Former Doctor Who producer Philip Hinchcliffe has been honoured with an award for outstanding contribution to the programme, presented by the Doctor Who Appreciation Society, or DWAS.

Hinchcliffe was the producer of Doctor Who from 1975-1977, one of its most fondly remembered periods. He was producer while the DWAS was being formed by a group of students, anxious to discuss and celebrate their favourite programme.

Presenting the award at the DWAS convention, The Capitol, being held in Crawley, one of the founder members of the society, Jeremy Bentham spoke of the support the fledgling organisation had received from the Hinchcliffe and the BBC. That support helped enable the group to grow from a small college based club, to become a national society approved by the BBC. The group had been invited to visit the production office to meet the team and to discusses the series. A mention in the Radio Times in the listing for Masque of Mandragora, brought huge numbers of new membership applications.

Accepting the award Philip Hinchcliffe said.Script writer Bob Baker was also presented with an award for outstanding contribution to Doctor Who for his work on the series, in particular his creation of K-9, who celebrates his 40th Anniversary later this year.

The actor Moray Watson has died at the age of 88.

Moray Watson appeared in the 1982 Doctor Who story Black Orchid, where he played Sir Robert Muir, the Chief Constable of Oxfordshire and a friend of the Cranleigh family.

Watson was born in Berkshire in 1928. He trained at The Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art and made early appearances in London's West End. In 1953 he made his Television debut, appearing in the much acclaimed BBC series The Quatermass Experiment. A long career in British Television followed including a regular role as the Art Editor, Richard Lowe, in the BBC series Compact. He appeared in Silas Marner, No Wreath for the General, Laughter from the Whitehall, Z Cars and Upstairs, Downstairs as well as many appearances in one-off plays in series such as Thirty-Minute Theatre and The Wednesday Play.

In 1971 he played Lord Collingford in the children's series Catweazle and in 1974 played Barrington Erle in the BBC adaptation Anthony Trollope's The Pallisers. He played Angus Kinloch in the Cold War thriller series Quiller and Chief Constable Chubb in Murder Most English

In the 1980's he played Mr. Bennet in the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice and Wordsworth in the comedy Union Castle. Other notable apperances included parts in Agatha Christie's Miss Marple: The Body in the Library, Minder, Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years, The Professionals, Rude Health, Rumpole of the Bailey and The House of Eliott.

In 1991 he played the Brigadier in the ITV version of The Darling Buds of May .

He appeared in several films, including Operation Crossbow and The Grass Is Greener, in which he played opposite Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr, Robert Mitchum and Jean Simmons.

Moray Watson appeared in several one-man shows, including The Incomparable Max based on the life and work of Max Beerbohm and Ancestral Voices, based on the diaries if James Lees Milne. His final show, Looking Back and Dropping Names was written and devised by himself based on his own life as an actor. It was published in book form in September 2016.

Recenty launched online streaming service Britbox has added the majority of existing 20th Century Doctor Who to its collection. The service, co-operated by BBC Worldwide and ITV, provides subscription-based video-on-demand (SVOD) to the United States of America, and features a range of programmes - both old and new - from British Television to stream on a variety of devices.

Soumya Sriraman, President of BritBox said:

Subscribers will be able to watch most of the existing stories between 1963-1989 (including The Web Of Fear with its reconstruction of episode three):
Notable omissions to the collection include several Dalek stories, and The Five Doctors; however, a number of DVD extras are available to watch, not to mention items such as K9 & Company and 50th Anniversary productions An Adventure In Space And Time and The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot. It should be noted that programmes are based on the remastered Region 1 versions which are occasionally different to the original broadcast episodes.

The service is expected to expand to include missing episodes too in the future, and will include the (narrated) audio soundtracks of those episodes that don't currently exist in the BBC Archive.


"Modern" Doctor Who is available to stream in the United States via Amazon Prime Video.

