Edward Russell Completes his 'Walk For Lis'

Monday, 12 September 2011 - Reported by Marcus

Doctor Who Brand Manager Edward Russell has completed his 168 mile walk from the BBC's Upper Boat Studios in Wales to BBC Television Centre in London, and in the process raised over £15,000 in memory of Elisabeth Sladen.

Russell undertook the Walk for Lis to raise money for Meadow House Hospice, The NHS-funded facility which cared for the actress best known for playing Sarah Jane Smith in Doctor Who and The Sarah Jane Adventures, and who died earlier this year.

Russell set off from the current home of Doctor Who, Upper Boat studios at Pontypridd in South Wales around 11am Saturday 3rd September. Walking an average of 21 miles a day, he arrived at the former home of the programme, BBC Television Centre in London at around 5pm last Saturday. Russell was joined for the last 7 miles of the walk by Doctor Who Magazine Editor Tom Spilsbury.

As of Sunday evening the walk had raised £15,622.13, exceeding Russell's target of £15,000.

Russell declared himself fine after the walk saying

I feel great! Was out dancing till 4am and other than nasty blisters, I'm on top form.

He passed on his thanks to everyone who supported, encouraged, retweeted and donated.

The Just Giving site is still open for donations for those who wish to contribute.

FILTER: - People - Charities

Walk for Lis: still time to donate

Friday, 9 September 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Doctor Who and Sarah Jane Adventures Brand Manager Edward Russell has been walking this week from the BBC's Upper Boat Studios in Wales to Television Centre in London, raising money for the Meadow House Hospice who looked after the actress Elisabeth Sladen.

Having battled the inclement weather over the last few days, he has now reached his last resting place before the final push to London tomorrow. You can follow his adventure along the way via the official Facebook group for the walk.

So far Ed has raised just under £14,000 for the Hospice, but hopes to achieve £15,000 upon his arrival. To donate, simply click on the link below.

Donations may be made via Just Giving

FILTER: - Special Events - Charities - Elisabeth Sladen

Elisabeth Sladen - A Celebration

Friday, 9 September 2011 - Reported by Marcus

Hyde Fundraisers are inviting you to join them in a celebration of the life and work of Elisabeth Sladen as they host a special screening at Cineworld in Ashton-under-Lyne in aid of Sladen's charity The Lymphoedema Support Network and BBC Children In Need.

There will be a screening of the Dr Who episode School Reunion, which stars David Tennant along with selected episodes from The Sarah Jane Adventures.

This will include character photo opportunities - including a replica K-9 - a charity tombola with Dr Who prizes and merchandiser Galaxy 4.

The specially invited guest (Subject to work commitments) is Daniel Anthony alias Clyde from the The Sarah Jane Adventures.

The event takes place between 10.30am and 2pm with tickets available from the Cineworld website.

The event takes place with kind permission of BBC Television and Cineworld Cinemas.

For further details visit www.hydefundraisers.com

FILTER: - Special Events - Charities

Day of the Daleks preview: Alister Pearson print

Tuesday, 30 August 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

This Sunday (4th) sees a special preview taking place to celebrate the release of Day of the Daleks on DVD, presented by the Doctor Who Appreciation Society with permission from 2|Entertain.

Artist Alister Pearson has produced a new A4 print for the event based on the original artwork designs for the Target novelisation's three covers, by Chris Achilleos, Andrew Skilleter and himself. He'll be at the event to sign prints, proceeds of which are in aid of Help for Heroes; it can also be pre-ordered directly from the DWAS website via their Day of the Daleks event section, and these too will be signed by the artist.

Though the event itself is fully booked, there is an open autograph session at the end of the event at 5:00pm for those who wish to come along to pre-order the DVD on the day and have the cover signed by the guests, Katy Manning (Jo Grant) and Richard Franklin (Mike Yates) - it is also hoped that Scott Fredericks (Boaz) will be able to attend on the day as well. As with the print, a signed DVD can also be pre-ordered from DWAS online before the event takes place.

Full details on the event and associated merchandise/activities can be found via the DWAS website.

BBC ClassicDW have also released a clip from one of the special features on the discs.

Day of the Daleks preview clip, BBC Classic Doctor Who (via YouTube)

FILTER: - Special Events - Charities - Classic Series - Blu-ray/DVD

Walk for Lis: update

Wednesday, 17 August 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

We have recently heard from Doctor Who's Brand Manager Edward Russell, who will be undertaking a walk to raise money on behalf of the hospice that looked after Elisabeth Sladen; he wishes to thank everybody who has donated so far, and has a message from the Meadow House Hospice itself to share:

We are extremely grateful to you and everyone who has contributed as it will make a significant contribution to our charitable fund and our plans to upgrade our in-patient unit.

As previously reported, the walk is scheduled to start at the BBC's Upper Boat Studios in Wales (where The Sarah Jane Adventures were produced) on the 3rd September; once under way, Edward aims to utilise the dedicated Facebook group for the walk to chart his progress.

Donations may be made via Just Giving

FILTER: - Special Events - Charities - Elisabeth Sladen

Comic Relief: Space and Time

Friday, 18 March 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Tonight saw BBC's Comic Relief broadcast a special mini-episode of Doctor Who in two parts, Space and Time. Both have now been added to the BBC's official YouTube channel.

SPACE

Watch the first part via YouTube

TIME

Watch the second part via YouTube

Matt Smith himself appeared on the charity show at around 11:20pm, portraying the Doctor who arrives in the TARDIS and gives presenters Jonathan Ross and Claudia Winkleman a brief 'review' of what was to come up later in the evening!

