Sea Devils Fort For Sale

Tuesday, 10 July 2007 - Reported by DWNP Archive

The fort that was used in the filming of The Sea Devils is up for sale.

A report in today's edition of Portsmouth daily paper The News says No Man's Land Fort - built in the 1860s as a sea defence against a feared invasion by the French that never happened - is on the market after the collapse of a commercial property finance business and the jailing of its boss.

The exterior of the construction - which is in the Solent, off the south coast of England - doubled as an abandoned sea fort when theDoctor Who crew went to Portsmouth in October 1971 for extensive location filming on the Jon Pertwee six-parter.

Now converted into a hotel plus events and hospitality venue, it is reported to be worth millions, and administrator KPMG says it is open to offers.




FILTER: - Classic Series - Press

National Television Awards Voting Begins

Tuesday, 10 July 2007 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

Early voting has been opened for the 2007 National Television Awards, sponsored by ITV. Both David Tennant and Freema Agyeman are among the long list of nominees for Most Popular Actor and Actress, respectively, while Doctor Who is once again up for Most Popular Drama.Torchwood also receives the Most Popular Drama nomination, while its star John Barrowman is nominated for Most Popular Actor. John Simm from the last three episodes of this past series is also nominated as Most Popular Actor for his work on "Life on Mars".

The NTA preliminary vote carries over to the final vote later in the year as the nominees' list is whittled down, with the presentation of the awards to take place in November. Doctor Who has been a big winner at the past two years' NTAs, the series taking both drama series awards and Tennant, Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper all winning in their categories.

Voting takes place at the National Television Awards website.




FILTER: - Series 3/29 - Billie Piper - Awards/Nominations

Christmas Special Casting Update

Tuesday, 10 July 2007 - Reported by DWNP Archive

The Sun has reported today that Geoffrey Palmer has been lined up to guest star in the 2007 Christmas special,Voyage of the Damned. It reports that he will be playing the Captain of the Titanic, although it is unclear whether this character is based on the real Captain of the liner, Edward Smith.

Geoffrey Palmer is best known for his roles in the comedy series As Time Goes By and Butterflies, as well as his appearances in a variety of films, including Mrs BrownThe Madness of King George and Tomorrow Never Dies.

He has previously made two appearances in Doctor Who in the Jon Pertwee stories Doctor Who and the Siluriansand The Mutants. His sonCharles Palmer directed four recent episodes of Doctor Who: Smith and JonesThe Shakespeare CodeHuman Nature and The Family of Blood.




FILTER: - Specials - Production

Peter Davison and the Holy Grail

Monday, 9 July 2007 - Reported by DWNP Archive

BBC News reports that, starting 23 July, Fifth Doctor, Peter Davison will be taking over the role of King Arthur in the West End production of Monty Python's Spamalot. The show is currently running at the Palace Theatre.

Bill Ward, from the ITV soap Coronation Street will be joining the cast at the same time as the sexually disorientated Sir Lancelot.

The producers of the show are also launching a new family friendly performance on Fridays at 5:15pm, aimed at kids and young audiences.




FILTER: - People - Classic Series - Peter Davison

Media Guardian Top 100

Monday, 9 July 2007 - Reported by Marcus
The Media Guardian has placed Doctor Who's executive producer Russell T Davies as the15th most powerful player in the industry in the UK. Davies, who was placed 28th last year, is described as the person who made family TV drama cool again with his award-winning reinvention of Doctor Who and who put BBC1 back on top in the Saturday night ratings war.

The Tenth Doctor himself, David Tennant, is 24th and described as the most powerful actor in television. The Media Guardian says the definition of a star is someone who can get a project off the ground simply by agreeing to be in it. Tennant is that man.

Also listed is Jana Bennett the BBC's director of vision who comes in 11th.

Current BBC1 controller Peter Fincham is 12th and the Director General of the BBC, Mark Thompson was 3rd in the list.




FILTER: - People - Russell T Davies

Canada: CBC to make Series Three Available Online

Monday, 9 July 2007 - Reported by Mike Doran

The Doctor Who Blog is reporting that they have been informed by sources inside the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that the broadcaster will be posting Series Three ofDoctor Who online at their Doctor Who Website. Each episode will appear online the day after it airs onCBC Television, and will remain available for up to four weeks.

