BBC Radio Wales has announced it will dedicate its daytime schedule to Doctor Who on Thursday, November 21 - two days before the worldwide broadcast of the special 50th anniversary adventure, The Day Of The Doctor.

Two of the station’s daytime programmes, Jason Mohammad and Eleri Siôn, will be broadcasting live from the Doctor Who Experience in Cardiff Bay on the day, with a host of special guests ready to tell the Welsh story of the legendary time traveller. Radio Wales will also be re-broadcasting the Doctor Who Prom that was performed at the Royal Albert Hall in London in July this year.

BBC Radio Wales’ Editor, Steve Austins, says: From 10am on Radio Wales Doctor Who Day, Jason Mohammad will be chatting with Jenna Coleman about her role as the Doctor’s current companion, Clara Oswald, and Steven Moffat, the show’s head writer and executive producer, will be answering listeners’ questions. Mohammad will also be talking to the curator of the Doctor Who Experience, Andrew Beech, and there will be a special item about how Wales has benefited from its association with the long-running series.

Mohammad’s connection with the series is stronger than some listeners of his Radio Wales show may appreciate, as he’s appeared as a newsreader on both Doctor Who and the spin-off series, The Sarah Jane Adventures. He’s therefore experienced some of the passion the fans have for the series at first hand. Eleri Siôn will take over the live broadcasts from the Doctor Who Experience from 1pm, with an interview with location manager Iwan Roberts about his job and some of the Welsh locations used on the series. There will also be an exclusive look behind the scenes as the BBC National Orchestra of Wales records the music for The Day Of The Doctor, including interviews with composer Murray Gold and conductor Ben Foster. Film critic Gary Slaymaker will also assess the impact Doctor Who has made on film.

BBC Radio Wales can be heard globally via the BBC Website.

The websites of the Radio Times magazine and the Daily Mirror newspaper in the UK have this evening published articles claiming that episodes of Doctor Who previously missing from the BBC's archives, starring Patrick Troughton as the Doctor and unseen in the UK since the 1960s, have been recovered and will be made available for sale in the UK via online download on Wednesday 9th October.

The news follows an article published by the Mirror's sister title, The People, this morning. While this earlier article contained the unlikely claim that all missing episodes of Doctor Who had been recovered from a station in Ethiopia, it follows months of speculation in fandom that a large number of episodes had been recovered, with many of the circulating rumours focusing on a recovery from Africa.

Officially, 106 of the 253 episodes of Doctor Who broadcast during the 1960s are missing, being wiped or junked due to the BBC's archiving policies of the 1960s and 70s. Since this policy changed in the late 1970s many episodes have been recovered, but there have been just four such recoveries in the past twenty years.

So far there is no official comment from the BBC on the articles published this evening, but the Radio Times - which was formerly owned by the Corporation, and has always had strong links with Doctor Who - claims:


The Mirror article adds:


Doctor Who News cannot confirm any episode recoveries, only that the Radio Times and the Mirror are reporting the news. We will continue to monitor the story and bring you updates as we have them.

UPDATE I - 9am BST, MONDAY 7th OCTOBER: RadioTimes.com has now amended its article, replacing the word "two" with "the" but retaining the word "both". The relevant paragraph now reads as follows: "BBC Worldwide will put the previously lost episodes from different stories - both believed to be from the Patrick Troughton era - for sale on digital platforms such as iTunes from Wednesday, RadioTimes.com understands." Please note that DWN does not know if this now means that a number of missing episodes from two stories will be made available.

UPDATE II - 5.40pm BST, MONDAY 7th OCTOBER: According to The Mirror a short while ago, the press conference has been postponed to the end of this week, with the episodes' availability also delayed. It quotes a BBC spokesman as saying the episodes were "not quite ready". It also says a BBC spokesman had played down the reports of 100-plus episodes having been discovered, stating that they were inaccurate. However, The Mirror added that when the spokesman was asked if some episodes would be announced this week, he said: "There is a connection." In addition, RadioTimes.com has amended its piece again, to say: "Originally the BBC had scheduled a Wednesday release but now sources confirm that the date is likely to be later this week. A reason has not been given, but sources are adamant that the release will be this week."

This week's Radio Times celebrates 90 years, featuring an article summarising a number of the striking portraits that have graced the cover of the nonagenarian magazine. Doctor Who gets to feature three times in the list, represented in the 1960s with the Daleks' first appearance on the cover for The Dalek Invasion of Earth, the first full week of the 1970s with Jon Pertwee becoming the Doctor in Spearhead from Space, and in the 2000s with the TARDIS proclaiming the return of a much-missed favourite ...


