Filming for the new series of Doctor Who has now commenced at the Valley of the Gods in South-Eastern Utah. Matt Smith (who had reportedly arrived in Utah after his appearance on The Late Late Show at around midnight), Karen Gillan, Arthur Darvill, Alex Kingston and Mark Sheppard were all spotted during the course of the day's activities.


Filming is expected to continue in Utah until the 19th November.

Several Doctor Who stars have contributed to a new project to raise money for a charity providing special days for seriously ill 16 to 40 year olds throughout the United Kingdom.

Organised by The Willow Foundation and British artist, Julie-Anne Gilburt, Stars on Canvas is an exhibition of 20x20 cm canvases, each created by different stars from the worlds of sport, art, design, fashion, music and entertainment.

The charity was founded in 1999 by Bob and Megs Wilson as a lasting memorial to their daughter, Anna, who died aged 31. Anna battled cancer for five years, yet during these years she and her family and friends experienced some of their most memorable moments and quality times. The Charity's aim is to replicate the positive impact special days had on both Anna and her family for other seriously ill 16 to 40 year olds throughout the UK.

Pictures online include submissions from Freema Agyeman and Billie Piper, David Tennant, Catherine Tate and Russell T Davies.

The results will be displayed at the Catto Gallery, in Hampstead, North London from 2 to 5 December 2010.

From 26 November until 5 December 2010 each Canvas will be sold online through an eBay auction with profits going to the charity. To register your interest and receive a notification prior to the eBay auction going live, please email your name to starsoncanvas@willowfoundation.org.uk

Bradford's National Media Museum will be running a special event this coming Saturday, 20th November; "Fag Ends & Lollipops" celebrates the work of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, with talks, workshops, and screenings, plus presentations on the work of pioneers Delia Derbyshire and Daphne Oram.

Long-term Doctor Who special-sound editor Dick Mills - who received an honorary doctorate from the University of Bradford last year for services to the British Broadcast media - will be giving a talk from 1:30pm on creating sound effects on Doctor Who and television in general:

The event is named in honour of items used to create some of the sound effects, and other composers from the Radiophonic Workshop attending include Roger Limb, Brian Hodgson and Steve Marshall.

The new issue of Doctor Who Magazine reveals that the writer for episodes five and six of Series Six will be Matthew Graham. Steven Moffat describes the story, to be directed by Julian Simpson, as a "thrilling and terrifying two-parter. The Doctor will face a dilemma the like of which he’s never seen before."

Graham has himself confirmed this on Twitter:

The Life on Mars/Ashes to Ashes creator previously wrote Fear Her for David Tennant's first series.

BBC America has announced on its Twitter feed that this year's Doctor Who Christmas Special, A Christmas Carol, is to be broadcast in the US on Christmas Day. This marks the first time that a Doctor Who Christmas special has aired in the United States on the same day as its UK premiere.

The episode will be broadcast at 9:00pm Eastern Time; the time of broadcast in the United Kingdom has yet to be announced.

Matt Smith appeared on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson last night, during which he discussed his trip to America, being the Doctor, and filming in Monument Valley.

The entire show was dedicated to Doctor Who, in Ferguson's anarchic style. More clips are available on the show's website.

The BBC have provided more details of the Doctor Who element to this year's Children in Need telethon.

The annual event takes place this Friday, and the Doctor Who segment is due to start just after 8pm. Matt Smith and Karen Gillan will welcome viewers into the TARDIS for some fun and games and visits from some special guests. The highlight will be a preview of this year's Christmas Special, A Christmas Carol.

Children in Need can be seen on in the UK on Friday on BBC One and BBC One HD and later on the BBC iPlayer.

In a clip programme on BBC Three, Children in Need: The 50 Greatest Moments, Time Crash, the moment the Fifth Doctor met the Tenth Doctor, originally transmitted as part of the 2007 Children in Need programme, was voted ninth.

Doctor Who Executive Producer, Piers Wenger has been talking to Collider about the plans for the series as it enters its 48th year.

The series returns this Christmas with a special entitled A Christmas Carol. Wenger describes the story as riffing on the Dickens tale. "There’s no one called Scrooge in it and it’s not set on Earth, but there are familiar archetypes from that story within it that will please fans of Dickens’s original."

Wenger also talked about the first story of the 2011 series, parts of which will be filmed in Utah. He described the story as "Doctor Who’s love letter to the States. It’s all about taking the show out to the States and seeing what Doctor Who will feel like set in America and in some very iconographic parts of the American landscape."

This week's edition of the Radio Times features the results of their recent companion poll; the list is compiled from over 3000 votes made online (see below).

Also, as well as the exclusive posters advertised previously, there is a new Companions Special available to order; the 164 glossy magazine contains a profile of over forty companions from 1963 to the present day, articles by "the companions in their own words", plus never-before-seen photographs and material from the Radio Times archive.


The Radio Times is out in the United Kingdom today, Tuesday 16th November.

The Companions volume can now be ordered online

Matt Smith has been confirmed as a guest on the Tuesday edition of the CBS chat show, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. On Twitter Ferguson said the show will be a Doctor Who Special complete with Daleks. The show is being recorded Tuesday afternoon in Los Angeles for transmission at 12.35am (ET).

Smith will also be a guest on the Nerdist Podcast, hosted by the comedian Chris Hardwick. The podcast is free to download on iTunes.

Meanwhile Ninth Doctor Christopher Eccleston has been promoting his appearance in the BBC One drama series Accused. In an interview with the Scottish Daily Record, he criticised the desire for fame encouraged by programmes such as The X Factor.Eccleston was asked about his time on Doctor Who and why he left so soon.
However Eccleston was less willing to discuss Doctor Who when talking to The Daily Telegraph.