The Bristol Commercial Vehicles Enthusiasts have reported that the BBC have hired an additional bus in the same style as the one used recently in filming for Planet of the Dead, and of course the one that was damaged in transit to Dubai that the media have extensively commented upon.

There is no official confirmation as yet as to if this new bus is also being shipped out to Dubai to replace the damaged one for filming.

(with thanks to Rob Sly)

As production begins on the first special of 2009, Planet Of The Dead, the BBC has released a video diary from David Tennant recording his return to Cardiff and to Doctor Who.

The video is also available via the official website. Content may not be available outside the United Kingdom.

A press release published on the Newsarama website has revealed that director Euros Lyn is to oversee the final two special episodes of Doctor Who which will see out David Tennant's time as the Tenth Doctor. The news was revealed as part of the promotion for Lyn's forthcoming appearance at the New York ComicCon event in the United States, where he is to promote Torchwood: Children of Earth, which he has also directed.

Lyn is the only director to have worked on every production block to date of the new Doctor Who series. He helmed The End of the World and The Unquiet Dead for the first series; Tooth and Claw, The Girl in the Fireplace, The Idiot's Lantern and Fear Her for the 2006 run; the Christmas special The Runaway Bride for the third production block, and most recently the two-parter Silence in the Library and Forest of the Dead for series four in 2008. In addition, Lyn directed the mini-episodes Children in Need Cutaway in 2005 and and Music of the Spheres in 2008, the former of which was David Tennant's first full broadcast scene as the Doctor, meaning Lyn will have bookended the actor's time in the TARDIS.

The first two special episodes to be shown this year are being directed by James Strong and Graeme Harper. No broadcast dates are yet known, but it is expected that Lyn's two-part finale will be shown over the Christmas and New Year period.

Posted By John Bowman

Extensive damage was caused to a bus due to be used in Dubai for filming the Doctor Who special Planet of the Dead.

Dubai newspaper 7DAYS has uploaded a report with a picture showing the double-decker's roof crushed. It says the vehicle was damaged by a crane operator at Dubai port as it was being brought into the United Arab Emirates state. The left side of the bus was also crushed inwards, windows were smashed, the frame was bent and paint was ripped from the roof. The vehicle is currently being repaired. (NB: The 7DAYS report could be considered to contain a minor spoiler.)

The accident has also been covered by BBC News, The Sun and Telegraph. (NB: Both newspaper reports contain plot details.)

Although parts of the story's script had to be rewritten the BBC said that filming was "continuing as normal". Another bus is being used for filming in Cardiff.

The images below show more of the damage that was caused to the bus. (NB: These pictures are copyright and courtesy of 7DAYS. They may not be copied or published anywhere else without permission of 7DAYS.)

Both Teletext and The Sun are reporting today that Freema Agyeman will return to Doctor Who for one more appearance as Martha Jones before David Tennant leaves the role. Agyeman is, according to the reports, scheduled to appear in one of the four upcoming specials that Tennant will appear in before turning over the role to Matt Smith. Says the Sun, "Freema's on board. It's early days so it's unclear what exactly Martha will be up to in the new show."

Agyeman will be doing a Q and A, with Chris Chibnall, Ben Daniels and Dick Wolf after a preview screening of Episode 1 of Law and Order on Thurs 5th Feb at the British Film Institute in London.

The BBC have confirmed the casting of Michelle Ryan in the Planet of the Dead, the first of four Doctor Whospecials which will air in 2009.

Ryan, who is best known for her roles as Zoe Slater in EastEnders and Jaime Sommers in the recent remake of Bionic Woman, will play the mysterious Lady Christina de Souza, who joins David Tennant, as the Doctor, on a bus trip which takes a very unexpected detour into danger. She said "I'm a huge fan of Doctor Who and very excited to be joining David Tennant and the Doctor Who team. It is such a fantastic show and I can’t wait to get started!"

British comedy star Lee Evans will also be joining the cast playing a character called Malcolm, whose life becomes connected to the Doctor's under extraordinary circumstances.

Noma Dumezweni returns to the series as Captain Erisa Magambo, last seen helping Rose and Donna save the world in Turn Left.

