Top Voices

Friday, 6 April 2007 - Reported by DWNP Archive

Brian Cant, who played Kert Gantry in The Daleks' Masterplan and Tensa in The Dominators, has been voted the best-loved voice from children's TV, says a report on BBC News Entertainment.

The poll of more than 1,200 people for the magazine published forUnderground Ernie, which is a CBeebies cartoon series, also sawBernard Cribbins, who was Tom Campbell in the film Daleks' Invasion Earth: 2150 AD, in the top five.

In addition, the top 20 included Peter Sallis, who played Penley in The Ice Warriors, and Richard Briers, who was the Chief Caretaker in Paradise Towers.

Sallis voices Wallace in the Wallace and Gromit animations, which are co-written by classic series writer Bob Baker.

Cant, 73, came top for his narration of Camberwick Green andTrumpton. He was also a presenter on Play School.

Cribbins was nominated for narrating The Wombles, and Briers forRoobarb and Custard.




FILTER: - People

Doctor Who triumphs in SFX Reader Awards

Thursday, 5 April 2007 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor Who has won six categories in the annual Reader Awards carried out by the sci-fi and fantasy title SFX.

More than 5000 readers of SFX were eligible to vote in 17 award categories.Doctor Who beat off fierce competition from shows such as Life on Mars, Lost and Heroes to win the Best TV Show award.

The Doctor himself, David Tennant, scooped Best TV Actor, whilst former assistant Billie Piper was awarded withBest TV Actress.

Doctor Who also picked up Best TV Episode for The Girl in the Fireplacewhilst Captain Jack Harkness, John Barrowman, was voted Sexiest Manfor his role in the show and spin-off series Torchwood.

Rounding off a bevy of awards, Executive Producer and Chief WriterRussell T Davies was inducted into the SFX Hall of Fame for his work in reviving the show, which had previously been axed by the BBC in 1989.

The full rundown of the SFX Reader Awards is featured in the May issue, on sale Wednesday 11 April.

SFX Reader Awards 2006

Best Film - Children of Men
Best Actor - Johnny Depp
Best Actress - Natalie Portman
Best Film Director -Christopher Nolan
Best TV Show - Doctor Who
Best TV Actor - David Tennant
Best TV Actress - Billie Piper
Best TV Episode - Doctor Who "The Girl in the Fireplace"
Sexiest Man - John Barrowman
Hall of Fame - Russell T Davies




FILTER: - Magazines - Awards/Nominations

New Zealand buys Series Three

Wednesday, 4 April 2007 - Reported by Anthony Weight

C21 Media reports that New Zealand broadcaster Prime TV, who have already shown the first two series of newDoctor Who, have purchased the screening rights to series three, currently being run on BBC One in the UK. According to the report, the channel's recently-signed deal with BBC Worldwide Australasia also includes the 2006 Christmas special, The Runaway Bride.




FILTER: - Series 3/29 - New Zealand

Barrowman's Sister Writes

Wednesday, 4 April 2007 - Reported by DWNP Archive

Carole E Barrowman, the older sister of John, has written a piece for theMilwaukee Journal Sentinel about the perils of going shopping with the star sibling in Cardiff - even late at night.

Headlined "Shopping With Captain Jack", it has been done for the Voices ongoing series of essays. Carole E Barrowman is a professor of English at Alverno College.

(Thanks to Laurence E Dickerson.)




FILTER: - People - Press

Tennant Stars in Learners

Tuesday, 3 April 2007 - Reported by DWNP Archive

David Tennant is to star as a driving instructor in a new BBC One comedy drama.Learners will start filming in Hertfordshire this month, to be shown later this year.

The film, about a group of learner-drivers, has been written by Jessica Hynes, nee Stevenson, who is to appear in the Paul Cornell two-parterHuman Nature/Family of Blood later in the current series of Doctor Who. InLearners, Hynes will play downtrodden wife Bev, who has failed her test eight times and develops a crush on her new instructor Chris, played by Tennant. His character is a devout Christian secretly in love with the driving school owner.

According to the BBC Press Office, Hynes based the film on her own experiences. She said: 'It took me 10 years to pass my test - this year I finally did it so I could do the film. I had a great instructor who taught me to take my time and relax. When I passed I cried with joy."

Shaun Dingwall, who played Rose's father Pete, will also be appearing in it, as Bev's husband, Ian.




FILTER: - David Tennant

Smith and Jones AI Figure

Monday, 2 April 2007 - Reported by Marcus
Not only was the launch of the new series one of the most watched programmes of the week, it was also one of the most loved, with an Appreciation Index of 88.

