Top Programmes. Week Ending 31 Dec 2006

1 THE VICAR OF DIBLEY (MON 2134) - 12.39 - BBC1
2 EASTENDERS (MON 2103) - 11.56 - BBC1
3 CORONATION STREET (MON 2003) - 10.20 - ITV1
4 EASTENDERS (THU 1929) - 10.10 - BBC1
5 EASTENDERS (FRI 2000) - 9.90 - BBC1
6 CORONATION STREET (WED 2033) - 9.87 - ITV1
7 CORONATION STREET (FRI 2030) - 9.74 - ITV1
8 FILM: PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURS (TUE 1933 - 9.48 - BBC1
9 EASTENDERS (MON 1829) - 9.40 - BBC1
10 DOCTOR WHO (MON 1900) - 9.35 - BBC1
11 EMMERDALE (FRI 1933) - 9.23 - ITV1
12 EMMERDALE (THU 1902) - 9.07 - ITV1
13 EASTENDERS (TUE 1901) - 8.95 - BBC1
14 LITTLE BRITAIN ABROAD (MON 2229) - 8.87 - BBC1
15 EMMERDALE (WED 1900) - 8.64 - ITV1
16 CORONATION STREET (SUN 1929) - 8.57 - ITV1
17 CASUALTY (SAT 2028) - 8.29 - BBC1
18 EASTENDERS (WED 1959) - 7.96 - BBC1
19 STRICTLY COME DANCING SPECIAL (MON 2001) - 7.83 - BBC1
20 EMMERDALE (MON 1902) - 7.69 - ITV1

Source BARB

Frostfire
Read by: Maureen O'Brien as Vicki, with Keith Drinkel as The Cinder.
Vicki has a tale to tell. But where does it start and when does it end?
Ancient Carthage. 1164 BC. Lady Cressida has a secret. She keeps it deep in the cisterns below the Temple of Astarte with only one flame for warmth. And it must never get out.
Regency London, 1814 AD. The first Doctor, Steven and Vicki go to the fair and meet the fiery Dragon, the novelist Miss Austen and the deadliest weather you ever did see.
But which comes first? The Future or the Past?
The Phoenix or the Egg? The Fire or the Frost?
Or will Time freeze over forever?

Fear of the Daleks
Read by: Wendy Padbury as Zoe, with Nicholas Briggs as the Daleks
Why has Zoe Heriot been having nightmares about the Daleks? Who is the Doctor, a mysterious man from her past? When an evil scientist hijacks her mind to control a galaxy-conquering weapon, Zoe must stop him. First, she and the Doctor will face an enemy they had thought destroyed forever.

The Blue Tooth
Read by: Caroline John as Liz, with Nicholas Briggs as the Cybermen
"I suppose that was one of the Doctor's most endearing qualities: the ability to make the bizarre and the terrifying seem utterly normal."
When Liz Shaw's friend Jean goes missing, the Doctor and U.N.I.T. are drawn to the scene to investigate. Soon Liz discovers a potential alien invasion that will have far-reaching affects on her life… and the Doctor is unexpectedly re-united with an old enemy…

The Beautiful People
Read by: Lalla Ward as Romana, with Marcia Ashton as Karna
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In fact, you will leave Vita Novus feeling like an entirely new person. And that's guaranteed.
We cater for all endoskeletal carbon-based life-forms. All major credit cards accepted. Parties welcome.

DR WHO LATEST
Dr Who has today been criticised for announcing that he won't be seeking another term as the Time Lord, but not giving an exact timetable for his departure.
"This ongoing uncertainty is destabilising the galaxy at a very inopportune time, with a fresh attack from the Cybermen imminent" said one well-placed Dr Who Source. "We all know that The Master has been waiting for several millennia brooding for the job to be his."

Malcolm Wicks, who was appointed in November following the resignation of Lord Sainsbury, believes that too many pupils are put off science during school.

He claims that popular television shows such as the hit BBC science fiction series and the Star Wars films provide children with an insight into real science that teachers can use to kick-start lessons. Science education campaign groups have warned, however, that shows such as Doctor Who often involve ideas that have little basis in science.

Mr Wicks said: "If you start a lesson with the chemical formulae you will lose 90 per cent of the class. If you start with something interesting or important, like something they read in the paper or saw on television, they will remain interested.

"It can be part of an entrée to some of the more technical, important but slightly more boring parts of the subject. If I was a teacher I would start with a chunk from Doctor Who and Billie Piper and say, 'Actually, what was that all about and how is our textbook relevant to that?'

"Take R2D2 from the Star Wars films, for example. We are already doing that kind of stuff in robotics. I would show that, talk about how you would build a thing like that and its uses in the future in the home, in caring for people and for space exploration."

Mr Wicks believes that it is essential to produce a generation of children who are science-literate so that they can go on to help in making the decisions Britain is likely to face on issues such as climate change and medical research.

However, Derek Bell, the chief executive of the Association of Science Education, said: "We all enjoy programmes such as Doctor Who, but teachers would need to be careful to make it clear which bits are science and which fantasy."