The BBC have released some new promotional images to accompany the 30 second trailer that is now airing on television in the UK, featuring some of the scenes to come in the new series of Doctor Who which kicks off in ten days time.


PRIME in New Zealand have now confirmed that, unlike for recent series and specials, it will instead premiere The Pilot on Monday 17th April rather than within a day of the United Kingdom - this means that cinema-goers in the country will have a chance to watch it on the big screen the day before broadcast. However, this is only the case for Easter, future episodes will be broadcast on the more traditional Sunday evening prime time slot.

The Pilot: Known Broadcast Details
United Kingdom	BBC One	Sat 15 Apr 2017	7:20pm BST
Middle East	BBC First	Sat 15 Apr 2017	10:00pm AST	(Sat 8:00pm BST)
United States of America	BBC America	Sat 15 Apr 2017	9:00pm EDT	(Sun 2:00am BST)
Canada	SPACE	Sat 15 Apr 2017	9:00pm EDT	(Sun 2:00am BST)
Australia	ABC	Sun 16 Apr 2017	7:40pm AEST	(Sun 10:40am BST, also on ABC ME)
Brazil	SyFy	Sun 16 Apr 2017	8:00pm BRT	(Sun 11:00pm BST)
Latin America	SyFy	Sun 16 Apr 2017	11:00pm CDT	(Mon 4:00am BST)
New Zealand	PRIME	Mon 17 Apr 2017	7:30pm NZST	(Mon 8:30am BST)

As well as on television, the episode can also be seen in cinemas in the United States, Australia and New Zealand. A full list of broadcasts can be found via This Week in Doctor Who.

Current indications are that Doctor Who won't be taking a week's break for the annual Eurovision Song Contest, which takes place this year on 13th May (the date for the fifth episode, Oxygen).

The latest Doctor Who Magazine (in shops tomorrow in the UK) has confirmed the titles of all episodes bar the two-part finale, with previews of the first three in this issue. The current list of known titles are as follows:

1. The Pilot*, by Steven Moffat, directed by Lawrence Gough
2. Smile, by Frank Cottrell-Boyce, directed by Lawrence Gough
3. Thin Ice, by Sarah Dollard, directed by Bill Anderson
4. Knock Knock, by Mike Bartlett, directed by Bill Anderson
5. Oxygen, by Jamie Matheson, directed by Charles Palmer
6. Extremis, by Steven Moffat, directed by Daniel Nettheim
7. The Pyramid at the End of the World, by Peter Harness, directed by Daniel Nettheim
8. The Lie Of The Land, by Toby Whithouse, directed by Wayne Che Yip
9. The Empress Of Mars, by Mark Gatiss, directed by Wayne Che Yip
10. The Eaters of Light, by Rona Munro, directed by Charles Palmer
11. tbc, by Steven Moffat, directed by Rachel Talalay
12. tbc, by Steven Moffat, directed by Rachel Talalay

* the episode was originally known as A Star In Her Eye, which is still being used in documentation by some international channels.

Consolidated ratings are now available for episodes 7 and 8 of Class, shown on BBC One two weeks ago, which include details of those who recorded the programme and watched it within a week.

Episode 7, The Metaphysical Engine, or What Quill Did, which was broadcast at 10.47pm, had a confirmed audience of 0.68 million viewers, a 6.4% share of the total TV audience. The channel average for the timeslot is of 1.85 million. The figure is slightly lower than the initial overnight figure. The programme was beaten in the timeslot by BBC Two's Newsnight getting 0.81 million, however it outrated Through the Keyhole on ITV which had 0.53 million. An additional 0.20 million have accessed the episode on iPlayer since its release on BBC Three last October. The episode scored an AI of 82.

Episode 8, The Lost, followed immediately afterward, starting at 11.33pm, and had a consolidated audience of 0.32 million watching, a share 5.5% of the audience. The channel average for the timeslot is 0.82 million. The programme was outrated by Hospital on BBC Two, with 0.38 million. Around 195,000 have accessed the episode on iPlayer. The episode scored an AI of 82.

