Steve Hughes has confirmed via his twitter account that he is directing the latest episode of Doctor Who to go before the cameras.

Hughes, who is new to the series, has previously been been lead director on the BBC One drama Land Girls. He has also directed nearly 50 episodes of BBC One's daytime drama, Doctors, as well as episodes of Holby City and and Sky One’s Dream Team.

Filming on the story commenced last night back at the location featured during the first week of production of the revived series, at Howell's Department Store in Cardiff!

Two new titles have been announced by 2|Entertain for the Doctor Who DVD schedule.

This afternoon saw the company reveal that First Doctor story The Reign of Terror would be released sometime next year. This will be the first incomplete story to be released on DVD since The Invasion back in 2006, with episodes four and five still missing from the BBC Archive. It is currently unclear whether this story would receive the same CGI animation reconstruction for the missing episodes like the Troughton tale, a telesnap reconstruction like the VHS release of The Tenth Planet back in 2000, or some other form, with the company merely stating via their @ClassicDW Twitter feed that:

During this evening DrWho Online revealed that the other release to the schedule is the Sixth Doctor adventure Vengeance on Varos, which forms part of the Revisitations strand of previous DVDs receiving a makeover and new lease of life. The announcement of the story follows on from 2|Entertain canvassing for opinion on a potential release when DVD schedules were published by Doctor Who Magazine in January.

This week's issue of Doctor Who Adventures comes with a free Doctor Who tin and stationery set.

Also in this issue:

• More terrifying than Daleks? We meet the Vashta Nerada!
• How to delete a Cyberman! As well as the scary skeletons, this week's monster-tastic issue of Doctor Who Adventures explains how to delete a Cyberman
• Comic strip! The Empress of the Racnoss visits the offices of Aaagh
• New Monster! the Doctor, Amy and Rory meet a new monster designed by one of our readers!
• Daleks Return! We revisit the moment that Matt Smith's Doctor met the Daleks
• Alien Alert! How do you put out a Pyroviles's fire?

As well as all that, we've got the usual news and jokes and puzzles and mayhem!

Issue 207 of Doctor Who Adventures magazine is out in the UK now.

An official Doctor Who book signing will be taking place this Saturday 5th March 2011 from 11am – 1pm at the Doctor Who Experience.

Don’t miss this fantastic chance to meet the masterminds behind the exciting new Doctor Who adventure series from BBC Children’s Books. Justin Richards, Oli Smith and other Doctor Who experts will be ready to be grilled on all things intergalactic. The signings will be held in the café area at the Doctor Who Experience and no ticket purchase is necessary, but tickets for the Doctor Who Experience are selling fast so advanced booking is advised to avoid disappointment.

---

Today is World Book Day in the UK and Ireland and to celebrate, The Doctor Who News Page is offering readers the chance to win a copy of Doctor Who: The Good, the Bad and the Alien/System Wipe by Colin Brake and Oli Smith. To see how you could win a copy of this 2-in-1 book just head over to the competition page.

BBC Director General, Mark Thompson has given more details on the international version of the BBC iPlayer, first reported in August.

In a speech to the Financial Times Digital Media and Broadcasting Conference 2011, Thompson confirmed the iPlayer app will launch later this year and said the price will be under $10 per month.

The app will give international users the chance to see BBC programmes, such as Doctor Who and Torchwood, shortly after their broadcast in the UK and without the 'shows being rebranded or reformatted.'

Thompson paid tribute to the domestic success of the iPlayer, saying in January 162m programmes, an average of six per household, were downloaded via the iPlayer in the UK. Matt Smith's debut story, The Eleventh Hour, still remains the most downloaded programme ever.

France 4 have released a new trailer for this Saturday's episodes, Vincent et le Docteur and Le colocataire; they will be broadcast from 8:35pm (local time).


A repeat of Le Prisonnier Zéro will follow the two new episodes at 10:05pm.


You can follow France 4 via their Facebook page and Twitter feed.

The actor Ernie Hudson has today been reported as having a role in Torchwood: Miracle Day:

The actor has had a prolific career in films and television, having recently appeared in recent television series like Transformers Prime (voice of Agent Fowler), The Secret Life of an American Teenager (Dr Field), Law and Order (Frank Gibson), and Desperate Housewives (Detective Ridley). His sci-fi credentials include appearances in Heroes, Stargate SG-1, as Sergeant Albrecht in The Crow, and Washington in the film Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone.

But he will always be best known as Winston Zeddemore, the fourth member of the team in the extremely successful Ghostbusters, and its followup Ghostbusters II. (A third film has been mooted for production shortly!)

The casting follows on from the announcement at the weekend that Christopher Thomas Howell would also be appearing in the series. The actor reported that he would be filming during an interview with SouthLATVFans.

Another actor rising to fame in the 1980s, Howell is best known for his portrayal of Ponytail Curtis in The Outsiders; he also appeared Tyler in E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, and other films like The Hitcher, Red Dawn and Soul Man. Notable television roles include Kindred: The Embraced (Det. Frank Kohanek), Amazon (Dr. Alex Kennedy), 24 (Barry Landes), and most recently as Officer Dewey Dudek in Southland. He also has a role in the currently filming The Amazing Spider-Man.

Here is a list of the currently known open competitions related to Doctor Who:

First News	3 Mar	Win one of four family tickets to see The Doctor Who Experience. Registration required. UK entrants only.
Doctor Who News	4 Mar	Win one of three copies of The Ark (R2) on DVD. Open Worldwide.
Eye of Horus	7 Mar	Win one of ten copies of Mara Tales (R2) on DVD.
Radio Times	15 Mar	Win one of six pairs of tickets to see The Doctor Who Experience. UK entrants only.
Eye of Horus	25 Mar	Win one of five copies of The Ribos Operation on CD, autographed by reader John Leeson. Open Worldwide
Eye of Horus	31 Mar	Win one of five copies of Revisitations 2 (R2) on DVD. Open Worldwide.
DrWho Online	31 Mar	Win one of three copies of Mara Tales (R2) on DVD.
DrWho Online	31 Mar	Win one of three copies of Revisitations 2 (R2) on DVD.
DrWho Online	31 Mar	Win one of three copies of The Gemini Contagion on CD.
Whovian Net	n/a	Win one of three copies of the official 2011 Calendar when they reach 1000 Twitter Followers. Open Worldwide.
BBC America	15 May	Send in a photo of your home-made TARDIS to win DVDs and a private screening. US entrants only.

Doctor Who fans are collecting donations via the fundraising site JustGiving in memory of Nicholas Courtney, who passed away last week. Funds raised will go to Marie Curie Cancer Care, the hospice charity which cared for Courtney in his last days. Marie Curie Cancer Care describes itself thus:The Doctor Who News Page encourages fans with fond memories of Nick to contribute to this worthy cause; even small donations will be appreciated. JustGiving accepts donations via credit card, debit card or PayPal. The page for donations is here.