Meanwhile, the results of a recent poll undertaken by the online site to find out the "ultimate evening of British Television" have now been revealed, with Doctor Who taking the crown for drama series. The evening was, perhaps unsurprisingly, dominated by BBC programmes: 5:30pm - Blue Peter; 6:00pm - Only Fools and Horses; 7:15pm - Doctor Who; 8:00pm - Morecambe and Wise; 9:00pm - Around The World In 80 Days; 10:00pm - The News At Ten with Trevor McDonald.

Radio Times is trying to find the nation's most-loved drama series, with Doctor Who featuring in the final shortlist.

The magazine is celebrating its ninetieth birthday by creating a fantasy TV schedule made up of the most popular TV shows in history. This week, in a poll to find the best drama series, readers are invited to choose their favourite show, the one they would most love to watch on a Saturday night.

The Time Lord faces competition from some of the greats, from Brideshead Revisited to Our Friends in the North, from Cracker to Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Classic adaptations are also included, such as Bleak House, Pride and Prejudice and The Jewel in the Crown, as well as the soap operas EastEnders and Coronation Street. Political thrillers are represented in the form of Edge of Darkness and House of Cards, alongside crime dramas such as Prime Suspect, State of Play, Inspector Morse and Life on Mars. All-time classic Upstairs Downstairs is also nominated, with Broadchurch, Downton Abbey and Sherlock representing the recent past.

Voting is via the Radio Times website.

The exhibition marking 90 years of Radio Times opened today - with a Dalek taking pride of place at a special display dedicated to the programme that has appeared on the front cover more times than any other.

Cover Story: Radio Times At 90, which is at the Museum of London at 150 London Wall, takes visitors across the decades from the first radio transmission to today's multi-channel offerings, through landmark broadcasts, archive clips, broadcast artefacts, and original Radio Times photography and artwork.

The exclusive Doctor Who display - marking the show's 50th anniversary and its long association with the publication - features covers as well as photographs from the Radio Times archive.

People can also become a cover star for themselves by posing alongside the Dalek against a backdrop of Westminster Bridge, re-creating the 2005 "Vote Dalek!" cover, which was voted most iconic cover of all time in the Periodical Publishers Association's Great Cover Debate in 2008.

Sharon Ament, the director of the Museum of London, told Doctor Who News:The exhibition is free to go round and is open every day until Sunday 3rd November. The museum is open from 10am to 6pm, with galleries starting to close at 5.40pm.

It's the Radio Times cover that could have been but never happened - publicising the first episode of Doctor Who back in November 1963.

A special two-page feature in the new edition of the listings magazine - out today and covering 3rd to 9th August 2013 - takes a look at how Doctor Who missed out on the prime Radio Times spot at its birth, including a modern-day mock-up of how the cover of that edition may have looked, and thanks to Immediate Media Co, which now publishes the magazine, Doctor Who News is delighted to bring you a clean version of that dummy front cover.

The Cover Story: Radio Times At 90 exhibition, which opens at the Museum of London at 150 London Wall this coming Friday to mark the publication's 90th birthday, has turned the spotlight on a document from the BBC archive that reveals the corporation's doubts about the programme that has subsequently appeared on the front of the magazine more times than any other show.

Back in 1963, Radio Times existed to publicise only the BBC's output, and an internal memo by Donald Wilson, head of the BBC's serials department, to Douglas Williams, then editor of the magazine, complained that the forthcoming launch of the programme on 23rd November 1963 was not being supported by Radio Times with a cover feature. Dated 5th November 1963, it read: However, Wilson's pleas for a reprieve as regards front-page publicity for the show's first episode fell on deaf ears and the cover star for the issue ended up being Kenneth Horne, publicising his popular Light Programme radio comedy Beyond Our Ken, although the new sci-fi series was granted a short mention in a side panel on the front, highlighting an article on page 7 of the magazine. Doctor Who would ultimately have to wait another three months and for the start of its fourth serial - the epic historical adventure Marco Polo - before landing a coveted front cover.

Radio Times wasn't alone in having doubts about the show, though. Many within the BBC were also uncertain what to make of this odd-seeming new drama, as the show's first director Waris Hussein - who also directed Marco Polo - explains in the new edition of the magazine: Meanwhile, current showrunner Steven Moffat comments on whether he would have pleaded for a cover if he were running things back in 1963: The full feature appears in the new edition of Radio Times.

A postcard set of 101 classic Radio Times covers - including six from Doctor Who - will be on sale at the exhibition, which will have a special display devoted to the magazine's long association with the programme. The Doctor Who covers in the set will be the 5th-11th November 1966 one for the start of The Power of the Daleks and the beginning of the Second Doctor's era, the 1st-7th January 1972 one for the Season 9 opener Day of the Daleks, the 26th March-1st April 2005 one heralding the show's return with Rose, the award-winning 30th April-6th May 2005 "Vote Dalek!" one for the episode Dalek, and the 8th-14th July 2006 Daleks and Cybermen ones for the Series 2 finale Doomsday (and World Cup final!).

