Julie Gardner, executive producer of the BBC series Torchwood and head of drama development for BBC Wales, tellsSCI-FI WIRE that Torchwood'sroots lie in a fascination with American science fiction shows - particularly those in the boom of the 1990s.

She talks about an early series she and Russell T Davies developed calledExcalibur which centered around a paranormal investigation team.

"It was a kind of [an] urban-landscape, present-day series," Gardner said.

"And the scene that Russell in his two-page pitch described was the scene where there was this sexy group of investigators in an alleyway at night, it's raining, a corpse is on the ground, and one of them brings out a glove and is able to bring the corpse back to life, which is, of course, the central first scene in Episode 1 of what became Torchwood."

Big Finish have announced that Noel Clarke and Maureen O'Brien are joining the cast of the upcoming series Dalek Empire: The Fearless.

Clarke won't be reprising his Mickey Smith role from the new TV series but, instead, will be playing a new character called Kade - "a tough, hard-bitten soldierfrom the distant future", according to Doctor Who Magazine. Meanwhile, O'Brien (who originally played Vicki, a companion to the First Doctor) will be playing General Agnes Landen in the series. The Fearless is currently slated for a September release.

Following a story which was first announced here on Outpost Gallifrey Saturday, The Sun has issued an article explaining the recall of the Doctor Who 2008 Annual. According to The Sun, the show's title was printed on the cover as Doctor Hwo.

Russell T. Davies and his role in the successful revival of Doctor Whohas been featured in an interview with Tim Hunter of the Melbourne Age. In response to rumours that he will be leaving Doctor Who after the fourth series, Davies is quoted: 'The show is commissioned one year at a time, so life is booked up until next June, but from there, we'll see how it goes.'

Meanwhile, Lucy Beaumont, also of the Age, writes that the 'Doctor needs to get his mojo' in '42.' She also notes the 'special shade of Doctor Who-green that is used well and often' in Human Nature. Kelsey Munroof the Sydney Morning Herald also notes, in a review of this episode, that 'David Tennant makes an excellent Doctor, even considering his lamentable lack of Tom Baker curls.'

The Canberra Times has also reported that the recent Canberra launch of the 15th Australian Science Festivalsaw the surprise appearance of five Daleks. The Daleks 'threatened' the Federal Minister for Education, Science and Training, Ms Julie Bishop MP, with 'extermination' as she launched the festival.

Finally, in the ratings, 'Doctor Who' has dipped a little: '42' scored 830,000 viewers in the 5 major capitals while 'Human Nature', despite still being theABC's top rating Saturday programme, scored only 790,000 viewers. Meanwhile,Torchwood's ratings have risen in the Tuesday midnight timeslot on Channel Ten. After 'They Keep Killing Suzie' only rated 98,000 viewers in the new timeslot, 'Random Shoes' recovered to 149,000 viewers and 'Out of Time' also received 151,000 viewers. For more ratings details see the Sydney Morning Herald’s Tribal Mind.

Barry Letts, writer, director, and producer of the Classic Series, has published the first volume in his autobiography. The book, entitled Who and Me, is available exclusively online here. The second volume is currently slated for release next year.

UKTV Drama has released the results of its Who is the Greatest Doctor Who Poll?. Following weeks of voting, David Tennant has landed first place with over eight thousand votes! A full list of the results is below.

The cover image for the forthcoming UK DVD release of The Time Warriorhas been made available. Click on the thumbnail below for a larger version.

The Robert Holmes four-parter, which originally aired from December 1973 to January 1974, was the first story in Jon Pertwee's final season as the Third Doctor, and introduced not only Elisabeth Sladen as companion Sarah Jane Smith but also the Sontaran race.

It is out on September 3 and will be the first time the adventure has been available unedited.

(Thanks to Carl T Davies.)

The Sun has released an article about the forthcoming Children In Need special for Doctor Who. The article comes two days after a similar spoiler was spoken by Sylvester McCoy in New Zealand. As always, nothing has been confirmed by the BBC. Currently the Children In Need telethon is on scheduled for November 16th. Please click on the Spoiler tag below to view the article.

BBC Worldwide's Digital Media division has announced a new content partnership with mobile operator O2.

BBC Worldwide will provide over 300 individual pieces of content under the deal, including video clips, wallpapers and ringtones from programmes such as The Office, Little Britain, Doctor Who, I'm Alan Partridge and League of Gentlemen. The content will be sold through the O2 Active mobile portal.

Grahame Riddell, head of strategic content partners at O2 UK, said the deal 'paved the way' for access to BBC material in a range of formats. BBC Worldwide said the range of programmes and formats available under the deal is expected to grow over time.

Peter Mercier, head of mobile at BBC Worldwide, said: "This is clearly a great deal for us in terms of getting our content in front of consumers and demonstrating how BBC Worldwide continues to innovate in the digital media sector."

Seventh Doctor Actor Sylvester McCoy released a possible spoiler at the Day With A Doctorevent in Auckland, New Zealand. McCoy sited the source of the information as Peter Jackson. There has been no Official Announcement of this from the BBC. Please click on the Spoiler link below.