The Doctor Drops In

Watch the second part via YouTube

Please show your appreciation for this special episode of Doctor Who by donating to Comic Relief, which you may do so via the official donation site.

FILTER: - Specials - Charities

'Super Follow' Auction for Comic Relief

Thursday, 17 March 2011 - Reported by Marcus

Comic Relief are offering auctioning a chance to be super-followed on twitter by the man behind the series, Steven Moffat. The winner will also get a five minute phone call from Moffat himself along with The Doctor in the form of Matt Smith.

The ‘Super-Follow’ means that Moffat will

1. Follow you on Twitter for 90 days
2. Retweet one of your tweets
3. Send out a tweet including your Twitter @username

In addition he will send you two Doctor Who scripts. One from a previous Doctor Who series, signed by David Tennant, Russell T. Davies and Dan Ryan (who donated it) and one from the last series signed by Matt Smith and Karen Gillan.

You will also get 2 tickets to the Doctor Who Experience at Olympia in London (on 4th April) and 2 tickets to the screening of the first episode of the new series of Doctor Who plus a question and answer session with the key cast afterwards (also on 4th April).

The auction is now open on ebay.

FILTER: - Steven Moffat - Charities

Fundraising in memory of Nicholas Courtney

Tuesday, 1 March 2011 - Reported by Josiah Rowe

Doctor Who fans are collecting donations via the fundraising site JustGiving in memory of Nicholas Courtney, who passed away last week. Funds raised will go to Marie Curie Cancer Care, the hospice charity which cared for Courtney in his last days. Marie Curie Cancer Care describes itself thus:

Marie Curie Cancer Care provides high quality nursing, totally free, to give people with terminal cancer and other illnesses the choice of dying at home, supported by their families. It runs nine Marie Curie Hospices across the UK offering free specialist care for patients and support for families. The charity conducts palliative care research to find better ways of caring for terminally ill people and also funds scientists who investigate the causes and treatments of cancer. Charity Registration No 207994 (England & Wales) and SC0 38731 (Scotland)

The Doctor Who News Page encourages fans with fond memories of Nick to contribute to this worthy cause; even small donations will be appreciated. JustGiving accepts donations via credit card, debit card or PayPal. The page for donations is here.

FILTER: - People - Charities

Doctor Who stars lend a hand to charity

Wednesday, 23 February 2011 - Reported by Harry Ward

Stars from Doctor Who have designed candle holders to be auctioned for the ILLUMINATE Campaign, an offshoot of The Cure Parkinson's Trust. The auction on eBay began yesterday and will finish at 7.00 pm on Friday 4th March 2011.

Peter Davison (the fifth Doctor and Bernard Cribbins (Wilfred Mott) have both designed an image to be used on a candle holder. Also in the auction are hand signed photos by Davison and Katherine Jenkins (Abigail Pettigrew, A Christmas Carol).

Other celebrities who have appeared in Doctor Who and have designed a candle holder for the auction are Harry Lloyd (Jeremy Baines / Son of Mine, Human Nature / The Family of Blood), Roy Hudd (Max Miller, Pier Pressure, Big Finish Audio), Louise Minchin (Newsreader, Torchwood: Children of Earth), Julia Sawalha (Emma, The Curse of Fatal Death, Red Nose Day parody episode), who has signed a photo, and Ricky Gervais, who appeared as a slug-like monster alongside David Tennant as the tenth Doctor in a scene in Extras - The Special.

Britain’s favourite celebrities have personally designed these 34 candle holders, which will be auctioned on eBay for 10 days starting 7pm on 22nd FEBRUARY 2011. Only one candle holder of each design has been made … making each of them truly unique.

These top quality, bone china candle holders, are made in Stoke on Trent and filled with 100 hour white wax. They are approximately 75mm in diameter and 92mm tall and come in a specially made presentation box. The design has been kiln-fired onto the candle holder, during the manufacturing process, to make it permanent. Remember - the items for auction here are truly unique - only one of each design exists.

Additionally we are auctioning 10 hand signed photographs sent to us by celebrities in response to our appeal for support. Included with every item is a Certificate of Authenticity signed by The Cure Parkinson’s Trust’s Managing Director.

If you decide not to bid for a candle holder, perhaps you might donate to The Cure Parkinson’s Trust instead? By donating to the Cure Parkinson’s Trust you are investing in the hope of a future without Parkinson’s.

FILTER: - Bernard Cribbins - Charities - Auctions - Peter Davison

National Doodle Day 2011

Saturday, 12 February 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Friday 11th February saw the launch of National Doodle Day 2011, the eighth event organised by the charities Epilepsy Action and The Neurofibromatosis Association. As with last year, a number of doodles from stars associated with Doctor Who join others to help raise money to help those afflicted by those illnesses.

This year two Doctors have submitted illustrations, Peter Davison and Christopher Eccleston, with companion entries from Bernard Cribbins and Freema Agyeman. Other guest stars from the show include Matt Baker, Jeremy Bulloch, Brian Cant, Martin Clunes, Graham Cole, Michael Gambon, Sarah Greene, Felicity Kendal, Harry Lloyd, Geoffrey Palmer, Nigel Planer, Paul O'Grady, Russell Tovey, Zoe Wannamaker, and Don Warrington. It is also possible to vote for your favourite celebrity doodle.

Doodles from previous years can be purchased on t-shirts and other items in support of the charities from PhotoBox; last year included items from Catherine Tate and Elisabeth Sladen, with previous years including Colin Baker and Louise Jameson.

The auction is currently running on Ebay, and a full list of the celebrity doodles are available on the National Doodle Day website.

FILTER: - Charities - Auctions

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