This week's Radio Times once again features Doctor Who on its front cover - though for once centre of attention falls to the Doctor's companion Amy Pond! (Please note the cover may be considered a spoiler for those who haven't seen the preceeding episode, The Almost People)



The magazine includes an interview with head writer Steven Moffat, who was asked about the future of the Doctor's most popular adversary, the Daleks:

Unsurprisingly the media picked up on these comments, with some suggesting that the Daleks were to be rested indefinitely; Moffat clarified his statements this morning on Twitter:

News links: Radio Times, BBC News, The Sun(1), The Sun(2), Metro, Guardian, Telegraph, Independent, Express, Anglotopia, Aberdeen Press and Journal, On The Box, The Register, NME

This Sunday sees the annual British Academy Television Awards take place at the Grosvenor House Hotel, and the new edition of the Radio Times features two covers dedicated to the ceremony! Entitled "Sherlock v The Doctor", each cover presents both Benedict Cumberbatch and Matt Smith in the "Battle of the BAFTAS", as seen below:


Inside the magazine, Kathryn Flett explores the Leading Actor category that the two actors are nominated for, alongside their other 'rivals' for the award, Jim Broadbent (Any Human Heart) and Daniel Rigby (Eric and Ernie). The magazine also features other award nominees, including recent Doctor Who guest stars Hugh Bonneville and Suranne Jones. Plus, of course, Saturday's "Pick of the Day", The Rebel Flesh!

This is the first time that a leading actor from Doctor Who has ever been nominated for the role at the BAFTAS.

The new edition of the Radio Times introduces the new series of Doctor Who, which will premiere the following weekend at Easter.

The preview includes an interview with Matt Smith, in which the actor talks about the interest generated by Neil Gaiman's episode The Doctor's Wife, football, and also his feelings on the series culture:

Steven Moffatt also provides an introduction and exclusive guide to the thrill-packed episodes coming up over the next several weeks.

This week's issue of the Radio Times sees Matt Smith feature on the cover for the first time this year as he returns to Saturday evening - though in this case "The Naked Doctor" is representing his new role as the gay icon Christopher Isherwood in the BBC Drama Christopher and His Kind, which will be broadcast on BBC2/BBCHD this coming Saturday at 9:30pm.

In an interview with the magazine, the actor compares Isherwood’s experiences in 1930s Berlin to those of his time-travelling alter ego, the Doctor:

The new issue of the Radio Times is available in the shops from today.


You can also read an interview with Matt Smith on his role via the BBC Press Office.

The annual Radio Times Covers Party took place at Claridges in London on Tuesday evening, which as usual saw a multitude of stars gather together to celebrate another year's worth of Radio Times covers.

The event was hosted by former Doctor David Tennant, who was also presented with his cover for Single Father (9-15 October); Karen Gillan was there to receive the Doctor Who cover for The Pandorica Opens (19-25 June).


Other guests at the party included Steven Moffat, Rob Brydon, Terry Wogan, Aidan Grimshaw, Jean Marsh, Keeley Hawes, Hugh Bonneville and David Morrissey.

You can find a range of photos from the evening on the Radio Times website, featuring David Tennant, Karen Gillan and Steven Moffat amongst the other guests; evening developments were also revealed live and can be read via Twitter, including further behind-the-scenes photos.

The Radio Times have also provided a short video of the evening, featuring sound-bites from various celebrities, including host David Tennant and the current series representatives Karen Gillan and Steven Moffat (1m20s in).

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Plus, this week’s Radio Times (22-28 Jan) see actress Sinead Keenan talk about the new series of Being Human and playing an alien in Doctor Who:

The Christmas edition of the Radio Times features an interview with lead writer on Doctor Who, Steven Moffat. Describing how he wrote A Christmas Carol holed up in a hotel room in Los Angeles during the volcanic ash cloud this year, the writer said:
The full article appears in the double-issue, which features Wallace and Gromit on cover, out now until the 27th December. Doctor Who had its own Christmas cover for the previous issue, also available in the shops - you can see this and other Doctor Who covers on the Radio Times website.

The Radio Times have provided us with a clean version of the cover featuring Matt Smith, Sir Michael Gambon and Katherine Jenkins - see the two versions together below!


This edition of the Radio Times (11th-17th December) is in the shops from today, 2nd December 2010.
See our earlier article for full details.

As we expected last week, Doctor Who once again adorns the cover of a Radio Times for Christmas, this year on the issue dated 11th-17th December 2010. The cover art features Matt Smith, Sir Michael Gambon, and Katherine Jenkins "taking the trip of their lives", with the magazine featuring a three page article on the forthcoming Christmas Special, A Christmas Carol.

As well as discussing the programme, Matt Smith reflects on his first Christmas outing as the Doctor:
Katherine Jenkins also talks about getting what is her first acting role:
You can read more about the Special, Matt Smith and Katherine Jenkins's thoughts of working alongside Sir Michael Gambon - plus their own singing talents - in the issue, available in the shops from 2nd December. The traditional double-issue of the Radio Times for the Christmas period will follow a couple of days later on the 4th December.


This is the sixth consecutive year that there has been a special cover for Doctor Who at Christmas, one for each Christmas since the series returned (seven covers if you also include the Dalek-variant version of the Christmas 2009 edition). You can see these and all other Doctor Who covers on the Radio Times website.

The Sun reports the Doctor Who Christmas Special, A Christmas Carol, has been scheduled for 7:00pm on Christmas Day.

 5.30 TBA
 6.30 TBA
 7.00 Doctor Who
 8.00 The One Ronnie
 9.00 The Royle Family

No further information on the two "TBA" entries is known at present, though previous years have seen an edition of Eastenders and Strictly Come Dancing broadcast on Christmas Day.

Scheduling for the period has yet to be finalised, so the times/programmes might change.

Meanwhile, in the Radio Times for the 11-17th December: "Matt Smith reveals the secrets of Doctor Who's Christmas cracker". Though not mentioned in the preceeding issue, recent years have seen a cover dedicated to Doctor Who over the run-up to Christmas (you can see previous covers on the Radio Times website).

The Radio Times site also has a preview for A Christmas Carol.

It is still possible to order the Radio Times exclusive posters and Companion guide.

This week's edition of the Radio Times features the results of their recent companion poll; the list is compiled from over 3000 votes made online (see below).

Also, as well as the exclusive posters advertised previously, there is a new Companions Special available to order; the 164 glossy magazine contains a profile of over forty companions from 1963 to the present day, articles by "the companions in their own words", plus never-before-seen photographs and material from the Radio Times archive.


The Radio Times is out in the United Kingdom today, Tuesday 16th November.

The Companions volume can now be ordered online