While we have no confirmation as yet, this weekend's transmission of the third episode, "The Unquiet Dead," may be pushed back a little, to instead air at 8pm on Saturday instead of 7pm due to the rescheduling of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles wedding due to the death of the Pope; the wedding in turn caused a reschedule of the Grand National Horse Race which may affect the transmission of Doctor Who. If and when we have more concrete information on a possible reschedule (it's not certain at this point!) we'll let you know.

Meanwhile, the FAQ page on the new series of "National Lottery Come and Have A Go" states that the show starts at 7.45 pm on Saturday 23 April, which means that the broadcast of episode five, "World War Three," won't be delayed after all. It appears that the 7.20pm timeslot which we previously reported on was due to some inaccurate writing on the part of the National Lottery, who actually appear to have meant that the 7.20 pm timeslot refers to the time when viewers can access the website to begin playing the game on-line (the blurb does refers to the show "from 7.20 pm") and not the time of broadcast.

According to Play.com, the new Doctor Who DVD series that we previously announced would feature the releases of Volume One (episodes 1-3) on May 16 and Volume Two (episodes 4-7) on June 13, have now been joined by Volume Three (episodes 8-10) on August 1 and Volume Four (episodes 11-13) on September 5. These "vanilla," no frills DVDs will be the episodes only. However, a boxed set will be released on November 21 which will include extras and feature all thirteen episodes. Play.com has posted a thumbnail of the cover illustration and the interior layout for the box, which you can see below. (Note: images removed; better versions are in April 8, 2005 news story, above.)

Radio Wales representatives contacted Outpost Gallifrey to let us know that the radio documentary series Doctor Who - Back In Time now has its ownwebsite; click the link to go to the site. Says Lisa Aguiar at Radio Wales, "The Listen Again section of the website allows you to listen to the previous two episodes of Doctor Who - Back In Time and just a little reminder that the final episode will be transmitted on BBC Radio Wales on Bank Holiday Monday - May 2nd at 13.10."

European viewers, take note: the FAQ pages of BBC Prime, the cable and satellite network widely available throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa, is now noting their intention to broadcast the new series when they get the opportunity. "We will be showing the new series of Dr Who at some point in the future however, we do not currently hold the rights to the series and they are unlikely to be made available until the show has been broadcast in the UK." It asks that viewers keep an eye on the website for details of possible future transmissions. On the other side of the globe,PrimeTV in New Zealand is still confirming that they're carrying the new series, and now notes it on their website... at some point "this winter," meaning likely after the Australian ABC broadcast. (Debut is likely scheduled for June or July.)

The official BBC Doctor Who website has been updated again with a new theme matching the next episode, "The Unquiet Dead," complete with theatrical banner board!

The purchase of the new Doctor Who series in Australia which we reported on yesterday was mentioned on the BBC Press Office website, as well as the official Doctor Who site. It's also been extensively covered today by the press, including News.com.au, The Advertiser (Adelaide), The Courier-Mail (Brisbane), Daily Telegraph Australia,The Australian, Melbourne Herald Sun, The Age, C21 Media, Bordermail, The Mercury,Worldscreen.

The Radio Times website lists an extra repeat for the fourth edition of Doctor Who Confidential ("I get a side-kick out of you"). In addition to the previously listed screenings at 7.45pm on Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 April, it can also be seen at 3.40am on the night of 16/17 April.

On the heels of yesterday's release, yet another press release, Press Pack Four, was issued today, this time an interview with actress Penelope Wilton, who plays Harriet Jones in the two part story starting on August 16, "Aliens of London". "Penelope Wilton is one of Britain's most distinguished actresses, with credits including everything from acclaimed stage and TV productions to successful feature films. But she had no qualms about throwing herself into a double-episode story in the new Doctor Who - which features a surfeit of passed wind and sees her being chased by green monsters! 'What attracted me to the role was the quality of the writing,' she explains. 'I'd worked with Russell T Davies on Bob and Rose, and I really do believe he is one of our very best television writers. The episodes I'm in are extremely exciting and terribly funny.'" She notes that her character "represents some remote constituency and is as straight as a die - I think she's the kind of caring politician that anyone would like to have. Harriet also shows tremendous resilience and courage when these awful creatures, the Slitheens, make themselves and their plans known." She says she would enjoy a return to Doctor Who - if the script is right. "The Doctor looks into the future and sees Harriet as a future Prime Minister, so you never know - she might be back one day..."

Canada's airing on CBC Television took place last night... and we're happy to confirm that CBC broadcast the first episode in widescreen format! Also during the broadcast, a promo spot aired with Christopher Eccleston introducing himself (and the show) to North American audiences. He also popped up between commercial breaks to let viewers know about a "Doctor Who" contest CBC's currently running. He made mention to having "the coolest space ship in the Universe".

A new trailer has been airing on BBC television channels for this Saturday's episode; like the one for "The End of the World," this begins with "D'you wanna come with me?" before a selection of clips from the episode, most of which are from the "Next Time" section at the end of the previous episode.

This Is Gwent has a feature today on the filming done last year in Monmouth for the episode airing this Saturday. "It looks like a scene from Dickensian times," says the article. "Tight security surrounded the set as fake snow was poured onto the streets, and many residents watched in awe as the town was whisked back to the Victorian era. A large team of set builders dressed Beaufort Arms Court to become the entrance of a funeral parlour in Llandaff, Cardiff, and adapted St Mary's Street and White Swan Court to look as they might have done in the century before last." The article quotes Simon Callow, who plays Charles Dickens: "l get sent a lot of scripts which feature him as a kind of all-purpose literary character, and really understand little, if anything, about [Dickens]. But, as well as being brilliantly written, the script was obviously the work of someone who knows exactly what Dickens is all about, and the script very cleverly connects his idealism, which ends up being restored by his experiences, with The Doctor's desire to save the world." It notes that the first scene filmed in Monmouth involved an elderly woman, dressed in black, and wailing... which Outpost Gallifrey notes is actress Jennifer Hill, who plays Mrs. Peace (and whose portrayal of the moment was captured in several photos taken by fans at the filming last year, as seen in our New Series Photo Gallery.)

Actor Ronnie Corbett ("The Two Ronnies") would like to be included in the selection process for the new Doctor, according to today's Times. "Ronnie Corbett might be 74 but he is hoping age will be no barrier to the BBC considering him for the role of Dr Who after Christopher EcclestonÆs abrupt exit. 'I'd love to be considered for the part,' he said. 'Mind you, the episodes are likely to be somewhat shorter.' Boom, boom."

David Tennant, the noted favorite to play the role after Eccleston, is noted in tomorrow morning's review of "The Quatermass Experiment" in theGuardian. "This was a useful dummy run for David Tennant, who is heavily backed to be the next Doctor Who, playing a doctor confronted with a man eating vegetable. Tennant can do wide eyed with, so to speak, his eyes shut but, when the world is about to be destroyed, I think he should take his hands out of his pockets. It's the sort of thing that happens in a live production."

An article that ran last week in the Wishaw Press interviewed Jimmy Vee, who played the Moxx of Balhoon in last Saturday's second Doctor Who episode, "The End of the World." "I got the part through a friend that was working on the prosthetics and things for Doctor Who," said Vee. "He got a list through for the characters heÆd have to make, and a list of what kind of actor theyÆd need to play each part. He then let them know he knew someone who would be suitable for the part. I was told nothing about the part before I got it. All I had to do was travel down to Cardiff, turn up, learn the lines, I was put inside the costume, and then had to shoot. IÆm not allowed to say too much about it all." He noted that it took over three hours to put on his costume, and featured a two-foot head weighing more than half a stone. Once the outfit was on, Jimmy couldn't go to the toilet for 10 hours and its weight meant the pounds were falling off him. "I must have lost a stone in a week, even though I was drinking to rehydrate constantly. As soon as I got out, I had to eat everything I could get my hands on. It took me about three-and-a-half hours to put the costume on, and it was quite heavy."

Billie Piper apparently found herself battling with the British transport system after a night out on the town with a couple of friends at the weekend, says today's Express. "The soon-to-be-ex Mrs Chris Evans was spotted in London's Soho in the wee small hours trying to negotiate a good deal for a taxi home. 'We expected her to have a lift all sorted but nope, she was sticking her head through car doors trying to get a cheap cabbie to take her home - just like I was,' says a fellow partygoer. 'She wangled a good deal before I did anyway,' sighs the informant." Where's the TARDIS when you need it?

Today's Western Mail talks about Cardiff Theatrical Services, "the Welsh set-building company which helped regenerate Doctor Who is looking to enter a new dimension of growth." It notes that CTS is hoping that it will be commissioned to work on the second series of Doctor Who. "It was a really satisfying contract to win," said Simon Cornish, CTS construction manager, "even though we had been sworn to secrecy about the design. The creative vision behind the Tardis was in the same vein as many of the opera designs we have worked on over the years but this time it was faded hi-tech, not faded elegance. The structure itself would have been impossible to build even 10 years ago without the use of the kind of computerised templates for each piece of the steel structure we are able to call upon now."

Richard E. Grant topped the list in a Sky Showbiz Online poll asking who the next Time Lord should be. "A poll by Sky Showbiz Online revealed the Withnail and I star is the clear favourite to replace Christopher Eccleston," says the report. Comedian Eddie Izzard took second place, Bill Nighy third, Robbie Williams fourth and David Tennant fifth. Ananova also reported on it.

This is Bolton notes that Christopher Eccleston is "taking time out from travelling through space to take up a more down-to-earth cause. The actor ... has put his name behind a campaign to raise funds for Christie Hospital." Eccleston has provided the voiceover for the commercials which boast "Towards a Future Without Cancer". "I am very proud to be able to support this new campaign - and I hope everyone else will too," said Eccleston. "What is so important about the Christie is that the team is committed to driving research and treatment forward."

Some regurgitated comments from Billie Piper, already reported on in the media some time ago, nevertheless have been part of today's press in theIslington Gazette and subsidiary papers.

(Thanks to Paul Engelberg, Steve Tribe, Chuck Foster, Justin Thomas, Marc Price, Dave Greenham, Lisa Aguiar, Robert Booth, Daniel Baum, Greg Miller, Paul Willmott, Ian Warren)

Will Doctor Who soon move to a new time slot... or is its lead in, "Strictly Dance Fever," going to be shifted? That's the big question, as the BBC'sNational Lottery website states that "Julian Clary is hosting The National Lottery Come and Have a Go on BBC ONE, April the 23rd, from 7.20pm." As our correspondent Dominic May wrote, either "Strictly Dance Fever" is considered a flop and Doctor Who moves to an earlier time slot... or perhaps Doctor Who moves to a slot after the lottery show. (Perhaps "Casualty" moves to Sundays?) Either way, it would also impact the transmission of "Doctor Who Confidential." As soon as we know for sure about the time switch, we'll let you know.

