The latest issue of the BBC's ever Who-friendly Radio Times listings magazine is released in the UK today, and contains various items of interest to Doctor Who fans.

Billie Piper is the issue's cover star and the subject of an interview inside the magazine, promoting her new ITV2 drama series The Secret Diary of a Call Girl. Interviewer Zoe Williams writes: "She won't be drawn on Doctor Who (will she return before David Tennant departs?) - for personal or contractual reasons, we can only guess."

On page three, Radio Times editor Gill Hudson asks her readers to guess what connects three of the major television events of the week - Billie Piper's new role, the first appearance of Christopher Eccleston in BBC Two's run of the US fantasy series Heroes, and the return of Sarah Jane Smith. "Right first time!" Hudson tells her readers.

The Sarah Jane Adventures is listed as one of the picks of the week on page four, and on page 31 is given a one-page preview feature, in which Gareth McLean interviews Russell T Davies about the show and his return to children's television, where he started out with dramas such as Dark Season in 1991, from which a photo of Kate Winslet and Jacqueline Pearce is shown.

"I loved the sort of dramas that were set in this world, but had an otherworldliness to them," Davies tells McLean. "They had all this possibility that there were fantastic forces at work beneath the ordinariness of the world. How marvellous!" Davies also reflects on how he never felt children were his natural audience, and on the changes to children's television since he worked in it. He concludes that "With the likes of Disney investing so much money in children's TV, I do feel optimistic about its future."

The Sarah Jane Adventures is one 'Today's Choices' for Monday September 24th, with reviewer Mark Braxton commenting: "The show looks perfect for cheering up Mondays; it confirms the promise of the pilot and has its heart in exactly the right place."

The magazine also confirms that the next episode of The Sarah Jane Adventures will follow on the CBBC Channel at 5.30pm on Monday, immediately following the previous episode's BBC One premiere.

Elisabeth Sladen has spoken to The Daily Telegraph newspaper about her role in the forthcoming Doctor Who spin-off series The Sarah Jane Adventures, which begins its run on BBC One on Monday 24th September.

She tells journalist Simon Swift: "I did that episode, School Reunion, and I thought what a lovely end for my character... Then, as Torchwood was coming out, I got a call saying Russell [T Davies - Doctor Who's executive producer] would like to take me out for lunch to talk about something else. I thought, 'I'm going to be in Torchwood.' And he said: 'We want to do a series called The Sarah Jane Adventures.' I absolutely didn't see it coming."

Sladen also tells Swift that she would have been irritated had the spin-off project been given to any other former companion. "I would be p***** off to my socks. I would have said, 'Well, they know what they're doing,' but I would have secretly thought, 'Oh, what a mistake they've made'."

CBBC has updated the official website of The Sarah Jane Adventures, in anticipation of the series' debut on September 24. The website contains a teaser clip from Revenge of the Slitheen, a "data matrix" for interfacing with Sarah Jane's computer "Mr. Smith", a tour of Sarah Jane's attic and more.

At the moment, the site is not restricted to UK IP addresses (as it had been previously). Thanks to the CBBC web designers for allowing fans from outside the UK to use the website.

The Anglican church used two years ago as the location for the episode Father's Day is to invite its congregation to compare a Time Lord with the Lord of Time at a special Dr Who-themed church service.

According to an article in the Metro, teenagers are being targeted for the "cafe-style" Communion service, with music and video clips from the hit series, at St Paul's Church in Grangetown, Cardiff.

Fr Dean Atkins, youth officer for the Diocese, is quoted as saying: "The figure of Doctor Who is somebody who comes to save the world, almost a Messiah figure. In the series there are lots of references to salvation and the Doctor being almost immortal. We are using the figure of Doctor Who as a parable of Christ."

The BBC have announced that The Sarah Jane Adventures will begin broadcasting on Monday, September 24th at 5:00 pm. On Sunday the 23rd, CBBC will be repeating the New Year's specialInvasion of the Bane. The first story of the series will be Revenge of the Slitheen by Gareth Roberts.

The Weeping Angels from Series Three episode Blink have topped the Doctor Who Adventures scariest monster poll by receiving 55 percent of the Vote. The Master came in second with 15 percent, while The Daleks came in third with 4 percent.

Moray Laing, editor of Doctor Who Adventures says, "The Weeping Angels are a fantastic addition to the long list of scary monsters in Doctor Who. Children will definitely remember being scared by them for years to come. Also, the idea that you could possibly escape a creature by not blinking is inspired... but it's not as easy as it sounds! The Daleks usually come top of every monster poll - so the Weeping Angels should be proud of their achievement! I wonder what the Daleks would say to the news?"

The latest issue of Doctor Who Adventures will be out on September 13th and will feature a full spread on the Weeping Angels.

The BBC have announced details on the upcoming trio of novels set to be released in May 2008. These three novels will feature the Tenth Doctor and Martha.

Character Options have announced the first in the new Classic Series range of figures. The first wave will include four single releases and two twin packs. There is currently not a release date. The list is still under negotiations and approvals, but Wave 1 is currently slated to include:

The Fourth Doctor in his Red velvet jacket from the story Revenge of the Cybermen. This figure will include two interchangeable heads - one with the hat, one without.

The Fifth Doctor with short hair as seen in the story Resurrection of the Daleks.

The Sixth Doctor in his patchwork frock coat with short hair as seen in Attack of the Cybermen.

A Sea Devil complete with string vest.

A Zygon with the Skarassen control device.

Voc Robots from The Robots of Death. This twin pack will include SV-7 (Super Voc) and D-84 (Dum Class).

Magnus Greel and Mr Sin from Talons of Weng Chiang will be the second twin pack.

Doctor Who is being pre-empted again this week by theCanadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC)due to the live broadcast of the 2007 Canadian Country Music Awards. The live broadcast from Regina, Saskatchewan would have affected the broadcast of Doctor Who across most of the country.

Doctor Who was also pre-empted in parts of Canada last week due to Labour Day CFL Football broadcasts in some timezones. Areas that were not affected by the live football saw a repeat of the episode Gridlock.

Doctor Who will return to the CBC on Monday September 17th with the episode Utopia.