Actor and Children's presenter Brian Cant has died at the age of 83.

Brian Cant appeared in two Doctor Who stories. In 1965 he played Kert Gantry, a Space Security Agent, in the first episode of The Dalek's Master Plan. He returned to the series in 1968 playing Chairman Tensa in two episodes of The Dominators

However for most people in the United Kingdom Brian Cant will be lovingly remembered for his work on children's television.

He was working for a BBC Schools drama on The Romans in 1964 when he heard that the BBC was holding auditions for presenters on a new programme aimed at pre-school kids, Play School, due to launch on the new station BBC Two. His audition involved getting into a cardboard box and pretending to row out to sea. He joined the in its third week and stayed for twenty-one years.

His work on Play School led him to be selected as the voice on three Gordon Murray puppet series: Camberwick Green in 1966, Trumpton in 1967, and Chigley in 1969.

In 1971 the BBC launched a spin-off from Play School, Play Away, aimed at older children, featuring songs and jokes and airing on Saturday afternoons, with Cant as the main presenter alongside actors such as Toni Arthur, Derek Griffiths, Floella Benjamin, Johnny Ball, Carol Chell, Jeremy Irons, and Tony Robinson.

In 2007 Cant topped a poll of presenters with the best-loved voices in children’s TV.

The actor had been living with Parkinson’s disease in recent years and died at Denville Hall, a retirement home often used by those in the entertainment industry.

A family statement said:Cant's Play School co-presenter Derek Griffiths paid tribute on Twitter, posting a reunion picture of the team. And former Blackadder star Sir Tony Robinson also tweeted: "Brian Cant was my mentor and friend on Play Away. We wrote and performed together for two years. Always patient, courteous and funny P-L-A-Y R-I-P."

Brian Cant was married twice, and had five children, including the actor Richard Cant who appeared in Blink.

A blue plaque has been unveiled at the childhood home of the woman who realized the original Doctor Who theme music, Delia Derbyshire.

The mark of respect is one of 47 Blue Plaques unveiled as part of BBC Music Day, to commemorate people or places that have influenced the UK’s musical landscape. Those honored include singers, musicians, songwriters, producers, and broadcasters, as well as significant locations that played a major role in the UK's musical heritage.

People commemorated include John Peel and David Bowie, while places getting a plaque include the Brighton venue where Abba won the Eurovision Song Contest.

The final list was selected from BBC Local Radio listeners’ suggestions, as well as those of a committee including music industry experts and BBC representatives.

David Holdsworth, Controller of BBC English Regions, said: The plaque honouring Delia Derbyshire was unveiled by Sixth Doctor Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant who played Peri, who joined BBC Coventry & Warwickshire's Vic Minett to officially perform the ceremony.

Delia Derbyshire's blue plaque unveiled on #BBCMusicDay pic.twitter.com/8WibGs30cX

— BBC Cov Warks (@BBCCovWarks) June 15, 2017

The actor Peter Sallis has died at the age of 96.

Peter Sallis was best known for playing Norman Clegg in the long-running BBC Sitcom Last of the Summer Wine, a part he played from the series debut in 1973 until the final story in 2010, appearing in every one of the 295 episodes. In later life, he was famous as the voice of Wallace, the eccentric inventor in the Aardman Animations series of films.

Sallis appeared in the 1967 Doctor Who story The Ice Warriors, playing Penley, the rebel scientist who helped the Second Doctor defeat the Martian menace. He was due to return to the series in 1983 to play Striker in the fifth Doctor story Enlightenment but when industrial action delayed filming he was no longer available and Keith Barron took the role.

Peter Sallis was born on 1 February 1921 in Twickenham, Middlesex, England. After attending Minchenden Grammar School in North London, Sallis went to work in a bank. After the outbreak of World War II he joined the RAF. He failed to get into aircrew because he had a serum albumin disorder and he was told he might black out at high altitudes. He became a wireless mechanic instead and went on to teach radio procedures at RAF Cranwell.

Sallis started as an amateur actor during his four years with the RAF when one of his students offered him the lead in an amateur production. His success in the role caused him to resolve to become an actor after the war, and so he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, making his first professional appearance on the London stage in 1946.

