BBC 1 soap opera EastEnders contained a nice Doctor Who joke on Friday July 9; character Den Watts (played by Leslie Grantham, who appeared in "Resurrection of the Daleks"), when asked by wheelchair-bound Ian Beale how he was doing, replied "better than you by the look of it Davros!"

BBC1's show South Today is featuring segments all this week, as previously reported on Outpost Gallifrey, about locations in the south of England where Doctor Who episodes were filmed. The first part was shown Monday, with subsequent airings through Thursday on BBC1. Earlier installments featured Seeds of Doom at Athelhampton House and Revelation of the Daleks at IBM Portsmouth. According to producer Bill Baggs, four of these miniature films were commissioned; you can go to the BBC's South Today website to download the most recent version, and the earlier ones will hopefully be repeated soon. The BBC's Southampton website has a number of features, pictures, e-cards and a quiz; a picture gallery has some shots from the recent filming, and there is word that Sylvester McCoy will be doing a web chat on July 15 from 7-8pm BST. (Thanks to Bill Baggs, Steve Tribe)

Raymond Cusick, designer of the Daleks in 1963 while working as a BBC special effects person, tells the Sun "Don't let the BBC exterminate my evil pepperpots" on July 8. "It'll be very sad if the Daleks are exterminated. When people remember Dr Who, they remember Daleks, it's as simple as that," he told the paper. "Good on The Sun for campaigning to bring them back." Cusick went into the creation of the Daleks for the article: "Terry [Nation] wrote the Daleks into Dr Who but no one knew what they'd look like. He gave me an hour to come up with something. There was a pepperpot on the table in front of me and I started sliding it and then did a couple of sketches -and the Daleks were born! I wanted them to glide along in a creepy manner. But we didn't have any money and couldn't rely on gizmos to move them around -so they had to be operated by a man sitting inside."

"Billie Begs Chris: Let's Move to L.A." says an article in the July 9 Daily Star, which says that "the 21-year-old Swindon-born star" and future Doctor Who companion "has set her heart on being Wiltshire's answer to Catherine ZetaJones and Chris [Evans, her husband], 38, is leaving nothing to chance. ... They're spending a lot of time in their home and she wants it to be their full-time base. She knows there are lots of good looking girls prepared to put themselves on the party circuit and flirt to get a deal. The only person Billie is prepared to woo to get a film role is Chris, so she pleaded with him to start up their own film firm too." The Sunday Mirror also noted, on July 11, that Billie and Chris have "hit a rocky patch". Says the Mirror, "When Billie Piper hooked up with Chris Evans, 16 years her senior, people doubted it would last. Nearly four years down the track, the pair are still together - but could Billie's new-found acting success bring about the end of their relationship?" Of course, it could all be just hype...

Billie Piper disappeared from the set of her new horror film "Spirit Trap"... with none other than Patrick Troughton's grandson, Sam Troughton, according to a July 12 Newsquest Digital Media report. "Starlet Billie Piper created a drama of her own while filming in Romania," says the article. "Film bosses panicked when Billie, who is the leading lady in the film, disappeared for three hours in Romania but later returned. Both Billie and Troughton were said to be embarrassed by the incident."

(Thanks to Paul Engelberg, Steve Tribe)

An article on the MSNBC website called "Beyond æBuffyÆ: State of sci-fi on TV" discusses the current state of affairs in science fiction TV, and one of the articles concentrates on Doctor Who. The article segment focusing on our show is as follows (with thanks to MSNBC.com):

Some press notes for today courtesy Paul Engelberg, Paul Hayes, Steve Tribe:

