The actor Iain Cuthbertson has died at the age of 79.

Cuthbertson appeared in the 1978 Fourth Doctor story The Ribos Operation, where he played Garron, a con man attempting to sell the entire planet of Ribos to the Graff Vynda-K, deposed ruler of Levithia.

He appeared in many roles on British television throughout the sixties and seventies, with his most memorable role that of the criminal and businessman Charlie Endell in Budgie, appearing alongside Adam Faith. He suffered a crippling stroke in January 1982, which forced him to give up theatre for fear of forgetting his lines. His first role following his stroke was as Scunner Campbell in SuperGran in 1985.

Cuthbertson's first marriage, to the actress Anne Kristen, was dissolved in 1988. His second wife was Janet Mary Smith. There were no children. He was born on January 4, 1930 and died on September 4, 2009.

Times Obituary

Thanks to Fiona Hall.

The actor Ray Barrett has died at the age of 82.

Barrett appeared in the 1965 William Hartnell story The Rescue, playing the roles of both Bennett and Koquillion. The story was released on DVD earlier this year.

Ray Barrett was a popular leading men on British television in the 1960s, appearing in such programmes as Emergency - Ward 10 and The Troubleshooters as well as providing some of the voices in the popular series Thunderbirds.

In later years, Barrett returned to his native Australia where he made a string of television appearances in series such as Something In The Air, All Saints and White Collar Blue.

His last film appearance was in Baz Luhrmann's Australia.

He died from a brain haemorrhage early Tuesday morning.

Richard Curtis, the man behind some of the most successful British films and comedies, has agreed to write an episode of Doctor Who.

Speaking to the British Tabloid The Sun, Curtis said he has been asked to write for Matt Smith’s first series.


Curtis was the brains behind Four Weddings and a Funeral, which became the highest-grossing British film in cinema history at the time and for which he was Oscar nominated. On television, he has been responsible for the Blackadder series as well as The Vicar of Dibley. He is a BAFTA and Primetime Emmy winner.

BBC News has confirmed, via Curtis's agent, that the writer is working on a script for Doctor Who.

Voting is now open for the 15th National Television Awards, which will take place at the O2 centre in January 2010.

Doctor Who and Torchwood are both nominated as Best Drama while David Tennant, John Barrowman and Eve Myles are all nominated for Best Drama Performance.

Doctor Who has always performed well in the awards, which are voted on by the general public. The series has won the Best Drama award for the past four years, with the lead actors taking the best Drama performance.

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Incoming Executive Producer, Steven Moffat, is to take part in a discussion on Sherlock Holmes as part of this year's BBC Proms Literary Festival.

Moffat, who together with Mark Gatiss is co-creator and Executive Producer of the BBC's new modern-day Sherlock, is joined by A. N. Wilson, author of The Victorians. They talk to Matthew Sweet about the enduring appeal of Sherlock Holmes and his special love of Mendelssohn.

The event takes place on Monday 7 September at 5.45pm at the Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall of the Royal College of Music. It is free to anyone who turns up, although capacity is limited, and it will be turned into a radio programme for broadcast Monday night on BBC Radio 3. David Warner will be giving some readings from Conan Doyle, and there'll be a Q and A at the end.

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David Tennant takes over as the host of the PBS series MASTERPIECE Contemporary on October 25, 2009. As host, he introduces the programme at the beginning of each episode and provides commentary throughout. The season starts with the U.S. Premiere of Endgame, a feature length film depicting the secret talks that ended apartheid in South Africa starring William Hurt, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Jonny Lee Miller.



The website whoviannet has launched a project to create a scrapbook to present to David Tennant at Christmas, to thank him for all his hard work, commitment and dedication to the show over the past four years. They are asking for contributions from Tennant's fans. Details on their website.

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According to unofficial overnight figures, the final installment of Doctor Who’s Greatest Moments was watched by 340,000 viewers. The programme share was 1.7% and it was the fourteenth most-watched programme of the day on multi-channel television.

The BBC has confirmed that Series Three of The Sarah Jane Adventures will premiere in the UK during October. The exact start date is unknown but sources indicate that Thursday 15th is the most likely day.

The information came in promotional literature issued by CBBC on Saturday.

According to unofficial overnight figures, the second installment of Doctor Who’s Greatest Moments was watched by 290,000 viewers. The programme share was 1.5% and it was the sixteenth most-watched programme of the day on multi-channel television. The figure is a drop from last week’s edition, which inherited a much larger base from the previous programme, The Runaway Bride.

Pinewood Studios have announced a new exhibition featuring images that have been captured of filming at its prestigious Underwater Stage. Amongst the many photographs represented are sets from Casino Royale, The Da Vinci Code, Eastenders and Doctor Who – where it was used in The Impossible Planet for shots of Scooti floating in space.

The inspiring pictures were captured by Phoebe Rudomino, commercial diver and underwater photographer of Diving Services UK. “U Stage provides such a secure and comfortable water filming environment that we're able to produce almost any type of underwater production shoot,” says Phoebe. “From working with horses and fire to the world’s top actors and models, the scenes are truly fascinating to capture.”

The exhibition forms part of The Movieum of London, at the Riverside Rooms, County Hall, on London’s South Bank, and runs from 1st–28th October.

After a few weeks away from its now 'traditional' place, filming for the new series of Doctor Who has once again resumed in Cardiff. This afternoon saw recording of scenes take place on the rooftop of Cardiff University's Glamorgan Building, with both Matt Smith and Karen Gillan in attendence. See the spoiler section for details on guests ... and enemies!