The exhibition, which is free, opens on Friday 2nd August and runs until Sunday 3rd November.

The new exhibition marking Radio Times's 90th anniversary opens at the Museum of London this week, complete with a special section dedicated to Doctor Who.

Covers of the listings magazine, which launched on 28 September 1923, will be displayed at the museum. Doctor Who was denied a cover for its launch in 1963, so first graced the front of the magazine in February 1964 for a cover promoting the historical story Marco Polo. Since then the series has been featured a number of times.

The exhibition will contain a life-size Dalek against a backdrop of Westminster Bridge, recreating the famous 2005 "Vote Dalek" Radio Times cover, which was voted the Cover of the Century by the Periodical Publishers Association.

Other highlights in the exhibition include a 1920s Marconi valve radio and a 1941 Luftwaffe map that pinpoints the Radio Times's Waterlows printing plant in London as an air-raid target alongside transport hubs, factories and national landmarks.

The exhibition runs from 2nd August until 3rd November 2013 at the Museum which is located at London Wall in the City of London. Entry is free.

BBC Radio 2 has told Doctor Who News it is to produce a documentary entitled Who is the Doctor? to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who.

The 90-minute programme will be broadcast on Thursday 21st November, just two days before the celebration date. More details when we have them.

Also on Radio 2, former companion to the Sixth Doctor, Bonnie Langford, will be Graham Norton’s guest this Saturday. The actress, who played Mel from 1986 to 1987 is scheduled to appear at around 12.15pm UK time. Questions can be sent to Norton at the usual address graham.norton@bbc.co.uk

BBC Radio 2 can be heard worldwide via the BBC website.

Doctor Who is to have its own special display at an exhibition marking the 90th anniversary of listings magazine Radio Times.

Cover Story: Radio Times At 90, to be held at the Museum of London from Friday 2nd August to Sunday 3rd November, will celebrate the history of the publication and reflect the story of broadcasting in Britain, showcasing some of its iconic covers from various programmes over the past nine decades.

It will be divided into sections covering various time frames, but as a nod to the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who and the fact that the programme has had such a lengthy relationship with the magazine - it was granted its first cover in February 1964 to publicise the start of the seven-part story Marco Polo - there will be a separate section for it that will feature covers as well as photographs from the Radio Times archive.

In addition, visitors can become cover stars themselves, posing alongside a life-size Dalek against a backdrop of Westminster Bridge to re-create the 2005 "Vote Dalek!" Radio Times cover, which promoted the episode Dalek and was voted most iconic cover of all time in the Great Cover Debate run by the Periodical Publishers Association (now called the Professional Publishers Association) in 2008. That particular cover is also currently in the running to be named Cover of the Century, with public voting open until Monday 30th September via the PPA website.

The free exhibition will take visitors from the BBC's first radio transmission to today's multi-channel offerings, through landmark broadcasts, archive clips, broadcast artefacts, and original Radio Times photography and artwork, including pieces by C R W Nevinson, John Gilroy, and influential British graphic designer Abram Games.

Radio Times editor Ben Preston said: Museum of London curator Jim Gledhill added: Sharon Ament, Museum of London director, stated: Radio Times, which was first published by the BBC in London on 28th September 1923 and is now published by Immediate Media Co, won the PPA's Consumer Magazine of the Year Award on Wednesday.

Bernard Cribbins will be a guest of Graham Norton on his BBC Radio 2 show on Saturday 8th June.

The veteran actor, who latterly played Wilfred Mott during the Tenth Doctor era but whose link with the show stretches back to 1966 and the film Daleks - Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D., will be talking about both Dalek films of the '60s, which have recently been released on Blu-ray. Cribbins has the unique distinction of being the only actor to have appeared with the Daleks in both the cinema and TV versions of the show.

He is the latest Doctor Who-related guest on the radio programme this year to mark Doctor Who's 50th anniversary and questions - to do with Doctor Who or not - can be submitted via graham.norton@bbc.co.uk

The radio show runs from 10am to 1pm and Cribbins is scheduled to be on air at 12.30pm, but the running order is subject to change. The programme should be available to listen to worldwide via the BBC iPlayer.

UPDATE - SUNDAY 9th JUNE: The interview - which lasts more than 18 minutes - is currently available to listen to via this link. In it, Cribbins reveals there is to be a second series of his CBeebies story-telling show Old Jack's Boat, which also featured fellow former companion actor Freema Agyeman in the first series. In addition, hints are dropped about the radio show marking Doctor Who's 50th anniversary in some way, and Norton pledges that they will involve Cribbins in it.