Phase Three of the BBC Doctor Who Press Pack was released today. The first segment is an interview with Simon Callow, who plays Charles Dickens in the next episode to be transmitted, "The Unquiet Dead." "When I heard that Dickens was going to be in Doctor Who, my heart rather sank," Simon admits. "I get sent a lot of scripts which feature him as a kind of all-purpose Victorian literary character and really understand little, if anything, about him, his life or his books. But, as well as being brilliantly written, Mark [Gatiss]'s script was obviously the work of someone who knows exactly what Dickens is all about." He also discusses what his career might have held, had the BBC been paying attention: "When the BBC decided to bring Doctor Who back as a feature film a few years ago, one national newspaper ran a poll to ask its readers who should be the new Doctor, and I topped it. Sadly, the producers failed to take note of this highly important statement of public opinion, so I never got my chance!" Writer Mark Gatiss is also interviewed, where he talks about the ideas for his episode. "The original idea came from Russell T Davies, but it was ideal for me - a Victorian ghost story set at Christmas with dead coming back to life! I've always had this thing about possession. Alan Bennett once said that we all have only a few beans in the tin to rattle, and I do tend to keep coming back to the idea of things being possessed. They're always my favourite kind of stories and it really must scare me on some basical level, the concept of being occupied by other entities." Of course, being part of the series was a dream come true for Mark: "Being asked to write for the new series was the best present I've ever had. But having wanted the show to return for so long, it was also a bit daunting and I think we (the writers) all ran around like headless chickens for a while. But then you just have to get on with it and the hard work really starts, but it's always a joy because of the love and loyalty we have for the show."

The Globe and Mail newspaper in Canada features an article entitled "Who's Back. And Who's Looking Vastly Entertaining" regarding the debut of the series tonight on CBC Television. "If you've never been exposed to Dr. Who, you're probably wondering why there is all the fuss. Well, there are plenty of reasons for the fandango of interest," says the article. "Tonight's first episode of Dr. Who is terrific. It's wacky, colourful, lively and vastly entertaining. (I'll tell you here that I was never smitten with the series. Even when I saw it as a kid, I thought it was a very square drama.) In fact, it's a great example of a tired concept being expertly revived and cast. The BBC brought in Russell T. Davies, creator of the original Queer as Folk, to write it and he's done a superb job." You can read the full review (note: spoilers!) at the Globe and Mail site. Interestingly, the American newspapers the Detroit Free Press and Seattle Post Intelligencer also discuss the new series briefly; obviously, American viewers close to the Canadian border will likely luck out in this situation. Meanwhile, other Canadian newspapers including the Toronto Star and The Record (Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario) are covering the series' debut in their print editions.

Colin Baker, writing in his column in the Bucks Free Press, today gave his own impressions of the new Doctor Who series. "I watched the first episode of the new Doctor Who with a mixture of delight and ruefulness. Delight because it is precisely the mix of innovative creativity and connection to the past that the future of the programme needed," Baker wrote. "Christopher Eccleston is absolutely spot on. He looks splendid; that's the costume I would have liked black leather jacket, black T-shirt - although, I must admit it looks better on him. He has just the right mix of humour, passion, quirkiness and single-mindedness to provide the dynamo that is necessary at the centre of the programme. Billie Piper too is an unexpected revelation and has made the perfect start. And the writing, special effects, filmic style and "look" have been pitched at precisely the right level. All of which has contributed to a whole fresh and inspiring feel to the programme." He notes that Eccleston is "following a Liverpudlian (Paul McGann), a Scot (Sylvester McCoy), and another Mancunian (me) none of whom would have been invited, or allowed, to play the role as a northerner," and finishes up with the comment "The Doctor is back with a vengeance."

Simon Pegg is the subject of an article that ran in several places today noting that he "has revealed he has been cast as a villain called The Editor in the new series of Doctor Who." The article notes that (spoilers... select to read): "He makes a cameo appearance in episode seven of the sci-fi show, as controller of the 500th floor of a mysterious building from which time travellers do not return. The Spaced actor is one of several guest stars in the BBC1 drama, featuring Christopher Eccleston as the Time Lord and Billie Piper as his assistant. Pegg, 35, who told Nuts magazine he had been cast as The Editor, said, 'I'm in one episode of the new Doctor Who. I think it's going to be spectacular.'" The article's been carried at This is London, Daily Record,Sky News, Scotsman, RTE, UTV, and Western Mail.

"Doctor Who meets Dickens!" says the cover of today's new edition of Radio Times (9û15 April) and, although there's no front cover picture, the magazine is maintaining its high level of new series coverage. Once again, this week's episode is the first selection in RT's pick of the week's best television (page 4) and a photograph of Simon Callow as Charles Dickens accompanies a short blurb: "Corking episode written by the League of Gentlemen's Mark Gatiss, when the Doc, aided by Charles Dicken (Simon Callow), fights the spirit world." Reader's Letters (page 9) include three very positive responses to the first episode ("I've not felt so enthused about a TV programme for years") under the heading "Saviour of Earthlings...", while a fourth letter is headed "... or an obvious spoof?" and suggests that "As comedy it was great, but as serious sci-fi, well, pull the other one." A standard publicity shot of the Doctor and Rose is captioned "putting the fun, and fear, back into Saturday nights." This week's "Doctor Who Watch" (page 16) presents an interview with writer Mark Gatiss and features four small photographs from Saturday's episode. (It's worth noting that no other television series gets a weekly feature to itself in this way - even EastEnders is covered as part of a general soaps column.) The Radio Times television editor, Alison Graham (page 61), notes that "The first episode [...] secured nearly ten million viewers and garnered great critical praise. As audiences become ever more fractured, it's heartening to see a genuine piece of popular teatime family viewing. Surely it's good for kids to have a communal TV touchstone that isn't a soap opera." (She does rather ruin things on page 94 when she suggests the presenter of a property show as Eccleston's replacement.) She also notes that Doctor Who was "the obvious winner over Easter", giving ratings for the weekend's other "success stories": Colditz 5.3m, Fingersmith 4.9m, The Queen's Castle 6.5m, Strictly Dance Fever 4.9m. Once we get to the week's listings (page 62), The Unquiet Dead is Saturday's Pick of the Day: with a nice photo from the story, "it's as blackly comic as you'd expect [from Mark Gatiss]. [...] It's all terrific fun and everyone throws themselves into it with gusto. There are genuine shivers, so be warned û tinies may find it disturbing." Another photo (of Eccleston and Callow, page 64) highlights the actual listing: "When the dead start walking and creatures made of gas are on the loose, Charles Dickens proves to be an unlikley ally for the Doctor and Rose". Doctor Who Confidential asks "Where - or rather when - would the Doctor be without the Tardis? [...] the programme looks back over the 40-year history of the intergalactic time machine" (page 65). Meanwhile, BBC Four takes advantage of this week's episode - on Saturday at 8.15pm, the channel is broadcasting The Mystersy of Charles Dickens with Simon Callow as Dickens, and there are other Dickens programmes throughout the week. UKTV Gold is offering The Horns of Nimon for anyone who prefers their Christmas panto a little less Dickensian! And Sunday's TV listings (page 73) confirm a repeat of the third part of Doctor Who Confidential on Sunday, immediately after the second showing of The Unquiet Dead. Finally, Russell T Davies: Unscripted (reported on OG on 4 April) is one of the week's Digital/Cable Highlights on Monday (page 78); it's on BBC Four at 10pm, repeated at 1.10am and 3.25am, and on Thursday 14 April at 11pm, while BBC One's showing of Davies' Casanova with David Tennant continues on Monday at 9pm.

Today's Times features a convincing argument for "why the next Doctor Who should be black." "When it comes to casting black characters, the producers of Doctor Who seem to be on another planet. The BBC should do more to provide positive role models. ... Like, I expect, many black people in the UK I watched the first episode of the new Doctor Who and cringed. When you are watching television, you tend to identify with people like you. Women identify with other women, men with other men, and people from one particular ethnic group with other people like them. The only character from an ethnic minority in this programme was the boyfriend of Rose - Doctor Who's new sidekick. ... There has been a lot of talk about positive role models for young African and Caribbean boys in the UK. Positive role models in society may improve kids' results at school. They offer a sense of belonging and being part of the mainstream. They give you something to aim for. But negative role models marginalise black kids, increasing their interest in other sources of positive affirmation, pride and respect, such as gangs, hip-hop and gun culture. The BBC may think it is doing its bit by having black presenters and other characters on TV. But that is not what inspires people. For that you need black people to be protagonists and heroes. And you rarely find black heroes on TV. ... But here is an idea. Christopher Eccleston, the ninth incarnation of the doctor is giving up at the end of the series. A new Doctor is required. All of them so far have been white men. Why can't the tenth Doctor be black?" The article, written by a societal psychiatrist who specializes in causes of mental illness, racism and social capital, is a very interesting read.

Christopher Eccleston will take part in a televised concert, A Party to Remember, to mark the 60th anniversary of VE Day. The concert, on May 8, will be hosted by BBC presenter Natasha Kaplinsky and GMTV host Eamonn Holmes. Among the other celebrities involved are singer Will Young, Kate Melua, Welsh opera star Katherine Jenkins and Heather Mills McCartney. Articles discussing the event can be found at BBC News, ic Network, theScotsman.

CBBC Newsround has a review of the second episode from one of its teenage readers.

Today's Daily Star has a brief note that mentions that Rhys Ifans, who was Hugh Grant's scruffy lodger Spike in hit movie "Notting Hill," is in the running to play the Doctor... but this could be a simple case of putting the actor's name into the papers.

Several papers and online news sources today carried the story about the BBC's apology to Christopher Eccleston, which we reported yesterday, including Channel 4, CBBC News, MediaGuardian, Manchester Online,This Is London,The Examiner, WaveGuide, ITV News, ContactMusic,The Telegraph, DigitalSpy, BreakingNews, andBrand Republic.

(Thanks to Paul Engelberg, Steve Tribe, Dominic May, Chuck Foster, Paul Hayes, Louise March, Zoe Hudson, Tony Jordan, Paul Jobber)

Today's "Monkey" column in MediaGuardian alludes to the departure ofChristopher Eccleston, which seemed strangely ironic given the news of the BBC's about face that would come only hours later. Written before the BBC announced that it had, in fact, been in error referring to Eccleston fearing typecasting, the column featured the following on Eccleston and David Tennant: "It was an example of tactical cunning worthy of Davros himself. The BBC has known for three months that Christopher Eccleston wouldn't do a second series of Doctor Who, but played dumb for fear the star's imminent departure would puncture the hype around the show's return. The BBC's favourite to succeed him, David Tennant, can be expected to stick around a little longer - when he was three years old the Casanova star used to run around his garden pretending to be the doctor, and says his earliest memory is watching Jon Pertwee regenerate into Tom Baker. Such devotion. Whisper it quietly, but he also collects Doctor Who DVDs. Christopher Eccleston says he quit Doctor Who because he was worried about being typecast. You shouldn't have worried about that, Chris - you'll always be DCI Bilborough to us."

