Behind the Scenes of The Next Doctor

Monday, 22 December 2008 - Reported by Marcus
BBC One magazine programme The One Show has put online its behind-the-scenes look at The Next Doctor from last Friday.

The four-and-a-half-minute video exclusive is presented by famed Tom Baker impersonator Jon Culshaw, who goes on set and interviews David Tennant and David Morrissey.

Click here to watch the extract. (NB: May not be available to view outside the UK.)




FILTER: - Specials - UK - Series 4/30 Specials - Broadcasting

New "Next Doctor" Clip Online

Sunday, 21 December 2008 - Reported by Marcus

The official BBC Doctor Who website has posted a clip from the forthcoming Christmas special, "The Next Doctor", as the treat behind the door of day 21 on their "Adventure Calendar". The calendar counts down to Christmas with a variety of special material made available each day in December.

The new 50-second video clip, only available to UK users of the site, features the character of Miss Hartigan (Dervla Kirwan) interacting with the Cybermen.




FILTER: - Specials - UK - Series 4/30 Specials - Broadcasting

Tshabalala Interview And Sladen In Panto

Friday, 19 December 2008 - Reported by Anthony Weight
With just a few days to go now until The Next Doctor airs on BBC One, Last Broadcast has uploaded an interview with Velile Tshabalala, who plays Rosita in the Christmas special.

It was conducted last month but embargoed until now. In it, Tshabalala discusses the audition process, working with Davids Tennant and Morrissey, her costume, and performing stunts in the episode.

The actress opens in pantomime on December 20, appearing in Dick Whittington And His Cat at The Compass Theatre in Ickenham, Middlesex. The show runs until January 3.

Also in panto this festive season is Elisabeth Sladen, playing Mrs Darling in Peter Pan at the Theatre Royal Windsor. The production, based on the J M Barrie tale, is on until January 11.

With thanks to Jeremy Bentham




FILTER: - People - UK - Press

Christmas Special Press Launch

Thursday, 18 December 2008 - Reported by Marcus
The official BBC press launch for the forthcoming Doctor Who Christmas special, "The Next Doctor", was held in London today. A somewhat lower-key affair than the corresponding events of previous years, the event has nonetheless managed to attract a good deal of media coverage on television, radio, online and in print. Readers are warned that any or all of the following links may contain spoilers for "The Next Doctor".

SFX Magazine have posted a spoiler-free review of the episode, which they describe as "not an out-and-out classic episode, but it is great Christmas entertainment. And it does have a few classic moments." OffTheTelly describes how outgoing BBC Controller of Fiction Jane Tranter implored journalists "to promise not to tell anyone else what to make of that. The ability of Doctor Who is to ask big questions and keep everybody guessing. Please enter into the spirit of that, and allow everyone to keep asking questions."

Gareth McLean, writing for The Guardian, describes the episode as "a lot better than last year – a lot – and not just because David Morrissey is a magnificent actor and a lot easier on the eye than Kylie Minogue. For a start, The Next Doctor is about something. It has a proper story (as opposed to a surfeit of CGI), some lovely sharp lines and self-referential moments that, mostly, aren't self-indulgent." Michael Deacon in The Telegraph says the episode is "a blizzard of action... Much of the plot is devoted to the relationship – at times amusing, at times poignant – between these two Doctors, as we begin to learn the life story of Morrissey’s character."

Writer Russell T Davies appeared in the last half-hour of BBC Radio 5 Live's Victoria Derbyshire programme to discuss the special, and also popped up on television on the BBC News channel's coverage of the press launch.




FILTER: - Specials - Russell T Davies - UK - Series 4/30 Specials - Broadcasting

The Next Doctor - trailer online

Monday, 15 December 2008 - Reported by Marcus
The official BBC website has published a trailer for the forthcoming Doctor Who Christmas special, "The Next Doctor", as the gift behind the window on Day 15 of their "adventure calendar". The trailer runs to approximately 50 seconds.

