The Strongest Link

Saturday, 31 March 2007 - Reported by Marcus
According to unofficial overnight figures, the special Doctor Who edition of The Weakest Linkwas the most watched non-soap programme on Friday.

5.7 million viewers saw stars from the series battle it out with Anne Robinson, a 25% share of the total TV audience.

This made the programme the 4th most watched of the day, behind the big three soap shows. It was the highest rating The Weakest Link has achieved this year, beating the previous high by nearly 2 million viewers.

The programme easily beat "A Touch of Frost" on ITV1

Over on BBC3, 430,000 tuned in at the start of the evening to watch Donna and The Doctor battle it out with the Empress, in a repeat of The Runaway bride. This made it the 8th most watched programme on Multi Channel Television for Friday.




FILTER: - Special Events - Ratings

Russell T Davies on BBC Radio

Saturday, 31 March 2007 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor Who executive producer Russell T Davies was the first guest on Jonathan Ross's BBC Radio Two programme on Saturday morning.

Davies confirmed there will be a Christmas special in 2007 and said he has already planned the storyline for Season Four, which is pencilled in for transmission in the spring of 2008.

He also spoke about his life long love of the series, his favourite classic series Doctor, and the joys of working in Wales.

The whole programme is available via the BBC listen again facility for the next seven days.

Davies first appears around 38 minutes into the programme.

He was also a guest towards the end of Loose Ends on BBC Radio Four Saturday evening. This programme can also be heard for the next seven days.




FILTER: - People

Leicester Open Centre

Saturday, 31 March 2007 - Reported by Marcus
To celebrate the return of Doctor Who to UK television screens, fans in Leicester are invited to meet a Cyberman and Dalek at the BBC's Open Centre.

Enrty to the centre is free. As well as the Doctor Who monsters it has an underground vault with cameras and lights, which takes visitors back two thousand years to the city's Roman origins.

The Doctor Who event runs from Monday 2nd April until Thursday 5th April 2007 and is open from 9.00am -5.00pm each day.




FILTER: - Special Events

Episode 1 Official Site Update

Saturday, 31 March 2007 - Reported by Marcus
Following the UK transmission of the first episode of the new series, Smith and Jones, the official BBC Doctor Who website has been updated.

There are links to a downloadable audio commentary on the episode with producer Phil Collinson and new companion Freema Agyeman, as well as several sounds from the new episode to download.

The site also includes a video podcast and an updated gallery as well as photos from the filming; fans can even download Martha's ID badge! There are also new teasers and trailers for the remainder of series three.




FILTER: - Online - Series 3/29

Time Lord in The Times

Friday, 30 March 2007 - Reported by DWNP Archive
Today's edition of The Times has a huge feature on the new series.

A banner splash reading "Who's hot" runs across the front page under the masthead, and the three-page article by Caitlin Moran is in the Times2 section as the lead story, with David Tennant on the cover.

NB: Contains a major character spoiler.




FILTER: - Series 3/29 - Press

Extended repeat of Norton show

Friday, 30 March 2007 - Reported by DWNP Archive
Anyone who missed David Tennant on last night's Graham Norton Show on BBC Two has a second chance to see him in an extended repeat this coming Sunday on the same channel at 10.45pm.

Quoting from the show, the BBC Press Office refers to a plot element that has caused controversy.

NB: Although the press release says the repeat will go out at 11.30pm, Radio Times and the BBC's What's On says it will actually be broadcast at 10.45pm.




FILTER: - David Tennant - Press - Radio Times

Martha's Blog

Friday, 30 March 2007 - Reported by Marcus
Martha Jones has signed up to myspace where she promises to update her blog whenever she can.

Martha's wish is to meet interesting people. Maybe over the next few weeks she will get the chance.




FILTER: - People - Series 3/29

Freema interview for BBC

Friday, 30 March 2007 - Reported by DWNP Archive
The BBC News Entertainment website follows up yesterday's companion gallery, marking Martha Jones's forthcoming first adventure, with an interview with Freema Agyeman today, saying the Doctor Who star is "set to go stellar".




FILTER: - People - Series 3/29

Julie Gardner interview

Friday, 30 March 2007 - Reported by Marcus
Julie Gardner, executive producer of Doctor Who, answered calls from fans today on BBC Radio Wales's phone-in programme with Richard Evans.

One surprise caller was Russell T Davies's father, talking about his son's lifetime passion for the series.

The interview is available for the next seven days via the BBC listen again facility.

The interview starts approximately 1 hour 8 minutes into the programme.




FILTER: - Production - Radio - Julie Gardner

The Doctor's Trips to the Moon

Friday, 30 March 2007 - Reported by R Alan Siler
DigitalSpy is currently running a story that takes readers on a lunar odyssey throughout the Doctor's many incarnations, familiarizing Doctor Who's younger audience with all the Doctor's previous visits to or encounters with the Moon.

Beginning with 1967's "The Moonbase" the article continues on through the decades, concluding with a brief synopsis of "Smith and Jones", which kicks off Series Three on BBC1 at 7:00 pm on Saturday, 31 March.




FILTER: - Classic Series - Press