Coming Soon: Let's Kill Hitler

Wednesday, 17 August 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
As previously reported, Let's Kill Hitler sees its premiere on BBC1/BBC1HD between 7:10-8:00pm on Saturday 27th August, as confirmed by both the BBC Press Office and Radio Times websites, with the behind-the-scenes programme Doctor Who Confidential to follow straight afterwards as usual on BBC3, 8:00-8:45pm.

The Hitler theme continues on BBC2 after Doctor Who with Adolf Hitler vs Hans Litten: To Stop a Tyrant (8:00-9:00pm), a documentary that explores the story of Hans Litten, a young Jewish lawyer who challenged Hitler – and paid for it with his life. This documentary accompanies a BBC film about Litten to be shown this coming Sunday (21st, 9:00-10:25pm) on BBC2, The Man Who Crossed Hitler.

Radio Times:

The Doctor's frantic search for the infant Melody Pond takes him to 1930s Berlin, where he comes face to face with the most notorious war criminal in the universe. With conflict brewing in the background, the Time Lord prepares to teach his enemies that time travel comes with its fair share of responsibility.

BBC Press Office:

In the desperate search for Melody Pond, the TARDIS crash lands in Thirties Berlin, as the time-travelling drama returns for the second half of the series shown earlier in the year.

The Doctor comes face to face with the greatest war criminal in the Universe. And Hitler.

Old friendships are tested to their limits as the Doctor suffers the ultimate betrayal and learns a harsh lesson in the cruellest warfare of all. As precious time ebbs away, the Doctor must teach his adversaries that time travel has responsibilities. And he must succeed before an almighty price is paid.

The BBC have now released a video featuring Karen Gillan discussing some of Amy and Rory's development during Let's Kill Hitler, plus two preview clips from the episode itself.


Karen Gillan discusses Let's Kill Hitler, BBC, via the BBC Doctor Who Site (may not be available outside the United Kingdom)

Let's Kill Hitler: Preview Clip 1, BBC, via the BBC Doctor Who Site (may not be available outside the United Kingdom)

Let's Kill Hitler: Preview 2, BBC, via the BBC Doctor Who Site (may not be available outside the United Kingdom)





FILTER: - Series 6/32 - Online - Karen Gillan

Doctor Who Wallpaper

Sunday, 14 August 2011 - Reported by Marcus
A new set of 4 wallpaper murals based on Doctor Who have just been released by Black Dog Murals.

Each mural is scaled to fit the wall it is intended for and printed on standard wallpaper with environmentally friendly inks. It goes up like any other form of wallpaper.

Two of the four designs, officially licensed by BBC Worldwide, feature Matt Smith as the Doctor and Karen Gillan as Amy. Another includes images of the Doctor's legendary enemy the Daleks, surrounding the Tardis, while the fourth shows the dimensionally transcendental inside of the Tardis.

Price is £25 per square meter.





FILTER: - Merchandise - Doctor Who - Karen Gillan - Matt Smith

Karen Gillan stays with Doctor Who

Sunday, 24 July 2011 - Reported by Marcus
Karen Gillan had told the website Zap2it that she is staying with Doctor Who for the foreseeable future and will be returning as Amy Pond for the next series of the show which goes into production at the end of the year.

Doctor Who has been commissioned for a further fourteen episodes following this year's Christmas Special, and previously only Matt Smith was known to have been contracted for the run. Gillan was interviewed at Comic-Con and when asked if she would be returning she said, "I am going to come back, yes,That's the first time I've said that today".

The 33rd series will be the seventh full series since the show returned in 2005. It is due to be shown during 2012 and 2013.




FILTER: - Karen Gillan - Series 7/33

Karen Gillan's West End Theatre Debut

Sunday, 24 July 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Karen Gillan (aka Amy Pond) will be making her West End theatre debut this Autumn in a revival of John Osbourne's 1964 play Inadmissible Evidence.

The play is to be performed at the Donmar Warehouse Theatre and will be directed by Jamie Lloyd. Gillan will play the character of Shirley, the hard-done-by secretary to middle-aged laywer Bill Maitland, to be played by Douglas Hodge; other cast members include Esther Hall, Amy Morgan, Daniel Ryan, and Al Weaver.

The Daily Mail reported that Lloyd had been very impressed with the Doctor Who actress:
Karen read twice for him at auditions and he was impressed with her charisma and her natural instincts. "More importantly, she can do the text convincingly and she feels as if she comes from that Sixties British Mad Men world," Lloyd added.

