Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy have been named as special guests at the fund-raising convention Nor-Con later this year. The event, to be held at the Holiday Inn Norwich North in Hellesdon, Norfolk, takes place on Sunday 2nd September. Money raised will go to local charities. [Norwich Evening News, 8 Mar 2012]

John Barrowman has won a leading role in a drama pilot for ABC called Gilded Lilys. He will play Julius Ashford Lily in the show, described as "an upstairs-downstairs look at the opening of the first true luxury hotel built in New York City circa 1895." [TV Guide, 6 Mar 2012]

Suranne Jones, Tom Ellis, David Warner, Sarah Smart, and Donald Sumpter are to star in the modern-day ghost story The Secret Of Crickley Hall on BBC One this autumn. James Herbert's novel has been adapted by Joe Ahearne, who will also be directing it. Filming on the three-part drama begins this month in and around the Manchester area. Jones said: "The Secret Of Crickley Hall is a classic haunted house spine chiller. With an emotional family story at its heart, Joe Ahearne has adapted the novel perfectly, and I am really excited about working with him as a director. It's a great cast and I am looking forward to working with David Warner, Donald Sumpter, and Tom Ellis." Ahearne said: "Everyone loves a good ghost story and James Herbert is an iconic writer in the genre. He's come up with a really thrilling and moving story that delights you while it's terrifying you. It's a testament to his craft that we've attracted such a great cast to play the characters he created."[BBC Media Centre, 7 Mar 2012]

Starting on Monday 12th March, Suranne Jones is reunited with Lesley Sharp for a second series of the crime drama Scott and Bailey in which they play two CID officers in the Major Incident Team of the fictional Manchester Metropolitan Police. The eight-episode show airs on ITV1 at 9pm.

Lily Cole is to front a series in which she interviews leading artists. The model and actress was awarded a double first in art history at King's College, Cambridge University, last year. Lily Cole's Art Matters will air on Sky Arts this autumn. [Press Association, 7 Mar 2012]

Richard Hope is currently appearing in Democracy, a play by Michael Frayn, at Sheffield's Crucible. When asked about his surprise reappearance in last year's finale, he said: "I play a character who I thought was killed off, but obviously audience research brings you back. You're not meant to talk about that sort of thing but I haven't disappeared so it's quite nice." The play ends its run on 31st March. [The Star, 8 Mar 2012]

Tony Curran has been signed up to appear in the new Syfy US series Defiance. The show sees humans and aliens co-existing on a future Earth that has been devastated by wars and changed by alien terra-forming machines. It is understood that production starts in Toronto next month. [SFX, 9 Mar 2012]

Prosthetics wizard Neill Gorton is involved in the make-up for the 25th anniversary touring production of The Phantom of the Opera. John Owen-Jones, who shares the title role with Earl Carpenter, said of the make-up: "It takes two hours but we hope to get it down to one." The show is currently previewing at the Theatre Royal Plymouth, where it officially opens on March 17th. After ending there on 31st March it moves on to Manchester's Palace Theatre, the Bristol Hippodrome, Dublin's Grand Canal Theatre, Leeds Grand Theatre, Edinburgh Playhouse (where Earl Carpenter takes over the title role a third of the way through the run), Milton Keynes Theatre, and the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton, with more dates to be announced. [Wales Online, 9 Mar 2012]

Mekhi Phifer has changed allegiances for his next role, switching from the CIA in Torchwood: Miracle Day to the FBI in White Collar. The actor appears in series four of the USA Network show as agent Kyle Collins, who is described as "the bureau's top international fugitive-hunting specialist". The ten-episode series will air this summer. [Entertainment Weekly, 9 Mar 2012]

Reggie Yates is to front a BBC Three documentary series bringing together six youngsters with Tourette syndrome for a one-off live musical performance. The series, which has the working title of Tourettes: Let Me Entertain You, is a follow-up to the channel's documentary I Swear I Can Sing, which aired last December. A transmission date is yet to be announced. [BBC Media Centre, 9 Mar 2012]

Liza Tarbuck has been given her own show on BBC Radio 2. She will join the station on May 12 as presenter of the Saturday evening slot from 6pm to 8pm, replacing Alan Carr. Tarbuck has regularly deputised on Radio 2 programmes since 2007. [BBC Media Centre, 8 Mar 2012]

Behind The Sofa is a collection of over 100 celebrity memories of Doctor Who, compiled by Steve Berry, with all profits from the book going to Alzheimer’s Research UK, which funds research into finding a cure for dementia.

Contributors to the book include:

The book is illustrated by Ben Morris, who has contributed to Doctor Who Magazine and Doctor Who Adventures.