He appeared in many British films in the 1950's and 60's such as Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, Doctor in Love, The Curse of the Werewolf, The V.I.P.s, Charlie Bubbles, Scream and Scream Again, Taste the Blood of Dracula, Wuthering Heights, The Incredible Sarah and The Day of the Triffids.

His first notable television role was as Samuel Pepys in the 14 part BBC serial of the same name in 1958. Other roles followed including an episode of The Persuaders and the BBC comedy series The Culture Vultures

In 1973 Sallis was cast in a one-off pilot for Comedy Playhouse entitled The Last of the Summer Wine, as the unobtrusive lover of a quiet life, Norman Clegg. The pilot was successful and the BBC commissioned a series, and it became the world's longest running comedy series, and the role he was best known for.

In the 1980's he started to get a reputation for voice work and in 1989 he first voiced the character of Wallace in the short film A Grand Day Out. The film won a BAFTA award and was followed by the Oscar-winning films The Wrong Trousers in 1993 and A Close Shave in 1995.

Sallis was awarded the OBE in the 2007 Birthday Honours for services to Drama

Sallis died peacefully, with his family by his side, at the Denville Hall nursing home in Northwood, London, on 2 June 2017. He is survived by his son Crispian and two grandchildren.

One of the original Ice Warrior masks, first used in the 1967 Second Doctor story, has been found and restored by Toybox Treasures.

The prop thought to have been used in Doctor Who in both the Troughton and Pertwee era's, was acquired last year. The decision was taken to preserve the prop using a specialist team led by Mike Tucker, the BAFTA award winning model maker who has worked on both the classic and revived versions of Doctor Who.

In preserving the Ice Warrior’s head, all existing pieces were used. Colours were matched for age with layers of silver paint added for an exhibition removed, revealing the orange eye sockets.

The Ice Warriors first appeared on Saturday 11th November 1967 in the six-part story The Ice Warriors. Their success ensured their return the following season in the story The Seeds of Death. The first colour appearance came in 1972 in the Jon Pertwee story The Curse of Peladon followed by The Monster of Peladon two years later.

A full report on the restoration, including an exclusive interview with Mike Tucker is published in Doctor Who Magazine Issue 513.

The writer Eric Pringle has died at the age of 82.

Eric Pringle wrote one story for Doctor Who, the 1984 Fifth Doctor story The Awakening. The story was the only two parter to feature in Peter Davison's final season. It introduced the character of the Malus.

Eric Pringle was born in Morpeth, Northumberland. He wrote for the 1972 television series Pretenders and for the drama series based on a magazine's agony column writer Kate. In 1974 he wrote an episode of The Carnforth Practice.

In 1975 he was commissioned by then-Doctor Who script editor Robert Holmes to write a story The Angurth, for the programme's thirteenth season. This story was eventually abandoned but did eventually lead to the commissioning of The Awakening in 1981. The story was originally planned as a four-part story called War Game, but was cut down to two episodes when producer John Nathan-Turner decided the plot could not carry four episodes.

Pringle's later work concentrated on Radio with adaptations of The Wolves of Willoughby Chase and J. B. Priestley's The Good Companions. In 2001 his BBC Radio 4 play Hymus Paradisi, about the life of composer Herbert Howells, won a Sony Award.

Pringle wrote the children's novel Big George and its two sequels Big George and the Seventh Knight and Big George and the Winter King.

The actor Geoffrey Bayldon has died at the age of 93

Geoffrey Bayldon was best known for his portrayal of Catweazle, the eccentric 11th-century wizard who was the star of the LWT children's series produced in the early 1970's, as well as playing the Crowman in the Jon Pertwee series Worzel Gummidge.

Bayldon was considered for the role of the Doctor twice. First when the series was commissioned in 1963. He turned the offer down, worried about playing such an old character and not wanting to commit to the then unknown series. When Hartnell left the role in 1966, Bayldon was again the frame to play The Doctor, but once more decided against joining the programme. It was not until 1979 that he eventually did appear in the series when he played Organon the astrologer in the Tom Baker story The Creature from the Pit

He would eventually voice the Doctor in the Big Finish Doctor Who Unbound stories Auld Mortality and A Storm of Angels.

