2 entertain have confirmed that the First Doctor story The Keys of Marinus is scheduled to be released on DVD in the first half of 2009. This release is in addition to the stories previously announced.

The Keys of Marinus was William Hartnell's fifth story and was originally shown between 11 April and 16 May 1964. It was written by the Daleks' creator,Terry Nation, and directed byJohn Gorrie. The Doctor Who restoration team has an article on the making of the DVD including details of previously unknown cuts in the episodes and how this missing material was restored.

The team also have a feature on the upcoming release of thePatrick Troughton 10 part epic, The War Games.

There are 11 DVD release slots scheduled in 2009. The two remaining slots are likely to be filled with a box set consisting of three stories, and a stand alone release.

The current confirmed UK DVD release schedule is as follows:

• 26 Jan 2009 - E-Space Trilogy Box (Full Circle, State of Decay and Warriors' Gate)
• 23 Feb 2009 - The Rescue / The Romans
• 16 Mar 2009 - Attack of the Cybermen

In addition, the following are slated for UK release in 2009, with specific dates yet to be announced: The Keys of Marinus; The War Games; Dalek War box set (Frontier in Space / Planet of the Daleks); The Deadly Assassin; Image of the Fendahl; Delta and the Bannermen

Executive Producer and Head Writer Russell T. Davies reveals that the forthcoming Doctor Who special Planet Of The Dead will serve as an "antidote" to recent adventures.

The departing showrunner told Doctor Who Magazine: "After the events of Journey's End and The Next Doctor I think it's time to get away from the past and have an adventure with lots of new elements. And lots of fun too!

"The next Special should be a nice antidote to Christmas, with a bit of sunshine if we're lucky. And with not one but two alien races that you've never seen before."

When the March issue of Torchwood Magazine hits the newsstands, readers will find a special treat inside: an original Torchwood comic strip written byJohn Barrowman

The actor, who plays Captain Jack Harkness in the Doctor Who spinoff, has penned "Captain Jack and the Selkie" with his sister Carole E. Barrowman and editor Martin Eden.

Eden told the magazine: "I'm so excited to be working on this story. John and Carole are an absolute pleasure to work with. Believe me, the readers are in for a treat."

Carole revealed that the project has been on her and John's agenda for some time, saying: "When John and I were working on [John's autobiography] Anything Goes, we spent a lot of time together on the Torchwood set.

"In between our storytelling and moments of inspired silliness, we decided we'd like to work on a project together that involved Captain Jack."

Posted By John Bowman

Comedian Toby Hadoke is to take his solo show Moths Ate My Doctor Who Scarf to New Zealand during this year's tour of the production. The venues have yet to be confirmed but Hadoke told The Doctor Who News Page he would be appearing in Wellington from May 12 to 16 and Auckland from May 18 to 23.

It will be at selected locations in England between February and May, and is making its North American debut at the Gallifrey 2009 convention in Los Angeles on Saturday, February 14 - the first time the show will be performed outside the UK.

The England tour venues and dates are as follows:

Friday, February 20: The Wave Centre, Maryport, Cumbria
Friday, March 6: Selby Town Hall
Saturday, March 7: The Ustinov, Theatre Royal, Bath
Sunday, March 15: Tobacco Factory, Bristol
Sunday, May 24: Salisbury Festival at Salisbury Playhouse

For updates, visit the Moths website.

Talking to TVGuide.com, Billie Piper has added her insight on new Doctor Matt Smith, speaking as his former co-star.

The two appeared together in The Ruby in the Smoke, The Shadow in the North and Secret Diary of a Call Girl.

Piper labels herself a "big fan" of Smith. "I love him. He's a stirring actor, and he has the right energy," she says. "That's what the Doctor is about, essentially - having that energy that you just can't understand."

Addressing the concern that Smith, at 26, is too young to effectively play the good Doctor, Piper notes, "The fans get so concerned about these things, and they should just relax. It's going to be fine. They're in good hands."