The standard book will be available to purchase as a limited edition both in a hard-cover and as an e-book. Limited advance copies can now be pre-ordered, with additional packages available: along with a free copy of the e-book, Supporters will also be listed in the acknowledgements for the Ogron package (200 copies), and additionally receive a signed print of one of Ben Morris's illustrations for the book if purchasing the Slitheen package (100 copies); a Sponsor package, Zygon (10 copies), also allows the inclusion of a company graphic or sponsor message in the acknowledgements.

The book is due to be published in September - full details and information on how to pre-order can be found via the book's official website.

United Kingdom

A bit of nostalgia for Boston as 1977 saw a report on a visit to the Oldrids store by Tom Baker, who was there to autograph books about the television series and "proved a hit with the locals." [Boston Standard, 20 Feb 2012]

A Doctor Who-themed day was held at Long Close School in Slough to herald the beginning of half-term. A special poster replaced the school emblem, pupils wore costumes, time travel stories and quantum mechanics got a look-in on the curriculum, a Dalek, Weeping Angel, Cyberman, and Tardis made an appearance - and even headteacher David Brazier got in on the act by dressing up as the Ninth Doctor! [Slough and South Bucks Observer, 17 Feb 2012]

Daleks helped raise more than £1,000 for the British Heart Foundation when they appeared as part of a fund-raising day at the Ashley Centre in Epsom. [Epsom Guardian, 20 Feb 2012]

Twickenham Film Studios has gone into administration, with very little likelihood of it making movies again. Due to celebrate its centenary next year, it is, instead, being wound down between now and June. It was also host to TV productions over the years, including the BBC drama serial Our Friends In The North, which co-starred Christopher Eccleston, and Coupling, the BBC comedy created and written by Steven Moffat. On the cinematic front, An Education, which was filmed there, featured Carey Mulligan in her first leading role, while trivia buffs may like to know that the Amicus Films offering The Terrornauts featured shots of the Dalek flying saucer model from the same production company's Daleks - Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D. A partial Twickenham filmography is available here. [BBC News, 20 Feb 2012]
(With thanks to Jeremy Bentham)

United States

An outdoor advertising campaign by BBC America that uses Doctor Who among its references has proved to be an internet smash. Billboards and commuter transit ads have been appearing in the New York City area to promote the network - among them posters on all three suburban commuter train lines that say "My other commute is in a TARDIS" (which has reportedly been downloaded 1,000 times) and "If you were a Time Lord, you would be home by now or 700 years ago". The channel has also logged more than 12,500 posts and likes on Tumblr, plus nearly 500 tweets of photos or comments. [Multichannel News, 10 Feb 2012] [BuzzFeed, 8 Feb 2012]

Writing for Washington University's independent newspaper in St. Louis, David Sargeant rates Doctor Who amongst the best of British shows: "Arguably the most popular British show of all time, Doctor Who is the easiest show to jump into and the sole entry on this list still in production. The Doctor is an alien with a time machine, a fondness for humans and an out-of-this-world personality. He travels through time and space with a human companion, confronting various alien menaces and setting an example of tolerance and cool logic. The franchise is approaching its 50th anniversary but has yet to show its age." [Student Life, 20 Feb 2012]

Andrea Shelton reflects on her experience at the GallifreyOne Convention that took place in Los Angeles last weekend: "This weekend I made my first trip to the 23rd installment of Gallifrey One – a Doctor Who convention held annually in LA – and it was nothing short of OUTSTANDING. The defining characteristic of this event is that it is 100% fan-run. This means every staff member and volunteer is participating out of sheer love and enjoyment of the series, and it shows in every detail of the programming. The charm of this convention goes beyond the quality of programming. Just as important to the overall experience is the character of the fans. I am pleased to say I have never been surrounded by so many friendly, enthusiastic, and kind people that I immediately felt a connection with. This convention has everything a Doctor Who fan could ask for, and I am already counting down the days until next year. It is a trip worth saving for, and I can’t wait to see what they have in store for next year’s 50th Anniversary special." [What Culture, 21 Feb 2012]

Lastly, a selection of photos taken at the convention. [LA Weekly, 20 Feb 2012]

Russell T Davies and Phil Ford are bringing new action adventure drama Aliens Vs Wizards to children's TV this autumn. The series will comprise 12 episodes of 30 minutes each and centre on two 16-year-old schoolboys, Tom and Benny, and an alien race entitled the Nekross. Davies said: "Writing for children is the biggest challenge of all and I think CBBC stands right at the heart of broadcasting. So I'm delighted to launch this show, a true nationwide collaboration - a Salford commission from a BBC Wales team. We're joining genres too - the show's a wild, funny, thrilling and sometimes scary collision of magic and science fiction." The show will be produced for CBBC by BBC Cymru Wales with FremantleMedia Enterprises. The executive producers are Davies, Bethan Jones and Gina Cronk for the BBC and Bob Higgins and Sander Schwartz for FME. The producer is Brian Minchin, while Ford will co-produce. [BBC Media Centre, 23 Jan 2012], [BBC News, 23 Jan 2012]

