The director Michael Hayes has died, aged 85. He helmed three stories during the 1970s, Season 16's The Androids Of Tara, The Armageddon Factor, and the following year's City of Death.

Initially reluctant to take on the show, seeing it as "a children's show with dodgy effects", he was persuaded to do so by his friend Graeme MacDonald (Head of Serials) and producer Graham Williams, during which he also became friends with the lead actor Tom Baker. With his final contribution to Doctor Who, Hayes took the show to its first overseas location, filming in the streets of Paris - he also contributed to the story both with a cameo as a passenger on the Metro seen to follow the Doctor and Romana of the train at Boissière station, and to provide the voice of one of the gendarmes who inform the Doctor that the Mona Lisa has been stolen from the Louvre.

As well as Doctor Who, he directed a number of episodes of popular series such as Thirty-Minute Theatre, Z Cars, The Onedin Line, When The Boat Comes In, and All Creatures Great And Small, leading up to his last credited production, Skorpion, in 1983. He also produced and directed (and cameoed in) the 1961 sci-fi series A For Andromeda.

The creative team behind the free, award-winning podcast series The Minister of Chance is looking to expand their saga into an episodically released motion picture. In order to achieve it, the producers have turned to crowdfunding platform Kickstarter.

The Minister of Chance is a spin-off from the very first Doctor Who podcast Death Comes to Time from 2001, in which The Minister was portrayed by Stephen Fry. The story continues the tale of the Minister, now regenerated and portrayed by Julian Wadham (John Steed in The Avengers from Big Finish), who steps into the middle of a power struggle between two nations, the technologically advanced Sezuan and the primitive Tanto – lead respectively by the Ambassador Durian(Paul McGann) and the Witch Prime (Sylvester McCoy). The audio series is available for free on both iTunes and the Minister of Chance website.

The original podcast drama featured a star-powered cast, ranging from the afore-mentioned McGann, McCoy and Wadham, to Sophie Aldred (Ace of Doctor Who), Paul Darrow (Blake's 7) and Philip Glenister (Life on Mars, Ashes to Ashes, Mad Dogs). The producers have stated that a majority of the original cast is interested in taking part in the movie, naturally barring the unforeseen issues like scheduling conflicts. In fact, the only actor that is said NOT to appear for certain is Paul Darrow. The movie will be written and directed by Dan Freeman and produced by Kerryn Arcari.

In order to enter production, The Minister of Change is seeking for £ 100 000 in funding by October 31st. As always with Kickstarter, the money won't be charged from the pledgers until the campaign closes and successfully reaches its goal. The Kickstarter rewards feature a wide range of collectibles from the movie props and statuettes to musical spoons signed by Sylvester McCoy.

The Kickstarter project is live here.

The BBC have released a number of publicity photos for the forthcoming episode Flatline; as well as Peter Capaldi as the Doctor and Jenna Coleman as Clara, images also feature Christopher Fairbank as Fenton, Joivan Wade as Rigsy, Matt Bardock as Al, and Raj Bajaj as George.


The episode airs from 8:25pm on BBC One this coming Saturday, 18th October.

Voting has now opened for the twentieth National Television Awards, the annual ceremony that takes place in January with award-winners chosen by the British viewing public.

Doctor Who is included in the Drama category as usual, but competition is strong with some 34 productions to choose from at this stage of voting. The show is up against a range of British programmes, with only one import included this year: Atlantis, Call The Midwife, Casualty, Cilla, DCI Banks, Death Comes To Pemberley, Death In Paradise, Downton Abbey, Endeavour, The Escape Artist, Grantchester, Happy Valley, Holby City, Inspector George Gently, In The Club, Jonathan Creek, Last Tango In Halifax, Line of Duty, Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D., Midsommer Murders, Mr Selfridge, The Musketeers, New Tricks, Our Zoo, Prey, Scott & Bailey, Sherlock, Shetland, Silent Witness, Suspects, Vera, The Village, and The Widower.