Due to rights issues, the video is only available to internet users in the UK.




FILTER: - Specials - UK - Online - Series 4/30 Specials

E-Space Trilogy Boxset

Thursday, 4 December 2008 - Reported by Marcus
The Doctor Who Restoration Team website has published an article detailing the contents of the forthcoming E-Space Trilogy DVD box set, containing the linked stories "Full Circle", "State of Decay" and "Warriors' Gate" from season eighteen of the series.

The stories, which were originally broadcast between October 1980 and January 1981, introduced the companion Adric and saw the departure of the characters of Romana and K9. The three four-parters - along with various commentaries, documentaries and other extra features as detailed in the article - will be available on DVD in the UK in the new year. The actual date of release has yet to be confirmed.




FILTER: - Merchandise - UK - Blu-ray/DVD

Doctor Who No. 2 on Virgin iPlayer

Monday, 21 July 2008 - Reported by Anthony Weight
Doctor Who was the second most-watched show in the month of June on the new version of the BBC iPlayer catch-up service available to subscribers of the Virgin Media cable television platform. According to a report in The Guardian, the Virgin Media version of the iPlayer - which is also available to UK broadband internet users via the BBC website - attracted 10 million users to its programming during its first full month in operation.

The top ten most-viewed programmes were, according to The Guardian:
1. EastEnders
2. Doctor Who
3. Holby City
4. Casualty
5. Top Gear
6. Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps
7. The Apprentice
8. Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
9. In the Night Garden
10. The Apprentice: You're Fired




FILTER: - UK - Online - Series 4/30

Journey's End - Officially Number One

Wednesday, 16 July 2008 - Reported by Marcus
Official figures released today by the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board confirm that Journey's End, the final episode of Series Four, was the UK's most watched television programme of the week with an official rating of 10.57 million viewers.

It is the first time in Doctor Who's 45 year history that the programme has achieved this position. Not only did the programme top the chart but it did so in style, getting over 1.5 million more viewers than the second placed programme, Monday's Wimbledon coverage. Journey's End got over 2 million more viewers than any episode of Coronation Street and 3 million more than any episode of EastEnders.

This previous highest chart position was achieved by the 2007 Christmas special,Voyage of the Damned, and last week's The Stolen Earth, both of which came second. The highest chart position the classic series achieved was 5th for the second episode of the 1975 Tom Baker story The Ark in Space.

Only 31 episodes of Doctor Who have ever made the top ten, eight starring William Hartnell, one starring Jon Pertwee, one starring Tom Baker, one starring Christopher Eccleston and twenty starring David Tennant.

The high chart position, combined with the outstanding Appreciation Index scores, make the two final episodes of Series 4 undoubtedly the most successful episodes of Doctor Who ever made. With the repeats on BBC3 and the IPlayer downloads included, the final episode has been seen by nearly 13 million viewers within a week of broadcast.

Doctor Who also topped the Multi Channel Chart, with Saturday's Confidential making number one with 1.46 millionwatching. The Sunday repeat of Journey's End was 2nd with 1.21 million and the Friday repeat of The Stolen Earthgot 0.74 million and was the 11th most watched programme.







FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Series 4/30

Repeat Ratings

Monday, 14 July 2008 - Reported by Marcus
Sunday saw repeats of the two final episodes of Series Four on BBC1.

The Stolen Earth shown at 1730 got 1.6 millionwatching, and was the 21st most watched programme of the day. The programme won its time slot.Journey's End, shown later at 1815, got 2.6 millionwatching and was the 13th most watched programme of the day.

Journey's End was also repeated on BBC3 on Friday evening, where it got 0.54 million watching and was the 2nd most watched programme of the day on multi channel television.

The entire fourth series gets a repeat showing on BBC3 starting today.




FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Series 4/30

Stolen Earth - Final Ratings

Wednesday, 9 July 2008 - Reported by Marcus

Final figures released by BARB give episode twelve of series four, The Stolen Earth, an official rating of8.78 million viewers.

