Doctor Who - Best Family Drama

Tuesday, 7 September 2010 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor Who Karen GillanDoctor Who has been voted best family drama at the 2010 TV Choice Awards.

The event was held at The Dorchester Hotel in London’s Park Lane on Monday evening and Karen Gillan was on hand to accept the award for the programme voted for by readers of the UK's biggest selling magazine.

The awards were hosted by Alexander Armstrong with Emmerdale winning three prizes and EastEnders taking the prize of best soap.




FILTER: - Doctor Who - Awards/Nominations

Sonic Screwdriver Controller coming

Monday, 6 September 2010 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor WhoA new set of Doctor Who Nintendo accessories will be released alongside the forthcoming Wii and DS games Doctor Who: Evacuation Earth and Doctor Who: Return to Earth due in the Autumn.

A Sonic Screwdriver stylus is being released to accompany the games by Blue Ocean Accessories the hardware department of games publisher Koch Media.

Also available will be slipcases featuring the Doctor and Amy Pond.

Ben Jones, media manager of Blue Ocean Accessories, said: "We’re excited to be partnering with the BBC Worldwide on what we believe will be a great seller this Christmas."




FILTER: - Merchandise - Games

Filming starts for 2011 Series

Monday, 6 September 2010 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor WhoFilming starts in Cardiff at 8am Monday morning, on the 2011 series of Doctor Who, the sixth since the series returned in 2005 and the 32nd since the series began in 1963.

The first production block is believed to consist of Episodes Three and Four, both directed by Richard Clark who returns to the series after a gap of three years. Production will start with Episode Three, penned by Neil Gaiman.

Gaiman attended the read through of the episode last month and wrote on his blog
The table read was pretty amazing, the guest star or stars will be fabulous, Matt's great, Arthur's wonderful and I never got to say hullo to Karen (who was amazing).

Filming for the series is expected to continue over the next few months at various locations in South Wales and Western England. For the latest infomation on the 2011 Series see our Series Guide.

Matt Smith has been spending the break since the filming of the Christmas Special holidaying on the Spanish island of Ibiza and looking for a new place to live on Barry Island, both activities heavily documented by the British tabloid press.

Karen Gillan has also had every move followed by the press with the Daily Mail reporting on such events as the actress dropping her phone while shopping in London.





FILTER: - Series 6/32 - Production

Waters of Mars wins Hugo

Sunday, 5 September 2010 - Reported by Marcus
Waters of MsrsThe 2009 Doctor Who story The Waters of Mars has won the 2010 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form.

The story was part of the Specials series covering the gap year between Series 4 and Series 5. It was written by Russell T Davies and Phil Ford and directed by Graeme Harper. The story starred David Tennant as the tenth Doctor along with Lindsay Duncan who played Adelaide Brooke.

The award was announced at Aussiecon 4 in Melbourne earlier on Sunday. The Waters of Mars beat two other Doctor Who stories, The Next Doctor and Planet of the Dead as well as the American series Dollhouse and Flash Forward to triumph at the awards.

The Hugo Awards are given every year for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories. Hugo Awards have been presented every year since 1955

The award is the first for Russell T Davies. Doctor Who has previously won three Hugo Awards, all for stories penned by current Showrunner Steven Moffat. In 2006 The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances in 2007 The Girl in the Fireplace and in 2008 for Blink.




FILTER: - Specials - Russell T Davies - Awards/Nominations

Espenson talks Torchwood

Sunday, 5 September 2010 - Reported by Marcus
TorchwoodWriter Jane Espenson has been talking to blastr about her work on Torchwood - The New World.

Espenson, who is know for her work on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Battlestar Galactica, will be writing three of the 10 episodes in the series.
I love blending tones—mixing the broadly comedic moment in with the darkly dramatic one can heighten both. Torchwood is a show that welcomes that kind of moment. I'm also really eager to play with all the culture-clash material that comes naturally out of the show's pedigree. Writing for a show with roots in another country—this is a new experience for me, and I'm loving it.




FILTER: - Torchwood

People News

Saturday, 4 September 2010 - Reported by Marcus
David_TennantTenth Doctor David Tennant has been spotted on a banner taken from the remake of the 1985 horror film Fright Night. In the film due to be released next year, Tennant plays Peter Vincent, a master of illusion. The film also stars Colin Farrell, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Toni Collette and Imogen Poots.