Director Joe Ahearne, who's helmed five episodes this season, has some strong words in support of Eccleston in today's MediaGuardian. "How dare Chris Eccleston have a life and ambitions (Who's next as new Doctor quits, March 31). So he's pulled off a staggering performance on a punishing schedule (with unfailing good humour and grace on set) revitalising the Doctor for a new generation. He's only done a mere 10 hours of thrilling television. God forbid we should give him a round of applause." "Bravo, Joe," we say!

Doctor Who Confidential episode two's ratings have been released; according to ViewingFigures, an average of 761,341 viewers watched the Saturday night BBC3 documentary that aired after episode two of the new series, with a peak of 813,217 viewers. These continue to be excellent ratings for BBC3.

With regard to the ratings of The End of the World itself, despite the positive spin on it all weekend as it came in first in its time slot, the general tone seems to be shifting now toward "Doctor Who losing viewers." Says theic Network, "Viewing figures for Doctor Who has dropped more than two-and-a-half million since Christopher Eccleston announced he was quitting," focusing on the expected drop rather than the fact that it beat Ant + Dec by more than a million viewers. Other papers that discussed the ratings situation today were the Guardian, Media Week, Daily Record, and The Mirror.

All this week, the CBBC Channel is running a jokey campaign to get presenter Devon Anderson (from kid's comedy series "Kerching") made the new Doctor. CBBC Producer Guy Lambert told Outpost Gallifrey that this mock campaign will run until Thursday morning, "every morning on the live links during the programmes."

Tomorrow's Southland Echo carries a story about Albert Valentine, the seven-year-old who stars in the forthcoming two-parter "The Empty Child" and "The Doctor Dances" as Outpost Gallifrey first reported several months ago. The article, written by Simon Bishop, notes that Albert spent almost three weeks in January shooting alongside stars Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper. "Despite having his dad, Dean, along for the duration of the filming, in Cardiff, Albert admitted: 'I still missed my mum.' ... But as long as the youngster, from Grays, is doing well in his lessons at Stifford Clays Junior School, his mum Alison doesnÆt mind. Dean said he had to remain tight-lipped about what happened in the episodes, but he did reveal a little about his sonÆs part: ... spoiler protection here, run your mouse over it: heÆs actually an intergalactic time traveller whose presence on earth puts the human race in danger. Says Dean, "The episodes are set in wartime London and Albert is found in a bombed-out house. HeÆs a mysterious time child and whatever happens to him happens to everyone else. In the filming, he has plenty of lines with both Billie and the Doctor. It was quite touching at the end of his last scene, because all the crew clapped and congratulated him on doing so well. And we got to keep the special mask that he had to wear for part of the show." "Albert and his two brothers Harry, 12, and Arthur, nine, are no strangers to television, all of them having appeared in adverts. Albert was most recently seen as the boy who says 'I hate fish' in the Kelloggs Muggles ad. Mum Alison has also been through the child star experience herself û she played Fay in "Grange Hill" between 1982 and 1987." Albert admitted he didn't know too much about Doctor Who before the cameras started to roll û hardly surprising, given the long-running sci-fi series has been off our screens since 1989. "My mum and dad told me a bit about what he was like. I told my teacher about the part and she thought that it was exciting."

The Newsround website today carries the story about Christopher Eccleston's leather jacket causing a surge in the purchase of jackets across the country. (On the "Newsround" homepage click on the picture of Doctor Who which is in the section on celebrity gossip and this takes you to the very brief story and the other Doctor Who-related items including a Behind-The-Scenes report on "The End Of The World".) The story was also picked up by the Sun andAnanova.

Today's edition of Blue Peter featured Christopher Eccleston, in costume/character as Doctor Who, in a brief, pre-recorded item about two young fans who had constructed a Dalek out of a compost bin. Konnie Huq presented the item, during which Christopher Eccleston appeared (much to the amazement of the young fans), and vanquished the "Dalek" with the aid of his Blue Peter badge (the Sonic Screwdriver being absent)! There were no detailed instructions on how to make the Dalek compost bin, but these currently appear on the "Blue Peter" website.

TodayÆs Daily Express has a review of The End of the World by their resident TV critic Charlie Catchpole on page 13. Accompanied by a promo photo of Rose and the Doctor, and under the heading "Forget the laughs, Doc, give us fear", it notes that "guest of honour was the last æpure humanÆ in the galaxy, Lady Cassandra, who consisted of two eyes and a mouth in the middle of a piece of tightly stretched skin. I was thinking that she reminded me of someone, when she announced that sheÆd had 708 operations and didnÆt look a day over 2,000. Yes, of course. Anne Robinson." The reviewer noted that the episode was "a bit too jokey and not scary enough for my liking."

MSN Entertainment are doing a "Vote for your choice for the next Doctor Who"webpage; the choices are between David Tennant, Richard E. Grant, Alan Davies, Bill Nighy and Paul McGann, all of whom have either been or been linked to the role of the Doctor. Meanwhile, the SciFi ChannelÆs Science Fiction Weekly is covering the new show here: "Many things are the same and yet everything is different. Gone are the wobbly sets, woefully bad FX and rather unconvincing aliens. But the most astonishing change is that instead of casting an actor who is basically playing a version of himself, the ninth Doctor Who is a serious, intense character actor. ... There's even room for in-jokes."

Today's Norwich Evening News ran a story on brothers Angus and Duncan Cameron entering the next London Marathon running as Cybermen; theBirmingham Evening Mail discusses Doctor Who memorabilia; theExpressnotes that OK!'s Celebrity Charts today have at #7 Christopher Eccleston: "Salfordborn thespian tells BBC bosses he won't film another series of Doctor Who despite rave reviews"; the Daleks will be "invading Weston" soon according to the Weston Mercury, which discusses the forthcomingGalaxy of Stars event; the Guardian has a list of Doctors with links to notes about them; the Times published a Viewing Guide reference for David Tennant; the Swindon Evening Advertiser discussed the recent reports that Chris Evans blames "Doctor Who" for his breakup with Billie Piper; and theManchester Online discusses Web Film Studios in Salford, Manchester, co-owner Bob Horsefield's plans to develop the site. And which particular production does he want to bring there: "Our aim is to get the new series of Doctor Who filmed here," he says. "It is written by Manchester's Russell T Davies after all."

(Thanks to Paul Engelberg, Steve Tribe, Chuck Foster, Simon Bishop, Andy Parish, Paul Hayes, Vince Stadon, Andy Hinton, Faiz Rehman, Jamie Austin, David Rafer, Steven Perry, Robert Booth, and Guy Lambert)

The other shoe finally begins to drop... According to BBC News, the BBC "admits it broke an agreement with" actor Christopher Eccleston in the controversial issue that led to Eccleston not returning for a second year. "The BBC failed to speak to actor Christopher Eccleston before revealing he was going to quit Dr Who after the first series, it has admitted. It was originally claimed the actor feared being typecast if he stayed on. In a statement, the BBC quoted Eccleston as saying 'he hoped viewers continued to enjoy the series.' But the BBC has admitted it did not consult him about that statement and also broke its agreement not to reveal he planned to film just one series." The news report suggests that the BBC regrets not having spoken to Eccleston before responding to the press enquiries after word of Eccleston not returning was broken by the Mirror and the Sun on March 30. "The BBC regrets not speaking to Christopher before it responded to the press questions on Wednesday 30 March," said BBC Head of Drama and Commissioning Jane Tranter. "The BBC further regrets that it falsely attributed a statement to Christopher and apologises to him." A further report onYahoo! News adds an additional quote from Tranter: "Contrary to press statements Christopher did not leave for fear of being typecast or because of the gruelling filming schedule." A BBC spokesman said a mutual agreement was made between the corporation and Eccleston in January that the fact he was not making a second series would not be made public. But after journalists questioned the press office, the news was confirmed. The news reports also mention the second season and that David Tennant is still in negotiations to star. (Thanks to Steve Tribe, Paul Engelberg, Matt Kimpton, Benjamin Elliott)

Editor's Note: Sorry for the brief couple of days away... I'll be updating my weblog soon about that. In the meanwhile, here's what we've missed the past three days:

The End of the World continued Doctor Who's strong lead over the main ITV competition, "Ant + Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway", with "Doctor Who" being watched by 7,254,214 million viewers according to ViewingFigures, versus 6,021,897 viewers for Ant + Dec, and receiving a 36.05% share versus Ant + Dec's 30.86% share. "Doctor Who" also had a higher audience share than last night's "Casualty." The figures suggest that viewing figures on BBC One and ITV1 were significantly lower last night across the board, and that Episode 2 still performed very strongly despite the lower performance against the first episode. The Daily Record notes today that the Doctor beat his rivals "despite a 2.6million drop in viewers. Saturday's second episode of the new series, starring Christopher Eccleston, attracted an average of 7.3million viewers, compared with 9.9million last week. But the Timelord's adventures still beat Ant and Dec, whose show featuring Tony Blair was watched by six million viewers." CBBC Newsround has an article about the making of this weekend's episode online, noting that the filming done last summer at the Temple of Peace in Cardiff was for the interior photography on this episode.

The new edition of Doctor Who Magazine says that recording on the new series was completed on Monday 14 March, but post-production work will continue "almost for the entire duration of the series’ transmission". It is also confirmed that Rose is the only episode of the run that does not feature a pre-titles opening sequence! There is casting news for episodes 11, 12 and 13. "Boom Town" will feature Mali Harries as Cathy Salt. Episodes 12 and 13 include a cameo appearance from Jenna Russell, as well as Jo Stone-Fewings as the Male Programmer, Jo Joyner as Lynda Moss,Nisha Nayaras the Female Programmer, Martha Cope as the Controller and Sam Callisas the Security Guard.

The BBC Press office has a new Features document up (a PDF copy is here) on behind-the-scenes stuff, largely (possibly entirely) drawn from the Phase 2 press pack of a week or two back. Also, the Highlights for Saturday (PDF again) has photos and a brief write-up for Aliens of London: "The Doctor takes Rose home in Aliens of London, the first of a two-part story. But when a spaceship crash-land in the Thames, London is closed off and the whole world goes on Red Alert. While the Doctor investigates the alien survivor, Rose discovers that her home is no longer a safe haven. Who are the Slitheen?"