Executive Producer and writer Russell T Davies said "Michelle is one of the most sought after young actors in the country and we are delighted to announce that she will be joining the team. As always the script is being kept strictly under wraps however we can reveal that Lady Christina is a woman with a mysterious past who's going to have a huge impact on the Doctor! "

The episode will be screened at Easter.


UPDATE:
Lee Evans will be appearing on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, 10:35pm on BBC1 tonight.

Several newspapers have covered this casting news, including The Telegraph, The Daily Mail, The Sun, The Guardian, as well as BBC News.

The Doctor Who News Page has learned that actor and comedian Lee Evans has been cast as "a Professor" in one of the forthcoming special episodes of Doctor Who, four of which will be broadcast during 2009 and into New Year 2010. Evans confirmed his casting during this afternoon's studio recording of tomorrow's edition of BBC One chat show Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, saying that he had been approached a few days beforehand and was delighted to be working on the series.

Evans has worked as both a stand-up comic and an actor, appearing in several Hollywood movies. His films include MouseHunt, There's Something About Mary and The Fifth Element. On stage, he appeared in the 2004-05 London run of The Producers, as Leo Bloom.

The news of his casting has also been reported at Chortle.co.uk.

UPDATE, 18.15 GMT: Evans's comments during the Jonathan Ross recording have been confirmed in a BBC Press Release.

Following on from an earlier blog report from The Guardian, the Dubai-based newspaper 7DAYS has reported that filming for one of the forthcoming Doctor Who specials will take place in Dubai. There has been no official word from BBC sources; the7DAYS article quotes an unnamed "BBC insider" confirming that the series will be filming in Dubai "later this year". The same article also states, "At least one other episode will be shot in the US, it was disclosed."

The newspaper also created a few images of Doctor Who aliens and villains in Dubai scenes; one of these is at right. The rest can be seen in the "e-paper" available on the7DAYS website after (free) registration.

Thanks to "chelwood" of the Doctor Who Forum.

Since Matt Smith's announcement at the beginning of the year, media speculation has moved onto who the companion to his Doctor will be for the next series. Whilst the media has speculated on a number of names for the role, such as Lily Allen and Rachel Stevens, most recently they have turned their attention towards former EastEnders actress Michelle Ryan.

Betting company William Hill had initially placed the odds on the actress at5/1; however the Sunday Mirror reported last weekend that Ryan had been "in secret talks with BBC bosses" over the role of companion to the eleventh Doctor, and that an announcement would be made by the BBC very soon (also reported by Digital Spy, Coventry Telegraph, Marie Claireand Den of Geek).

However, with production having now commenced on the first Doctor Who special Planet of the Dead, fans who have been watching events unfold in Cardiff over the last few days have reported on Ryan being involved with this episode. This was confirmed last night with the actress being seen performing with current Doctor David Tennant. Though there has been no official confirmation of her role from the BBC as yet, it is believed that she is playing the part of companion to the tenth Doctor for this special, with The London Paper today reporting her character name as 'Lady Christina de Souza'.

Ryan has recently been seen on television in the BBC's Saturday night fantasy series Merlin, and the short-lived re-imagining of The Bionic Woman. She also appeared in Doctor Who's new head writer Steven Moffat's previous series on the BBC, Jekyll.


Update 2200: further coverage of casting in Den of Geek and Daily Mail.

(with thanks to Lee Tucker and the Cardiff Kinda Group)

For the first time since the completion of material for "The Next Doctor" in April 2008, BBC Wales have resumed the production ofDoctor Who. Work began yesterday, on Monday the 19th of January, with director James Strong helming material for the forthcoming special Planet of the Dead at Museum Avenue and Park Place in Cardiff.

As has become the custom, the shooting of Doctor Who has attracted the attention of fans, several of whom have been down to the location to observe activity and take photographs, one of which is reproduced at the right. The Doctor Who News Page will avoid giving any spoilers for episodes while they are in production, but those interested in finding out more about the production in Cardiff can follow the link to the set reports thread in the Doctor Who Forum by clicking below.

Picture by Scooty of The Doctor Who Forum