Piper also comments on the rumours that a woman - possibly even herself - was being considered for the role of the new Doctor. "David [Tennant] has joked about me doing it, but... I don't think the Doctor should be a woman," she says. "It's like going, 'Let's make James Bond a woman.' It's a man's role."

This week sees the launch in the UK of a Doctor Who DVD and magazine series, theDoctor Who DVD Files.

Published by GE Fabbri, which also produces Doctor Who Battles in Time, it will be available fortnightly. Every issue comes with a DVD featuring two full-length episodes and a unique pull-apart magazine to form a reference work about the show.

The first issue features Christopher Eccleston's Ninth Doctor as he meets Rose Tyler in the opening episode of the new series, "Rose", then takes her to "The End of the World". Subsequent issues follow the series through in broadcast order as the Doctor and his companions travel the universe, facing monsters such as the Daleks, Slitheen and Cybermen, and villains such as the Editor and Cassandra.

Every DVD comes with a 24-page magazine containing insider information and specially-commissioned artwork. "Because of the way it builds up you'll soon have hundreds of pages of invaluable information," says GE project manager Ben Robinson.

The magazine will feature never-seen-before photographs, exclusive behind-the-scenes interviews, episode guides, profiles of monsters, heroes and villains, new artwork showing classic moments from the show's history and specially created diagrams and cutaways produced by members of the Doctor Who art department.

The first edition is out on January 14.

The Stage entertainment industry newspaper reports that actor John Scott Martin, veteran of countless roles in over 100 episodes of the classic series of Doctor Who, died on January 6th at the age of 82. His daughter Catriona has penned an obituary for the paper, outlining his career.

Martin is best remembered by fans as the main Dalek operator across the 26 years of the classic series, but he also played various other monsters opposite the first seven Doctors, and had a more visible role as the miner Hughes in The Green Death. In 2004, he told BBC News how he would love to play a Dalek again for the new series.

In addition to his Doctor Who work, Martin appeared in BBC series such as Quatermass and the Pit and I, Claudius, as well as in films (including Little Shop of Horrors) and the theatre. In 2004, he appeared as the old man who inherits all of Swansea in the Russell T Davies comedy-drama serial Mine All Mine for ITV1.

UPDATE - 23 JANUARY: The Press Association has reported Martin's death, including a comment from his widow, Margaret. She said he enjoyed the Dalek role, adding: "It was a good thing, because being a Dalek nobody saw your face. He was able to do other things without people recognising him. That was useful." According to the PA report, Martin had had Parkinson's disease for a decade.

The Telegraph, The Times and The Daily Mail have printed obituaries describing his long standing work on Doctor Who.

Michael Jensen of AfterElton.com has revealed tentative plans for the broadcast of the five-part Torchwood miniseries, Torchwood: Children of Earth. Please bear in mind that these comments represent early plans, which may change.

If the report is accurate, it may disappoint some British Torchwood fans, who had been hoping that the miniseries would air in the spring. But the report has good news for American Torchwood fans, who may not have to wait as long as usual to see the latest episodes:

An extended version of Doctor Who at the Proms is currently available for UK Digital viewers to watch on the red button. As well as the Doctor Who related music as broadcast on New Year's Day, the broadcast also includes "Song for Ten", and other classical music such as "Fanfare for the Common Man" and Holst's "Jupiter" from the Planets suite. The concert runs for approximately 95 minutes.

Character Options, which recently renewed its license with the BBC to produce action figures and related merchandise forDoctor Who and its spin-offs, will be launching a new line of "mini" figures in March, according to Action Figure.

The new line, called "Time Squad", features cartoon-like sculptures of characters from the first four seasons of the relaunched Doctor Who.

The new figures will be available in both 2- and 5-pack sets with the 5-packs containing some unique figures. The packaging configurations are:

Cyberman & Dalek
Doctor & Sontaran
Doctor & Vashta Nerada
Scarecrow & Pyrovile
Slitheen & Weeping Angel
Supreme Dalek & Clockwork Man

Cyberman, Black Dalek, Scarecrow, Vashta Nerada & Sontaran

Bronze Dalek, Sycorax, Natural Ood, Pyrovile & Clockwork Man