The cover illustration for the new Doctor Who series first DVD set is now out; click on the thumbnail at right for a larger version. This cover illustration was found on the BBC Shop website, and the cover suggests that it will indeed carry the first three episodes, "Rose," "The End of the World" and "The Unquiet Dead." These "vanilla" DVD releases of Series One are, according to Doctor Who Magazine, confirmed for May, June, August and September, as is the November box set in TARDIS packaging. As previously reported on OG and elsewhere, only the box set will contain extra material – details remain unconfirmed, but DWM cites Russell T Davies suggesting at the press launch that there will be commentaries, interviews and deleted and alternate scenes, while elsewhere in the issue it is revealed that RTD was using "a state-of-the-art camcorder" throughout filming to capture behind-the-scenes footage for the DVD set. BBC Video stress that it is a deliberate strategy to publicise both the box set and the separate releases at this point, so that "fans will be aware that this is coming out in plenty of time". Also confirmed for this summer: the Penguin range of Funfax, Stickerbook, and Activity Book which is described as containing "a pull-out board game, wordsearches, spot-the-difference games and other puzzles".

Character Options have revealed details of some of the 24 different toys and gifts the company is to release over the next few months. There are provisional illustrations of the radio-controlled Dalek and the Sonic Screwdriver (with flashing lights and sound effects), as well as of a couple of coffee mugs, one of which apparently says "Exterminate!", and the other seemingly makes a TARDIS noise (with luck, only when you pick them up, rather than while they’re sat in the cupboard). The Doctor/Slitheen character walkie-talkies shown recently on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross are also mentioned, as are a "Dalek-killer" LCD game, a TARDIS moneybox that plays sounds when coins are dropped in, key-rings and bottle-openers that make Dalek noises, and "a TARDIS phone-alert desk-flasher". Whatever that is.

Doctor Who debuts this week in Canada with a showing of "Rose" on Tuesday, April 5 at 8:00pm on the CBC Network. CBC now has a dedicatedDoctor Who website featuring news items and downloads, as well as a six-part Doctor Who documentary series, Planet of the Doctor which will feature interviews with Doctor Who stars and comments about the return of the series. (Incidentally, the entire trailer for "Planet of the Doctor" seems to have been shot at our ownGallifrey 2005 convention!)

Blue Peter on Monday, April 4 will focus on Doctor Who: "Simon Thomas and Zoe Salmon try out Britain's newest rollercoaster, and the team demonstrate how to make a Dalek out of a compost bin. Plus, the results of the mural competition."

The BBC4 programme "Timeshift" will be focussing on Russell T Davies for one of it editions (11th April @ 22:00, repeated 12th April @01:10 and 03:25). "Russell T Davies Unscripted" is a "pofile of TV dramatist Russell T Davies, who talks frankly about his controversial career. He began in children's BBC and achieved fame through his C4 series Queer As Folk. Russell is now the main write and executive producer on two key BBC series - Casanova and the relaunch of Dr Who. Contributors include Christopher Eccleston, broadcaster and TV critic Mark Lawson and children's presenter Andi Peters."

The BBC South East Wales site has launched a Doctor Who Locations Guide, which will be updated each week (after TX of the appropriate episode) with details of Welsh locations used on Doctor Who, as well as behind-the-scenes images from the locations, which you can access here. And South East also has a website about their three-part documentary Back In Time about Welsh connections with Doctor Who, previewing the new series, and of course, the Daleks!

The big story of the week, overshadowing the second series and Christmas special, was the resignation of Christopher Eccleston at the end of the first series. The Times reports that "Casanova star David Tennant is the corporation's choice to become the 10th Doctor Who after the sudden departure of Christopher Eccleston" (p.23). The Daily Mirror says that "Christopher Eccleston was ordered back on set to re-shoot crucial final scenes after his decision to quit Doctor Who" (p.11) and has a profile of David Tennant (pp.26–7). "BBC bosses are furious over Christopher Eccleston's decision to quit as Doctor Who after spending millions on merchandising carrying his image," according to the Daily Mail (p.12), and The Sun agrees that "Fury erupted at Christopher Eccleston's decision to quit as Doctor Who" (p.9). There was a ton of coverage including many newspaper and online articles including Reuters, Scifi.com, Cinescape, Sci-Fi Online,Megastar, ContactMusic, Evening Times, Scotsman,Register, BreakingNews, BigNewsNetwork,Pittsburgh Live,SyFyPortal, DeHavilland, RealityTVWorld, Macleans, The Great Link, CBC TV, Monsters And Critics, Victoria Herald Sun, Xtra MSN,The Edge, Filmforce/IGN, Gulf Daily News, Express News Line, theNew York Times, Yorkshire Today, Dark Horizons, Canoe.ca,ProFindPages, Yabedo, Canada.com and many other news and print sources.

The Western Mail says that "Dr Who actor's departure will unfold on screen," noting that "the news Christopher Eccleston has quit as Doctor Who just days after the new series started may have come as a shock to fans, but the show's writer says the actor had never intended to stay long term. And Russell T Davies says he wrote the scripts for the 13-part series around Eccleston's decision to leave once it had been filmed. 'This had all been planned,' said Swansea-born Davies, pictured, about the announcement Eccleston is leaving. 'You will see the story [of his departure] unfold on screen and it's brilliant. We've got 13 episodes of the best Doctor in the world - he [Eccleston] worked himself to death on the show.' There has been speculation about who should replace Eccleston as the Time Lord and one of the early favourites is actor David Tennant, the star of BBC3's Casanova, also penned by Davies. The BBC has confirmed it is in talks with Tennant. But the Doctor Who writer is remaining tight-lipped on who he wants to take over. 'I couldn't possibly comment but there are talks going on. It's very exciting.'" The article also mentions the second series and Christmas special, quoting Davies: "I'm delighted the show is working. It's wonderful there will be more work for people in Cardiff. Everyone thinks we already secretly knew there would be another series but we didn't."

sThe Sun dealt Eccleston him a severe bashing following his decision to quit with a page nine lead, "Dr Who Do You Think You Are?" with the subhead "Viewers and Beeb furious at Eccleston exit". The story focuses on the backlash among fans, while a Beeb "insider" is quoted as saying: "The BBC has shot itself in the foot. It spent considerable money and energy on him as the new Doctor." The paper claimed that questions were being asked as to why Eccleston wasn't contracted for a second series. Sun TV Editor Emily Smith adds a footnote saying: "It's a huge slap in the face for ten million fans who eagerly awaited the big-budget new series . . . He's Time Lord-ing it over us." It was illustrated with a picture of Eccleston with a superimposed Dalek exclaiming: "Well, that Doctor didn't put up much of a fight. We barely got to say 'Exterminate!' and he was off. And I thought some of his performances were a bit mechanical." The piece also said David Tennant was the most likely replacement, and had a picture of him as well. Page 11, meanwhile, which is devoted to columnist Richard Littlejohn's various rants, has a cartoon of Prime Minister Tony Blair, dressed in Tom Baker costume of hat and scarf, stepping out of the Tardis while clutching a piece of paper and saying: "And the date of the election is . . . ". The piece is about how Blair is beyond parody in relation to his media campaign. It finishes by mockingly suggesting that Blair might put himself forward for the role of the Doctor, and says: "And don't be surprised if Blair turns up on Monday in a long scarf on the doorstep of the Tardis and announces the election will be held on May 5 in the year 2525."

Plenty of coverage about the merchandising chaos caused by Eccleston's departure, too. The Daily Mail says that "a Who collectors item featuring Christopher Eccleston will still be made available for sci-fans - even though the Salford actor may not be in the role by the time they are released. ... The BBC, who are planning A Doctor Who Christmas special with Eccleston, have already developed a range of toys - including a remote controlled Dalek - which are expected to take the High Street by storm. Toy distributors Character Options, based in Lees near Oldham, who have worked on the innovative new range, say the decision by Eccleston to quit Doctor Who will not affect them. A spokesman said: 'We're involved in producing everything from themed Doctor Who mugs and key rings to a remote-controlled Dalek, and it doesn't really matter who is playing Doctor Who. The remote-controlled Dalek we're working on is just awesome. We're going ahead with an image of Christopher Eccleston as Doctor Who which will be available at Christmas. This can always be updated if there is someone else playing the character.'"

David Tennant was in the news this weekend after his name was linked to the new series... and the possibilities are open that Tennant may be in place by the end of the first season. The Times profiled Tennant in an article that notes that "from Bathgate, West Lothian, Tennant previously took a lead role in the BBC One musical drama Blackpool, appeared in the Stephen Fry movie Bright Young Things and on stage in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Romeo and Juliet. A BBC insider said: 'Tennant was the only name in the frame to take over. It is a matter of agreeing terms with his agent at this stage.' A long-time fan of Doctor Who, Tennant voiced a role in an internet episode, Scream of the Shalka, in 2003 and claims that his earliest memory was of seeing the Doctor Who actor Jon Pertwee regenerate into Tom Baker. The BBC wants Tennant in place to shoot a 'regeneration' scene at the climax of the 13th and final episode of the revived sciencefiction classic. He is then expected to make his first appearance as the Doctor in a Christmas special, in which he will team up with Billie Piper, who plays his assistant, Rose. The BBC wants to secure Tennant for the high-profile role before his film career takes off. He is playing the part of Barty Crouch Jr in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, which will be released this autumn."

The Mirror, meanwhile, has an article on David Tennant's career, and his thoughts on maybe being Doctor: "'It would be a great role to play,' he declared this week," says the article. "It would also have another, less obvious benefit for David - no sex scenes. Because if there's one thing he hates, it's stripping off for the cameras... 'All the time, you're worrying about what the other person is thinking,' he said. 'When you finish, you think: 'Is that what everybody else does, or is it just me?' ... I do get told I'm nice quite a lot and I'm happy about it. But you do wonder if it makes you a little bland, a little unsexy. I have my dark moments but basically I'm content.' Playing Doctor Who may be a strange transition for him - off the chaise longue and into the Tardis - but there is little doubt that, even as the chaste Doctor, his appeal to female viewers will be as strong as ever. ... It was highly unlikely before but if, as expected, the BBC unveils David as its next Doctor Who, it is certain he'll never need to contemplate an alternative career."

