Overseas sales of Doctor Who and Torchwood have helped give BBC Worldwide record profits.

The corporation said today that its commercial arm enjoyed record pre-tax profits of 111.1m pounds - a rise of 24 per cent on 89.4m pounds.

A report by BBC News says total sales to March 31 rose from 785.1m pounds to 810.4m.

It adds that Doctor Who and Torchwood were among the notable success stories.

The story is illustrated with a still from The Runaway Bride, with the caption saying more than 1.9 million Doctor Who DVDs have been sold across the globe.

However, losses from digital media widened from 1.6m to 3.9m.

Income from the sale of BBC content and its other commercial ventures goes back into programme-making.

Also reported by Media Guardian (free registration may be required) andDigital Spy.

According to reports, Series Two of Doctor Who and the BBC's revival of Robin Hood, which co-stars Sam Troughton, grandson of Second Doctor Patrick Troughton, were two of the best-selling programmes.

Meanwhile, the Independent published an article on Sunday which examined the budget issues the BBC is facing after an expected 2bn pound deficit from the licence fee. Entitled "Who will be exterminated as the Beeb slices back?", the item mentions that Director General, Mark Thompson is resisting across-the-board cuts but could be overidden by the BBC Trust.

The trust has been presented with a number of options for the future, which include "cutting entire services, making thousands more staff redundant, slashing expenditure on lowbrow daytime television shows and slicing budgets across the corporation.

"Headline proposals include merging the six and 10 o'clock news on BBC 1 with the rolling news channel BBC News 24, and making fewer hours of original dramas like Dr Who, Torchwood and Hustle."

FOOTNOTE: The chief executive of BBC Worldwide is called John Smith . . .

(Additional reporting by Chuck Foster)

On Monday July 2nd Doctor Who will be pre-empted by the CBC.

The schedule change is due to the network-wide broadcast from Edmonton of a live match from the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup. The tournament is being hosted by Canada.

New Doctor Who will return on Monday July 9th with Gridlock.

John Barrowman will be a guest on GMTV, appearing "live from the set of Doctor Who", broadcast on ITV1, Friday 29th June 2007. Barrowman is listed in the Entertainment Today segment (starting 8.35am and ending 9.25am).
(GMTV's website).

In the run-up to The Runaway Bride's Australian debut tonight on theAustralian Broadcasting Corporation(Thursday June 28, 8.35pm), the Australian media have had a number of features on Doctor Who. The Sydney Morning Herald has a Michael Idato interview with David Tennant as does the Brisbane Courier-Mail. In the Courier-Mail interview, which includes audio, there is mention of Tennant having a breakfast meeting with the BBC Head of Drama.

The Sydney Daily Telegraph also has an interview with Tennant, where he says that his 'childhood love for Who stems from a childhood adulation of superheroes.' Their TV guide describes the Runaway Bride as 'a monumental Who adventure that barely takes its foot off the pedal.'

The SMH's online TV guide also previews the Runaway Bride while Robin Oliver describes the Christmas Special as 'a clarion call for series three'.

Torchwood has also been receiving plenty of attention from the Australian press.Ruth Ritchie of the Sydney Morning Herald reviews the show and the Daily Telegraph interviews John Barrowman. The Telegraph's latest TV guide also says: 'Torchwood - if given the right promotion by its network - should prove a stable hit. Fun viewing for time travellers and mere mortals alike.'

Channel Ten also mentions the ratings success of the show's debut in its weekly press release. Channel Ten's Torchwood website is also featuring online episodes of Torchwood Declassified.

Ratings update 29 June 2007: According to the SMH's Tribal Mind the Runaway Bride rated 846,000 viewers in the five major capital cities. It was beaten by Channel Nine's RPA: Where Are They Now? and Channel Ten's Law & Order: SVU in the 8.30pm timeslot.

Meanwhile, Crikey TV commentator, Glenn Dyer, has described the Runaway Bride as 'entertaining and good TV. 846,000 viewers agreed with me . . . [I]t was one of the best bits of TV this year for me.'

Freema Agyeman will be a guest on this afternoon's edition of Richard and Judy, broadcast on Channel 4 from 5:00pm. Says the show writeup: "This Saturday the season finale of Doctor Who, Last of the Timelords hits our screens, full of plenty of thrills and action for Doctor Who fans everywhere. Winning over critics and fans alike as Doctor Who's sexy assistant Martha Jones, actress Freema Agyeman is one of TV's newest and brightest stars. She joins Richard and Judy on the sofa to talk about the latest series and her plans for the future."

Channel 4 Richard and Judy link (for current day's show only)

The new issue of Radio Times, on sale Tuesday 26th, features two collectors edition covers promoting the season finale of Doctor Who. Click on the previews below for larger views of the two covers.

The third preview is the one picture formed when the covers are placed side by side, and this print is available to purchase from the Science and Society Picture Library.

The new issue of the magazine visits the set of Doctor Who for the series finale in the company of Freema Agyeman. It includes behind the scenes pictures and comments from Freema and hints from Russell T Davies on the plot. ("The final episode [Last of the Time Lords] is a massive quest, it’s very stirring, and there are some very dark moments in amongst the fun.")

The full trailer for Last Of The Time Lords, which aired on BBC TV yesterday, is now available to view on the official programme website.

The climax to Series Three will be shown on BBC1 this coming Saturday at 7.05pm.

The UK digital channel UKTV Drama will be running a special Doctor Who weekend on the 14th-15th July, and as a part of the proceedings fans will be able to vote for their favourite Doctor in an online poll.

The vote can be made from the UKTV Drama website between 29th Junethrough to 13th July.