Jodie Whittaker is one of more than 100 women who will receive the Freedom of the City of London to commemorate the centenary of the Representation of the People Act 1918.

The Court of Common Council, the City of London Corporation’s top decision-making body, has today set the final seal of approval upon the Freedoms, paving the way for ceremonies to take place at Guildhall over the coming months.

Last year, the City Corporation agreed to mark 100 years of female suffrage with the award of the Freedom by inviting members of the Court of Common Council and colleagues in their City of London Wards to nominate candidates.

The nominees are drawn from a wide range of backgrounds, but all of them have a connection to the City. Jodie Whittaker trained at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, based in the City Of London.

Catherine McGuinness, Policy Chair at the City of London Corporation, said: The Freedom of the City of London is believed to have begun in 1237 and enabled recipients to carry out their trade; and today, people are nominated for, or apply for, the Freedom, because it offers them a link with the historic City of London and one of its ancient traditions.

The Freedom is also offered to individuals by the City of London Corporation to help celebrate a significant achievement or to pay tribute to their outstanding contribution to London life or public life.

Big Finish celebrates International Women's Day today, with the release of Doctor Who: The 8th of March.

In celebration of all the strong female characters from the Doctor Who universe, a female lead cast, along with female writers, producer and director, has come together for a Doctor Who audio box set like no other.

The 8th of March explores some of the amazing female characters of more than 50 years of the BBC Studios television show.

Starring Ace (Sophie Aldred) and Professor Bernice Summerfield (Lisa Bowerman), Professor River Song (Alex Kingston) and Leela (Louise Jameson), UNIT-team Kate Stewart (Jemma Redgrave) and Osgood (Ingrid Oliver) and, in a Big Finish first together, Madame Vastra (Neve McIntosh) and her wife Jenny (Catrin Stewart). This box set celebrates these powerful, multifaceted characters in stories very unique to the Doctor Who universe.

Big Finish Productions was formed 20 years ago in 1998 with its first release being a tale from one of the Doctor’s companions, Bernice Summerfield, and it continues to this day to create new empowering female heroes in their own series. The 8th of March is not only a celebration of many great female characters (including the Thirteenth Doctor, played by Jodie Whittaker), but a reminder that one of the great virtues of Big Finish is that it is able to explore and add to the mythology of characters that we have more to learn from.

The cover art and special features of the animated version of the missing Doctor Who adventure The Macra Terror, releasing on DVD, Blu-ray, special edition Steelbook and digital download on 25th March 2019, have been revealed.

Originally broadcast in four weekly parts from 11th March to 1st April 1967, and starring Patrick Troughton, Anneke Wills, Michael Craze and Frazer Hines, no full episodes of this serial are known to have survived on film. Fortunately for fans, a complete audio recording of all four parts still exists. Now, 52 years later, the four episodes will be brought back to life through the power of animation, available on disc and digital download, in both colour and black and white, from 25th March 2019.

Anneke Wills says, The Doctor (Patrick Troughton) and his companions arrive on a human colony in the far flung future. The colony appears to be a giant recreational complex - a holiday camp for rest and relaxation. Everyone looks happy and carefree but all is not as it seems. The colony has been infiltrated and brainwashed by a race of giant parasitic crab creatures called the Macra.

The Macra have only returned once since, 40 years later, coming face to face with the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) and Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman) in the 2007 episode Gridlock.

Paul Hembury, Executive Producer, BBC Studios says, Special features for the DVD and Blu-ray release include:

