Doctor Who has often flirted with politics in its past; during the Barry Letts/Terrance Dicks era of the show a number of stories dealt with political matters in a fantasy environment (for example, the recent DVD release The Curse of Peladon/The Monster of Peladon features stories that explored early 1970s issues), Robert Holmes took umbrage with taxes in The Sunmakers, and even stories from the 'modern' era (World War Three) touched upon hot political topics of the time. However, the latter years of the 1980s produced political satire in the form of stories like Paradise Towers and The Happiness Patrol - something the Sunday Times explored this weekend in an article, "Doctor Who in war with Planet Maggie". Doctor of the time, Sylvester McCoy, commented:
Andrew Cartmel, script editor of the time, commented on what he outlined to producer John Nathan Turner during his interview for the position:
However, a BBC spokesman was reported to say that "we’re baffled by these claims - the BBC’s impartiality rules applied just as strongly then as they do to programmes now."

The Times piece was briefly discussed during BBC Breakfast on Sunday morning, alongside another popular media topic in highlighting current 'celebrity endorsement' of political parties (such as views by former Doctor David Tennant about the Conservative Party). Tonight's Newsnight on BBC2 saw a more lengthy debate on the pros and cons of political comment in Doctor Who between presenter Gavin Esler, Andrew Cartmel, and Doctor Who fan/former Conservative MP Tim Collins.

Cartmel clarified that the comment on overthrowing the government was taken out of context, and that John Nathan Turner then said that the most that Doctor Who could do is show that "people with purple skin and green skin are all equal". Collins was also quick to dismiss any intimation from the recent media interest that there was no 'secret' agenda that was hidden from the Conservatives - they were perfectly aware of the satire in the show at the time and quite happily enjoyed Doctor Who! He went on to point out that the show could be just as 'right-wing' as 'left', with the comment on tax from The Sunmakers a decade earlier targeting a Labour Government, and a mention of launching weapons in "45 seconds" from the recent revival (i.e. World War Three).

A feature accompanied the discussion, by correspondent Stephen Smith. It looked into how the BBC was being considered too "left-wing" in some quarters at the time, with comment from former BBC1 Controller Jonathan Powell; writer Adam Roberts also noted how science fiction in the UK in general had leanings in that direction. The item also included a comment by Terrance Dicks (considered ironic by Tim Collins in light of stories when he was script editor in the early 1970s!):


Newsnight is available in the UK on the BBC iplayer for the next seven days and the story is available around the World on the Newsnight Website.

Part One of The End of Time has debuted in Australia to respectable ratings. The special averaged 799,000 in the five major capital cities, facing stiff competition from the commercial networks, including a one-day international cricket match.

Meanwhile, David Tennant's final appearances as the Doctor has attracted some local media attention. Carolyn Stewart of the TV Week spoke to Tennant about his departure after four years, who expresses his excitement for his successor Matt Smith, saying that 'it'll be fantastic to see what he does with the role. He's a great actor and is full of ambition for the show. He's hungry for it and I'll think he'll be terrific.' Meanwhile Kerrie Murphy of The Weekend Australian writes of 'The End of Time' that while it is 'dense for those not schooled in Who mythology...once it gets going, it mixes the silly humour with adventure and an emotional undercurrent.' Erin McWhirter of the Herald-Sun also comments of the special that it is 'visually appealing and well scripted' but Conrad Walters of the Sydney Morning Herald is less kind writing that 'aside from a few lovely touches...the story is weaker than loyal viewers have a right to expect.'

The Sun has reported that Eastenders actress Nina Wadia is to appear in the forthcoming series of Doctor Who later this year.

The actress indicated that her role was filmed over a couple of days, and that she enjoyed working with new Doctor Matt Smith.

Radio Free Skaro have revealed that, according to an 'official BBC release', Matt Smith's opening story The Eleventh Hour will be an hour long.

The release is also said to provide a taster of the up-and-coming travels of the Doctor and Amy:


The release has yet to be confirmed by the usual BBC outlets themselves.

Sales of Doctor Who Adventures have slumped by nearly 50 per cent over the past year, according to latest figures released by the Audit Bureau of Circulations.