Full ratings for the BBC One screening are shown below. No information has been released by the BBC concerning the future of Class and the possibility of a second series. An online petition asking for a second series has so far received 1700 signatures.

Consolidated ratings are now available for episodes 5 and 6 of Class, shown on BBC One two weeks ago, which include details of those who recorded the programme and watched it within a week.

Episode 5, Brave-ish Heart, which was broadcast at 10.46pm, had a confirmed audience of 0.69 million viewers, a 6.4% share of the total TV audience. The channel average for the timeslot is of 1.85 million. The figure is slightly higher than the initial overnight figure. The programme was beaten in the timeslot by BBC Two's Newsnight getting 0.74 million, however it outrated Through the Keyhole on ITV which had 0.56 million. An additional 0.21 million have accessed the episode on iPlayer since its release on BBC Three last October. The episode scored an AI of 78.

Episode 6, Detained, followed immediately afterward, starting at 11.33pm, and had a consolidated audience of 0.29 million watching, a share 4.4% of the audience. The channel average for the timeslot is 0.82 million. Episode 4 increased its audience by 40% over the initial figure. Around 195,000 have accessed the episode on iPlayer. The episode scored an AI of 79.

Class Episode Five, Brave-ish Heart had an audience of 0.66 million viewers for its debut on BBC One, according the unofficial overnight figures, a share of 7% of the total TV audience.

The rating is down on the overnight figures for last week's episode and the programme was outrated by both Newsnight on BBC Two, which had 0.73 million watching, and by Through the Keyhole on ITV, which had 0.70 million.

Episode Six, Detained, which followed at 11.35pm had an audience of 0.21 million, a share of 3.5%. This episode was beaten by Hospital on BBC Two, 0.33 million, by The Chase on ITV with 0.26 million.

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Consolidated ratings are now available for the first two episodes of Class, shown on BBC One two weeks ago, which include those who recorded the programme and watched it within a week.

Episode 1, For Tonight We May Die, which was broadcast at 10.46pm, had a confirmed audience of 1.06 million viewers, a 10.7% share of the total TV audience. The channel average for the timeslot is of 1.85 million. The figure is about 12% higher than the initial overnight figures. An additional 0.66 million have accessed the episode on iPlayer since its release on BBC Three last October.

Episode 2, The Coach with the Dragon Tattoo, followed immediately afterward, starting at 11.40pm, and had a consolidated audience of 0.55 million watching, a share 9.5% of the audience. The channel average for the timeslot is 0.64 million. Episode 2 increased its audience by 40% over the initial figure, implying many decided to goto to bed and watch the episode later. Around 300,000 have accessed the episode on iPlayer.

The actor Philip Bond has died at the age of 82.

Philip Bond appeared in five episodes of the second Doctor Who story, The Daleks, first shown in 1963/4. He played the role of Ganatus, a member of the Thal expedition who traveled with Ian and Barbara on their expedition to enter the city via the mountains. During the journey, Ganatus witnessed the death of his brother, an experience which brought him closer to Barbara.

Bond was second choice for the role, cast when the original choice Dinsdale Landen became unavailable. He accepted immediately, being friends with both producer Verity Lambert and fellow actor William Russell.

Philip Bond had a prolific career in British Television, appearing in over 70 series over a 50 year period.

His best-known role was probably playing Albert Frazer in the 1970s BBC drama The Onedin Line, where he appeared in 24 episodes. Other roles included parts in Walk a Crooked Mile, 199 Park Lane, No Hiding Place, Sherlock Holmes, The Avengers, Justice, Z Cars, The Main Chance, The Children of the New Forest, An Englishman's Castle, Shoestring, Only Fools and Horses...., The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Casualty and Midsomer Murders.

