Koch Media are to re-release the Reeltime Pictures spin-off feature Wartime on DVD on 6th March 2016:

It was inevitable that within moments of Peter Capaldi's announcement of his departure from Doctor Who fans and media would speculate on who would take over as lead actor on the show across social media - and commercial betting would begin!

This morning, William Hill currently place Ben Whishaw as favourite, at 6/1: the actor is probably best known worldwide as the character of Q in the Daniel Craig era of James Bond films, or for the younger audience as the voice of Paddington Bear in the 2014 film (and this year's sequel), and on recent television in London Spy . Next up is Richard Ayaode at 8/1, the quirky comic actor/director is best known in the UK for The IT Crowd, his travels around the world in Travel Man, and will be the host of the revived series of The Crystal Maze this year. Also at 8/1 is another name long-associated with Who-odds, Rory Kinnear (another modern James Bond stalwart as Bill Tanner), and Rupert Grint (or as most people know him, Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter films!). The first actress on their list is Broadchurch's Olivia Colman at 20/1 - though ITV's Good Morning Britain reported that Miranda Hart was in fourth place at 8/1. The current list can be found via William Hill's special bet "To Replace Peter Capaldi as the next Doctor Who?".

Both Betfair and Paddy Power offer up Sherlock's Moriarty, Andrew Scott, as their joint favourite, alongside Ben Daniels (Law and Order UK, House of Cards, Star Wars: Rogue One), and Lara Pulver (Spooks, Sherlock).

During an item on the departure of Capaldi on BBC's Breakfast this morning, viewers' suggestions were read out, including names such as Hayley Attwell or Eddie Redmayne, Colin Salmon, David Harewood, Helena Bonham Carter, Gillian Anderson, and Danny Dyer.


Anticipation will of course continue until the eventual new Doctor is announced by the BBC - how and when this might be is unknown at present (Capaldi's announcement in 2013 took place on a special live television programme!), but may be held off until the last series starring Capaldi has been broadcast - it will be on air between 15th April and 1st July (barring pre-emptions such as for the Eurovision Song Contest), with filming for the next series under the helm of new lead writer Chris Chibnall expected to commence not long afterwards.

Update 1st Feb: the Radio Times has reported that filming for Series 11 would not commence until Spring 2018, so an announcement of a new Doctor might not occur until next year!

Class Episode Seven, The Metaphysical Engine, or What Quill Did had an audience of 0.76 million viewers for its debut on BBC One, according the unofficial overnight figures, a share of 8% of the total TV audience.

The rating was fractionally up on the overnight figures for last week's episode. The programme was outrated by by Newsnight on BBC Two, which had 0.79 million, but it beat Through the Keyhole on ITV which had 0.65 million.

The series concluded with Episode Eight, The Lost, which followed at 11.35pm and had an audience of 0.26 million, a share of 4.7%. This episode was beaten in its timeslot Hospital on BBC 2 with 0.33 million, and marginally by The Chase on ITV which also had 0.26 million.

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Consolidated ratings are now available for episodes 3 and 4 of Class, shown on BBC One two weeks ago, which include details of those who recorded the programme and watched it within a week.

Episode 3, Nightvisiting, which was broadcast at 10.47pm, had a confirmed audience of 0.79 million viewers, a 7.5% share of the total TV audience. The channel average for the timeslot is of 1.85 million. The figure is actually lower than the initial overnight figure. This can happen as the overnight figures are just an estimate based on the scheduled timeslot. The final figures are the accepted official figure for the episode. The programme won the timeslot with BBC Two's Newsnight getting 0.69 million watching. An additional 0.29 million have accessed the episode on iPlayer since its release on BBC Three last October.

Episode 4, Co-Owner Of A Lonely Heart, followed immediately afterward, starting at 11.31pm, and had a consolidated audience of 0.34 million watching, a share 5.2% of the audience. The channel average for the timeslot is 0.82 million. Episode 4 increased its audience by 21% over the initial figure. Around 250,000 have accessed the episode on iPlayer.

German company Polyband is going to release An Unearthly Child on DVD. It will be Volume 1 of a new range called The Classic Episodes and be released on 28th April 2017. 

The DVD will be identical to the UK version that was part of The Beginning boxed set, adding German subtitles to the features. Since the early serials have never been broadcast in Germany there is no German dubbing available for this story.

Polyband promotes the release with the following statement:

German: Ein nebeliger Abend, ein Polizist geht Streife in seinem Revier ... ein verlassener Schrottplatz ... und eine Polizei-Box, die geheimnisvoll surrt und brummt. Diese Bilder sind heute Kult. Sie sind die Anfänge einer Serie, die nun schon seit mehr als 50 Jahren produziert wird und Generationen von Zuschauern prägen sollte: DOCTOR WHO - AN UNEARTHLY CHILD ist der erste, aus 4 Teilen bestehende Handlungsbogen der Serie DOCTOR WHO und eröffnet die 1. Staffel. Die vier Folgen wurden erstmals zwischen dem 23. November und 14. Dezember 1963 ausgestrahlt. Mit brillantem Erzähltempo und erstaunlicher Überzeugungskraft lädt AN UNEARTHLY CHILD behutsam in die Welt von  DOCTOR WHO ein. Bereits wenige Minuten nachdem man die sichere Umgebung der Coal Hill Schule verlassen hat, befindet man sich mit dem ersten Doktor (William Hartnell) sowie seiner Enkelin Susan (Carole Ann Ford) inmitten der ersten Reise durch Zeit und Raum mithilfe einer blauen Polizei-Box, der legendären TARDIS.

