New Zealand broadcaster Prime TV will begin a repeat run of the Christopher Eccleston Doctor Who episodes (Series 1) on Monday 18 December at 7:30PM. Episode 2 will air on Christmas Day at 7:30PM. Series 1 originally aired in New Zealand from July to September 2005. It is unknown if they will repeat just the 2005 series or include the 2006 episodes with David Tennant as well. Thanks to Alden for spotting this.

Today's edition of the Sun says that Catherine Tate was left breathless as Runaway Bride Donna in action scenes for the forthcoming Christmas Day special, The Runaway Bride.

"There was lots of running for the runaway bride. David Tennant ran like a whippet and I was lagging behind," says the actress and comedienne in a short piece in the newspaper's TV biz section.

Torchwood and Sarah Jane Adventures spoilers
The latest edition of Digital Spy's "Tube Talk" column by Neil Wilkes contains small previews of both the last few episodes of Torchwood and the forthcoming Sarah Jane Adventures special. Of the latter, Wilkes says that "Although this series has been billed as appealing to a kiddie audience, it will almost definitely please classic Who fans as it could just as easily play out as an episode from the regular series." Scroll down to the bottom of the page and highlight the hidden text for the full previews.

The Runaway Bride photos
The CBBC Newsround website, always a strong supporter of Doctor Who, has put up a page of preview images from the forthcoming Christmas special. No plot spoilers are revealed in the ten images, although the settings of some scenes are shown.

General press clippings
The Mirror featured the return of Doctor Who in a list of the "Top 10 Comebacks" in its December 6th edition, and on Friday gave coverage to the story about the Doctor and Martha's alleged activities in the new series reported elsewhere earlier in the week. Some very minor spoilers.

The Sun reports on the story also covered elsewhere earlier in the week of the home-made Dalek built to deter rowdy students, and also reports on Jessica Stevenson's casting in the new series. Of Stevenson they say that: "She will soon start filming two episodes of the third series of the BBC1 drama. An insider said: 'The role will play to her comedy strengths.'"

Ananova also covers the home-made Dalek story.

icWales is carrying a Q and A with John Barrowman, promoting his forthcoming pantomime run in Cardiff. Asked what character he would ideally like to play, he replies that: "I don't know. I don't think people are ready for me to play the bad guy what with Torchwood and Dr Who, so I'd like to still play the good guys. I don't really like playing the same characters though, so we will see."

The Yorkshire Post has a story about people in their 30s who are turning their back on the conventional "grown-up" behaviour in favour of playing games, collecting toys, and, yes, watching Doctor Who. The article terms this group "New Regressives". Ian Wheeler of the Doctor Who Appreciation Society is interviewed.

Unusually far-flung coverage for Doctor Who this week, as The Times of India mentions the programme in an article by Mukul Sharma about nanotechnology with the comment: "In the British science fiction TV series Dr Who, the protagonist known as the Seventh Doctor invokes Arthur C Clarke's famous law in reverse by saying that any sufficiently arcane magic is indistinguishable from technology. Then he justifies the possibility of how a spaceship can also be grown, as opposed to being built."

(Additional reporting by Kenny Davidson and Josiah Rowe).

As part of the advent calendar counting down to The Runaway Bride, the BBC have released a short clip from the upcoming Sarah Jane Adventures special featuring Elisabeth Sladen. The clip can be found on the BBC's Doctor Whowebpage in the 9 spot on the calendar. The special is set to air on New Years Day, with the proper series following later in 2007.

(This clip was the one featured in the BBC Breakfast article reported earlier.)

The traditional Christmas double issue of the BBC's Radio Times listings magazine has begun to become available in the UK, with full availability across all regions due by Tuesday the 12th. As expected, the magazine devotes extensive coverage to the Doctor Who-related programming available across the BBC over the Christmas period, as well as containing the first part of their free Doctor Who audiobook CD giveaway.

The Runaway Bride special itself, scheduled for Christmas Day at 7pm on BBC One, is previewed in a two-and-a-half page feature, which includes an image of the 3D effects model of the Empress of Racnoss, viewed in profile. Interviewed for the feature, David Tennant names a new villain for the forthcoming third series of the show - the Carrionites.

The "Today's Choices" page for December the 25th features the familiar publicity image of Tennant holding out the sonic screwdriver as Catherine Tate as Donna displays her wedding ring, accompanied by some Robot Santas. The listings page for the evening's viewing on BBC One is topped by a picture of Tate from the special.

The magazine's listings also confirm the main opposition that The Runaway Bride will face in its 7pm timeslot - a repeat of the Queen's Christmas message followed by a repeat of the sitcom Porridge on BBC Two; a special edition of the soap opera Emmerdale on ITV1; the game show Deal or No Deal on Channel 4 and a Royal Institution Christmas Lecture on Five.

