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.

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.)

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.

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.

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.

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)

Big Finish Productions has announced the December installment of their Short Trips range. Short Trips: The Ghosts of Christmas edited byCavan Scott and Mark Wright will finish out the year, joining Short Trips: Destination Prague, Short Trips: Snapshots and Short Trips: Defining Patterns on the 2007 release schedule. A sample story fromShort Trips: Destination Prague, Gold and Black Ooze by Robert Hood, is still available.

The first release of 2008 is set for March with Short Trips: The Quality of Leadership edited by Keith R.A. DeCandido. Short Trips: The Quality of Leadership is about leadership from throughout history. The stories will each focus on the Doctor's encounters with dukes and despots, prime ministers and presidents, kings and queens, tribal shamans and galactic emperors.

Outpost Gallifrey has received the cover illustration for the UK release of theSeries Three, Volume One DVD disc, due out on 21 May 2007. The disc includes the episodes "Smith and Jones," "The Shakespeare Code" and "Gridlock". Click on the thumbnail for a larger version of the cover.