English: A foggy evening, a poilce officer walks around in his area... a junkyard... and a Police Box that makes strange mysterious noises. These pictures are cult today. They are the beginning of a TV show which is in production for over 50 years now and has impressed many generations of viewers: DOCTOR WHO - AN UNEARTHLY CHILD is the first four part serial of DOCTOR WHO and is the opening to the very first season. These four episodes were first broadcast between 23rd November and 14th December 1963. Featuring a brilliant pace and impressive imagination AN UNEARTHLY CHILD introduces you well to the world of DOCTOR WHO. After only minutes of leaving the safe environment of Coal Hill School you find yourself with the first Doctor (William Hartnell) and his grandchild Susan (Carole Ann Ford) travelling through space and time with the blue Police Box, the famous TARDIS.

BBC Worldwide have released details on the forthcoming Blu-ray/DVD release of this year's Christmas Special, The Return of Doctor Mysterio, in the United Kingdom:


The Return of Doctor Mysterio is available to pre-order on DVD or Blu-ray from our Amazon Shop, and there is still time to win a copy in our Predict The Ratings competition!

There have been a few recent developments on the German market that are of interest.

• Pandastorm Pictures are going to release the TV Movie on DVD and Blu-Ray early 2017. There will be three different editions. First of all on 17th February there will be a limited "Collecter's Edition Mediabook", which will contain two DVD's and one Blu-Ray. The regular editions of the DVD (2 discs) and Blu-Ray (one disc) will be released on 31st March 2017 and feature a different cover. All three editions will contain the German and English language soundtracks, as well as all bonus features of the UK releases. Also included will be exclusive material for the German market. Details to follow.
• German books publisher Cross Cult are going to release the novelisation of The Pirate Planet ("Der Piratenplanet") by James Goss on 27th February 2017. This will be Cross Cult's last confirmed Doctor Who novel.
  One of Germany's biggest publishers, Bastei Lübbe, will take up the reign and release the novelisation of Remembrance of the Daleks ("Die Hand des Omega") on 21st July 2017. It will also be available in the audio book format.
• Adding to their German editions of the popular Titan Doctor Who comic books, Panini Comics Germany just released the first volume of the IDW story Prisoners of Time ("Gefangene der Zeit"). There was also a limited to 200 copies variant cover, drawn by popular 80's/90's comic book artist John Ridgway, only available on the German Doctor Who convention TimeLash II last October. Volume 2 will be released on 28th February 2017.
• Germany's only Doctor Who convention TimeLash will take place for a third time on 28th to 29th October 2017 in Kassel. Guests announced so far are Daphne Ashbrook (Grace Holloway) , Philip Hinchliffe (70's producer and writer) and Annette Badland (Margaret Slitheen). More guest announcements to follow on the official TimeLash Facebook page in the coming weeks. Tickets will be available in early January on the TimeLash Homepage.

A roundup of competitions from Doctor Who News that readers may enter:




It is also still possible to enter competitions to win BBC Audio releases Doctor Who and the Day of the Daleks and Tales from the TARDIS, open worldwide with the same closing date of 4th December - more details here.

Episode One of the animated Power of the Daleks has been released on the BBC Store, exactly 50 years after it was first seen in the UK.

Viewers in the UK can download the episode for £1.89SD or £2.49HD or buy a season pass which gives access to all six episodes for £9.99SD and 12.99HD. Episodes are being released on a daily basis, although some BBC Store users have reported they already have access to all six.

The first three minutes of the episode were live streamed on the Periscope service earlier today. Viewers who missed it can unlock the video by going to the BBC Store twitter account



The first three episodes of the story were premiered at the National Film Theatre in London on Saturday afternoon, although disappointingly in mono rather than the remixed 5.1 sound so lovingly created by Mark Ayres. A packed audience included many who worked on the animation as well as members of the original production team from 1966, including designer Derek Dodd, actress Anneke Wills and runner and future Doctor Who director Graeme Harper, who at the time he worked on Power of the Daleks was just three weeks into his BBC Career.

Actor Frazer Hines, superfan and comedian Frank Skinner and current showrunner Steven Moffat all shared their memories of working with and watching Patrick Troughton.

Also in the audience was Grahame Strong, the man who made the recreation possible, by recording the sound from his TV on his domestic tape recorder as the story was being broadcast, thereby preserving the soundtrack when the rest of the episode was destroyed.

