The latest issue of Enlightenment, (#139), the fanzine of the Doctor Who Information Network -- North America's largest Doctor Who fan club -- features an interview with writer Steven Moffat (The Empty Child,The Girl In The Fireplace, Blink) where he talks about his work on the series, what makes Doctor Who so great, and gives us a glimpse into writing Blink, an episode where the Doctor isn't around much. Also: DoesDoctor Who have an agenda? How does Doctor Who's changing cast connect to a new shipping fanbase? And can the Two-Four crew survive 15 episodes with the Roger Delgado Master? Enlightenment is available from the Doctor Who Information Networkwebsite.

What's On TV and The Sun are reporting that Doctor Who star David Tennant is to guest in an 80-minute Christmas special episode of the popular BBC Two / HBO sitcom Extras, playing himself. The series, written by and starring Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, features celebrity guests playing parody versions of themselves in each episode, and according to the What's On TV report: "TV bosses are keeping quiet about David's appearance in the final episode of the award-winning comedy - but insiders have hinted that it will be linked to his role as The Doctor."

Tennant's girlfriend, Doctor Who guest star Sophia Myles, appeared in an episode of the second series of Extras in 2006.

Perth Now has reported on the 'outrage' of local Torchwood fans at Channel Ten's decision to move the show to a midnight timeslot. A 'publicist' for Channel Ten is quoted as saying: 'Although 'Torchwood' launched to an impressive number it was not able to sustain ratings up against particularly tough competition. We thank loyal fans for their support and we will play out the series, albeit on Tuesday's late night.'

Meanwhile, Judy Adamson of the Sydney Morning Herald writes, in a review of 'Blink', that 'the monsters are not only fabulously inventive, they're uncomfortably scary.' The Melbourne Herald-Sun also writes of the 'downright scary' statues in 'Blink', describing it 'the best episode of the series so far' and gives it four stars.Greg Hassall, also of the Sydney Morning Herald, gives 'Utopia' a thumbs up, writing that 'it's a great episode, with plenty of wickedly barbed dialogue between Harkness, Martha and the Doctor. The pay-off comes at the end, setting up a stellar conclusion to the season.'

Finally, in the ratings, Doctor Who has risen again: 'The Family of Blood' scored 865,000 viewers in the 5 major capitals, while 'Blink' was also the ABC's top rating Saturday programme, scoring 873,000 viewers. Meanwhile, Torchwood'sratings have remained steady in the Tuesday midnight timeslot on 'Channel Ten'. 'Combat' received 147,000 viewers while 'Captain Jack Harkness' received 151,000 viewers. For more ratings details see the Sydney Morning Herald’s Tribal Mind.

Thanks to Kamelian for the 'Perth Now' story.

For the second year running, Doctor Who and its star David Tennant have won prizes at the annual television awards ceremony run jointly by British TV Quick and TV Choice magazines, the results of which are voted on by readers of those publications.

ITN reports that the series won Best-Loved Drama at last night's ceremony at the Dorchester Hotel in London, with Tennant taking home the prize for Best Actor. Doctor Who spin-off series Torchwood was also a success at the ceremony, winning the award for Best New Drama.

The BBC News Online report on the awards features a comment from Tennant on his forthcoming stage role as Hamlet for the Royal Shakespeare Company next year, which he describes himself as being "very excited and very scared" about. The report further states that on the subject of the 2010 series of Doctor Who, he commented that he did not know if he would be starring in it as "it's in 2010".

Virgin Megastore has released the apparent cover for the DVD release of "Invasion of the Bane", the pilot episode ofSarah Jane Adventures. Click on the thumbnail below to see a larger version.

The DVD is due in UK shops from 29th October.

Following media speculation, the BBC have confirmed future plans for Doctor Who in a press releasetoday.

After the fourth series airs in 2008, David Tennant will continue in the role of the Doctor for a Christmas special at the end of 2008. After that, instead of a full series beginning filming, the production team, with Tennant still in the role, will be working on three Doctor Who specials, led by Russell T Davies, to be shown on BBC1 throughout the year of 2009. A fifth full series is scheduled for 2010, though asBBC News point out, casting is unconfirmed for that far ahead.

Media speculation was sparked by reports that Tennant had been cast in the title role of Hamlet, in a production for the Royal Shakespeare Company from July to November 2008. This would have conflicted with filming a fifth series for airing in the spring of 2009. The RSC 2008 Flyer and BBC News are confirming Tennant's role in the play.

Rumors over the past several months have suggested that the show would be going on a sort of 'temporary hiatus' after the fourth series, though the BBC has emphasized the series' return for a full fifth year. It is not known whether Davies will continue in the helm of the series when it does return on a weekly basis, however.

The press release included the following quotes:

The results of the 2007 Hugo Awards have been announced at Nippon 2007, the 65th World Science Fiction Convention, in Yokohama, Japan. The Hugo for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form went toThe Girl in the Fireplace by Steven Moffat.

This is Moffat's second Hugo win, following from last year's win for The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances. Other Doctor Who nominees in the category this year included Army of Ghosts/Doomsday by Russell T Davies and School Reunion by Toby Whithouse.

As reported back in May, tonight sees David Tennant flicking the switch for the annual Blackpool Illuminationsparty tonight (31st Aug). The event will take place around 9:30pm and will also be broadcast live on a BBC Radio 2show presented by Dale Winton (8:30-9:30pm).

More details can be found on the illuminations website, and has been reported today by Pendle Todayand24dash.

After Elton, a popular gay-themed blog hosted by the Logo network, has invited SyFyPortal.com founderMichael Hinman and the popular former science-fiction radio personality Meredith Hogan to host a series of Vlogs (video logs) that will highlight each episode of "Torchwood's" first season.

The Vlogs will run between 10 to 15 minutes, and will talk about different aspects of each episodes, as well as some of the gay themes present in each show.

Each Vlog will appear on the After Elton Web site by the Monday following each episode's broadcast. Hinman is already a fan of the series, and will be giving a perspective from someone who is watching the show for the second time as it airs on BBC America. Hogan, however, will be a newcomer to the show (and practically to the 'Doctor Who' universe), so she will provide a fresh, "new fan" perspective to the show.

"We've always been true practitioners of Gene Roddenberry's philosophy of infinite diversity in infinite combinations," Hinman said. "I know that has become almost a cliche in science-fiction, but up until shows like 'Torchwood,' that cliche didn't seem to exist when it came to our friends in the gay and lesbian community."