But will they actually refilm the end of the first season? The Mirror says that "Christopher Eccleston was ordered back on set to re-shoot crucial final scenes, following his shock decision to quit as Dr Who after just one series. The 41-year-old actor had already filmed one dramatic ending (span for spoiler content) in which the Time Lord escaped unscathed from the Daleks. But after Eccleston's surprise announcement, BBC1 bosses hastily scheduled a specially re-written climax to pave the way for a new star to take his place in the next series. The alternative ending is believed (spoilers) to show the doctor disappearing into the ether - watched by his horrified assistant Rose Tyler, played by Billie Piper. An insider said yesterday: "The doctor and Rose escape to the Tardis and launch themselves into the Universe. Then he tells her, 'I've taught you all you need to know - now you can do it yourself'. The Doctor is then sucked out of the control room into space. But, of course, given his alien powers, he can always come back in another form." A Beeb spokeswoman confirmed: 'We have filmed two different endings for the series finale, but we don't want to give anything away. You'll just have to wait and see.'" TheSunday Independent says that "Doctor Who fans who don't like to have their plots spoilt should look away now. But the fact is that the writing was on the wall for Christopher Eccleston (pictured) in his brief stint as the Time Lord even before he announced he was quitting. The final episode of the new series already gives something of a clue, with the title "The Parting of the Ways". ... The word is that the plot is open for his assistant to revive him in another guise when the show returns for a Christmas special." This contradicts a statement on the BBC Doctor Who website as it says "His last appearance as the Doctor will be in a sixty minute Christmas special," although to be fair this may simply be what the site editors were told.

Christopher Eccleston's departure from "Doctor Who" was covered in an item on March 31's children's show Newsroundat 5.25pm. Eccleston's departure was described as "...a big surprise because the new TV show is proving such a big hit". The reasons for his departure are cited as him wanting to leave to pursue other projects "...and he also confessed to us ("Newsround") he found the filming hard work". In a brief on-set interview Chris' comment is: "...Working six day weeks, fourteen hour days, for nine months and I'm finding... finding that really tough". The report goes on to state that the new Doctor hasn't been chosen "...but the rumours are...": David Tennant, Bill Nighy, Richard E Grant, David Thewlis or Alan Davies. Also of note is that the report was well represented by clips from unscreened episodes and included a plug for Saturday's behind the scenes show. On the "Newsround" website, children have been suggesting who they believe should be the next Doctor. Also on the website are picture galleries of new monsters and the Doctor/Rose. It's also possible to watch an 8 minute "Newsround" showbiz special from last Saturday introducing "Doctor Who" to a new generation.

The Daily Mail said that "BBC bosses are furious over Christopher Eccleston's decision to quit as Doctor Who after spending millions on merchandising which carries his image. They had hoped to cash in on the show's popularity by exploiting the lucrative Christmas market with toys and other merchandise with the actor's distinctive features." The article noted that "BBC Worldwide licensed Manchester firm Character Options to design more than 20 items. And a 12in action figurine of him is ready to be in the shops by October. But by Christmas, Eccleston will have already been long departed as the Doctor - his last appearance on television being in June - and will have already been replaced by a new Docousfor the second series, rendering the merchandising obsolete." The article also hints at other reasons why he left: "Last night friends said one reason Eccleston decided to quit Doctor Who was because he thought the part was 'too effeminate'. They said he had grown uncomfortable playing such a 'fey' Doctor and was concerned that if he continued, he would lose out on gritty serious roles later in his career. One source close to the actor said: "Chris thought playing such a flamboyant Doctor was a laugh for a while and a real challenge. "But he soon realised that being so outrageously camp in such a mainstream popular show was going to kill his career as a seritor-actor. 'Russell wrote a very fluffy, effeminate script, which is great for the show, but where does an actor go after that? Chris didn't want to be typecast as the camp Doctor Who.'" Other sources carrying the news about BBC 'furor' include Sky News, Ananova,InTheNews, The Observer, theTimes ("Who the hell does he think he is?"), and the Sunday Mirror, which quotes a 'BBC insider' as saying, "Bosses were fuming about Christopher walking out. He had made a gentleman's agreement to stay for at least another series. It leaves a bitter taste in the mouth."

The Express and Star called for a new Doctor to have a little more forethought. "Despite universal acclaim, new Dr Who Christopher Eccleston has announced he is to quit after just one series. He is worried about typecasting. Which makes one wonder why he took such a high profile job in the first place. Perhaps, as a highly strung actor, he got the willies from those nasty Daleks - after all, the new models have apparently learned to get up and down the stairs. Whatever his reasons, Mr Eccleston will now have to join the rest of us, cowering behind the settee, as someone else takes up the mantle of the nation's favourite Time Lord. Let's hope that this time the good people at the BBC use their brains and realise it just might be a good idea to sign up the next candidate for more than one series."

Last Thursday's "PM" on Radio 4, about 53'45" in, featured a piece about Eccleston leaving, ostensibly about actors' fears of typecasting. They interviewed Jonathon Morris (Snakedance), George Jessel (in the US), and Julie Goodyear (British Soap Star from Coronation Street) about typecasting. Jonathon Morris (they say) was considered for the role as the Doctor. Also, on this weekend's "Now Show," Mitch Benn performed a song about Eccleston leaving the show as well as being the voice of a Dalek in some of the sketches. And on April 1, GMTV had a brief chat about Eccleston going, and then a preview of End of the World ("pick of the day"); while BBC Breakfast news had an article on the live Quatermass for Saturday, with Mark Gatiss in studio and also talking about Who!

While Ladbrokes mentioned odds earlier in the day, William Hill won't accept any as they believe the role of the next Doctor will be David Tennant's if he wants it! Spokesman Graham Sharpe says at the William Hill website: "I'm afraid that it is a question of Dr No for Dr Who punters. It appears that the BBC has moved quickly to secure David Tennant's services following the departure of Eccleston - and it seems that the role is his should he want it, which makes it impossible for us to open a book."

Outpost Gallifrey was itself part of the news cycle over the weekend; theMirror ran an article noting that the site's Forum had closed for two days "after fans fell out about the show's star quitting the role. Popular online forum Outpost Gallifrey was swamped with strongly worded emails from fans furious over Christopher Eccleston's shock departure from the programme. As fans accused the actor of using the show to boost his profile, his supporters defended him, leading to bitter clashes on the forum. Website editor Shaun Lyon said: 'Tempers have become incredibly heated. Perspective on the subject has been lost and some incredibly poor- spirited exchanges have taken place. Sometimes emotion and sentiment boil over to extremes. Many Doctor Who fans who should have been rejoicing in the renewal of the series have instead found themselves dealing with the news that Eccleston isn't returning to the role. Some of what's transpired in the past two days has been an embarrassment. It's the first time we've had to do this.'" The story was also covered by the Daily Record.

Digital Spy says "Daleks may not be back for second 'Dr Who'". "BBC bosses have yet to secure a deal allowing the Daleks to appear in the next series of Doctor Who. Daleks creator Terry Nation negotiated a deal with the BBC for the latest series, and the Doctor's scariest enemies will be back soon. However, a spokesperson for The Terry Nation Estate has revealed that the BBC will have to negotiate another deal for the second series. 'We decided to see how this first run goes before deciding anything,' the spokesperson told The Sun. The BBC will now be left to decide whether to reach an agreement for the next series, or continue the show without the Daleks next year."

The latest edition of Cult Times has an interview with Russell T Davies, in which he discusses pretty much the same things as he has in every other interview. Although it's now something of an academic issue, he does though clarify his thoughts on a McGann-Eccleston regeneration: [...] Was there ever the intention to do a regeneration scene? "Absolutely none. I didn't even consider it for a second. Do you know, we never even discussed it at the BBC either..." [...] How about going back at some point and showing it? "No, to be honest. I think that'd be weird. If it ever happens on screen, for a new audience, it's new... for a new audience that would be a phenomenal event. To flash back to another actor saying 'I was once someone else' just doesn't make sense. That would never happen - not when I'm on it anyway."

Yesterday's Daily Express on the possibility of Eddie Izzard being the 10th Doctor (we've been down this road before, haven't we?): "Comic Eddie Izzard has claimed that former Doctor Who actor Tom Baker wants him to take the role of the Time Lord. The cross-dressing comedian said yesterday: 'Tom Baker said it would be a fun idea.' ... He told BBC1's Friday Night With Jonathan Ross yesterday: 'There isn't enough time and I'm not being asked.'" Of course, we were looking at Izzard as a rumored Doctor more than a year ago!

On the official Doctor Who site, there's some small updates to the site itself, plus the "Who is Doctor Who?" website (click on "Lies" at the bottom) has also been updated. The planned live chat with Russell T Daviesscheduled for this past Saturday was abruptly canceled, with no explanation offered. Today's edition of Heaven and Earth, which was to feature Doctor Who coverage, was also rescheduled to 11.30am due to continuing coverage of the death of the Pope.

Anthony Stewart Head spoke to the SciFind website, which asked him if he'd ever take the role of the Doctor if asked. "I think there have been rumors of me doing it since, well for a long time. I think it is very unlikely that they will ask me as I was the readers choice in the 'Radio Times' and that is enough to put any producer off actually coming to me to ask if I'll do it. I don't know to be honest. I've done one character in a 'cult' series [in Buffy] and I don't want to get a reputation for doing that. But then never say never."

The April 1 Canterbury Adscene said that "bosses at Marks & Spencer have been forced to remove window dum mies from their Canterbury store after last Saturday's Doctor Who TV show. More than 50 worried parents contacted the city centre store this week after their children said they were terrified of going inside. They claimed the opening episode of the new Time Lord's adventures, which showed plastic mannequins coming to life and attacking humans, had given their children nightmares." April fools, anyone? Or maybe not...

A rather harsh article on Spiked Online says that "the Tardis has been knocked off course by 'fanwankery'." "I'm a lifelong fan of the science fiction series Doctor Who. Yes, that kind of fan - the kind who revels in the minutiae and trivia of the Doctor Who mythos, who goes to conventions (although I draw the line at dressing up), and who as a youth once wrote a letter to the BBC demanding that it resurrect the programme. Now us fans have had our wish granted - a new season of Doctor Who is now showing on BBC1, and a follow-up season has already been announced, albeit with a different lead actor. What to make of all of this?" It notes that "Audience figures for the first episode of the new series were high, while the fan reaction was largely favourable. Personally, I don't care for this approach at all. I prefer to willingly suspend my disbelief, rather than being corralled into an ironic perspective by some insecure smartarse. And I like it when programme makers have the good grace to take material like Doctor Who seriously in its own terms, regardless of how ridiculous those terms are. But maybe I'm just a curmudgeon, who's spent too much of his life absorbed in fanwank. Apparently, it can make you blind. In any case, the series still has potential. It always will. With a premise as flexible as 'alien travels through time and space righting wrongs', the possibilities for making either brilliant or dire TV are pretty much unlimited."

The Globe and Mail features an article about the series' return to Canada. "It's a new beginning that will be scrutinized closely by Doctor Who fans in Canada -- although perhaps not as closely as it was in the U.K. where the show is an institution. (This is a country that issued a postage stamp in the 1990s featuring a Dalek, a favourite Doctor Who villain shaped like a life-sized salt shaker and intent on exterminating everything in its path.)"

