Doctor Who has been awared an Ally Award by PinkNews for its long-standing policy of LGBT inclusiveness.

The award was collected by Pearl Mackie, who played Bill Potts in the most recent series, accompanied by the outgoing executive producer Brian Minchin.

Since the return of the series in 2005, Doctor Who has featured a string of one-off and recurring LGBT characters.

In the first series Russell T Davies introduced the omnisexual Captain Jack Harkness, played by John Barrowman, who traveled with the Doctor on and off until the regeneration of the Tenth Doctor. This year Steven Moffat gave us Bill Potts, played by Pearl Mackie, who became the series first openly gay companion.

Speaking to PinkNews, Mackie said: The PinkNews Awards celebrate the contributions of politicians, businesses and community groups towards LGBT equality in the UK and around the world.

The event was attended by British Prime Minister Theresa May, Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan.

Obverse Books have announced a change in the schedule for the Black Archive series of books.

The Black Archive explores the making of specific Doctor Who stories, analysing in detail the stories selected.

The previously-announced 2018 release of The Twin Dilemma has been put on hold indefinitely. Instead Jon Arnold, author of the acclaimed the Black Archive #1: Rose will be stepping into the breach with a study of Steven Moffat’s debut story as showrunner, and Matt Smith’s as the 11th Doctor, The Eleventh Hour.

The Black Archive schedule now runs as follows:

• January – The Black Archive #15: Carnival of Monsters
by Ian Potter
• February – The Black Archive #16: Full Circle
by John Toon
• March – The Black Archive #17: The Impossible Planet / The Satan Pit
by Simon BucherJones
• April – The Black Archive #18: Marco Polo
by Dene October
• May – The Black Archive #19: The Eleventh Hour
by Jon Arnold
• June – The Black Archive #20: Face the Raven
by Sarah Groenewegen
• July – The Black Archive #21: Heaven Sent
by Kara Dennison
• August – The Black Archive #22: Hell Bent
by Alyssa Franke
• September – The Black Archive #23: The Curse of Fenric
by Una McCormack
• October – The Black Archive #24: The Time Warrior
by Matthew Kilburn
• November – The Black Archive #25: Doctor Who (1996)
by Paul Driscoll
• December – The Black Archive #26: The Dæmons
by Matt Barber

Titles for 2019 will be announced in due course.

BBC Worldwide have confirmed the Doctor Who Experience will close on Saturday 9th September 2017

The Experience, based at Porth Teigr, Cardiff Bay, opened in July 2012 after a brief run in London. During its five-year tenure, it has welcomed many fans to the welsh capital with its interactive experience and displays of sets and props from the series.

The Experience has planned a number of special events throughout the summer with tickets for the final period being released from midday on Friday 16th June.

The Filming Location Walking Tours will return from the 8th July. These are a 75-minute walk around Cardiff Bay and features sites from Series 10 and memorable locations from previous series.

Series 10 content will be brought into the Experience, with the finished exhibition being unveiled on the 8th July. This will include props, costumes and sets from Series 10, that will join the Peter Capaldi and Pearl Mackie costumes which are already part of the exhibition.

Earlier this year it was announced that the Yeti from The Web of Fear, during Patrick Troughton’s incarnation as the Doctor, was voted by fans as the Doctor Who monster they’d most like to see restored as part of the ongoing Restoration Project. So to celebrate, Model Unit expert, Mike Tucker will also be on hand on the 8th July to reveal the final, renovated monster in all its glory to visitors.

On 22nd July, the Experience will host its final Monster Event, with the Cybermen at its theme. The day will include workshops and question and answer sessions with monster-makers, Millennium FX; a chance for fans to be converted into Cybermen; as well as live Mondasian Cybermen roaming the Experience floor. The day will be completed with a viewing of the final two-part episode, first screened on BBC One on 24th June & 1st July, screened in the Experience’s exhibition area.

Later in the holidays, on the 5th August, fans can look forward to the biggest Doctor Who Experience Cosplay Celebration yet. Fans will be invited and encouraged to visit dressed as their favourite Doctor Who character or monster.

Ticket information is available from doctorwhoexperience.com

BBC Worldwide are looking for people to work at the Doctor Who Experience in Cardiff this summer.

Fixed term Summer contracts are being offered to support the core team at the Experience during peak periods over the holiday period before the Experience closes its doors later this year.

Successful candidates will be expected to deliver excellent customer service and interact with guests at every opportunity. They will need to be able to answer visitor questions and deal with queries as well as assisting visitors who have special requirements, as well as assisting with large groups and school parties. You must be able to work on a rota basis including weekends, Bank Holidays and evenings.

