Jack), Eve Myles (Gwen), and Russell T Davies (writer/executive producer) (Appearances are subject to work commitments).

Back in 2009, the BFI hosted a special preview for Torchwood: Children of Earth - Day One, and most recently held a preview screening for A Christmas Carol.

The event was seen to sell out within a couple of hours of its announcement.

This Sunday sees the annual British Academy Television Awards take place at the Grosvenor House Hotel, and the new edition of the Radio Times features two covers dedicated to the ceremony! Entitled "Sherlock v The Doctor", each cover presents both Benedict Cumberbatch and Matt Smith in the "Battle of the BAFTAS", as seen below:


Inside the magazine, Kathryn Flett explores the Leading Actor category that the two actors are nominated for, alongside their other 'rivals' for the award, Jim Broadbent (Any Human Heart) and Daniel Rigby (Eric and Ernie). The magazine also features other award nominees, including recent Doctor Who guest stars Hugh Bonneville and Suranne Jones. Plus, of course, Saturday's "Pick of the Day", The Rebel Flesh!

This is the first time that a leading actor from Doctor Who has ever been nominated for the role at the BAFTAS.

The BBC have released details for Week 23, which includes the synopsis for the final episode before the Doctor Who takes its Summer mid-season break.

A Good Man Goes To War; will be broadcast on BBC1/BBC1HD on Saturday 4th June, with the time of broadcast yet to be confirmed.

The Story is written by Steven Moffat, directed by Peter Hoar and produced by Marcus Wilson.

The BBC have released a short video introducing the next episode of Doctor Who, The Rebel Flesh, which will be broadcast at 6:45pm on Saturday. It features writer Matthew Graham, director Julian Simpson, and Arthur Darvill (Rory).


 

Voting is now open for the 15th TV Choice Awards, and Doctor Who has been nominated for Best Family Drama - the category it won last year.

The show will be up against spin-off series The Sarah Jane Adventures, as well as its NTA adversary Waterloo Road; other shows in this category are Casualty, Holby City, Merlin, Primeval and Wild at Heart.

Matt Smith is nominated as Best Actor for Doctor Who; other nominees include former Doctors Christopher Eccleston for The Shadow Line and David Tennant for Single Father, plus Benedict Cumberbatch for Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss's new imagining of Sherlock (which itself is nominated in the Best New Drama category).

Co-star Karen Gillan has been nominated as Best Actress; Elisabeth Sladen is also in this category for The Sarah Jane Adventures, as well as former sidekick Freema Agyeman for Law and Order: UK, and Alex Kingston for Marchlands.


Voting is open online until 10th June 2011, with the winners announced on 13th September.

Actor John Barrowman will be honoured this coming July by the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow - Scotland's national conservatoire for the Arts.

Barrowman, who was born in the city, is to be awarded with an honorary degree for his contribution to drama by the Academy in their annual graduation ceremony. He will become a "Doctor of Drama", alongside actor/writer/producer David MacLennan; other honorary degrees in "Doctor of Music" will be awarded to singers Moira Anderson and Judith Howarth.

The ceremony takes place on Tuesday 5th July at the Academy Concert Hall.


The actor also returns to the city this winter in Robinson Crusoe and the Caribbean Pirates at the SECC; he will appear alongside the Krankies, who also performed with him last year in Aladdin.


Media Coverage: BBC News; STV(1); STV(2); The Glaswegian; Glasgow Evening Times; Contact Music

Starz have issued a press release on the cast for Torchwood: Miracle Day; in addition to those reported previously like Wayne Knight, Ernie Hudson and Christopher Thomas Howell, and John DeLancie, a number of new names are also associated with the show:

Nana Visitor Nana Visitor is perhaps best remembered for her role as Kira Nerys in Deep Space Nine, other notable television roles include Dr. Elizabeth Renfro in Dark Angel and Jean Ritter in Wildfire, plus several voices in the cartoon hit Family Guy.

Mare Winningham Mare Winningham has had a prolific career in film and television, as well as beign a singer/songwriter. Notable films include St. Elmo's Fire, Turner and Hooch, Georgia and Brothers. Recurring television roles include Dr Amanda Lee in ER, Susan Grey in Grey's Anatomy, and Ida in this year's Mildred Pierce.

Frances Fisher Another actress with a career spanning from the seventies, Frances Fisher has appeared in Titanic, Gone in 60 Seconds and The Lincoln Lawyer, with television roles such as Dr Liz Carter in Becker, Eva Thorne in A Town Called Eureka, and Rita in The Shield.

Principal Photography has now been completed for the show, with the cast and crew enjoying their wrap parties over the last couple of weeks as filming completed; post production is now in full swing to get the show ready for previews and the television broadcast from 8th July - this includes the soundtrack being composed by series veteran Murray Gold. Thus far there have only been a few teasers for the show on US and UK television, but this is expected to ramp up over the next couple of months as the series premiere approaches.

Details of production over the last few weeks became scarce as the crew buckled down to finish filming against their punishing schedule, though the occasional tidbit did make its way into the public eye, including traditional Torchwood high-rise stunts and big explosions!

One actor unmentioned above is David DeSantos, who plays a character named Agent Baylor in episode eight; he has had small roles in television shows like Numb3rs, CSI and House, and films like Delta Farce. During his week or so on production he kindly provided us with some glimpses of his co-stars on set:

World Screenings interviewed John Barrowman, Bill Pullman and executive producer Julie Gardner about the forthcoming show: Julie spoke about the advantages of the co-production between the BBC and Starz, and how the show has retained its UK origins; John gives an overview of what Miracle Day is all about; Bill talks about his character and the quality of UK television; and John chats about working with Starz.



Finally, a selection of some cast and crew photos from the last few weeks of production!

Torchwood: Miracle Day writer Jane Espenson has confirmed via Twitter that there will be a web-based story to accompany the television series, Torchwood: Web of Lies. Alongside this, she also teased followers over potential casting for this addition to the show:

Jane Espenson: There is going to be Torchwood web content.
               So in addition to #TorchwoodMiracleDay there is #TorchwoodWebOfLies
               Enjoy all the TW brands!
Jane Espenson: We have faith in Torchwood: Web of Lies. #hint
Jane Espenson: It's tru; there's an echo of my past work in #Torchwood: Web of Lies.
               (I know you already solved my little puzzle, but this is fun.)

The last two tweets have led to speculation over the cast for the story, with actress Eliza Dushku being suggested; Dushku has played roles in several series Espenson has written for in the past, including "Faith" on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "Tru" on Tru Calling and "Echo" on Dollhouse. The speculation was further fueled by the actress herself retweeting a mention of the remarks via a tweet from Zap2It.

However, at present there has been no official confirmation of casting for Web of Lies, or whether the story will be available online worldwide or only in the United States.


Media Coverage includes: Zap2it; io9; Digital Spy; Digital Journal; Boston Herald; Tubefilter News

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A new teaser for Torchwood: Miracle Day from Starz has been released, which shows some new footage from the series: