Doctor Who dominates the nominations for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form Programme in the 2014 Hugo Awards.

Not only are the two episodes The Day of the Doctor and The Name of the Doctor nominated, but so is the docu-drama based on the origins of the show, An Adventure in Space and Time, and the spoof anniversary drama featuring Doctors 5, 6, 7 and 8, The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot.

Doctor Who's head writer and executive producer, Steven Moffat, said: Nominations Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form

• An Adventure in Space and Time, written by Mark Gatiss, directed by Terry McDonough (BBC Television)
• Doctor Who: "The Day of the Doctor", written by Steven Moffat, directed by Nick Hurran (BBC Television)
• Doctor Who: "The Name of the Doctor", written by Steven Moffat, directed by Saul Metzstein (BBC Televison)
• The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot, written & directed by Peter Davison (BBC Television)
• Game of Thrones: "The Rains of Castamere", written by David Benioff & D.B. Weiss, directed by David Nutter (HBO Entertainment in association with Bighead, Littlehead; Television 360; Startling Television and Generator Productions)
• Orphan Black: "Variations under Domestication" written by Will Pascoe, directed by John Fawcett (Temple Street Productions; Space/BBC America)

Doctor Who has been nominated for a Hugo most years since the series returned in 2005. Previous winners include Neil Gaiman for The Doctor's Wife, Steven Moffat for The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances, The Girl in the Fireplace, Blink, and The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang and Russell T Davies and Phil Ford for The Waters of Mars. Last year, despite being nominated for three episodes, the show lost out to Game of Thrones when the awards were announced.

Also nominated this year is Queers Dig Time Lords: A Celebration of Doctor Who by the LGBTQ Fans Who Love It, edited by Sigrid Ellis & Michael Damian Thomas and published by Mad Norwegian Press, in the Best Related Work category, while The Girl Who Loved Doctor Who, written by Paul Cornell and illustrated by Jimmy Broxton, has been nominated for Best Graphic Novel.

Also nominated, in the Best Fancast category, is the podcast Verity!, named after Doctor Who's first producer and billed as Six Smart Women Discussing Doctor Who. The podcast is the first Doctor Who podcast to be nominated for the award. The producers told Doctor Who News: "We are thrilled to be nominated for our work during the anniversary year."

The 2014 awards will be presented at Loncon 3 - the 72nd World Science Fiction Convention - to be held at ExCeL in London between Thursday 14th and Monday 18th August, with the awards themselves being presented on Sunday 17th August.

Horror Channel's Who on Horror schedule in the UK has been released with classic Doctor Who episodes airing from Good Friday. The run will commence with the very first episode of Who in its original four parts on the Friday at 7pm before the Who on Horror themed weekend featuring stories from each of the first seven Doctors begins.


After the special weekend, episodes settle into a weekday showing from Monday after, with a story each from the First, Second and Third Doctor for the rest of April.


The full and future schedule can be found via This Week in Doctor Who.

Idents and commercials have been created depicting the cell animation advertised while billboards and posters promoting the campaign have been seen in London.


The arrival of Doctor Who on the Horror Channel reflects the science-fiction, action and fantasy genres seen on the channel's available line-up, including Xena: Warrior Princess, Wonder Woman and The Twilight Zone.

Director of Programming Alina Florea commented on the latest signing in a press release:
A special press launch took place yesterday at The Ivy in Leicester Square in the presence of the Fourth Doctor himself, Tom Baker. Doctor Who News was invited to the launch and a report of the day will be available soon.

UPDATE - 18th APRIL: Our report of the press launch, including pictures, can now be read here.

The actor, writer and comedian Toby Hadoke is to give the last performance of My Stepson Stole My Sonic Screwdriver for the foreseeable future next month, he has announced.

The show, which is as highly acclaimed as its antecedent Moths Ate My Doctor Who Scarf, will be staged on Monday 19th May at 7.30pm at Bollington Arts Centre, Wellington Road, Bollington, Cheshire, as part of the Bollington Festival.
Hadoke, who writes for Doctor Who Magazine and has been a moderator on classic Doctor Who DVDs, also said that work is under way on a DVD release of Moths and Stepson, both of which were filmed when he performed them as a double bill at the Garrick Theatre in the West End on 17th November last year. A release date is yet to be announced.

BBC America's A Farewell to Matt Smith special is to air on UK television on digital channel Watch this Easter.

The programme, initially broadcast on the US network celebrating the 11th Doctor actor's time on Doctor Who, will be shown in the UK on Good Friday at 5:00pm.

Narrated by Alex Kingston, it sees contributions from her, David Tennant, Karen Gillan, Arthur Darvill, Jenna Coleman and Steven Moffat alongside fans of Matt Smith and his incarnation of the Time Lord.

As part of the run-up, Radio Times have released a two-minute preview clip concerning the actor's relationship with his fans.

An audience of 1.54 million viewers watched the special on its original transmission before The Time of the Doctor's airing, more recently included as an extra on Time's DVD/Blu-rays.

Doctor Who makes the front cover of the Radio Times once again as the magazine celebrates this year's BAFTA Nominations. As mentioned yesterday, the Radio Times Audience Award is open to the public vote over which of Doctor Who (The Day of the Doctor), Broadchurch, Educating Yorkshire, Gogglebox, Breaking Bad, and The Great British Bakeoff is the best British drama over the last year.

As well as the latest Matt Smith/Jenna Coleman cover joining a Doctor Who collection way exceeding 50 in recent years, actor David Tennant has adorned over 20 himself, this time alongside Olivia Colman to represent writer Chris Chibnall's crime drama Broadchurch!


Readers can vote for -D-o-c-t-o-r- -W-h-o- their favourite drama via the Radio Times website.

A book that takes a tongue-in-cheek look at the era of the Seventh Doctor is to be brought out in July 2014 by Miwk Publishing, with the authors' profits going to the Alzheimer's Society.

Wallowing In Our Own Weltschmerz is being written by Andy Davidson, Chris Orton, Andrew Orton, Steven Duckworth, Robert Hammond and Matthew West – a fanzine collection of writers known as "Auton" – with the cover designed by Andrew Orton.

"Auton" dates back to 1989 and since then has produced "nineteen and a half" fanzines and two books.

(Editor's note: "Weltschmerz" is German for "world-weariness".)

As one of the highest rated shows on television today, and with four (or five!) new Doctors under its belt, it's perhaps hard to imagine a time when Doctor Who was simply one of the thousands of series that had once flourished but ultimately been consigned to the great script book in the sky. But in the mid 2000s this was how the series was regarded by many, and the brave effort by the BBC to bring it back exactly nine years ago was very much a gamble - how would the 'old-school' fans receive it, and what would a 'modern' audience make of a time-traveller in a police box?

Of course, Doctor Who did have an advantage in that it was a show that was still remembered outside of its core fan base, the general public at large were aware of "Dr Who", his iconic TARDIS, and the Daleks. This helped to lend a sense of curiosity at what the new face behind the show, celebrated writer Russell T Davies, would do with the Doctor, who would be played by an established television and film actor in the form of Christopher Eccleston, not to mention the inclusion of the press-attraction of former teenage pop-star turned actress Billie Piper.

A teaser trailer on New Year's Day 2005 formally introduced the return to the general public, but it wasn't until March when the promotional gears were turned up to maximum with a host of trailers ("Do you want to come with me?") and programmes to build up interest in a way not witnessed again until the 50th Anniversary last year.

The three principal names appeared on a variety of news and magazine programmes in the lead-up to the premiere: Christopher Eccleston was a guest on the ever Who-friendly Blue Peter on the 21st March, and then came face-to-face with 'himself' on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross on the 25th; Billie Piper appeared on Parkinson on the 19th; and Russell "TV" Davies appeared on the Breakfast couch on the 11th, on BBC2 Wales's On Show on the 17th, and with Phil and Fern on This Morning on the 23rd. The press preview on the 8th March was covered widely in the media, and led to recorded interviews with the stars popping up on Breakfast and GMTV during that week. Special programmes during the period included: Matthew Sweet looking forward with a little trepidation on how the show's return would fit in culturally on The Culture Show on the 17th; Ian Rankin, Bonnie Greer and Professor John Carey discussing the series' merits on Newsnight Review on the 18th; and BBC Radio 2 presenting Project: Who? on the 22nd. Doctor Who wasn't the only programme on the way - Doctor Who Confidential was also to premiere at the weekend on BBC Three, and executive producer Mark Cossey chatted to Rufus Hound on the channel's Destination Three about what to expect from the behind-the-scenes series.


Then, suddenly, it's the 26th March. As the early evening inexorably approaches, appetites are whetted with a special preview (and countdown) in A New Dimension, an excruciating wait through Graham Norton's Strictly Dance Fever ... and then, at 7:00pm, the BBC One "Tap Dogs" ident commences, with the announcement fans have been waiting over fifteen years for:

45 minutes later and an unprecedented ten million viewers - and 43.2% of the audience - have watched Rose run to the TARDIS and off into adventures with the Doctor; the final figure rose to 10.81m (44.8%) and achieved seventh place in the TV charts, only beaten by the soap juggernauts Coronation Street and EastEnders. A week later, a further series has been commissioned (not to mention a new Doctor on the cards!), and the longevity of a modern Doctor Who is assured ...

Arthur Darvill has taken over the role of Guy in the West End production of Once the Musical.

The actor, who played Rory Williams in Doctor Who, took over the role on Monday when the production celebrated its first birthday in London's Phoenix Theatre. Darvill previously played the role on Broadway and will stay with the London production until 10th May.

Once the Musical is based on the 2006 film of the same name, written by Enda Walsh. It includes many of the songs, including the Academy Award-winning Falling Slowly performed by Darvill in the play. It tells the story of an Irish busker and a Czech girl who meet through a shared love of music. The original production won 8 Tony Awards in 2012 and the London one has been nominated for six Olivier Awards.

Doctor Who News was invited to a special preview on Wednesday afternoon when Darvill and the company performed a number of songs from the musical.


For more information on the production visit the official website or the Once the Musical Facebook page.

Matt Smith will be playing football for England when he takes part in this year's Soccer Aid.

And he'll be facing a former nemesis in the shape of Michael Sheen - who provided the voice of the sinister House in The Doctor's Wife - at the charity event at Old Trafford on Sunday 8th June. Doors open at 5pm and kick-off is at 8pm, with the match being broadcast live on ITV.

It is being held in aid of the global children's charity UNICEF, with Smith signed up for Robbie Williams's England team. Meanwhile, Sheen is heading the opposing Rest of the World side. Joining Smith on the England squad will be Bradley Walsh, who appeared in The Sarah Jane Adventures story The Day of the Clown.

Before he became an actor, Smith's dream was to be a professional footballer, and he played for the youth teams at Northampton Town, Nottingham Forest, and Leicester City, but the spinal condition spondylosis wrecked his sporting hopes. However, he retains links to the game through his avid support for Blackburn Rovers, and the 2010 episode The Lodger saw the actor don a number 11 football shirt as the Doctor and lead fictional pub team The King's Arms to victory.

Williams, who is UNICEF's UK ambassador, said: And UNICEF UK executive director David Bull said: In the past six years, Soccer Aid has raised more than £12m to help children around the world.

Tickets for the match cost from £20 for adults and from £5 for under-16s and over-65s, with premium seats at £40 (plus booking fees), and can be bought via the Soccer Aid site.

Sheen features briefly in his kit in the promotional video below, while The Lodger guest star James Corden can also be seen cheering:


Other celebrities on the England team are Stephen Moyer, Jamie Theakston, Mark Owen, Jack Whitehall, Damian Lewis, Paddy McGuinness, John Bishop and Olly Murs, while Sheen's celebrity players will include James McAvoy, Nicky Byrne, Adam Richman, Patrick Kielty and Gordon Ramsay. Former professional footballers joining the England side are Teddy Sheringham, Jamie Redknapp, David Seaman, Paul Ince and Jamie Carragher, with Jaap Stam and Edwin van der Sar among those playing for Rest of the World.

UPDATE - 8th JUNE: Sadly, Matt Smith was unable to take part in the game because of an injury. In a statement, he said:

Titan Comics has released more details about its forthcoming range of adventures featuring the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors, including the covers for the first issues.

As previously reported, the publisher secured the rights to bring out the series in a deal with BBC Worldwide Americas. The company has now said that the range will launch on Wednesday 23rd July with covers by Alice X Zhang.

The second arc will be by fellow series architect Robbie Morrison (Drowntown, Nikolai Dante, The Authority).
A series featuring the Twelfth Doctor will follow in due course.