Bayldon was born in Leeds in 1923. He joined the Royal Air Force and had a period studying architecture, before fulfilling his dream of becoming an actor, training at the Old Vic Theatre School. He was a regular face on British television from 1950's onwards appearing in Sword of Freedom, The Case of the Frightened Lady, An Age of Kings, The Victorians, The Massingham Affair, The Woman in White, Z Cars and The Adventures of Robin Hood where he played Count de Severne.

In 1970 he accepted the role of Catweazle, first appearing on Sundays afternoons in February 1970. It was a role that would endear him to a generation of children. The character, an eccentric medieval wizard trapped in the 20th century, amused and delighted both adults and children alike. In 2010 Bayldon spoke about the role. In 1979 he entertained another generation of kids when he took the role of The Crowman in the Southern TV adaptation of Worzel Gummidge and in 1995 played Magic Grandad, an eccentric who took his grandchildren back in time to see historical events, a concept similar to the original premise of Doctor Who.

He remained a well-known character actor working well into his eighties, with appearances in Prince Caspian and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader, All Creatures Great and Small, Blott on the Landscape, Juliet Bravo, Devenish, Fort Boyard, Casualty, Heartbeat, Waking the Dead, My Family and New Tricks.

Geoffrey Bayldon died on 10th May 2017. His partner Alan Rowe died in 2000.

Former Doctor Who producer Philip Hinchcliffe has been honoured with an award for outstanding contribution to the programme, presented by the Doctor Who Appreciation Society, or DWAS.

Hinchcliffe was the producer of Doctor Who from 1975-1977, one of its most fondly remembered periods. He was producer while the DWAS was being formed by a group of students, anxious to discuss and celebrate their favourite programme.

Presenting the award at the DWAS convention, The Capitol, being held in Crawley, one of the founder members of the society, Jeremy Bentham spoke of the support the fledgling organisation had received from the Hinchcliffe and the BBC. That support helped enable the group to grow from a small college based club, to become a national society approved by the BBC. The group had been invited to visit the production office to meet the team and to discusses the series. A mention in the Radio Times in the listing for Masque of Mandragora, brought huge numbers of new membership applications.

Accepting the award Philip Hinchcliffe said.Script writer Bob Baker was also presented with an award for outstanding contribution to Doctor Who for his work on the series, in particular his creation of K-9, who celebrates his 40th Anniversary later this year.

The actor Moray Watson has died at the age of 88.

Moray Watson appeared in the 1982 Doctor Who story Black Orchid, where he played Sir Robert Muir, the Chief Constable of Oxfordshire and a friend of the Cranleigh family.

Watson was born in Berkshire in 1928. He trained at The Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art and made early appearances in London's West End. In 1953 he made his Television debut, appearing in the much acclaimed BBC series The Quatermass Experiment. A long career in British Television followed including a regular role as the Art Editor, Richard Lowe, in the BBC series Compact. He appeared in Silas Marner, No Wreath for the General, Laughter from the Whitehall, Z Cars and Upstairs, Downstairs as well as many appearances in one-off plays in series such as Thirty-Minute Theatre and The Wednesday Play.

In 1971 he played Lord Collingford in the children's series Catweazle and in 1974 played Barrington Erle in the BBC adaptation Anthony Trollope's The Pallisers. He played Angus Kinloch in the Cold War thriller series Quiller and Chief Constable Chubb in Murder Most English

In the 1980's he played Mr. Bennet in the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice and Wordsworth in the comedy Union Castle. Other notable apperances included parts in Agatha Christie's Miss Marple: The Body in the Library, Minder, Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years, The Professionals, Rude Health, Rumpole of the Bailey and The House of Eliott.

In 1991 he played the Brigadier in the ITV version of The Darling Buds of May .

He appeared in several films, including Operation Crossbow and The Grass Is Greener, in which he played opposite Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr, Robert Mitchum and Jean Simmons.

Moray Watson appeared in several one-man shows, including The Incomparable Max based on the life and work of Max Beerbohm and Ancestral Voices, based on the diaries if James Lees Milne. His final show, Looking Back and Dropping Names was written and devised by himself based on his own life as an actor. It was published in book form in September 2016.