Says the Evening Mail, Bruno Langley who will appear in several episodes of the new series, "will headline this year's Stafford Festival Shakespeare. The 22-year-old will play the part of Romeo in the open air production of Shakespeare's famous tragedy Romeo and Juliet, set against the dramatic backdrop of Stafford Castle. The role will be the first theatre performance from Bruno, who is also due to star in The League of Gentlemen"s film Apocalypse and Brit-Asian Romantic comedy Halal Harry. The play, part of Stafford"s 15th Shakespearean festival, will run from June 30 to July 16 at the impressive venue." For tickets telephone the box office on 01785 254653

During a recent airing of "CSI" on Australia's Channel 9, during one of the ad breaks there was an ad for the ANZ bank - specifically advertising their customer help phone centres and the fact that they are staffed by people and not computers. The ad starts with the Robot from Lost in Space, who picks up the phone and says something like: "Your call is important to us, please hold..." He then passes the phone to the Robot from Forbidden Planet: "Your call has been placed in a queue. Your call is important to us..." Then a Dalek takes over and (by this point i was laughing too much to really hear but): "You will be Exterminated! Exterminate!" The ad then cuts to a human phone operator and the ad launches into its speel about how if you call the ANZ Call Centre you will be helped by a human, not a machine...

Some other web articles from the past couple of days: the Dundee Courierdiscusses a Dalek helping Dee4Life campaign; Terry Wogan makes comments about Doctor Who in this weekend's Telegraph; People discusses Chris Evans' comments blaming Doctor Who for his marriage breakup with Billie Piper, while Billie says precisely the opposite toWales on Sunday and Digital Spycommenting on that; Digital Spy also comments on Eccleston's comments to the MIrror saying he would stay for 3 years on a now-removed BBC website interview; a negative review at Blogcritics and a positive one at DVD Times; the Evening News, on the Eccleston figure remaining as collectors item; Darlington and Stockton Times on the new series measuring up; and "The real Doctor Who is a Welshman", says the Western Mail. And a couple of April Fools comments: Monsters and Critics on Orlando Bloom as the Doctor (with companion Prila Loof - get it?), and WaveGuide on Jordan being in the next series.

(Thanks for this monstrosity of an update goes to Paul Engelberg, Steve Tribe, Chuck Foster, John Bowman, Rick Mawson, Brian at SciFind, Jamie Austin, Andy Parish, Keith Armstrong, Barry Housman, Reverend Kathy Smith, Graeme Burk, Don McKinnon, Paul Jennings, Robert Booth, Matthew Harris, Steve Rogan, Paul Scott Aldred, James Hellyer, Martin Montague, Michael Jones, Robin Shannon, Andrew Wong, Drew Johnston, Kenny Davidson, Paul Rees, Peter Anghelides, Mustafa Hirji, Andrew Flynn, Gareth Drawmer, Simon Bishop, Alan Darlington, Darren Powis, David Traynier, Peter Shaw, Adam Richard)

As previously reported Doctor Who was the big winner on Saturday night: the final numbers out for the top twelve Saturday night programs note that the show received 9.94411 million viewers, a 43.20% share of the audience, and at times peaked up to 10.5 million. The show's competition, ITV's "Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway" received a 31.38% share with 7.17512 million viewers to be the night's third highest rating program, after "Casualty" (with 7.45706 million viewers/33.21% share).

Also, Doctor Who: A New Dimension scored great ratings for its timeslot and genre; the 5.25pm documentary that aired on BBC1, produced by the same people as "Doctor Who Confidential," received a 26.08% share with 4.05670 million viewers, number eleven on the night's viewing charts.

Meanwhile, BBC3 scored a big night with their broadcast of Doctor Who Confidential, which according to ViewingFigures received 820,630 viewers (or 5.45% audience share). The numbers are said to be "huge" for a documentary on BBC3. BBC's Sunday night repeat of "Rose," the first episode of the new series, scored 484,020 viewers (or a 3.51% share).

With the imminent broadcast of the new series in Canada, the Canadian edition of TV Guide Magazine, the most widely-read magazine in North America, carries Doctor Who on its front cover. Click on the thumbnail at right for a larger version of the cover. Meanwhile, the Canada.com website has an article about the show; nothing really noteworthy beyond a vague description on how the Daleks have been updated in their look, and Phil Collinson stating that he thinks the series must be "adapted to the times."

Italy is the latest confirmation as a broadcaster of the new series, as a story in today's Media Guardian makes note that "the programme has been sold to CBC in Canada, Prime TV in New Zealand and Sky Italia's entertainment channel Jimmy." It also mentions Australia in the article: "Production sources said that the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, which is currently broadcasting every Doctor Who episode since the beginning, would shortly buy the series after it has viewed all 13 completed episodes."

The official Doctor Who website now has the trailer for episode 2, The End of the World, on their site; click here for the media player to watch it. They've also made some, er, changes to their "Who is Doctor Who" site... the page "formerly" run by Clive from the first episode. Go to the front page of the Doctor Who site, and look next to Billie Piper's hands for a secret entrance to Clive's site.

Doctor Who Uncovered is a radio program to be broadcast after the BBC3 repeat of "The Unquiet Dead" on Sunday, April 10 at 7.45pm. The program lasts 15 minutes (running to 8pm). There's currently no word on the content of the program.

More broadcasting updates: Christopher Eccleston is scheduled to be a guest on "The Heaven and Earth show" on BBC1 at 10.30am on Sunday, April 3. One day earlier, on Saturday April 2, the CBBC Channel will be doing a feature behind the scenes on "End of the World" at 15.50 on the programme "Newsround Showbiz".

The new edition of Radio Times (2û8 April) is published today and continues its heavy promotion of the new series. Once again, Doctor Who is at the head of the recommended viewing for the week (page 4), with a small picture of Jabe and a brief description: "Rose learns the hard way on her first time-travel trip with the Doctor in this fresh, funny romp. Bizarre aliens ahoy, including Jabe." On page 10, there is a letter from a viewer complaining that the Mastermind special was won by the contestant with the lowest score in the Doctor Who round ("I was horrified..."). This week's big "Doctor Who Watch" feature runs on pages 12 to 15 and goes behind the scenes on creating the various aliens for episode 2, with comments from Phil Collinson, Neill Gorton, Davy Jones and Lucinda Wright, as well as eight colour photographs. (There's also coverage of both Quatermass and Casanova, featuring Mark Gatiss and David Tennant.) Saturday's televison pick of the day is illustrated with the Face of Boe, and a write-up that mentions that no preview tape was available, "so we can't tell you whether the promise of the excellent thrilling opener is realised and sustained." The listing for the episode (which includes a credit for Camille Coduri as Jackie Tyler) at 7pm has another alien's mugshot. The listing for Doctor Who Confidential says that "the focus is on the memorable monsters from the past 40 years of the show". UKTV Gold is listed as showing The Creature from the Pit and Nightmare of Eden in its weekend omnibus slots; BBC1's Heaven and Earth Show (Sunday, 10.30am) has an interview with Christopher Eccleston; BBC4 is reshowing its Fantasy 60s documentary, which deals briefly with Doctor Who, at 11.40pm on Saturday. Finally, on Monday 4, at 5pm, Blue Peter on BBC1 shows "how to make a Dalek out of a garden compost bin."

Heat magazine have more support for the new series in their new issue. In the Picks for Saturday night they have a joint pick for Doctor Who and Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway: "Doctor Who/Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, BBC1, 7pm/ITV1, 6.45pm. Now that you've seen the first episode of Doctor Who, or made your mind up sight-unseen on whether it's your particular cup of Saturday-evening tea, the nation can divide itself into Who people or Ant people - so to speak. We could all just use our videos or Sky+, but we don't all have time to press confusing buttons. On BBC1, it's the year five billion AD and someone's using spider-things to bump off the alien spectators who have gathered to watch the sun explode and destroy the earth. Will the Doctor and Rose sort it out in time? On ITV1 it's 2005 AD and Emma Bunton is stitched up like a blonde, musical kipper on Ant and Dec Undercover, Ainsley Harriott joins in the Grab the Ads fun in the studio and And and Dec go head-to-head in Kirsty Gallacher's Ant versus Dec challenge from last week. Not to mention the weekly treat that is Little Ant and Dec's celeb interview. Make your choice now! "

Fans on the air: Timothy Farr of TIMELESS (the DWAS local group South Wales) and Julia Raysight of the Guardian were on the BBC Radio Wales morning programme "Good Morning Wales" at 8:55am chatting about the success of the weekend. Also, on BBC Radio Five Live, Nicky Campbell and Shelagh Fogerty discussed the series on their "Breakfast" show with Boyd Hilton, edtitor of Heat Magazine, at 8:55am. Its around 02:51:00 in on Radio 5 Live's Listen Again Service (Monday). And the Preston Doctor Who group in England appeared on BBC Radio Lancashire today to review the first episode. The 20 minute segment formed part of the Ben Thompson show at 2.15pm. It was a follow-up appearance to a show in December 2004, again discussing Doctor Who.

Monday's issue of the Daily Express has yet more coverage of the new series. A quarter-page photo of a smiling Billie Piper on the front cover is captioned: ôBILLIE HELPS YOU KNOW WHO WIN THE RATINGS WARö, promoting a full-page feature on page three which covers the ratings victory. The page three headline is ôBillie the Whizz Kidö with ôDr Who wins Saturday night TV ratings warö. The article is accompanied by a large photo of Billie, a smaller inset photo of Chris and Billie from the second promo photo, and a picture of Ant and Dec. Amusingly itÆs a recent photo of the ITV pair (Dec has his arm in a sling from a recent injury) and is captioned ôLOSING OUT: Ant and Dec were TV warÆs casualtiesö. Perhaps a little unfairly though, the article compared Doctor WhoÆs peak figure with Ant and DecÆs average, saying: ôITV wheeled out a line-up of celebrities, including soccer star David Beckham, but the BBC pulled in an audience of 10.5 million compared with Ant and DecÆs Saturday Night Takeaway at 7.2 million.ö On page 13, the paperÆs TV reviewer Charlie Catchpole gives the episode a glowing review, his only complaint being the new arrangement of the theme tune. The review is headlined ôThis Doctor is the right prescriptionö, and his comments include: ôThe Tardis has landed. The Doctor is among us and allÆs well with the world. Or pretty much all. Christopher Eccleston makes a marvellous new Doctor Whoà The special effects are dazzling, the script by Russell T Davies is sharp and wittyà The opening episode was perfectly in tune with the showÆs traditions but it could just as easily have stood alone.ö Then on page 24, the newspaper has its top 10 ôOK Magazine Celebrity Chartö, with Christopher Eccleston equalling his No. 2 position from the week he was cast as the Doctor last year, and Billie going straight in at No. 3 (they must be so proud, eh?). The write up for Chris is ôThe Salford-born actor is showered with praise as he brings Doctor Who back to television screens as the ninth Timelord.ö And for Billie: ôThere is praise too for Billie, who plays Doctor WhoÆs companion Rose û with critics impressed by Chris EvansÆ estranged wifeÆs acting talent.ö They were both beaten out by David Beckham at No. 1. Interestingly, the Daily Expres also quoted from a review posted at Outpost Gallifrey by David Farmbrough (using the words 'Billie's performance is spot-on, and very easy on the eye' from it) to indicate that fan reaction to her has been positive.

