The BBC have launched a new festive daily game for UK residents to win presents on Facebook:

Neil Gaiman will be in Tasmania next month as part of the music-and-arts-centred Mona Foma Festival. An Evening With Neil Gaiman is to be held at the Theatre Royal in Hobart on Sunday 20th January. (NB: Although the event is described as being suitable for all ages, explicit language is used in the theatre's web page about the show.)

In addition, Gaiman's urban fantasy TV series Neverwhere, which aired on BBC Two in 1996 and had an accompanying novelisation, is currently being made for BBC Radio 4 and Radio 4 Extra. Adapted by Dirk Maggs, who is also co-directing it, and with a cast that includes Christopher Lee, Bernard Cribbins, Anthony Head, Yasmin Paige, David Harewood, Sophie Okonedo, Don Gilet, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Andrew Sachs, the six-parter is scheduled to be broadcast during the early part of 2013. [neilgaiman.com, 28 Nov 2012]

Sheila Hancock and Lee Evans are to star in a new comedy at Wyndham's Theatre in London next year. Barking In Essex tells the tale of a gangster fresh out of jail and returning to his dysfunctional family to retrieve more than £3.5m. It has been written by Clive Exton and will be directed by Harry Burton, with Evans playing the "dim-witted idiot of the criminal underbelly" Darnley and Hancock playing Emmie, described as Darnley's "Rottweiler mother". The production previews from Friday 6th September, opening on Monday 16th September. [BBC News, 30 Nov 2012]

A new play by David Haig that was due to open at the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh next May before transferring to Chichester Festival Theatre has run into casting problems. Pressure, which is about the meteorologist Captain James Stagg, who had the task of predicting the weather ahead of the D-Day landings in the Second World War, has been postponed until spring 2014 while the search to find "the right person" to play Stagg continues. [The Stage, 30 Nov 2012]

Jessica Hynes and Olivia Colman have both been nominated as Best TV Comedy Actress in this year's British Comedy Awards. Colman has, in fact, been nominated twice - firstly for Rev and secondly for Twenty Twelve, with Hynes's nomination also being for Twenty Twelve. The spoof "mockumentary" about this year's London Olympics, which had a voiceover commentary by David Tennant, is itself up for Best Sitcom against, among others, The Thick Of It, which starred Peter Capaldi, and both Capaldi and Hugh Bonneville are vying for the title of Best TV Comedy Actor for their roles in those two respective shows. Meanwhile, David Mitchell is in the running for Best Male Television Comic and he is also among the nominees for the publicly-voted King and Queen of Comedy. The ceremony will be shown live on Channel 4 on Wednesday 12th December. [BBC News, 2 Dec 2012]

Tamsin Greig and Anne Reid will be among the guest stars appearing in a new darkly comic anthology that has just started filming for BBC Two. Written by Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, the six-part series, which has the working title of Inside No 9, will take a look at what goes on behind closed doors at six very different residences sharing the number 9. [BBC Media Centre, 3 Dec 2012]

Sheridan Smith - companion Lucie Miller to the Eighth Doctor in the Big Finish audio dramas - is to return as mystery-solver Jonathan Creek's sidekick Joey Ross in a new episode of the BBC One crime-comedy-drama. Filming on The Clue of the Savant's Thumb, written by David Renwick, starts later this month, with the 90-minute Jonathan Creek special due to air next Easter. [BBC Media Centre, 5 Dec 2012]

The BBC have now confirmed the line-up for Christmas Day on BBC One, with the hour long Doctor Who Christmas Special The Snowmen to broadcast from 5:15pm - the earliest the show has been scheduled since its return in 2005 (and also the time when original series premiere An Unearthly Child was scheduled back in 1963).

The afternoon will see the film Shrek Forever After following The Queen's Speech at 3:10pm; the animated film Room on the Broom then follows at 4:35pm, with the News and Weather at 5:00pm. After Doctor Who, Strictly Come Dancing kicks off at 6:15pm, with a festive Call The Midwife at 7:30pm, an hour long Eastenders at 8:45pm, and evening prime-time finishing with The Royle Family at 9:45pm.

ITV1's schedule sees Doctor Who pitted against You've Been Framed (5:00pm), Emmerdale (5:30pm), and Paul O'Grady's For The Love Of Dogs (6:00pm). Meanwhile, Downton Abbey will go head-to-head with Eastenders at 8:45pm.

Publicity Images:

The BBC have released a variety of publicity images to promote The Snowmen, featuring characters and scenes from the episode. Portrait images are also available, depicting several of the main cast: as well as Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman they include Tom Ward as Captain Latimer, Joseph Darcey-Alden as Digby, Ellie Darcey-Alden as Francesca, Liz White as Alice, and Richard E Grant as Dr Simeon.

The debut story of Jon Pertwee has been given the high-definition treatment for Doctor Who's 50th anniversary.

Spearhead From Space - Doctor Who's first colour story - is the only adventure from the classic era that can be remastered into true HD say experts because, thanks to industrial action at BBC TV Centre, all four episodes were shot on location on 16mm film rather than being recorded on videotape - the only time this was ever done on the show.