It was back to school for new series writer Tom MacRae when he received a request to help children develop their creativity. He visited his alma mater near Daventry, Northamptonshire, after an invitation by two pupils at Weedon Bec Primary. MacRae revealed how, during an assembly while there as a child, he came up with the idea of a magnifying glass that could see through time - a concept he went on to use in The Girl Who Waited. MacRae, who also took some Doctor Who props with him to show the pupils, said: "I have used quite a few playground games and school daydreams in shows, particularly programmes that have a magic element to them. The Girl Who Waited has probably done more to boost my career than anything else I've done. I owe the huge boost it gave me to the idea I had when I was six years old." [BBC News, 23 Jan 2012]

Sheridan Smith, who played Eighth Doctor companion Lucie Miller for Big Finish, has won the Critics' Circle Best Actress award for her portrayal of Doris Skriczevinsky in the wartime drama Flare Path, by Terence Rattigan, at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, London - a role for which she previously received the 2011 Natasha Richardson Award for Best Actress. [BBC News, 24 Jan 2012]

Arabella Weir (Billis in The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe, as well as an alternative Doctor in the Big Finish audio adventure Exile) is among the star names taking part in this year's Let's Dance For Sport Relief, which starts on BBC One on Saturday 18th February. [BBC Media Centre, 25 Jan 2012]

The auction of the Doctor's clothes to raise money for Children in Need has now ended, with the winning bid donating £50,000 to the charity!

Final bids on other related items in the auction included:

• £1,800 - signed Pudsey Bear by Matt Smith
• £361.87 - signed Pudsey Bear by John Barrowman
• £62.00 - signed artwork of Tommy by Anjli Mohindra
• £151.00 - signed artwork of Shansheeth by Anjli Mohindra
• £72.00 - signed artwork of The Empty Planet by Anjli Mohindra
• £56.55 - signed artwork of Anjli by Tommy Knight
• £158.00 - signed artwork of Odd Bob by Tommy Knight
• £95.87 - signed artwork of The Groske by Daniel Anthony
• £620.00 - signed Soulless mask from Torchwood: Miracle Day
  

Last night the Doctor put up his clothes for auction to raise money for Children in Need; the costume is available to bid on here, and at the time of writing has currently reached £22,100!

Other related items in the auction include signed Pudsey Bears by Matt Smith (currently £1,600) and John Barrowman (£240.50), plus signed artwork by the Sarah Jane Adventures cast with Tommy, Shansheeth and The Empty Planet by Anjli Mohindra, Anjli and Odd Bob by Tommy Knight, and The Groske by Daniel Anthony.



You can watch the Doctor's appeal (and the trailer for The Doctor, The Widow And The Wardrobe) below:

With all the excitement brewing for the Doctor's latest appearance tonight in Children in Need, we thought it would be worth providing a brief reminder of the cause it is in aid of:

Doctor Who has often featured as part of the Children in Need evening, including the premier broadcasts of the special episodes The Five Doctors (1983), Dimensions in Time (1993), "Born Again" (2005) and Time Crash (2007), plus a Dead Ringers special (2003) and a number of previews, including the forthcoming Christmas Special whose name is to be revealed tonight. Last year featured a special tea party within the TARDIS, and tonight the Doctor is even losing his clothes for the cause!

The BBC have intimated via their Doctor Who Twitter feed that a mini-episode has been written to star Matt Smith as the Doctor for this coming Friday's Children in Need:


A preview of this year's Christmas Special is due to be transmitted between 8:00-8:30pm on Friday evening.

The new issue of the Radio Times (12-18 Nov) confirms the time of the Christmas Special preview as being in the 8:00-8:30pm timeslot during this year's Children in Need on 18th November, promising "an exclusive treat from Doctor Who".

This is the same slot as broadcast last year - with Children in Need being a live show, the time can only be estimated and won't be known until during the programme itself!

The title of the episode itself is expected to be revealed in the next couple of weeks.

The BBC Press Office have now released information for this year's Children In Need, confirming that the evening will feature a (now traditional!) clip of the forthcoming Doctor Who Christmas Special:

Full details about the night can be read in the press release - though no specific details about the clip have been mentioned, previous years have provided the audience with a teaser scene from early in the episode.

This year's Children in Need evening is on Friday 18th November, kicking off from 7:30pm on BBC1 and BBC1HD.