Martin Shaw on Doctor Who, Collinson on Coronation Street, Moffat on 2011

Wednesday, 22 September 2010 - Reported by Dean Braithwaite
A number of news outlets have picked up from the Radio Times that the British actor Martin Shaw (The Professionals, Inspector George Gently) turned down the chance to play James Bond in the late 1970s. Digital Journal, however, leads on the fact that Shaw would consider playing the Doctor, albeit if the commitment was a lot less than is currently expected of Doctor Who's leading actor!


Elsewhere in Radio Times, Phil Collinson is interviewed about his plans for Coronation Street as it approaches its 50th anniversary and beyond, which has been reported here. RT attributes Collinson's savviness on Who under Russell T Davies as being part of the reason ITV Studios have entrusted him with Corrie's birthday celebrations, which Digital Journal has picked up on, too.

Steven Moffat, meanwhile, has been talking in Doctor Who: The Brilliant Book and Doctor Who Magazine about the 2010 Christmas special and the cliffhanger between the two 2011 series (Easter and autumn) of  Doctor Who. His comments have already been picked up by a number of outlets, including Den of Geek, Digital Journal and Digital Spy.





FILTER: - Steven Moffat - People - Doctor Who - Specials - Series 6/32 - Production - DWM - Press

NTA Nominations

Tuesday, 21 September 2010 - Reported by Marcus
NTANominations have opened for the 2011 National Television Awards, with Doctor Who one of 33 nominees in the Best Drama category along with Steven Moffat's other hit from the summer, Sherlock.

Matt Smith and Karen Gillan are both nominated for Best Drama Performance, along with 48 others.

Initial voting is now open until Monday 11 October and the winners will be announced at the ceremony on ITV1 in January. Doctor Who has won the last five awards for Best Drama.




FILTER: - Doctor Who - Awards/Nominations

Doctor Who wins Best TV Programme

Tuesday, 21 September 2010 - Reported by Marcus
FantasyConDoctor Who has been awarded Best TV programme at the British Fantasy Awards.

The programme beat Battlestar Galactica, Being Human, Lost and Torchwood: Children of Earth, to win the award for the second year running.

Rob Shearman, writer of the Doctor Who story Dalek, accepted the award on behalf of former showrunner Russell T Davies at a ceremony held at FantasyCon 2010.

Shearman also won the award for Best collection for Love songs for the shy and cynical poduced by Big Finish. Other Doctor Who connected winners were David Howe who won The PS Publishing Best Small Press Award for Telos Publishing, and Neil Gaiman who won Best Comic//Graphic Novel for his work with Andy Kubert on Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?.




FILTER: - Doctor Who - Awards/Nominations

The Adventure Games - Recommissioned

Monday, 20 September 2010 - Reported by Marcus
The Adventure GamesThe BBC has recommissioned The Adventure Games for a second series, due to be released next year.

Series One of The Adventure Games has been a great success with over 1.6 million downloads so far. Three parts of the four part story have so far been released, with the final part due out later this year.

UK players can download the game free of charge from the BBC official site while Windows users outside the UK can purchase and download the game from Direct2Drive.

The new series will be developed by the same team with Steven Moffat, Piers Wenger, Beth Willis and Anwen Aspden producing and it will be developed by Sumo Digital.

The BBC’s head of multiplatform in vision Simon Nelson told MCV:
Given the success of the first series, we'd be daft not to recomission. But it's not just about the numbers; the feedback we've had has been overwhelmingly positive. Our audience has been introduced to a new form of drama – and, for many, these have been the first computer games they have downloaded. We've set new standards in audience participation - and we think we've really helped push the concept of families actively playing together. I can't wait to see what the team does next.




FILTER: - Online - Games

News Round Up

Sunday, 19 September 2010 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor Who Live has launched an official Twitter account. The feed provides news and updates from the team behind the live show, due to tour the UK this Autumn.

Details of David Tennant's new 4 part drama series, Single Father, have been released by the BBC Press Office. In the series, filmed in Glasgow, Tennant plays a photographer facing the seemingly impossible job of bringing up four kids alone after the sudden death of his wife, Rita. The Daily Record has been reporting on how Tennant prepared for the role.

A Doctor Who inspired stage adventure is being performed at the Charles Cryer Studio Theatre in Carshalton in South West London. Hell Blossom, by Ian Wheeler, is part of a trilogy of Doctor Who plays. It runs from 30th September - 2nd October.
The story begins when our time traveller and his companion, Shaatara, a Valkyrie warrior from the New Asgard colony, visit Professor Gardener, another time lord, now living in exile in Victorian London. The Professor is helping Chief Inspector Potts with his investigation into a series of grisly murders in the East End. A strange creature is responsible for the murders - and, when it kills, a mysterious man is seen near the scene of the crime, whose incredible get-aways have earned him the nick-name 'Spring-heeled Jack'.


The actress Margaret Hickey has died. Hickey played Mary Smith, an inhabitant of Salamander's underground community, in the Second Doctor story The Enemy Of The World.




FILTER: - Obituary - Online - David Tennant

Dead Air named Best Audiobook - Updated

Saturday, 18 September 2010 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor Who: Dead AirThe Doctor Who Audiobook Dead Air has been named the 2010 Audiobook of the Year.