• Audio Commentary: Toby Hadoke presents an audio commentary track on all four episodes of ‘The Macra Terror’, featuring cast and crew from the original 1967 production - Frazer Hines (Jamie), Terence Lodge (Medok), Anthony Gardner (Alvis), Maureen Lane (Majorette) and director, John Davies. Commentary produced by John Kelly and recorded in London on 4th January 2019.
• Episode Reconstructions: Surviving film frames, fragments of existing footage and set photographs are brought together with the original unedited audio to reconstruct a presentation of the original now lost live-action production of ‘The Macra Terror’, as seen by viewers of BBC 1 in 1967. Produced by Derek Handley. Available to watch with or without an optional narration track read by Anneke Wills.
• Bonus Mini-Episode: A ten-minute animated short, built around an otherwise lost Doctor Who episode from 1968 starring Patrick Troughton and Frazer Hines. Directed by AnneMarie Walsh.
• Animation Test: Prior to the project being formally commissioned, this short animation test (of a scene from episode 3 of ‘The Macra Terror’) was produced in March 2018, to investigate the feasibility of mounting the production in full.
• Animatics: A selection of scenes showing how the new animated production of ‘The Macra Terror’ went from initial storyboards to final animation. Storyboard art by Adrian Salmon.
• Animation Gallery: A gallery of artwork from the development, pre-production and animation of the new animated version of ‘The Macra Terror’, including character art from Martin Geraghty and background paintings from Graham Bleathman, Colin Howard and Lydia Butz.
• Teaser Trailer: A short teaser trailer animated by Rob Ritchie, produced to promote the announcement of a new production of ‘The Macra Terror’ in December 2018.
• Alternative Black and White presentation: The full four-part animation is also available to view in an alternative black and white format on disc 2.
• 1992 Audio Presentation: In 1992, the BBC Audio Collection released ‘The Macra Terror’ on audio cassette, in a special release narrated by Colin Baker. It was the first time that the story had been made commercially available by the BBC and that audio-only release is included here in full. Surviving Footage: Less than two minutes of original footage still exist from the 1967 production of ‘The Macra Terror’. These film fragments have been painstakingly restored and digitally remastered for this release, with considerable improvements made to the overall picture quality and resolution of this unique footage. Film restoration by Peter Crocker.
• Behind the scenes film: In 1967, during pre-production of ‘The Macra Terror’, film cameras visited the visual effects workshop in Uxbridge where work was underway on construction of the Macra props. Special effects props and models from other Doctor Who stories can also be seen in the workshop, including parts of a Cyberman from ‘The Tenth Planet’ (1966) and an aeroplane from ‘The Faceless Ones’ (1967). This footage is accompanied by a new audio commentary track from Doctor Who visual effects designer and BBC visual effects historian, Mike Tucker, explaining some of the effects techniques and props featured in the film.
• Censored Scene: A reconstruction of a scene from episode 2 of ‘The Macra Terror’ that was heavily re-edited by censors for the episode’s Australian television transmission in November 1967.
• Title sequences: ‘The Macra Terror’ saw the debut of a new title sequence for Doctor Who - the first time the programme had made such a change. The title sequence is presented here in full, remastered in HD and in a number of alternative versions.
• Photo gallery: A collection of 36 photographs taken during the production of ‘The Macra Terror’ in 1967, featuring original design department set photographs and Radio Times publicity images. All presented in HD.
• Production Paperwork: A full set of original camera scripts, studio schedules, floor plans and other materials are available to view by accessing disc 2 via your computer’s DVD or Blu Ray ROM drive.

Additional extras exclusive to Steelbook:

• Gridlock: The Macra returned to Doctor Who in 2007, in this episode starring David Tennant and written by Russell T. Davies
• Audio commentary: Julie Gardner, Travis Oliver and Marie Jones discuss the making of 'Gridlock' in this audio commentary track from 2007.
• Doctor Who Confidential – Are we there yet?: A documentary looking at the making of the 2007 story, 'Gridlock'.

This month's Who Talk releases feature the legendary Daleks and the reptilian Ice Warriors.

First up is a new selection of commentaries for stories featuring the Ice Warriors, in the form of Mars Attacks!

Producer Paul W.T. Ballard explains Rounding off the set are commentaries for episodes two and five of The Seeds of Death, with guest star Louise Pajo.

Mars Attacks! is moderated by Toby Hadoke, and features Wendy Gifford, Louise Pajo, Adele Lynch and Richard Ashton.

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The second release this month comes in the form of 1980’s Dalek blockbuster Resurrection of the Daleks.

Mark Strickson makes his Who Talk debut on the special edition of Resurrection.

Resurrection is moderated by Toby Hadoke, and features Rula Lenska, Jim Findley, Sneh Gupta, William Sleigh, Brian Miller, Roger Davenport, Mike Mungarvan and Eric Saward, and the special edition also features Mark Strickson.

