Official figures released by BARB reveal Doctor Who The End of Time, Part Two was watched by 12.27 million people and was once more the most watched programme of the week on British television.

The figures were finally released Monday, after a delay caused by the implementation of a new data collection system. These final ratings are more accurate than the initial overnight figures, and include those who recorded the programme to watch within seven days of transmission. The figures for BBC One give The End of Time a rating of 11.79 million viewers, second for the week behind the episode of EastEnders which directly followed the regeneration. However, unlike EastEnders, Doctor Who was simulcast on the BBC HD channel, where it was watched by an extra 480,000. If these figures are added to the BBC One number it gives Doctor Who a total of 12.27 million, enough to push the programme to the number one spot for only the third time in its 47 year history.

It makes The End of Time, Part Two the 3rd highest rated episode since the series returned in 2005. Overall the episode has the 25th highest rating in the series history.

The edition of Doctor Who Confidential, looking back at the Tenth Doctor, got a final rating of 1.21 million viewers on BBC Three with an additional 150,000 watching on BBC HD. It was the second highest rated programme on Multi Channel for the day.

As well as being the end of David Tennant as the Doctor, The End of Time also brings to an end the stewardship of Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner. Speaking after the launch of the series in 2005, the then BBC head of drama commissioning, Jane Tranter, spoke about her hopes for the series and the audience it would attract. "I told myself I'd be completely and utterly thrilled if it got 6.5 million" she said, "but there was a little voice inside whispering '4.5 million".

The fact that every single episode since the relaunch has exceeded her highest aspirations show how tremedously successful the series has become. Not only bringing large numbers of viewers to BBC One, but also drawing people towards new services such as BBC Three, the BBC iPlayer and , in the last year, BBC HD. If the number of viewers who watched the End of Time on all platforms is calculated, the total stands at around 16 million, roughly the same as the highest rating ever achieved by the classic series, 16.1 million for City of Death in 1979.

Over the last five years 60 episodes have been transmitted making a grand total of 756 since the series began in 1963. Of those sixty 10 have made the top five programmes of the week, something only one episode from the classic series ever achieved. Twenty Six episodes, over half of those made by the team, made the top ten, with only two episodes falling outside the top twenty.

The top rating story of the era was Voyage of the Damned, the Christmas story from 2007, with 13.3 million viewers, the lowest rating story was The Satan Pit with 6.1 million.

Full ratings data and audience analysis for all sixty episodes can be found in the ratings threads in the Transmission section of Gallifrey Base

As previously reported, Bonhams will be holding a Doctor Who related auction on Wednesday 24th February. The catalogue for the auction is now available to view online, and includes items from both the 'modern' series of recent years, and also from the 'classic' 20th Century series - many of which originate from the recently closed Blackpool Exhibition.

There are a variety of costumes and props listed in the auction, ranging from the SUV from Torchwood through to the oldest item in the auction, a Brontosaurus model from Invasion of the Dinosaurs.

It is possible to pre-register on the site to bid in the auction on the day.

Actor Bill Nighy, star of films such as Love, Actually and the TV drama serial State of Play, is to appear as a guest star in the forthcoming 2010 series of Doctor Who, according to the Digital Spy website. The website quotes a "set insider" as confirming the casting, apparently in the episode written by Nighy's frequent collaborator Richard Curtis. The nature of Nighy's role, according to Digital Spy, can be found in the spoiler box below.

Nighy's name has long been associated with rumours concerning the revived version of Doctor Who, frequently attached to speculation that he might be cast as the Doctor. This began in September 2003, the day following the announcement of the new series, when then-Doctor Who Magazine editor Clayton Hickman named the actor on BBC Radio 4 as Russell T Davies's favoured choice for the role. On March 20th 2004, the very day that the BBC announced Christopher Eccleston's casting as the Ninth Doctor, early editions of the Daily Mail newspaper in the UK carried a story stating that Nighy had won the part.

Two new Doctor Who-related publications are available from Hirst Books.