Steven Moffat and his wife Sue Vertue will be giving a BAFTA master class exploring how the modern day version of Sherlock Holmes arrived on our small screens this summer. The event on Thursday 9th September is part of the Kaleidoscopic Festival taking place at Glyndŵr University and Wrexham Library in North Wales. Limited tickets are available from BAFTA.

Sixth Doctor Colin Baker has been talking to the Yorkshire Post prior to his arrival at the Grand Opera House York later this month to play Inspector Morse in a new murder mystery, House of Ghosts. He told the paper "I loved my time on Doctor Who, loved it, for three years it was among the happiest times of my career".






FILTER: - Steven Moffat - David Tennant

Mark Gatiss writes for Series Six

Saturday, 4 September 2010 - Reported by Marcus
Mark GatissMark Gatiss has written a script for the 2011 Series of Doctor Who according to a tweet from Director Richard Clark who posted last month In the thick of Dr Who. New drafts coming along. Mark Gatiss story wonderful.

Gatiss has previously written three stories for Doctor Who. The Unquiet Dead in 2005 was the third story broadcast after the series returned and featured the Ninth Doctor meeting Charles Dickens. The Idiot's Lantern in 2006 saw the Tenth Doctor battle against The Wire in the guise of Maureen Lipman and Victory of the Daleks earlier this year saw the Eleventh Doctor join forces with Winston Churchill against the iconic Pepperpots. Gatiss has also appeared in the series playing Richard Lazarus in the Series Three story The Lazarus Experiment.

Away from Doctor Who he has co-created Sherlock along with Steven Moffat. Other television work includes The League of Gentlemen, Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased), SF:UK, Agatha Christie's Marple, The Quatermass Experiment, Fear of Fanny, The Wind in the Willows and The Worst Journey in the World. Gatiss has also appeared in many BBC Radio plays and written and performed in many Big Finish Doctor Who Audio Productions.

Other writers so far confirmed for Series Six are showrunner Steven Moffat and Neil Gaiman.




FILTER: - Series 6/32 - Production

Doctor Who Adventures - 182

Friday, 3 September 2010 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor Who Adventures 182This week’s issue of Doctor Who Adventures comes with a free Doctor Who notebook and pencil set, as well as an extra gift – a set of Top Gear Turbo Challenge trading cards.

Check out the issue for 40 weird and wonderful facts such as the Doctor is 907 years old. There is enough Who info to fill a TARDIS.

Plus readers are offered 10% off Doctor Who Live tickets, there is a monster quiz and brand-new puzzles section.




FILTER: - Magazines - DWA

SFX talks Doctor Who Live

Friday, 3 September 2010 - Reported by Marcus
SFX has uploaded more interviews with the creative team behind Doctor Who Live.

The magazine talks to Will Brenton, Director Of Doctor Who Live who talks about how the show is being put together.
We’re bringing a lot of action into the auditorium. Apart from all the backstage crew, we’ve got 16 people in the cast, a 16-piece band, three sound desks and our lighting is being done by a guy who’s just come off the Stevie Wonder tour. It’s a big old scale.

To Ben Foster the arranger and musical director who tells of how he has arranged the music for the tour and of the importance of music to the show.
It’s exclusively music that has already been broadcast on the show. Which is great because many people know the themes. We’re doing some of the favourites, but we’re also doing some stuff from series five, because that’s becoming very popular too. Especially the Eleventh Doctor theme that we did at the Prom.

And to Paul Hardy-Brown one half of the illusionists engaged to bring magic, illusion and special FX to the show.
It’s going to be a fantastic show that’s never been seen before in a theatre or an arena in the UK. Even worldwide. It’s a very, very interesting show. The fans and audience will get value for money. It is going to be a great, great show. Even if you’re not into Doctor Who, it’s going to be spectacular.




FILTER: - Special Events

McCoy Interview

Friday, 3 September 2010 - Reported by Marcus
Sylvester McCoySeventh Doctor Sylvester McCoy has been telling STV of the huge honour he had of being chieftain this year at the Cowal Highland Gathering. He reminisced about his childhood in Dunoon and the origins of his highland costume. He talked about Doctor Who and how he enjoyed the performance of Matt Smith in the role calling him wonderfully strange.

Clip One

Clip Two




FILTER: - Sylvester McCoy