Recenty launched online streaming service Britbox has added the majority of existing 20th Century Doctor Who to its collection. The service, co-operated by BBC Worldwide and ITV, provides subscription-based video-on-demand (SVOD) to the United States of America, and features a range of programmes - both old and new - from British Television to stream on a variety of devices.

Soumya Sriraman, President of BritBox said:

Subscribers will be able to watch most of the existing stories between 1963-1989 (including The Web Of Fear with its reconstruction of episode three):
Notable omissions to the collection include several Dalek stories, and The Five Doctors; however, a number of DVD extras are available to watch, not to mention items such as K9 & Company and 50th Anniversary productions An Adventure In Space And Time and The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot. It should be noted that programmes are based on the remastered Region 1 versions which are occasionally different to the original broadcast episodes.

The service is expected to expand to include missing episodes too in the future, and will include the (narrated) audio soundtracks of those episodes that don't currently exist in the BBC Archive.


"Modern" Doctor Who is available to stream in the United States via Amazon Prime Video.

The BBC have released some new promotional images to accompany the 30 second trailer that is now airing on television in the UK, featuring some of the scenes to come in the new series of Doctor Who which kicks off in ten days time.


PRIME in New Zealand have now confirmed that, unlike for recent series and specials, it will instead premiere The Pilot on Monday 17th April rather than within a day of the United Kingdom - this means that cinema-goers in the country will have a chance to watch it on the big screen the day before broadcast. However, this is only the case for Easter, future episodes will be broadcast on the more traditional Sunday evening prime time slot.

The Pilot: Known Broadcast Details
United Kingdom	BBC One	Sat 15 Apr 2017	7:20pm BST
Middle East	BBC First	Sat 15 Apr 2017	10:00pm AST	(Sat 8:00pm BST)
United States of America	BBC America	Sat 15 Apr 2017	9:00pm EDT	(Sun 2:00am BST)
Canada	SPACE	Sat 15 Apr 2017	9:00pm EDT	(Sun 2:00am BST)
Australia	ABC	Sun 16 Apr 2017	7:40pm AEST	(Sun 10:40am BST, also on ABC ME)
Brazil	SyFy	Sun 16 Apr 2017	8:00pm BRT	(Sun 11:00pm BST)
Latin America	SyFy	Sun 16 Apr 2017	11:00pm CDT	(Mon 4:00am BST)
New Zealand	PRIME	Mon 17 Apr 2017	7:30pm NZST	(Mon 8:30am BST)

As well as on television, the episode can also be seen in cinemas in the United States, Australia and New Zealand. A full list of broadcasts can be found via This Week in Doctor Who.

Current indications are that Doctor Who won't be taking a week's break for the annual Eurovision Song Contest, which takes place this year on 13th May (the date for the fifth episode, Oxygen).

The latest Doctor Who Magazine (in shops tomorrow in the UK) has confirmed the titles of all episodes bar the two-part finale, with previews of the first three in this issue. The current list of known titles are as follows:

1. The Pilot*, by Steven Moffat, directed by Lawrence Gough
2. Smile, by Frank Cottrell-Boyce, directed by Lawrence Gough
3. Thin Ice, by Sarah Dollard, directed by Bill Anderson
4. Knock Knock, by Mike Bartlett, directed by Bill Anderson
5. Oxygen, by Jamie Matheson, directed by Charles Palmer
6. Extremis, by Steven Moffat, directed by Daniel Nettheim
7. The Pyramid at the End of the World, by Peter Harness, directed by Daniel Nettheim
8. The Lie Of The Land, by Toby Whithouse, directed by Wayne Che Yip
9. The Empress Of Mars, by Mark Gatiss, directed by Wayne Che Yip
10. The Eaters of Light, by Rona Munro, directed by Charles Palmer
11. tbc, by Steven Moffat, directed by Rachel Talalay
12. tbc, by Steven Moffat, directed by Rachel Talalay

* the episode was originally known as A Star In Her Eye, which is still being used in documentation by some international channels.