The 26 issues distributed between 1 July 2009 and 31 December 2009 had a total average net circulation of 44,664 per edition across the UK and the Republic of Ireland.

This represented a 45.7 per cent drop year-on-year - the figure for the same period in 2008 was 82,205.

Acknowledging the huge fall, Jaynie Bye, joint managing director of BBC Children's Magazines, remained optimistic, saying: "Doctor Who Adventures is down year on year, as anticipated, but is still performing well given the absence of the show from the schedules for most of this period. We are confident that circulation will increase with the return of the Doctor to our screens in 2010."

For comparative figures, see the BBC Worldwide press release.

Concept Designer Peter McKinstry has published artwork on his website featuring concepts and illustrations from his work on Doctor Who, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures.

McKinstry has been Concept Designer on Doctor Who since series two. He is responsible for coming up with the look of the series, from planets and space ships to weapons and monsters. As well as his work on the Doctor Who and its spin-offs he has also worked on the last three Harry Potter films and the Harry Potter Theme Park.

The actor Mark Jones has died at the age of seventy.

Mark Jones played the role of Arnold Keeler in the 1976 Tom Baker story The Seeds of Doom. Keeler was a botanist, working for Harrison Chase, who during the story transformed into a Krynoid.

Jones had a long career in British Television appearing in programmes such as Casualty, Red Dwarf, Blott on the Landscape, The Onedin Line and Z Cars. He also had roles in the movies Star Wars - The Empire Strikes Back and Bear Island. He died on 14th January 2010 in Shrewsbury, Shropshire.

ZZ9, the official Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Appreciation Society, reports that BBC Radio 4 are currently preparing a documentary about former Doctor Who script editor Douglas Adams, entitled "The Doctor and Douglas". Produced by Simon Barnard and made for the BBC by the independent production company Wise Buddah, the documentary will apparently look at Adams's association with Doctor Who, from being a teenage fan of the programme in the 1960s to writing and script editing for it in the late 1970s.

This will be the fourth recent Doctor Who-related documentary to be broadcast by Radio 4, which last year transmitted programmes celebrating the Target novelisations of old Doctor Who episodes, and exploring the subject of the show's missing episodes. One of Adams's scripts for the series, Shada, featured heavily in a documentary which looked at 1970s television dramas which were abandoned during production. The network has also broadcast radio plays of the Doctor Who spin-off series Torchwood.

"The Doctor and Douglas" is expected to be aired sometime in either March or April.

Actress Neve McIntosh has revealed in an interview in the Perthshire Advertiser that she will be appearing in a two-parter for the next series of Doctor Who - the interview also mentions the role she will be playing, although characters are yet to be officially announced.

Voting is currently taking place for the Broadcasting Press Guild's 36th Annual Award Ceremony. The Doctor Who franchise has been nominated for three awards this year, with David Tennant nominated for Best Actor (Doctor Who/Hamlet), Eve Myles nominated for Best Actress (Torchwood/Framed), and finally Russell T Davies nominated for Best Writer (Doctor Who/Torchwood). The winners are chosen by members of the Guild, and takes place between the 11th and 18th February.

The Television and Radio Industries Club hold their annual TRIC Awards on 9th March at the Grosvenor House, London; Doctor Who has been nominated in the "TV Drama Programme" category, up against Doc Martin and Shameless. Winners are chosen by members of the industry.

The revived series of Doctor Who has yet to win an award from either organisation, though actress Billie Piper won the "New TV Talent" category at TRIC's 2006 ceremony.


New assistant Karen Gillan has been nominated for "Best New Scottish Actor/Actress" at the second Scottish Variety Awards, taking place at the Glasgow Crowne Plaze Hotel on 26th March.


The SFX Weekender convention took place over the weekend, and Doctor Who fared well in the various sci-fi categories: Best Actor went to David Tennant, Best Actress to Eve Myles, Best Television Episode was won by Torchwood: Children of Earth Day Five, and Best Collectable to the Journal of Impossible Things. In the SFX Choice Awards, new head writer Steven Moffat was the "Hope for the Future", whilst character Ianto Jones was chosen as "Cult Hero". Russell T. Davies was present to accept the actor and episode awards, and you can read his speeches on the SFX website. The full awards will feature in a forthcoming issue of SFX Magazine.