Monday's Times had a bottom-page panel with a pic of Piper and Eccleston and the headline "Happy landing" and sub-heading "New Doctor Who wins acclaim - and an audience", directing readers to page nine where it was the page lead under the headline "Who's the daddy as 10m find time to see the Doctor". Readers were also invited to e-mail their comments on the subject "Is Dr Who the way forward for the BBC?" to debate@thetimes.co.uk - a section (separate to the Letters page) where readers' views are printed. In today's debate@thetimes.co.uk section, the invite is repeated, albeit worded slightly differently, saying "What do you think of the new Dr Who?" - the responses will appear in the next day or two. Page 20 of The Times also had a cartoon utilising a Dalek chanting "Exterminate" inside Conservative HQ while someone exclaims "Crisis? What crisis?"; it's a comment on the latest Conservative party turmoil and borrowing a phrase misattributed to former Labour premier Jim Callaghan - whose death was announced straight after Rose had aired on Saturday. By one of those strange Doctor Who-world coincidences, when Callaghan (who was born in Portsmouth - where I'm writing this) was ennobled in 1987, he became Lord Callaghan of Cardiff, which, of course, nobody needs reminding is where the new series was made! Reviewing the weekend's TV in The Times, Paul Hoggart gave the show a definite thumbs-up, calling it "a joyful, exuberant reinvention".

Monday's Daily Star made the show's ratings triumph against Ant and Dec its page one splash, with the full story on page six. It was the lead piece in a two-page feature that also had two other (non-DW) programme-related stories. The headline, stretching across pages six and seven, was "Who's The Daddy!" and the strap was "New look Doctor makes dummies out of Ant 'n Dec as the fans go wild for a trip in the Tardis and another monster showdown". There was a positive review by Peter Dyke and a negative one by Iain Burchell. There was also a preview pic story for episode two that mentioned Rose likening Cassandra to Michael Jackson because of the number of cosmetic ops she's had! (I don't think that counts as a spoiler, does it?) Charlie Catchpole's piece in the Express is repeated - with a slight edit - on page 15 in the Star (both newspapers are owned by the same organisation).

Many other new series episode reviews have been published the past two days, including at the following sites: The Great Link, icWales, the Mirror (a very negative review, sadly), Leeds Today, Logicvoice, Blogcritics, two articles in the Times here and here, and the MediaGuardian. Other papers such as the Leicester Mercury and Daily Express also carried printed reviews.

Several papers have run stories about the wide variety of merchandise marketing that will be done, including some quotes of up to 70 pieces of merchandise for the new Doctor Who series alone: Daily Record, MediaGuardian (also noted for its broadcast info, above), and Telegraph (with another story here).

Lots of additional coverage of the ratings for the first episode: Times Online ("Who's the Daddy?"), the Mirror("Decterminate"), icWales, Sky News, IGN, RealityTVWorld (also here as well), Brand Republic, the New York Times, Express Newsline, This is London, Express and Star, MediaWeek, Yabedo, Leeds Today,Monsters and Critics, DeHavilland, Sydney Morning Herald, InTheNews and ContactMusic.

Some general articles germaine to the new series: The Western Mail ran an article about the various locations used in the shooting of the episode "Rose". Yorkshire Today ran some of Christopher Eccleston's comments from previous papers. The Sun ran a brief version of its paper story on a burnt up police box! And BBC News ran an article about a "Tardis builder [who] awaits new Daleks".

The April issue of the horror magazine Rue Morgue (the one with "The Amityville Horror" on the cover) is on newsstands now and contains an extensive article on Doctor Who examining the classic seriesÆ relationship to the horror genre, with particular attention to the Hinchcliffe-Holmes era, written by our correspondent Joe O'Brien. You can find out more at the website.

BBC Radio 4 still has "The Now Show" available on their 'listen again' feature. From 2 minutes to 3 minutes in they sing a nice acoustic ditty called 'Call me during Dr Who and I'll kill you...'

And finally... The Sun on Tuesday still reckons Doctor Who makes good copy, for it carries a woeful tale (apparently an exclusive) about Washington DC fan Richard Briggs, 47, who flew over to recover a plywood Tardis said to have been used by the BBC in 1983 and left behind after filming at Plas Brondanw, north Wales (presumably during the Five Doctors shoot) - only to discover that the gardener who had been keeping it in his shed had got fed up with it and dumped it on a bonfire two weeks beforehand. Story was accompanied by a pic of Briggs and a mock-up of, er, what a police box would look like if being consumed by flames. (Presumably readers' imaginations needed that bit of extra help.)

(Thanks to Paul Engelberg, Steve Tribe, Paul Hayes, Chuck Foster, John Bowman, Mike Doran, Graeme Burk, David Farmbrough, Joe OÆBrien, Robin Shannon, Michael Luchka, Paul Wheeler, Mick Snowden, Tim Harrison, Jonathan Massey, Macfadyan, Peter Nolan, Ken Moss, Robert Booth, Mustafa Hirji, David Brodie, Andy Davidson, and Liam Burch for the TV Guide scan)

The official Doctor Who website has regenerated again... now bearing a teaser splash for episode 2, "The End of the World." Much of the content is the same, but there is an additional piece of infomation: producer Russell T Davies will be in a live chat at 7.45pm next Saturday, right after the episode. A few new sound downloads were added (including "the burp"), along with footage of Davies and Julie Gardner at the press launch.

The BBC Shop has now confirmed the release dates for the two Doctor Who new series DVD sets, the three-episode, no-extras versions due out May 16 and June 13, respectively. The pages are here and here. Of note, they now have DVD #'s attached; the serial for the first is BBCDVD1755 and the second, BBCDVD1756.

Has Christopher Eccleston's successor already been picked? The Mirror thinks so, bounding on the reports that Eccleston is waffling about coming back for a second series, and says that "Casanova heart-throb David Tennant is being lined up to play Doctor Who - just a week after Christopher Eccleston made his debut as the time lord." It notes that Eccleston has not committed to a second series, "and BBC insiders revealed last night that Paisley-born Tennant, 33, who played young Casanova on BBC3, is the man to replace him. Even if Eccleston does decide to stay on for another series, Tennant will have first refusal on the job after he goes. A Beeb source said: 'At the end of this season, you are led to believe that (spoiler, highlight for full details) the Doctor could be dead after he's saved his companion Rose - played by Billie Piper - and the Earth from the Daleks. But it turns out that there's a way for Rose to save him and that's how the second season starts. So she gets back to the TARDIS and is able to get the Doctor brought back to life. If Chris is still in the role, no problems. He's been brilliant and it will be good to have him back. If David is in the role, it will just be explained as the Doctor using up one of his regenerations, which has happened many times before. Lining up replacements isn't bad form - the BBC has a hit on its hands and is just doing what it can to keep it going.'" Tennant, obviously, is quoted as saying he's "flattered" but has not been offered the role. "I've never made any secret that I'm a big fan of Doctor Who and it's the reason I got into acting, but I haven't been asked to play the Doctor. I haven't been approached at all. ... It would be a great role to play, but as far as I know it's not up for grabs." But the Mirror says, that "Tennant WILL play the Doctor at some point - and will be asked to stay for the long haul. Even if Christopher returns for a second season and wants out after that, David will get the role. He is the hot favourite at the moment. He's a fan and incredibly talented as anyone who saw him on Casanova will testify. He'd be great for bringing in lady viewers in the same way that Billie Piper is bringing in the blokes." Obviously, this is almost completely speculative, but worth reporting... Meanwhile, it should be noted that David Tennant already has a connection to Doctor Who, having appeared in no less than seven plays for Big Finish, including "Colditz," "Medicinal Purposes," "Sympathy for the Devil" and the "Dalek Empire" series.

"No, I Don't Fancy A Tree-Some!" proclaims today's Daily Star, which says that "sexual tensions rise in the new Doctor Who series when the Timelord makes his sidekick Rose jealous. And to make matters worse, he starts getting cosy with a woman who looks like a tree! The Doctor... meets the alluring alien Jabe, who is half-woman and half-log. The time traveller is immediately smitten with the strange-looking lass (actress Yasmin Bannerman) and flirts with her, right in front of his assistant Rose ... As a gift of peace, Jabe offers the Doc a plant and says: 'This is a cutting from my grandfather!'" There's a bit more dialogue exchange, but mostly just innuendo before the episode continues.

Katy Manning, best known as Jo Grant from the 1970's era of Doctor Who, "has some advice for Billie Piper, the new young actor who plays Doctor Who's assistant" according to the Australian Associated Press General News. "She (Piper) is as good as anybody else, better than some and she will bring her own magic to it," Manning says. "The key word to this show is truth because you are dealing in totally unreal situations. Truth will get them every time because it should make you laugh, cry, feel afraid. That is what the show is all about." She also notes that she's heard good things about the series: "From what I hear, the show is frigging fantastic. Don't look for the wobbly sets anymore because they're not there. ... Miss Piper could become a millionaire out of this. I am lucky if I can pay for a couple of years in my maturity for a bath chair."

Today's Times has a note about Simon Callow, who will be in the third episode, "The Unquiet Dead." Callow, it says, "is not a fan of the Time Lord: 'I saw the first episode in 1963 with William Hartnell as the Doctor. It wasn't for me so I missed the entire procession of Doctors that followed.'"

As reported previously, Newsround Showbiz on the CBBC Channel ran a special Dr Who edition on March 26. It covered many of he same points made in earlier shows, such as Blue Peter and acted as a bridging tool for children new to the show. It included brief interviews with Chris Eccleston, Billie Piper and Russell T Davies. All were asked were they would like the TARDIS to take them, as in previous interviews, Chris Eccleston said Salford of the 1960Æs, Billie Piper said sheÆd like to see what happens to her in her 30Æs, while Russell T Davies said heÆd like to go two to three hundred years into the future. This is to be followed up with a behind the scenes look at episode two of the show, which as we reported yesterday is due to broadcast on the CBBC Channel April 2nd at 15:50.