In the combined Drama Performance category, both Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman are nominated for their Doctor Who roles, and will also face former Doctor David Tennant, up for his role in The Escape Artist. There are some 50 personalities listed in this category, including a number of Doctor Who guest stars from the past and present: Clare-Hope Ashitey (Suspects), Brenda Blethyn (Vera), Paul Bradley (Holby City), Jim Carter (Downton Abbey), Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock), Alan Davies (Jonathan Creek), Michelle Dockery (Downton Abbey), Jack Donnelly (Atlantis), Neil Dudgeon (Midsommer Murders), Shaun Evans (Endeavour), Emilia Fox (Silent Witness), Martin Freeman (Sherlock), Joanne Froggatt (Downton Abbey), Helen George (Call The Midwife), Robson Green (Grantchester), Miranda Hart (Call The Midwife), Keeley Hawes (Line Of Duty), Douglas Henshall (Shetland), Lee Ingleby (Our Zoo), Sir Derek Jacobi (Last Tango In Halifax), Suranne Jones (Scott & Bailey), Katherine Kelly (Mr Selfridge), Sarah Lancashire (Happy Valley), Nicholas Lyndhurst (New Tricks), Rosie Marcel (Holby City), Kris Marshall (Death In Paradise), Anna Maxwell Martin (Death Comes To Pemberley), Maimie McCoy (The Musketeers), Amanda Mealing (Casualty), Hermione Norris (In The Club), James Norton (Grantchester), Tamzin Outhwaite (New Tricks), Sarah Parish (Atlantis), Katherine Parkinson (In The Club), Maxine Peake (The Village), Luke Pasqualino (The Musketeers), Jeremy Piven (Mr Selfridge), Anne Reid (Last Tango In Halifax), Matthew Rhys (Death Comes To Pemberley), John Simm (Prey / The Village), Lesley Sharp (Scott & Bailey), Martin Shaw (Inspector George Gently), Reece Shearsmith (The Widower), Dame Maggie Smith (Downton Abbey), Sheridan Smith (Cilla), Derek Thompson (Casualty), and Stephen Tomkinson (DCI Banks).


The initial round of voting takes place until midnight 26th October, with the short-list votes taking place in January in the lead-up to the Awards Ceremony itself at the O2 Arena in London on 21st January 2015; the ceremony will be broadcast on ITV.

Last year saw Matt Smith win the Drama Performance category, with the show itself also winning Best Drama. The complete list of winners from previous years can be found on the NTA website.

A new book celebrating Lalla Ward's adventures as the intrepid Time Lady Romana in Doctor Who, has been released by Fantom Films.

Designed and edited by Paul W.T. Ballard, this collection contains remembrances from Ward herself on each of her stories, alongside a vast wealth of visual material. Included inside are photographs from filming and photocalls, reproductions of beautiful costume designs from June Hudson and Doreen James, as well as stunning original artwork by top Doctor Who artists Alister Pearson and Andrew Skilleter.

All profits from this limited edition collection are being donated to Denville Hall.

You can order the book from the Fantom Films Website.

The drama based on the birth of Doctor Who, An Adventure in Space and Time, has been nomionated of an International Emmy Award.

Nominations for the 2014 International Emmy Awards were announced today by the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences at a Press Conference at the Mipcom convention in Cannes.

An Adventure In Space And Time was written by Mark Gatiss and directed by Terry McDonough.

The drama has previously been nominated for a BAFTA award and a Critics Choice award, but lost out in both cases. The 42nd International Emmy Awards will take place November 24, 2014 at the New York Hilton Hotel.

The actor Barry Summerford has died at the age of 71

Summerford appeared in at least 24 episodes of Doctor Who, playing a range of supporting characters. He was a Vogan in Revenge of the Cybermen, a Shrieve in The Ribos Operation and a Foster in The Keeper of Traken, as well as playing a number of guards and soldiers over a 8 year period.

The actor also appeared in a wide range of British Television programmes, including A Year in Provence, Campion, The Bill, Grange Hill, Nancy Astor, Enemy at the Door, Jackanory Playhouse, Z Cars, Moonbase 3 and Doomwatch, as well as a number of episodes of Blakes 7 and appearing as a Stormtrooper in Star Wars.

Doctor Who Mummy On The Orient Express had an Audience Appreciation Index or AI score of 85, the highest score since The Day of The Doctor.

The Appreciation Index or AI is a measure of how much the audience enjoyed the programme. The score, out of a hundred, is compiled by a specially selected panel of around 5,000 people who go online and rate and comment on programmes.

Overall Doctor Who rated slightly higher with women than with men and scored the highest within the 16-34 age group. 48% of the sample thought the programme felt 'Fresh and New'.

The X Factor Results topped the ratings for Sunday with 8.79 million viewers, while Strictly Come Dancing and Downton Abbey took 2nd and 3rd place. Doctor Who is currently in 23rd place for the week. Final figures will be published next week.

The Sunday repeat of Mummy On The Orient Express on BBC Three had an overnight estimate of 0.20 million viewers, a 0.8% share of the audience.

6.91 million watched the UK transmission of Kill the Moon according to consolidated figures available today, which include those recording the programme and watching within one week of transmission.

The final chart position should be available later in the week.