Originally performed in 1965 on Broadway, the play featured Nicol Williamson as Maitland and Jeanne Hepple as Shirley. It was subsequently made into a film with Williamson reprising the role alongside Eileen Atkins in 1968.

Synopsis: Bill Maitland, a middle aged lawyer, struggles to avoid the harsh truths of his life and keep a hold on reality. As those closest to him begin to draw away, he puts himself on trial to fight for his sanity.


The play runs from 13th October to 26th November - for more details see the theatre website.




FILTER: - People - Karen Gillan

Portal Awards Nominations 2011

Monday, 13 June 2011 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Doctor Who: Portal AwardThe annual Portal Awards have been announced by Airlock Alpha, with Doctor Who once more well represented within the various categories.

Best Actor sees Matt Smith nominated for his role as The Doctor; he will face competition from Andrew Lincoln (The Walking Dead), Sean Bean (Game of Thrones), Joshua Jackson (Fringe), and Eddie McClintock (Warehouse 13). This award was won overwhelmingly by David Tennant last year with some 68% of the vote (with second place going to John Barrowman with 10%!).

Similarly, Best Actress sees co-star Karen Gillan pitted against Lena Headey (Game of Thrones), Anna Torv (Fringe), Paula Malcomson (Caprica), and Summer Glau (The Cape). Gillan lost out last year to Eve Myles for her portrayal as Gwen Cooper in Torchwood: Children of Earth.

Doctor Who itself is nominated for Best Television Series, which it won last year (Torchwood came second). This year sees it up against Fringe, Game of Thrones, Stargate: Universe and The Walking Dead. Also, The Doctor's Wife has been nominated in the Best Television Episode category, facing episodes from Fringe, Stargate: Universe, Game of Thrones and Caprica.

Alex Kingston has been nominated for Best Television Special Guest, an award she won last year for The Time of Angels; this time her role in Day of the Moon is being recognised, and she faces competition from another Doctor Who guest, Michael Gambon for A Christmas Carol. Christopher Lloyd and Leonard Nimoy are also nominated for Fringe, plus Michael Rosenbaum for Smallville.

The late Elisabeth Sladen has been nominated for the Gene Roddenberry Award which honours lifetime achievement; the other nominees are H.G. Wells, J.J. Abrams, Rick Berman and Gene L. Coon.


The full list of categories are available from Airlock Alpha, and fans will be able to vote from the 25th June until 24th July.






FILTER: - Doctor Who - Karen Gillan - Matt Smith - Awards/Nominations

Karen Gillan at London Film and Comic Con 2011

Thursday, 12 May 2011 - Reported by Harry Ward
Karen Gillan Karen Gillan will be a guest at this year's London Film and Comic Con, her first convention appearance.

She will be taking part in photo opportunity with the TARDIS and a 45 minute talk as well as signing throughout the day on Saturday, 9th July 2011.

Tickets go on sale now and are only available on a first come first served basis.

Other guests from Doctor Who appearing over the two day event include Mark Sheppard (Canton Everett Delaware III, The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon), Camille Coduri (Jackie Tyler), Richard Franklin (Captain Mike Yates), Mary Tamm (Romana I), Sarah Sutton (Nyssa), Louise Jameson (Leela) and Sophie Aldred (Ace).





FILTER: - Karen Gillan - Conventions

Karen Gillan on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

Thursday, 7 April 2011 - Reported by Harry Ward
Karen Gillan is to be a guest on the The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on April 13.

1iota.com, the ticketing website for the show has listed Gillan as a guest alongside actress Diane Lane. You can register for free tickets from the iota website. Filming will take place in Los Angeles, California at 4:30 PM PT. The episode will air at a later date.

Craig Ferguson has previously had Alex Kingston (River Song) and Matt Smith on his show. Smith appeared in a special show dedicated to Doctor Who while he was in the US filming for The Impossible Astronaut and Day of the Moon. The cast of Doctor Who will again be touring the US the promote the new series of the show. Events that have already been confirmed are: the cast signing at Barnes & Noble on April 8 and the BBC America premiere screening on April 11. Both of these events are in New York City.