Some of the process of the animation was explained by project Director Charles Norton. The team had roughly 6 months to complete all six episodes, an incredibly tight framework, with the final episodes only completed last Wednesday. He decided to make the story in 16:9 rather than the original 4:3 as most people now watch on widescreen TV's and if it had been made in 4:3 most would be watching the animation stretched to fit the screen.

Norton said he had fought hard for the animation to be made in Black and White as he felt it enhanced the story and gave a far more accurate rendition of the original product, something accepted by BBC Worldwide. The idea to colour the episodes came later from BBC America and is being done in Canada by a completely separate team. As far as BBC Worldwide is concerned the definitive edition for the UK market is the Black and White edition.

Those who do wish to see the Colour version can download it from the BBC Store at the end of the year, or buy the Blu-Ray in February, which will contain both versions.

In the USA the story will be screened weekly on BBC America starting on November 19. This is in addition to a number of movie theatre screenings on November 14. BBC America will make the colour version available exclusively on their digital platforms towards the end of November. and from January 24, 2017 both versions of the story will be available on DVD.

The story will also be screened at selected theatres in Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

The BBC have announced that a colour version of the animated story The Power of the Daleks is to be released at the end of the year.

The Black and White version is being released this weekend on BBC Store, with a DVD release coming on 21 November. It is now confirmed that a colour version will be released on BBC Store on 31st December followed by a Special Edition Bluray, containing both the Black and White and Colour versions, from 6th February 2017.

BBC America is screening the Black and White version weekly from November 19, and will make the colour version available exclusively on their digital platforms towards the end of November. From January 24, 2017 both versions of the story will be available on a Region 1 DVD, exclusively at Barnes & Noble.

BBC Worldwide has confirmed the additional material that will be included on the release of the animated version of The Power of the Daleks.

This highly anticipated adventure will be released on BBC Store on Saturday 5th November, exactly 50 years to the minute after it was first transmitted on BBC One at 5.50pm. The UK release of the DVD will follow on Monday 21st November. A wealth of extra material will be available with both the BBC Store and DVD releases.

Extra treats fans can look forward to include commentaries and surviving footage, together with a documentary feature which stars the original cast and crew. Other bonus features include a gallery of artwork from the animation, and original shooting script. There’s even a rare chance to hear the original Dalek recordings from the show.

Power of the Daleks is one of the Doctor’s most celebrated adventures and yet no complete film recordings of The Power of the Daleks are known to have survived. The master negatives were destroyed in an archive purge in 1974.

The six 25 minute episodes feature the regeneration, or as it was then called ‘renewal’, of First Doctor William Hartnell into Second Doctor Patrick Troughton, as the Time Lord and his companions Polly (Anneke Wills) and Ben (Michael Craze) do battle with the Daleks on the planet Vulcan.

Animator Charles Norton says: Doctor Who: The Power of the Daleks will be priced at £9.99 SD and £12.99 HD from bbcstore.com from 5th November where each episode will air on consecutive days.

The DVD will be released in the UK on 21st November priced at £20.42

A full list of extras is here, and will be available on BBC Store from 14th November and on the DVD on the 21st;

• Alternate soundtracks – DVD only
The option to listen to the story with a series of completely new digital re-masters of the original soundtrack – a stereo mix; a 5.1 surround sound mix and version of the original 1966 mono sound mix.
• Animation Test Footage
A compilation of animation tests, created during the production of the new animated series.
• Audio Commentaries on all 6 episodes – DVD only
Members of the original cast and crew are joined by members of the new animation unit to discuss the production of the story and its new animated reconstruction. Moderated by Toby Hadoke. Includes archive audio.
• Booklet with Production Notes – DVD only
An extensively researched set of production notes, written by the noted television historian Andrew Pixley, covering the behind the scenes story of how the original production was made.
• Original Camera Scripts – DVD only
Selected items of original production paperwork and a complete set of original camera scripts
• Original Title Sequence - new restoration
An unedited presentation of the full original 'Doctor Who' title sequence, prepared using an all new HD re-master of the original film elements.
• The Power of the Daleks Animation and Photo Gallery
An extended gallery of images, featuring production photographs from the original 1966 series and artwork from the latest animated production, accompanied by incidental music from the story, which has been digitally re-mastered from the original music production tapes.
• The Power of the Daleks Surviving Footage & Original Trailer – BBC Store/EST only
A compilation of short film fragments and clips from the original 1966 BBC television production - the only surviving footage to remain of the show's original BBC1 run.
• Original Dalek Voice Session Recording (1966) DVD only
Rare and previously unreleased sections from the studio recordings that were made at Maida Vale Studios in 1966 for the Dalek voices.
• Servants and Masters - The Making of The Power of the Daleks
A specially prepared documentary directed by John Kelly and featuring interviews with members of the original 1966 cast and crew.
• Telesnap reconstruction.
Around 400 individual still frames of film exist from the original 1966 television production of The Power of the Daleks. These images were kept in the programme's production files by the BBC Written Archive Centre. These images are here combined with the programme's soundtrack to present a photographic reconstruction of the original programme.