The episode was the second highest rated programme of the week, only the second time in the series' 45 year history that it has achieved such a position. The other episode to score so high was last Christmas's Voyage of the Damned.

The programme beat all the soaps for the week and was only outrated by the the European Championship Final edition of Match of the Day, which got just 60,000 more viewers.

The Sunday repeat on BBC Three was watched by 1.01 million viewers, and was the 3rd most watched programme on multi-channel for the week. The highest rated programme on multi-channel was the Saturday showing of Doctor Who Confidential which got 1.27 million viewers.

Full ratings data, including data for iPlayer downloads, can be found in the Doctor Who Forum.
Top Programmes w/e 29 June 2008

1 EURO 2008: MATCH OF THE DAY LIVE (SUN 1856) - 8.84 - BBC1
2 DOCTOR WHO (SAT 1911) - 8.78 - BBC1
3 EASTENDERS (MON 1959) - 8.61 - BBC1
4 CORONATION STREET (MON 1933) - 8.56 - ITV1
5 CORONATION STREET (FRI 2031) - 8.53 - ITV1
6 CORONATION STREET (MON 2030) - 8.46 - ITV1
7 CORONATION STREET (FRI 1934) - 8.44 - ITV1
8 EASTENDERS (FRI 2002) - 8.24 - BBC1
9 CORONATION STREET (WED 1930) - 7.66 - ITV1
10 EASTENDERS (THU 1929) - 7.42 - BBC1
11 EURO 2008: MATCH OF THE DAY LIVE (WED 1929) - 6.95 - BBC1
12 EURO 2008 LIVE (THU 1929) - 6.77 - ITV1
13 TEN O'CLOCK NEWS (WED 2200) - 6.45 - BBC1
14 EMMERDALE (MON 1902) - 6.37 - ITV1
15 EASTENDERS (TUE 1928) - 6.24 - BBC1
16 EMMERDALE (FRI 1902) - 6.13 - ITV1
17 EMMERDALE (WED 1900) - 5.98 - ITV1
18 CASUALTY (SAT 2050) - 5.88 - BBC1
19 EMMERDALE (THU 1859) - 5.85 - ITV1
20 BBC NEWS (SUN 2215) - 5.32 - BBC1

Top Programmes (Multi Channel) w/e 29 June 2008

1 DOCTOR WHO CONFIDENTIAL (Sat 1959) 1,272,000 - BBC3
2 EASTENDERS (Tue 2159) 1,201,000 - BBC3
3 DOCTOR WHO (Sun 2002) 1,009,000 - BBC3
4 60 SECONDS (Sat 1958) 876,000 - BBC3
5 HOME AND AWAY (Thu 1829) 855,000 - Fiver
6 HOME AND AWAY (Mon 1829) 767,000 - Fiver
7 EASTENDERS (Mon 2202) 758,000 - BBC3
8 HOLLYOAKS (Fri 1859) 743,000 - E4 In
9 HOME AND AWAY (Fri 1828) 727,000 - Fiver
10 SUPERNATURAL (Sun 2104) 709,000 - ITV2
11 HOME AND AWAY (Wed 1829) 694,000 - Fiver
12 HOLLYOAKS (Thu 1859) 690,000 - E4
13 HOME AND AWAY (Tue 1829) 688,000 - Five
14 AMERICA'S GOT TALENT (Fri 2102) 674,000 - ITV2
15 GLADIATORS (Sun 1800) 656,000 - Sky One
16 60 SECONDS (Sun 2001) 650,000 - BBC3
17 HOLLYOAKS (Tue 1859) 640,000 - E4
18 KATIE AND PETER: THE NEXT CHAPTER (Thu 2100) 615,000 - ITV2
19 HOLLYOAKS (Mon 1859) 599,000 - E4
20 HOLLYOAKS (Wed 1859) 596,000 - E4
Source: BARB




FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Series 4/30