FILTER: - USA - Karen Gillan

Doctor Who signing at Barnes & Noble, NY

Monday, 4 April 2011 - Reported by Harry Ward
Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill will be making an in-store appearance this Friday (8th) at the Barnes & Noble store in Fifth Avenue, New York, to sign copies of The Complete Series 5 boxed set.

Friday April 08, 2011 12:00 PM

Fifth Ave
555 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10017, 212-697-3048

Special Instructions
You will need a wristband to join the signing line for this event. Wristbands will be distributed starting at 9AM on Friday, April 8 with the purchase of the Doctor Who: The Complete Fifth Series boxed Set. Please call store for additional details.

Last year, Matt, Karen and Steven Moffat went to New York for a publicity tour to promote Series 5. They attended a 'Meet the Cast' event at the Apple store in SoHo. It is not yet known if there will be a similar tour while the team is in New York this time around.




FILTER: - Special Events - USA - Karen Gillan - Matt Smith - Series 5/31

Karen Gillan to star in BBC Four biopic

Thursday, 31 March 2011 - Reported by Marcus
Karen Gillan is to play Jean Shrimpton, one of the world's first supermodels, in a new biopic commissioned for BBC Four.

We'll Take Manhattan, written and directed by John McKay, explores the explosive love affair between photographer David Bailey and the sixties supermodel which developed during a wild and unpredictable 1962 Vogue photo shoot in New York. The drama brings to life the story of two young people falling in love, misbehaving, and inadvertently defining the style of the Sixties along the way.

The role will be Gillan's first leading role away from the series since she joined the cast of Doctor Who.
Jean Shrimpton is an icon of the Sixties and I am so excited to be playing somebody who had such a lasting impact on the fashion world. I can't wait to take on the challenge of bringing Jean and Bailey's fascinating love story to life. Sixties here I come.

Claire Parker of Kudos Film and Television, says:
In Jean, Bailey found someone that he and his camera fell in love with. We'll Take Manhattan captures the essence of their dynamic affair and how they unwittingly changed the face of a decade. We're delighted to have the opportunity to make another film for BBC Four and are thrilled to have Karen Gillan on board as Jean.

Filming starts in May.

BBC Four has also recommissioned Dirk Gently, the adaptation of the late Douglas Adams novel.

The channel has ordered another three episodes of the drama based on the books by the former Doctor Who author and Script Editor, following the success of the pilot shown on the channel last December.




FILTER: - People - Karen Gillan

People Roundup

Friday, 31 December 2010 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Matt Smith tells Now Magazine that he isn't worried about being type-cast: "playing the Doctor hasn't prevented Christopher Eccleston or David Tennant from taking on other parts." He also commented on the length of Karen's Gillan skirts in the series: "I know those short skirts caused a furore but I say bring them on. I see nothing wrong with celebrating women and their sexiness. There's absolutely nothing exploitative or demeaning about it."

Karen Gillan made a special appearance on Monday at her old haunt the Eden Court Theatre in Inverness, where she was called onto the stage to help clean it and then get gunked in goo as part of the show's "grotty totty". Says theatre marketing manager Laurie Piper: "all the way through the show the writer, Iain Laughlan, incorporated 23 Dr Who jokes, so some audience members might have had an idea what was going on. When Karen was called on to the stage, the kids loved it and everyone was delighted. She did it in great spirit." The actress recently became Arts Education Ambassador at the theatre. [Aberdeen Press and Journal]

John Barrowman has had to pull out of his pantomime Aladdin (SECC, Glasgow); the theatre reports: "In terms of future performances, as time goes on it is a case of evaluating his health prior to a performance to see if he is match-fit. John is genuinely disappointed at not being able to make the performances he has missed due to the flu virus – he is a professional who will always perform should he be able to. He is doing everything he can to make a full recovery." Meanwhile, his role is being played by his cousin Greg Barrowman. [Glasgow Evening Times, Herald Scotland]

Former Doctor David Tennant came fourth in a poll of the "most sexy celebrity in glasses", carried out by the College of Optometrists. He was beaten by fashion designer Gok Wan, actor Johnny Depp and comedian Alan Carr.

Finally, the New Years Honours list sees a couple of Doctor Who guest stars honoured: Burt Kwouk (Lin Futu, Four to Doomsday) is to be awarded an OBE and actress Sheila Hancock (Helen A, The Happiness Patrol) will receive a CBE for services to drama. [more details and video for Hancock at BBC News]




FILTER: - People - Karen Gillan - Matt Smith - John Barrowman