Look Who’s Talking by Colin Baker
To many, Colin Baker is the sixth Doctor Who; to some, he is the villainous Paul Merroney in the classic BBC drama The Brothers. But to the residents of South Buckinghamshire he is a weekly voice of sanity in a world that seems intent on confounding him. Marking the 15th anniversary of his regular feature in the Bucks Free Press, this compilation includes over 100 of his most entertaining columns, from 1995 to 2009, complete with new linking material. With fierce intelligence and a wicked sense of humour, Colin tackles everything from the absurdities of political correctness to the joys of being an actor, slipping in vivid childhood memories, international adventures and current affairs in a relentless rollercoaster of reflections, gripes and anecdotes. Pulling no punches, taking no prisoners and sparing no detail, the ups and downs of Colin life are shared with panache, honesty and clarity, and they are every bit as entertaining and surreal as his trips in that famous police box... for a world that is bewildering, surprising and wondrous, one need look no further than modern Britain, and Colin Baker is here to help you make sense of it all, and to give you a good laugh along the way

Shooty Dog Thing by Paul Castle
Since the 1970s, Doctor Who fans have written and produced fanzines. Some of the most quirky, passionate and subversive writing is still to be found in the pages of lovingly crafted, home-spun, desktop-published fanzines, and Shooty Dog Thing is no exception.Cool and accessible, Shooty Dog Thing is inspiring a new wave of fandom. This book will make you remember why you fell in love with Doctor Who in the first place; challenging established views, covering The Doctor’s travels on TV, in books, comic strips and on audio; and finding reasons to love this very special show just that little bit more than the casual viewer. Shooty Dog Thing is louder, braver, and more loving. The best of the first 10 issues is compiled here for your enjoyment, along with some lovely, juicy new stuff, including contributions from Doctor Who writer Paul Cornell, Doctor Who historian David J. Howe and the original Doctor Who glamour girl, Anneke Wills.

Both books can be ordered, signed, from hirstbooks.com

The BBC has confirmed our story from yesterday that David Tennant and Catherine Tate will return to Radio 2 on Saturday morning when they once more stand in for Jonathan Ross.

It will be the third time the duo have stood in for the presenter, hosting the three hour radio show. This weeks guests include Anthony Head, who appeared in the Series 2 story School Reunion playing Mr Finch, Ricky Gervais and the rock band La Roux.

We understand the programme was recorded on Friday and will not be live. Radio 2 can be heard around the world via the BBC Website. The programme begins at 1000 GMT.

Update. The programme has now aired and can be heard for the next seven days on the BBC iPlayer.

Astronomer Dr Megan Argo has published a report on a major cosmic discovery in the form of a Doctor Who story!

The discovery relates to a powerful jet of energy seen from an exploding star in a distant galaxy observed when Dr Argo was working with an international team at Jodrell Bank. As well as the more scientific technical report on the event (to be published in Nature), the doctor, a keen science fiction and Doctor Who fan, decided to also write the discovery up in story form in order to introduce the discovery to the general public.

Megan, from Macclesfield, Cheshire, told Skymania News:

You can read the story of the discovery through the eyes of the Doctor and Martha in Doctor Who and the Silver Spiral from Megan's own blog; the official title of the paper in Nature will be: "A mildly relativistic radio jet from the normal Type Ic Supernova 2007gr".

Reported by Scientific American.

David Tennant has attended the Radio Times Covers Party in London. The annual event is open to all those who have appeared on the cover of the UK listings magazine over the year. In 2009 Tennant appeared on three covers as the Doctor. A full report on the party is available on the Radio Times website, along with a short video shot at the occasion.

A tweet from drummer William Bowerman implies David Tennant and Catherine Tate will once more host Jonathan Ross's Radio show this weekend. This has not been confirmed by the BBC who still have Ross listed as presenter on their website.

Filming for Matt Smith's first series as the Doctor continues with the team returning to a location they have used already for scenes earlier in the series.

Details and photos below.

The animated story Dreamland will be be released in North America on 4th May. The 45 minute story was originally made for the BBC's interactive service.

The story features the vocal talents of David Tennant, Georgia Moffett, David Warner, Stuart Milligan and Clark Peters and is set in the infamous alien hotspot Roswell. It is described by writer Phil Ford as 'Doctor Who meets a Fifties monster B-movie'.

Like the UK release, the DVD will be part of a two disc set and will feature the three documentaries looking back at the last five years of Doctor Who, Doctor Who's Greatest Moments, which were shown in the UK last summer.

More details and the cover can be seen at TVShowsonDVD

The DVD is released in the UK on 1st February.

2 entertain have revealed, via their twitter page, that the second story to be included in the DVD Revisitations Box Set will be the 1977 Tom Baker story The Talons of Weng Chiang.

The story, which is one of the most highly-regarded of the Fourth Doctor's era, was originally released on DVD in April 2003. The updated version will contain new behind the scenes features. The other story so far confirmed for the set is The TV Movie, staring Paul McGann. The set will be released in the UK later this year.