This is the highest figure for a Doctor Who series debut, and has only been beaten by previous season finales "The Parting of the Ways" and "Doomsday", both of which which scored 89.

The programme was 4 clear index points higher than anything else shown on Saturday night.

The Appreciation Index, or AI, is a measure of how much the audience liked the programme. It is a score out of 100, based on responses from a carefully selected panel. The average score for drama on BBC1 and ITV1 is 77. A score in excess of 85 is regarded as excellent while a score below 60 is poor.




FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Series 3/29

Sunday Ratings Update

Monday, 2 April 2007 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor Who was top of the multi channel ratings on Sunday with970,000viewers watching the BBC3 repeat of Smith and Jones. The five minute breakdowns show the audience for the last twenty minutes shot over 1 million peaking at 1.06m. The share was 5.1% and beat one of the terrestrial channels, Channel 5.

This is by far the highest rating the programme has ever achieved on BBC Three. The previous high was 790,000 for the Sunday repeat of The Empty Child on the 22nd of May 2005.

Doctor Who Confidential was watched by 550,000 viewers, while another repeat of The Runaway Bride achieved 390,000 viewers.

Overnight figures for the entire week are now available and show that Saturdays BBC1 showing was the 9th most watched programme on British Television this week, only being beaten by the soap giants Coronation Street and EastEnders.

This virtually guarantees a top ten place in the chart when the final figures are released by BARB in 10 days time, one of the very few time in its history the programme will have achieved this. Final figures are much more accurate than overnights and include figures for those who recorded the programme and watched it within seven days. Doctor Who's final figure is usually half a million more than the overnight figure, which could see the programme rise to 7th place.

The Weakest Link Doctor Who Special was 23rd on the list.




FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Series 3/29

Weakest Link in Scotland

Monday, 2 April 2007 - Reported by DWNP Archive

Viewers in Scotland who missed out on last Friday's broadcast of the Doctor Who special of The Weakest Link because of regional scheduling will be able to see it on BBC One Scotland on Sunday, April 8 at 6.10pm, according to the official Doctor Who website.




FILTER: - Special Events

MediaGuardian: Tennant to stay

Monday, 2 April 2007 - Reported by Anthony Weight

The MediaGuardian's "Media Monkey" diary column (requires free registration to view) has run a report today claiming that David Tennant is "guaranteed" to star in the fourth series of Doctor Who, which would be his third series in the role. MediaGuardian.co.uk is the section of The Guardiannewspaper's Guardian Unlimited website that is entirely dedicated to media news and analysis. Although unattributed, the "Media Monkey" column is usually a reliable source of UK media news and gossip. The full excerpt from the column is reproduced below.
Doctor Who is back on BBC1 this Saturday, as you cannot fail to have noticed. But has David Tennant signed up for another series? The question is put to him at every press conference, and every time he declines to answer. But Monkey can reveal that it's not because he hasn't made his mind up. He has. Fans will be pleased to learn that a third series with Tennant in the lead role is guaranteed.




FILTER: - David Tennant - Press

Doctor Who Magazine 381

Monday, 2 April 2007 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

Issue 381 of Doctor Who Magazine is due out this Thursday, 5 April 2007; courtesy the editors we have a preview (click on the thumbnail for a larger version of the cover)
Doctor Who Magazine 381
Doesn't it seem like an unbearable wait until Episode 2 of the new series on Saturday? So help fill the gap with the new issue of Doctor Who Magazine!
This issue, DWM goes behind the scenes on Smith and Jones, and learns The Freema Agyeman Mnemonic System For Remembering All Ten Doctors. There's more on the making of Episode 1 in an exclusive fact-pact 11-page feature, featuring brand new photographs, fascinating interviews and intriguing design drawings.
Plus, also this issue, Martha Jones makes her comic strip debut in the first part of The Woman Who Sold the World; writer Chris Chibnall reveals a few secrets about his new episode, the enigmatically-titled 42; Jackie actress Camille Coduri is grilled by the terrors of the TARDIS tin; The Fact of Fiction looks back at 1972's The Curse of Peladon; and there are all-new Exclusive previews of new episodes The Shakespeare Code, Gridlock, Daleks in Manhattan and Evolution of the Daleks!
Meanwhile, Russell T Davies finds himself talks celebrities in Production Notes; the new DVD release of Survival is previewed; Sorvad returns to host a very strange edition of Matrix Data Bank; there's a look at the three new Doctor Who novels from BBC Books; the Time Team watch Terminus and Enlightenment; plus all the latest news, views and merchandise reviews.
Make sure you grab your copy - it's the perfect medicine for your Doctor Who withdrawal symptoms! DWM 381 is on sale from Thursday 5 April.




FILTER: - Magazines - DWM