It is expected that the first three episodes should be posted on the site soon. The episodes are expected to be geofenced, and only be available to those connecting from Canadian ISPs.

(Thanks to Rudolf Mammitzsch and DWIN)




FILTER: - Canada - Series 3/29

Sarah Jane's Audio Adventures

Sunday, 8 July 2007 - Reported by Jarrod Cooper

10th Planet has released information about forthcoming audio releases for Sarah Jane Adventures. November 5th will see the release of The Thirteenth Stone and The Golden Storm, original short stories for younger listeners, read by Elisabeth Sladen. Each release will be on a single CD.
The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Thirteenth Stone

Whilst helping out on a school trip, Sarah Jane discovers the truth behind the legend of an ancient stone circle. Something is trying to escape from one of the stones – and it’s chosen Luke as the way out! Can Sarah, Clyde and Maria save him?


The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Golden Storm

When patients at a London clinic begin to act strangely, Sarah Jane’s suspicions are aroused. Luke falls prey to the clinic’s sinister agenda, Maria and Clyde are pursued through London by a golden battle machine, and Sarah discovers a plot to harvest all the gold from Earth - at a terrible cost to the planet!




FILTER: - Audio - Sarah Jane

November Audio Releases

Sunday, 8 July 2007 - Reported by Jarrod Cooper

BBC Audio have released covers and information on their November Audio releases.

Fourth Doctor Tom Baker reads the novelisation of his introductory story, Doctor Who and the Giant Robot by Terrance Dicks.

Martin Jarvis reads The Dinosaur Invasion by Malcolm Hulke.

Katy Manning provides linking narration on the soundtrack for The Curse of Peladon, which also includes a bonus interview.




FILTER: - Audio - Classic Series

UKTV: Who Is the Greatest Doctor Who?

Sunday, 8 July 2007 - Reported by Marcus
The UKTV Drama channel asks Who is the Greatest Doctor Who? next weekend, when it shows stories featuring each of the ten Doctors.

The channel's website features clips, fact files and a voting form to register your choice.

Stories being shown are An Unearthly Child, The Chase (episodes 1 and 5),Inferno (episodes 1 and 7), The Three Doctors, The Deadly Assassin, The Caves of Androzani, Attack fo the Cybermen, The Two Doctors, The Curse of Fenric, the 1996 Doctor Who TV movie, Rose, The Empty Child, The Doctor Dances, The Parting of the Ways, New Earth, School Reunion, Army of Ghosts and Doomsday.

The Sunday Times, in reviewing the weekend, says William Hartnell's portrayal of the Doctor is a wonderfully cantankerous antidote to David Tennant's jovial space-prankster. It lists among the weekend's other treats, repeat outings for 1970's brilliantly sinister Inferno, Peter Davison's finest adventure (The Caves of Androzani) and the genuinely unnerving The Deadly Assassin, in which Tom Baker loses his marbles

(Thanks to 'Terry')




FILTER: - Awards/Nominations - Classic Series

Christmas Special Cast Update

Sunday, 8 July 2007 - Reported by DWNP Archive

Clive Swift has been cast in the forthcoming episode Voyage of the Damned, the 2007 Doctor Who Christmas special, according to a report in theJewish Telegraph.

The actor is no stranger to Doctor Who, having played Jobel in the 1985 serial Revelation of the Daleks starring Colin Baker.

He is most famous, however, for the role of Richard Bucket (pronounced "Bouquet" - a long-running gag), the hen-pecked husband of Patricia Routledge's Hyacinth in the BBC TV comedyKeeping Up Appearances.

In the Telegraph piece, Swift says of his Christmas special character: "It's a lovely part and I'll be working with Kylie Minogue, who I was introduced to at the read-through, and David Tennant, who is a terrific actor."

Swift also appeared in the BBC TV drama Born and Bred, which ran from 2002 to 2004 and was created by Chris Chibnall, the co-producer ofTorchwood.

Chibnall was consulting/executive producer of Born and Bred, which also ranked Phil Collinson among its producers.

(Thanks to Neil Marsh and GracieLizzie.)




FILTER: - Specials - Production