Today's The Sun features an article entitled "Extoiminate!" about New Yorkers "joining the fight" to get the Daleks back. "The Daleks hit New York yesterday as The Sun's campaign to save them went global," says the article. "Dr Who's arch enemy rumbled through aptly-named TIMES Square sporting a Sun hat and Cross of St George flag. And fans in the Big Apple -where repeats of Britain's most famous sci-fi show are still on TV -were horrified to hear that the Time Lord's arch villain will not be in the new BBC series. Fan Duke Morton, 47, of Jersey City, said: 'How can deez guys at da BBC dump da Daleks? Dat's ridiculous. Dey need extoiminating.' Brad Hamilton, 37, said: 'I grew up watching the Daleks. It's hard to believe a race hellbent on galactic domination will let a few suits at a TV company stop them.' And Liza Gonzales, 44, said: 'There are fans of the Daleks all around the world. We want to see them brought back.'" Um... yeah.

The Western Morning News today ran a story about West Country Doctor Who fans "joining the campaign" to reinstate the Daleks. "John Switinbank from Seaton... John has been keen on Daleks since, at the age of eight, he became a penfriend of original Dr Who actor William Hartnoll [sic]. He is the proud owner of an exact replica of the first Dalek to appear in Dr Who, which started in 1963 and went on for more than 20 years. It even has a microphone which changes his voice into the proper metallic tones of Dalek-speak."

Bob Russell, Colchester MP and Doctor Who fan, told the East Anglian Daily Times today that "Doctor Who without the Daleks is not going to be impossible, but it will be very difficult. After the Doctor himself and the police phone box, the Daleks are the most obvious part. I think it is very regrettable. You have to bear in mind that the Doctor Who series is a massive income earner - it's a very successful international export. So there is a serious side to this, alongside the enjoyment that's gained from the programme." Russell told the Daily Times said that he would phone Elizabeth Sladen (Sarah-Jane Smith) to see if she could help. "Perhaps she can bring some peace and tranquillity to these waters."

Billie Piper is currently working on "Spirit Trap," a new horror film written by British Fantasy Award-winner Paul Finch, according to The Alien Online. "The film stars Billie Piper, and it's a neat bit of casting, in my opinion, as she's very shortly to make a big splash as the new Doctor Who girl," Finch said. "Archangel Films are the production company - up-and-coming, cashed-up, British-based and seriously into horror. What more could we ask for?" Read the full article here.

Doctor Who got a mention on last night's "Countdown with Keith Olberbmann" on the US cable news channel MSNBC. The story was related to a flugtag competition, where one contestant, dressed as a British bobby, climbed into a "flying machine designed like a police box." From the transcript: "The 25th annual Birdman Competition offering a prize of more than $45,000 to anybody who could fly in one of these, the 328 feet into the sea at Bognor Regis on the south coast of England. The guy in the Muttley plane, the man in the cow suit, and the guy who youæll see one wearing a version of Doctor Whoæs telephone booth, all placed behindùthereæs the TARDISùall placed well behind the guy who got closest, 270 feetùhe used a glider! Splash."

The BBC has set out its "radical" vision for how it should operate in the 21st Century as part of its charter review process. New director general Mark Thompson and chairman Michael Grade outlined a nine-point manifesto on Tuesday, June 29. "I want a BBC that delivers wonderful programmes that offer something of value to everyone," said Mr Grade. The BBC's Royal Charter, which sets out its aims, objectives and functions, expires at the end of 2006. "Our task over the next year is to convince the British public that the BBC's role in the new digital age of plenty is both justified and necessary," said the chairman. The BBC has published the submission to the government, making the case for renewal of its charter. Among the items mentioned in it's 100 plus page document, there is a chart labeled "Some Programmes To Remember 1950-2004," (on page 33) listing eight important programmes in their respective categories (Factual and Sport; Drama; and Comedy and Entertainment) in each respective time period (1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000-2004). "Doctor Who" is mentioned in 1960s Drama, while other British science fiction/fantasy series are mentioned as such: 1950s Drama- "The Quatermass Experiment" and "Nineteen Eighty-four"; 1980s Drama- "The Chronicles of Narnia" and "The Lord of the Rings." Full details are available at BBC News. (Thanks to Joey Reynolds)