The BBC is looking for people with a personable and friendly manner with the ability to work within a fast paced team environment. Fluency in a second language is useful as is enjoyment and knowledge of Doctor Who, including the classic series.

The closing date for applicants is 7 July 2017.

Full details can be found at BBC Career Search

A petition to try to prevent the Doctor Who Experience in Cardiff from closing, has received over 11,000 signatures.

The petition was launched after it was announced that the exhibition on Cardiff Bay is due to close this summer, when the five year lease expires.

The petition was the idea of Bex Ferriday, who lives in Cardiff. She told Wales Online The Doctor Experience opened in London in 2011, before moving to a purpose-built building in the Welsh capital. It is currently situated at Porth Teigr, Cardiff Bay, near the BBC studios where Doctor Who is made.

The site is owned by Cardiff City Council, who issues a five-year lease to BBC Worldwide to host the Experience.

A spokesman for Cardiff council said: The petition will be presented to the Doctor Who Experience next Saturday.

A number of props and costumes from Doctor Who are being sold as part of the Prop Store Entertainment Memorabilia Live Auction taking place on September 27th.

Items for sale include a Resurrection of the Daleks Shooting Running Order signed by cast members Peter Davison, Janet Fielding, Mark Strickson, Rodney Bewes, Rula Lenska, Terry Molloy and Royce Mills and a Vengeance On Varos Guard Costume.

Other lots include an Autographed Collectors Card Set, a Battlefield Special Effects Pistol and Holster and a Pyrotechnic Sterling Submachine Gun first used in Fury from the Deep.

The auction is being held at the Odeon Imax at Waterloo in London next Tuesday.

Full details on the Auction Website

The nominations for this year's TV Choice Awards have been announced, and sees Doctor Who's Peter Capaldi nominated for Best Actor. He faces Tom Hiddleston (The Night Manager), Cillian Murphy (Peaky Blinders) and Jim Carter (Downton Abbey) for the award, which will be announced at the ceremony taking place at the Dorchester on Park Lane, London, on Monday 5th September.

Doctor Who itself is nominated for Best Family Drama, alongside Call The Midwife, Casualty and The Durrells, an award it won four years running between 2010 and 2013. The show also received an Outstanding Achievement Award in 2013 for its 50th Anniversary.

Voting for the awards can be made via the TV Choice website until 8th July.

The first round of ballots have been issued for this year's Television Academy's renowned Emmys Awards, and for the first time in its 53 year history Doctor Who has been represented as Peter Capaldi has been listed within the Best Drama Actor category for his performance as the Doctor!

There are some 109 names listed in the ballot for this award, including Hugh Bonneville who has been nominated twice before for Downton Abbey; other well-known personalities include Timothy Dalton, Tom Ellis, Michael Sheen, Damian Lewis, David Duchovny and Scott Bakula. The full list can be found on the Emmys website.

Gold Derby, Hollywood's award site, places the odds on Capaldi being nominated at 14/1.

Earlier this year Capaldi's performance was also acknowledged with a Hugo Award nomination for Heaven Sent, and the episode itself has also been entered into the ballot for Outstanding Writing For A Drama Series, up against some 247 other drama productions - the full list is here. The episode's director, Rachel Tallalay said via her Tumblr account: "This is the first year DW is eligible of Emmy’s due to a change in the way it is financed."


Registered members of the Television Academy are able to cast their ballots over which entries will go through to the formal nominations on 14th July, with the Emmys ceremony itself taking place on 18th September at 5pm (Pacific Time) on ABC.

Pearl Mackie has been named as the new Doctor Who Companion, Bill.

The BBC released the details in a specially shot trailer shown on BBC One this evening, and released on the official Facebook and Twitter pages.

The actress is currently starring in London's West End, at the Gielgud Theatre, in a production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

Mackie comes from Brixton in South London. She trained as an actor at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, graduating in 2010.

Since drama school she has worked across Theatre, Film, Television and Radio appearing at the RSC, The Park Theatre, The Finborough, for the BBC and on London’s West End.

On joining the cast in her first major television role, Pearl Mackie said: Peter Capaldi said: Steven Moffat, Lead Writer and Executive Producer adds: Charlotte Moore, Acting Director of Television said: Brian Minchin, Executive Producer adds: Filming for the next series of the show, the 36th in its long history, begins soon, with the next episode due to be screened at Christmas, followed by a full twelve-part series in 2017.

The Doctor Who Experience in Cardiff has now been updated to feature props and costumes from the latest series of Doctor Who, shown last year, including the Christmas Special, The Husbands of River Song. Costumes include those worn by the Doctor, Clara, River Song and Ashildr, alongside monsters such as the Mire, Sandmen, the Veil, and Colony Sarff. Displays also include sets such as the Davros Hospital Room and Trap Street.