The digital media services team of BBC Studios and Post Production was commissioned by BBC Worldwide to remaster the story, which was first broadcast in January 1970 and also introduced Caroline John as assistant Liz Shaw. The "facelift" has given the story a cinematic finish, and the Blu-ray is now scheduled for release on Monday 15th July 2013.

The original 16mm negatives were scanned and digitised using state-of-the-art equipment, and other work has included repairing damage done to one episode's negative caused by a reaction with chemicals during a printing process some years ago. Dirt has also been removed, grain lessened, joins cleaned up, and picture movement stabilised. The soundtrack, which had previously been remastered, was then added to the final master version.

Jonathan Wood, the team's lead colourist, said: Clive Hodge, the digital media services head, said:

Back in October ten candidates were announced for the Fan Favorites Cover Poll, which enables readers to vote for their favourite television show to grace the cover of American weekly television listings magazine TV Guide.

The poll included a variety of popular American-based shows: Fringe, Grimm, Happy Endings, Parks And Recreation, Pretty Little Liars, Scandal, Spartacus, The Vampire Diaries, and The Walking Dead.

However, the country's breakfast show, Good Morning America, revealed this morning that a British show rose above the rest to top the poll - Doctor Who! TV Guide confirmed the accolade via their Facebook page:
The special double issue, covering 10th-23rd December 2012, goes on sale in the United States later this week.


This will be the first time that Doctor Who has graced the cover of TV Guide, which will celebrate sixty years of publication in 2013. The closest Doctor Who came previously was with a special insert for the Paul McGann television movie back in 1996.

The show received another American honour earlier this year, when it made the front cover of US media magazine Entertainment Weekly.

The cover art for January's DVD release of The Reign of Terror has been designed by Lee Binding, who has published the clean version of his artwork via the Tea Lady Design Facebook page. The cover is presented below alongside the North American (R1) version.


Commentary for the existing episodes are provided by Carole Ann Ford (Susan), with cast members Neville Smith (D'Argenson, episode one), Jeffrey Wickham (Webster, episode two), Caroline Hunt (Danielle, episode three) and Patrick Marley (soldier, episode six), plus on the production side by Timothy Coombe (Production Assistant). Meanwhile, actor Ronald Pickup (Physician) features on the animated version of episode four, whilst episode five takes up the search for missing episodes with hunters Paul Vanezis and Philip Morris.

The DVD will be released for Region Two on 28th January 2013, and for Region One on 12th February 2013.

The BFI Southbank in London is to mark Doctor Who's 50th anniversary by showing stories from each Doctor throughout 2013.

According to the latest BFI booklet, there will be something from Doctor Who every month up to and including November.

The first screening in the celebratory season will be of the programme's first adventure, An Unearthly Child, directed by Waris Hussein and starring William Hartnell, Carole Ann Ford, Jacqueline Hill, and William Russell. It takes place on Saturday 12th January at 3.30pm and there will also be guests, although they are yet to be confirmed.

Tickets go on sale to the general public on Tuesday 11th December at 11.30am, and bookings can be made via the relevant BFI programme page.

Details and dates of future screenings in the season are yet to be announced.

New Zealand channel Prime have announced that it will broadcast the Doctor Who Christmas Special The Snowmen on 26th December 2012, less than twenty-four hours after its premiere in the United Kingdom.

Reported via their Facebook page, this news also marks the closest transmission of a new episode of Doctor Who in the country to its UK transmission since the series returned in 2005.


In summary, transmission of The Snowmen is now confirmed for these dates:

United Kingdom : Tuesday   25th December, time tbc     BBC One
United States  : Tuesday   25th December, 9:00pm ET    BBC America
Canada         : Tuesday   25th December, 9:00pm ET    SPACE
Australia      : Wednesday 26th December, 7:30pm       ABC1
New Zealand    : Wednesday 26th December, time tbc     Prime

In the annual tradition, the next edition of the Radio Times (8th-14th December 2012) celebrates the Doctor's latest Christmas adventure with a front cover.

This issue features a three page article on the forthcoming episode. Talking about his new costume, Matt Smith said:
Talking about his role, guest star Tom Ward mentioned:
Not to be missed out, Jenna-Louise Coleman also commented about Clara and how she relates to her prior appearance in Asylum of the Daleks:
You can read the full interviews in the new issue of the Radio Times, out today (1st December).


The next issue (15-21 Dec) is published on 6th December, with the 'legendary double issue' of the Radio Times for the Christmas period (22 Dec - 4 Jan) following on 12th December.

The Covers of Christmas Past

The BBC have launched their traditional Adventure Calendar for 2012, which will once again feature videos, interviews, games, wallpapers, cards, quizzes, an original story by Joseph Lidster, and other items for fans to enjoy in the lead up to Christmas Day and The Snowmen on television.

In Day One, Jenna-Louse Coleman talks about her auditions for the role of Clara, plus some tantalising scenes from upcoming The Snowmen:

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Meanwhile, Doctor Who News is again pleased to be presenting Willy Phantom's Illustrated Advent Calendar, which will feature a new festive Doctor Who image in the sidebar every day until Christmas! Those reading news through other media will also be able to view these via our Facebook Album.