The free Feast of the Drowned audiobook CD is affixed to a double-page advertising feature for the release, as well as being trailed with a strapline across the bottom of the magazine's front cover. The Radio Times will be giving away the second part of the story, followed by another Doctor Who audio, in the three issues following the Christmas special.

The Sarah Jane Adventures is highlighted by a brief interview with Elisabeth Sladen, promoting the production. There are also small preview paragraphs for the concluding three episodes of Torchwood on BBC Three.

In radio, the Radio 1 three-hour special presented by Jo Whiley receives only a simple listing on the December 25th radio page. However, the BBC7 audio adventure Blood of the Daleks is promoted with a special illustration in the digital radio listings. The preview for Blood of the Daleks also makes a surprising revelation about the new Eighth Doctor radio series, detailed in the spoiler section at the bottom of this report. [UPDATE: John Ainsworth from Big Finish, who are producing the audio serial, has denied the spoiler from the Radio Times, suggesting that the guiding description of 'set prior to his regeneration' has been taken too literally by someone at the magazine.]

The magazine also highlights the contributions of various Doctor Who alumni to the Christmas schedule. Following theRunaway Bride preview feature is a one-and-a-half page preview of the Billie Piper-starring Philip Pullman adaptationThe Ruby in the Smoke, and a picture of Piper in Victorian dress appears on the "Today's Choices" page for Wednesday the 27th of December. Also on that page, a small picture of Piper and Christopher Eccleston accompanies a box-out mentioning the number of Doctor Who actors featuring across the schedules this Christmas.

Eccleston himself stars in Joe Ahearne's Perfect Parents on ITV1, alongside former Big Finish "Unbound" Doctor David Warner and Warner's Big Finish Sapphire and Steel co-star (and Paul McGann's partner) Susannah Harker.

The Girl in the Fireplace actress Sophia Myles is pictured to promote Dracula, in which she co-stars with Love and Monsters guest star Marc Warren, in the listings for December the 28th.

(Many thanks to David Ryan and Eddie Robson).

The preview for Blood of the Daleks runs:

"In the first of eight new dramas, taking Paul McGann's one-time TV-movie Doctor up to the point where he regenerates into Christopher Eccleston, McGann is struggling not only to reawaken human memories of why Daleks should never be trusted but also has to deal with a mouthy new assistant (played by Sheridan Smith) mysteriously imposed on him by his fellow Time Lords."

Please note that this spoiler has been denied subsequently by Big Finish, who are producing the serial for the BBC.

Today's edition of The Sun follows up yesterday's revelation elsewhere that the Doctor and Martha end up in bed together in the next series.

The article has minor plot and characterisation details, so click below - or on the link above - if you want to find out more.

Yahoo News reports that former EastEnders actor Joseph Millson "will have a major role [in The Sarah Jane Adventures] as the single father of one of the lead characters. Soap fans will remember him as EastEnders' Jason, who once broke Lyn Slater's heart, then returned to her life and attempted to win her back, despite his ex's marriage to Garry Hobbs. Millson also recently appeared in new Bond movie Casino Royale."

Elisabeth Sladen appeared on BBC's Breakfast this morning, discussingSarah Jane Adventures. She mentioned how she became involved with the production, the differences between her original time on Doctor Who and the modern shows, and on how the series will still retain the 'good vs evil' aspects of Doctor Who but will be aimed for children, with a younger cast that she's found to be very good and a delight to work with.

She described the premise of the series from the point of view of events afterSchool Reunion, with the Doctor telling Sarah: "I took you round in time and space all these years, don't waste it girl - there's K9, go on, do what we always did". There was also a small spoiler as to why K9 won't be appearing in every episode of the series.

The article was illustrated with a clip shown from the forthcoming New Year's Day special which featured Samantha Bond as Mrs Wormwood, and also of a younger Sarah from The Hand of Fear.

New research carried out by the financial services company Liverpool Victoria reveals that UK parents will spend £262 on average on each of their children, a grand total of £1.8bn for all the children across the UK.

Easier Finanace detail some of the other statistical findings, including the gifts that children are hoping to receive most of all this yuletide. Top of the list for boys is the Dr Who Cyberman Mask - 21% of all UK boys want this for Christmas.

And it is not just in children's toys that Doctor Who is dominating. The Doctor Who Annual is still topping the Children's Bestselling Books Chart for the fifth week running.

If you live in Scotland, be sure to pick up a copy of this week's The Big Issue. As the cover opposite suggests, it has an interview with David Tennant.

The Big Issue is a magazine sold by homeless and vulnerably housed individuals on the streets of the UK, and gives them the means to earn a legitimate income through sales of the magazine.

There are five editions across the country, though the Tennant interview appears to only be available in the Scottish edition.

(Thanks to lauraaura from our forum)