BBC Worldwide is to release The Doctor Who Audio Annual featuring audio versions of vintage tales first seen in the Doctor Who Annuals published in the 1960s through to the 1980s.

The Annual, out in December, features classic adventures, from the first six incarnations of The Doctor, read by stars of the show: Peter Purves (who played companion Steven), Anneke Wills (Polly), Geoffrey Beevers (The Master), Matthew Waterhouse (Adric) and Nicola Bryant (Peri).

Stories include

• The Sons of Grekk, in which the First Doctor is held prisoner in a brutal, otherworldly society. 
• The King of Golden Death where the Second Doctor, Polly and Ben have materialised inside an Ancient Egyptian pyramid. 
• Dark Intruders, with The Third Doctor, Jo and the Brigadier confronting a familiar adversary 
• Conundrum with the Fourth Doctor, Adric and K9 experiencing warped physics in the corridors of the TARDIS. 
• The Penalty, where a delirious Fifth Doctor finds old friends and adversaries ganging up on him 
• The Real Hereward, where the Sixth Doctor and Peri plunge into a dangerous period of British history.

Also included are two vintage essays on the character of the Doctor: Who is Doctor Who? from 1966 and The Phoenix in the TARDIS from 1968.

The Annual can be pre-ordered from Amazon

Tributes have been paid to actress Deborah Watling, who died yesterday after a short illness.

Watling played Victoria in the 1960's, alongside Patrick Troughton and Frazer Hines, who was one of the first to comment.

I've just found out about dear Deb's. Loved her so much RIP

— Frazer Hines (@WhoFrazer) July 21, 2017

Watling was an active member of the convention circuit and much loved by many other stars of Doctor Who. Nicola Bryant tweeted "I am so sad to hear of the passing of the lovely Deborah Watling.We had so many laughs & heart to heart", while Katy Manning added "So deeply saddened to hear that the wonderful funny talented #DeborahWatling has gone on her awfully big adventure ,oneofthe absolute best"

Deborah Watling's sister is the actress Dilys Watling and her brother the former actor, and current Member of Parliament for Clacton, Gyles Watling, who told PA In recent years Watling had returned to the character of Victoria for Big Finish audio productions. Senior Producer David Richardson said Deborah Watling is survived by her husband Steve.

It is with deep sadness we report the death of Deborah Watling, forever known as the Second Doctor's companion Victoria.

Deborah Watling joined Doctor Who in 1967, just over 50 years ago. She remained with the series for just under a year, playing the Victorian orphan taken into the care of the Doctor.

Alongside Patrick Troughton and Frazer Hines, Watling would occupy the Tardis throughout what is now viewed as the classic monster era of the show, featuring Cybermen, Daleks, Ice Warriors and, of course, The Yeti.

Deborah Watling was born on 2nd January 1948. She was born into a theatrical family, her father the actor Jack Watling and her mother the actress Patricia Hicks. It was inevitable that she and her siblings would end up on the stage and by the age of ten, she was appearing in the ITV series The Invisible Man, playing the niece of Peter Brady.

In 1965 she played Alice Liddell in the BBC Wednesday play written by Dennis Potter and based on the life of Lewis Carroll. It was this appearance which led her to be cast as Victoria Waterfield in the final story of Season four, The Evil of the Daleks.

It wasn't initially to be a companion role. The producers were hoping to persuade Pauline Collins, who had appeared in the previous story, to stay on. When Collins declined, the role of ongoing companion was offered to Watling and Victoria joined the TARDIS crew.

It is well known that the team of Troughton, Watling, and Hines got on extremely well with Watling often the butt of the boys jokes. Many of her stories have been wiped since transmission, and the return of two to the archive a few years ago, The Enemy of the World and most of The Web of Fear brought her considerable delight.

She left Doctor Who in April 1968, at the end of Fury from the Deep. Small roles in the films That'll Be the Day and Take Me High followed. On TV she appeared in Rising Damp and The Newcomers and in 1979 she played Norma Baker in the ITV series Danger UXB.

She briefly returned to the character of Victoria in 1993, for the Children In Need skit, Dimensions in Time before recreating Victoria in a number of audio plays for Big Finish.

Deborah Watling was diagnosed with lung cancer six weeks ago and died earlier today.

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.

Patrick Ness writer and creator of the Doctor Who Spin-off Class, has confirmed he will not be writing any more episodes of the series.

The BBC has not officially commented on the future of the series, which was released on the BBC Three online channel last Autumn and shown on BBC America in the last couple of months. However, with the series creator now withdrawing from the drama it looks increasingly unlikely that a second series will be made.

Ness confirmed his withdrawal from any new series on Twitter saying Class was created to appeal to the young adult market and initially released in the UK on an online platform. The project was part of the BBC's initiative to serve young adult consumers by focusing on online content, a decision that led to the closure of the BBC Three Broadcast channel.

It was hoped that high-quality original content would drive young viewers to the online station, which has struggled to make an impact in the market. However, the decision meant that Class was initially only seen by a fraction of the audience it would have received on a broadcast channel.

The series was later screened on BBC One, but as a late night double bill, where it struggled to find an audience, getting viewing figures around a third of the timeslot average.

Ness, on his Twitter feed, said he was baffled by the scheduling decisions of BBC1, given the show had been critically-acclaimed, but reiterated he was grateful for the chance to make it. He talked about some of his plans for Series Two, which will not now be realised. Ness also paid tribute to the fans of the series and the cast

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.