Written by James Goss and read by David Tennant the story was the seventh and final exclusive-to-audio adventure to feature the Tenth Doctor.

The award was selected by voters visiting the Audiobook store. It beat other books nominated including Adrian Mole, The Prostrate Years, Othello, Animal Farm, Shakespeare in Love and War Horse.

James Goss told the Doctor Who News Page he wished to thank all the fans who voted for the story.
I'm absolutely thrilled that Doctor Who: Dead Air has won - it's an amazing reading by David Tennant, and I'm really chuffed that it's gone down as well as it has, not just with Doctor Who fans but with the public as well.


Michael Stevens, Commissioning Editor for AudioGO said
This is a gratifying achievement which pays tribute to the combined talents of writer James Goss, reader David Tennant, and the AudioGO production team who created a multi-layered adventure for the Doctor combining voice, music and atmospheric special sound.

The winner was announced at 5pm on Saturday 18th September, at Chiswick Book Festival.




FILTER: - David Tennant - Books - Awards/Nominations

Sarah Jane - Death of the Doctor Preview

Friday, 17 September 2010 - Reported by Marcus
The British Film Institute is giving fans in London a chance to see a special preview of The Sarah Jane Adventures story, Death of the Doctor. The two part story by Russell T Davies not only features a special appearance from Matt Smith as The Doctor but also sees the return of Katy Manning to the role of Jo Grant, a part she last played on television in 1973.

The showing will be followed by a special panel discussion with Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith), Brian Minchin (Producer), Gary Russell (Script Editor) and Edward Russell (Brand Manager). The event will be hosted by the BFI's Justin Johnson.

The special showing is on Tuesday 12th October at 8pm and takes place at the NFT1 on London's South Bank.

Tickets cost £9, concs £6.65 and are available from the BFI Website or by ringing the box office on 020 7928 3232.
Press Release

Sometimes being a Doctor Who fan doesn't seem fair. Why should children get to have CBBC, their own channel with the top rating show The Sarah Jane Adventures shown at weekday tea times. Well, as a special treat for those of you who have to work for a living, the BFI, CBBC and BBC Wales gives you the opportunity to come and bathe in the preview of a new Sarah Jane story but this time on the big screen, with a like minded audience and best of all, cast and crew in attendance. But this isn't just any SJA story. This is the story where she comes face to face with both the new Doctor (Matt Smith) and ex-companion Jo Grant (Katy Manning). It's too good to be true.

When the Doctor is declared dead, old companions Sarah Jane and Jo Grant meet for the very first time, and join forces to discover the truth. As an interstellar conspiracy gathers around UNIT HQ, Clyde finds that he holds the fate of the Time Lord in his hand – quite literally.




FILTER: - Special Events - Russell T Davies - Sarah Jane

Sarah Jane Adventures Quiz

Thursday, 16 September 2010 - Reported by Marcus
Sarah Jane AdventuresThe BBC has announced that a Sarah Jane Adventures Quiz will be available on the BBC Red Button service this October.

The quiz will allow viewers to test their memory and observational skills by watching clips from the show and then answering questions put to them by the Bannerman Road Gang. Participants who make the grade then can go to the website and download a special certificate saying they have passed the "Red Button" level of the Sarah Jane Academy.

The show is due to return to BBC One and CBBC this October. No start date has officially been confirmed but the series is expected to start around Monday 11th October.




FILTER: - Sarah Jane

Guinness World Records

Thursday, 16 September 2010 - Reported by Marcus
guinness world recordsThe 2011 edition of Guinness World Records contains a whole spread dedicated to Doctor Who with a number of facts and figures on the what is officially the world's Most Successful sci-fi Series.

The show was awarded the title last year based on the show's perfomance in ratings, DVD and book sales, and downloading popularity. It also holds the record for Longest running sci-fi series and Doctor Who Magazine has been named Longest Running Magazine Based on a Television Series.

The book lists other statistics including naming Tom Baker as the longest serving incumbent Doctor, Fraser Hines as the longest serving companion and Matt Smith as the youngest actor to take on the role of The Doctor, something picked up by many papers.

Guinness World Records 2011, published Thursday, is the latest edition of the world's best-selling copyright book. Guinness World Records is the globally-recognised authority on record-breaking achievements.




FILTER: - Doctor Who - Matt Smith - Awards/Nominations

Doctor Who Adventures - 184

Wednesday, 15 September 2010 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor Who Adventures 182This week’s issue of Doctor Who Adventures comes with a free growing monster. Just add water to grow your own Weeping Angel.

If you have ever wanted to learn how to draw one of the most powerful creatures in the universe then the magazine shows you how to draw a Dalek, the Doctor’s oldest enemy.

Also this week, backstage secrets from the man who decorates the sets of Doctor Who and the story of River Song, the only person to know the Doctor’s real name.

All this, plus: some jokes, a comic strip and a puzzles section, including a Weeping Angel word search.

Issue 184 of Doctor Who Adventures magazine is out in the UK on Thursday.




FILTER: - Magazines - DWA