The industry magazine Hollywood Reporter ran an article yesterday about the show. "The new treatment is very much Davies's baby. He is an executive producer and has written nine of the new 45-minute shows. With "Queer as Folk" to his credit, Davies was bound to bring a fresh imagination to what could easily have degenerated into a tired rehash. But his "Doctor Who" (Eccleston) should please died-in-the-wool fans and attract new audiences to a children's program that will please adults too. Davies deals delightfully with the background to the good doctor's character in a way that should satisfy cultists and also bring newcomers up to speed." It says that "One of the great appeals of the earlier shows was a sense of amateurishness, not only in the bookish approach of its scientist hero but also in the special effects. Here they've spent some money sprucing up the effects and the Tardis, the doctor's time-travel machine that looks like a police call box on the outside, is spectacular. But Davies keeps the stunts at a manageable level and it's all just cheesy enough to maintain the affection of the show's many fans."

Today's Daily Express runs a list, "Ten things you never knew about. . . doctors" with three Doctor Who references: "In the late 1970s, eight Doctor Who episodes were scripted by Douglas Adams (author of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy), four under the name David Agnew. The first episode of Doctor Who was screened the day after John F Kennedy was assassinated in 1963. Doctor Who's time-travelling Tardis (Time And Relative Dimensions In Space) is powered by energy from an artificial black hole called the Eye of Harmony."

Other reports: a review/report on the ratings in the Evening Times, the Scotsman discusses the battle between Doctor Who and Star Wars for British toy store sales, and the News and Star says that Eccleston's performance as the Doctor is a "triumph" and notes that "Dr Who has much in common with James Bond. It is a huge challenge to be the next in line to play a part which is an institution where you will be compared mercilessly with all those who have gone before."

(Thanks to Paul Engelberg, Steve Tribe, John Leivers, Alan Chadwick, Steven Penfold)

Note: There was a spoiler in the above text that I didn't notice until several people complained; it wasn't intended (it's easy to let these reports pass when you're amalgamating hundreds of emails.) I've now corrected this.

Note: I'm continuing to update this story as details come in on March 31... updates are at the bottom of the story.

Christopher Eccleston has made the decision not to return to "Doctor Who" for a second series, according to news reports confirmed today by the BBC.

While today's earlier story about the second series/Christmas special renewal included hints that Eccleston might be hedging hits bets on a return, the first reports circulated before midnight UK time as it was announced the Sun would lead Thursday with the phrase "Doctor Who Quits," joined by the Daily Mirror. The story was then picked up by the Scotsmanand the Press Association news feed, fueling speculation that this was either a true story or possibly an interpretation by the broadsheets of Jane Tranter's comments (see story below) about how "People will have to wait and see what happens" regarding the other 12 episodes to be shown. Later in the evening, BBC News confirmed the news, first with a "breaking news" splash on their home page, then a short update and finally a full story regarding Eccleston's decision not to return for a second year. "Eccleston, whose first appearance as the ninth Time Lord attracted around 10 million viewers, feared being typecast," says the report, although this may simply be speculative about his reasons for deciding not to return. Press Association's report said, "Actor Christopher Eccleston has quit as Doctor Who after just one series, it was announced tonight. The star, who has appeared in television drama Cracker and hit film, Shallow Grave, is worried about being typecast. He is also planning new projects and found filming the series gruelling. In a statement issued through the BBC, Eccleston said: æThe audience's response for the new Doctor Who has been incredible and I am really proud to be part of it and I hope viewers continue to enjoy the series."

The reports mention that Billie Piper will return next year to the role of Rose Tyler.

Meanwhile, BBC News also confirmed today the rumors that it was in talks with actor David Tennant, the star of the new Davies-produced drama "Casanova," which is currently showing on BBC3, as a possible replacement for Eccleston... a suggestion originally reported by yesterday's Mirror when it noted that Eccleston had not indicated he was coming back to the role (see "Wednesday Series Coverage" below). Says BBC News: "A BBC spokesman said the corporation would issue a formal statement later on Thursday and that it had hoped, rather than expected, that Eccleston would continue in the role. He said that although talks to make David Tennant the 10th Doctor were taking place, other names may be put forward. Bill Nighy was also considered for the Eccleston role, while Richard E Grant starred in a BBC web drama version of Doctor Who. Casanova, which moves to BBC1 from BBC3 on Monday, added to Tennant's reputation after his success in the drama Blackpool." Obviously, Tennant's name being put forward as a possible successor indicates that the decision by Eccleston not to return has been some time in the making, prompting hedged comments from members of the production and the BBC and possible negotiations with Tennant (which he earlier denied were taking place, but that could also have been delaying until an announcement about Eccleston was made.) The reports also indicate that Tennant's name has been put forward and that they're in talks, but nothing's been confirmed yet and it's too early to call him the Tenth Doctor just yet... though today's Media Guardian suggests that Tennant "is the only name being looked at".

There is currently no final word as to whether or not Eccleston will return for the Christmas special announced earlier today -- some news reports suggest he will, but this may simply be choice of words. Meanwhile, despite the reported reason of typecast fearing, there may be budgetary concerns in the mix. Jane Tranter, BBC Head of Drama Commissioning, had said in a statement reported in the Times that new dramas will face 15 per cent budget cuts to pay for prestige hits such as Doctor Who. "Dr Who and current shows are protected but we have to find a way of making a certain number of dramas at a lower cost," the Times noted, as well as mentioning that "Producers will be told to squeeze out more minutes of drama a day during shoots and star actors face tough salary negotiations. Speaking before the new doctor announced his departure, Ms Tranter said ominously: 'Now weÆve got to start talking to Billie Piper and Chris about what they want to do. There is a mischievous element to it, in that you can keep regenerating the Doctor.'"

The story was likely to not be reported on for some time, but apparently got out to the tabloids, forcing the BBC to make comments about this as the Thursday morning sheets went to press. Other locations reporting this story this evening include the Independent, the Telegraph, Scotsman (a separate news item than the one above) and WaveGuide. Expect a lot more reporting on this in the press in the hours to come, as it's interesting to note that -- like the announcement of the new series itself and of Christopher Eccleston's casting -- the story broke after much of British fandom had gone to bed for the evening.

Update 31 March 0720 GMT: According to reports, this news has been mentioned today on GMTV's Breakfast show and has also made the BBC morning news headlines. Many reports are expected throughout the day; when they come in, we'll post links to them here.

Update 31 March 0840 GMT: Several sources are claiming that Tennant actually will be the Doctor for the second series, instead of just someone the BBC is talking to. No word as yet from official sources as to whether or not Tennant has been signed to the role. Meanwhile, more press sources are reporting this story this morning:

The Mirror, The Sun (claiming as always an "exclusive"), Daily Mail, This Is London, Ananova, Sky News,Digital Spy, Movie Hole, Variety, BoingBoing.

Update 31 March 1600 GMT: The BBC press office has issued a press release; meanwhile, there's more information including links to various news reporting agencies carrying the story coming later today.

Update 30 March 1625 GMT: The official Doctor Who website now confirms the second series/Christmas special story!

Today's MediaGuardian and The Stage reported that both a second year of the new Doctor Who series as well as a special episode to be aired this coming Christmas season have now been commissioned. "The BBC has wasted no time in commissioning a Christmas special and second series of its Doctor Who revival, less than a week after the time traveller returned to BBC1 after an absence of 16 years with nearly 10 million viewers," says the report. "However, the BBC head of drama commissioning, Jane Tranter, was unable to confirm whether Christopher Eccleston, the ninth doctor, or Billie Piper, who plays his sidekick, would be returning - opening up the possibility that the man with the sonic screwdriver might have to undergo yet another regeneration within a year. Ms Tranter said she had commissioned the Christmas special and a second series of Doctor Who yesterday - just three days after the sci-fi show began its new 13-part run on BBC1 with 9.9 million viewers, beating off stiff opposition from Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway. 'So now we've got to start talking to Billie and Chris about what they want to do. I want to make Doctor Who again, but there is a mischievous element to it, in that you can keep regenerating [the Doctor],' she added. 'I think Chris is fantastic as Doctor Who. But we've still got another 12 episodes to go. People will have to wait and see what happens." Tranter made her comments today at a Broadcasting Press Guild lunch, and added that Eccleston and Piper's contracts included options to do more series, which is standard practice in returning TV dramas, but that it was not yet certain that the pair would continue to be part of the show. Russell T Davies, it notes, will write the Christmas Special.

Russell T Davies told the official Doctor Who website that "It's fantastic news. It's been a tense and jittery time because the production team has been working on plans for Series Two - scripts are being written already! - without ever knowing if it would ever get made. We could all have ended up unemployed. But now we can put all those plans into action and get going. It's particularly good for BBC Wales. This is a major flagship show for the region, and their staff and crews are the best you could find. It's a tribute to them that Doctor Who is returning. Cymru am byth!"

Tranter said that Doctor Who was "probably the riskiest thing I've ever commissioned", because of the cost and the commitment to a 13-episode series, adding that she was shocked at how popular the first episode had proved on Saturday night. "In all honesty I had got myself into proverbial steel jacket as far as Doctor Who was concerned. I told myself I'd be completely and utterly thrilled if it got 6.5 million, but there was a little voice inside whispering '4.5 million'." She said that Barb's AI index, the audience research measure of how much viewers enjoyed a show, had scored 81 out of 100 for Doctor Who - above the average for the corporation's dramas, which is 78. Tranter added that the BBC had always envisaged that the Doctor Who revival would be scheduled early on Saturday evening, even though this put it head to head with Saturday Night Takeaway, one of ITV1's biggest entertainment hits. "We wanted it to be early Saturday evening, because that had been the slot before, and Russell [T Davies] had written it with that time in mind. There's something there for every adult to chew on, but also something for children. If you played it at a different time, it's just not going to work."

March 28 Note: Taking a well-deserved break today; back tomorrow, Tuesday, March 29. Meanwhile, last evening's editorial note:

Over the past three weeks, Outpost Gallifrey has been updated every single day with news stories, sometimes three or four times per day. Needless to say, it's been tiring and sometimes very excruciating, doing the updating before work, during the day and in the evenings, knowing the next morning will bring more stories to sift through (sometimes on the order of a hundred or more!) It's been even more difficult when you realize that I'm not in the UK, and therefore rely upon the good will of our readers. I'd therefore like to thank everyone who's been credited the past few weeks for their diligence in reporting information up to and including the new series press launch, the various trailers, the live TV and radio appearances and this weekend's transmission of "Rose"... every person credited herein has been integral in gathering these news reports (hopefully I've managed to credit everyone!), and especially Steve Tribe and Paul Engelberg for gathering news stories, updating the calendar and forwarding every single report they could find. Also, special thanks to Chuck Foster of DWAS for all the links, John Molyneux, Paul Hayes, John Bowman, everyone who sent in screen caps and writeups, and our readers from all over the BBC in the TV, radio and Internet divisions (you know who you are!) who have kept us up to date. And, of course, thank you to everyone involved in the production of the new series (especially Russell, Julie, Phil, Chris and Billie) for such a marvelous debut. Now that the show's aired in the UK, I hope things settle down... just a little!