According to an article in the June 26 The Times, Sylvester McCoy, with the help of Camden council, forced a pub to exterminate part of its beer garden. "McCoy... complained to council planning officials," says the article, "after drunken customers in the garden of The Hill, in Chalk Farm, North London, indulged in Dalek-like behaviour, jeering and abusing him as he visited friends nearby. The Scottish born actor, who lives nearby in Hampstead, wrote to the council saying he had been visiting a house next to the pub for 30 years but over the past year the foul-mouthed behaviour of some customers had made it unbearable. 'It's embarrassing coming in, as the clientele shout and jeer as you come up the stairs to the house,' Mr McCoy wrote. After receiving the complaint Camden's development control sub-committee agreed to issue an enforcement order against Geronimo Inns, the pub's owners, on the ground that a previous owner had made alterations to the pub and its garden without being given planning permission. Councillors have given The Hill six months to remove raised decking in the garden which allows drinkers to sit within inches of neighbours' windows. Other changes to the Grade II listed building will also have to be removed. Camden Council ruled that the alterations had damaged the design of the historic pub and said that changes to the garden had intensified its use and had caused a loss of privacy to neighbours." (Thanks to Paul Engelberg)

BBC1's regional local news programme South Today confirmed that it will air three Doctor Who mini-features/documentaries on July 12, 13 and 14 at 6.30pm. Produced by David Allard and directed by Bill Baggs, these three minis discuss viewer's memories of when the series 'came to their home or office or backyard'. Locations featured include Athelhampton House in Dorset (Seeds of Doom), the lake in West Sussex from Terror of the Zygons, IBM's Portsmouth headquarters (Revelation of the Daleks) and an interview with Anneke Wills at her studio in Dorset and at Winspit Quarry (The Underwater Menace), plus Gary Downie at Arundel Castle (Silver Nemesis).

New Doc Christopher Eccleston received substantial undisclosed libel damages over a claim that he reacted violently and aggressively towards a suggestion about how he should portray a role, according to recent reports in the popular media. According to the Manchester Evening News, "The 40-year-old Salford-born star... was at London's High Court to hear his solicitor, Mike Brookes, tell Mr Justice Eady how he was caused much distress by the book Laundrettes And Lovers, a tribute to the history and successes of TV and film production company Working Title. It contained a contribution from Michael Hirst, who wrote the screenplay for the film Elizabeth, in which Mr Eccleston played the Duke of Norfolk. Mr Brookes said Mr Hirst alleged that the actor reacted violently and aggressively to his suggestion how to play a particular scene, saying that he would never allow himself to appear sexually impotent, and that he would break Mr Hirst's head open if he even mentioned the idea again. Mr Brookes said: 'My client was very concerned when he read of this, because it was simply untrue' ... and ... that the actor was also very concerned about the impact that these allegations may have upon his professional career if they were read either by members of the public or, crucially, figures of importance within the film and television industry. ... Afterwards, Mr Eccleston said that he was glad the matter was resolved before he started filming Dr Who in two weeks time. He said: 'I'm very much looking forward to it. It's very exciting. I'm just very pleased it's been resolved in my favour and that the defendants have admitted that what they said was untrue. For me, that's the matter closed.'" An interesting footnote to this article... filming in two weeks' time?! (Thanks to Paul Engelberg)

The Scotsman website recently ran an article about the state of BBC television and whether or not it was too late to fix what had been their stellar Saturday night lineup for years. "The running order of BBCÆs Saturday evening schedule remains chiselled in my memory. After Basil Brush was the exhilarating love/terror of Doctor Who - love, for whichever of his female assistants was then custodian of my heart; terror, lest the Cybermen, or the Daleks when we were younger, made an appearance and sent us scuttling behind the sofa." You can read the full article at the Scotsman site. (Thanks to Steve Tribe)