Please note: these commentaries contain no BBC copyrighted elements and do not feature audio from the episodes themselves - these are designed to be played alongside the official DVD releases.

Next week sees the latest in the Titan series of comics, with a new story arc begining for the Thirteenth Doctor

Doctor Who: Thirteenth Doctor #5

Writer: Jody Houser
Artist: Giorgia Sposito, Rachael Stott
Colourist: Enrica Eren Angiolini
Released 6th March 2019

Fantom Publishing have released the much-anticipated autobiography from John Levene, best known for playing Sgt. Benton in Doctor Who.

The autobiography, written with Michael Seely, is printed in hardback priced £19.99. The book is available exclusively from Fantom Publishing until it's trade release in April.

All website orders will be signed by the author.

The third edition of the Fan Publication Trap Street is now available.

Co-Edited by Dallas Jones and Roger Reynolds, Trap Street is a free Doctor Who e-zine.

In this edition a major interview with Dr Niall Doran, the "Scientific Advisor" for Series 11.

Other articles include:

• The Bard and the Blue Box
an article on Shakespeare his influences and appearance in Doctor Who;
• Whostorical
an article on History in Doctor Who;
• Sonic Screwdriver
an article that analyses of the use of the Sonic Screwdriver in Series 11;
• “Extinction Day
the concluding part of Daniel Worsley’s short story;

plus much more.

Trap Street Three can be viewed online or as a downloadable PDF. To obtain information on how to access both / either of these options then send an email to: editors@drproductionsaus.org.

The writer Graeme Curry has died at the age of 61.

Graeme Curry wrote the 1988 Doctor Who story The Happiness Patrol, starring Sylvester McCoy as The Doctor and Sophie Aldred as Ace.

The story featured Sheila Hancock as Helen A, a character now acknowledged to be based on the then Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher. The story is unique in Doctor Who stories for being mentioned in the Archbishop of Canterbury's Easter Sermon when Dr Rowan Williams referenced the story in his 2011 message.

The Happiness Patrol was the first television commission for Graeme Curry after he pitched an idea to script editor Andrew Cartmel about a planet where it was a crime to be unhappy. He went on to write for EastEnders as well as The Bill and the Radio 4 drama Citizens.

Cartmel paid tribute on twitter

The Doctor Who Appreciation Society, DWAS is pleased to auction prints of three pieces of artwork by Alister Pearson.

The artwork was originally drawn for the Titan Script Books range in the early 1990s.

Only two prints of each picture will be available - one to be auctioned at the next DWAS event - The Capitol - in April 2019 and the other open for bids at the eBay site now.

There are three pictures - The Talons of Weng-Chiang and The Daemons are both sold in aid of Cystic Fibrosis Research and The Abominable Snowmen is sold in aid of The Royal Theatrical Fund, a charity supported by Deborah Watling.

Pictures can be signed and dedicated by Alister Pearson for the winning bidders on request.

For more details and to place a bid please visit the eBay site

Comic Relief is offering one lucky winner the chance to have a special private breakfast with Jodie Whittaker on the set of Doctor Who.

Jodie Whittaker and companion Mandip Gill would like to share a coffee and breakfast with you and a friend - to discuss the show, explore some theories, revisit some highlights. After breakfast, you will go on a tour of the Doctor Who set, watch the filming and meet the stars, and get to speak to the crew who make the show.

The offer is a prize in a special draw to raise money for comic relief. Entries can be made online and cost £10 each. To enter you need to be over 18. The guest may be under the age of 18 provided they are over 14 years old and the winner is their parent or guardian.

Other offers available include a private breakfast with Sir David Attenborough at the Natural History Museum, Afternoon Tea with the Queen and the rest of the Royal Family from The Crown and a fry-up with Louis Tomlinson in his favourite London cafe.

Emma Freud, Executive Producer of Red Nose Day, has curated these once in a lifetime experiences. She said: Money raised through bids and prize draw entries will go to Red Nose Day, which is back on Friday 15th March. Comic Relief is a UK charity with an aim to create a just world, free from poverty by funding and investing in organisations across the UK and around the world to tackle some of the key issues of our time.

Since 1985, Comic Relief has raised over £1.25 billion.

To enter click here