Bond's was the father of the actress Samantha Bond who played Mrs Wormwood in The Sarah Jane Adventures.

Philip Bond died suddenly last Tuesday while on holiday on the island of Madeira. He is survived by his long-standing partner Elizabeth, his children Matthew, Samantha and Abigail and his Grandchildren.

German company Polyband is going to release An Unearthly Child on DVD. It will be Volume 1 of a new range called The Classic Episodes and be released on 28th April 2017. 

The DVD will be identical to the UK version that was part of The Beginning boxed set, adding German subtitles to the features. Since the early serials have never been broadcast in Germany there is no German dubbing available for this story.

Polyband promotes the release with the following statement:

German: Ein nebeliger Abend, ein Polizist geht Streife in seinem Revier ... ein verlassener Schrottplatz ... und eine Polizei-Box, die geheimnisvoll surrt und brummt. Diese Bilder sind heute Kult. Sie sind die Anfänge einer Serie, die nun schon seit mehr als 50 Jahren produziert wird und Generationen von Zuschauern prägen sollte: DOCTOR WHO - AN UNEARTHLY CHILD ist der erste, aus 4 Teilen bestehende Handlungsbogen der Serie DOCTOR WHO und eröffnet die 1. Staffel. Die vier Folgen wurden erstmals zwischen dem 23. November und 14. Dezember 1963 ausgestrahlt. Mit brillantem Erzähltempo und erstaunlicher Überzeugungskraft lädt AN UNEARTHLY CHILD behutsam in die Welt von  DOCTOR WHO ein. Bereits wenige Minuten nachdem man die sichere Umgebung der Coal Hill Schule verlassen hat, befindet man sich mit dem ersten Doktor (William Hartnell) sowie seiner Enkelin Susan (Carole Ann Ford) inmitten der ersten Reise durch Zeit und Raum mithilfe einer blauen Polizei-Box, der legendären TARDIS.

English: A foggy evening, a poilce officer walks around in his area... a junkyard... and a Police Box that makes strange mysterious noises. These pictures are cult today. They are the beginning of a TV show which is in production for over 50 years now and has impressed many generations of viewers: DOCTOR WHO - AN UNEARTHLY CHILD is the first four part serial of DOCTOR WHO and is the opening to the very first season. These four episodes were first broadcast between 23rd November and 14th December 1963. Featuring a brilliant pace and impressive imagination AN UNEARTHLY CHILD introduces you well to the world of DOCTOR WHO. After only minutes of leaving the safe environment of Coal Hill School you find yourself with the first Doctor (William Hartnell) and his grandchild Susan (Carole Ann Ford) travelling through space and time with the blue Police Box, the famous TARDIS.

The director Rodney Bennett has died at the age of 81

Rodney Bennett directed 10 episodes of Doctor Who.

His first outing was on the two part 1975 story The Sontaran Experiment, the first Doctor Who story to be filmed entirely as a Television Outside Broadcast. The production, filmed on Dartmoor, was disrupted when the leading actor, Tom Baker, broke his collarbone during filming, necessitating the actor wearing a neck brace under his scarf.

He returned to the studio for his next production The Ark In Space, which was shown before The Sontaran Experiment despite being filmed after it. The story is widely regarded as a classic, with both Russell T Davies and Steven Moffat citing the story as one of their favorites from the original run of the series. The story enjoyed some of the highest ratings in the programmes history, with 13.6 million tuning in for episode two.

Rodney Bennett's final story for Doctor Who was the 1976 story The Masque of Mandragora. Filmed largely at the welsh resort of Portmeirion, the story also marks the first appearance of the TARDIS' secondary console room.

Rodney Bennett had a long career with the BBC first working in Radio. He moved into Television in the late 1960's, working first in the Schools department. He happened to be in the right place when the regular Z-Cars director fell ill, giving him a chance to move into mainstream drama. He went on to work on such series as The Legend of King Arthur, Sense and Sensibility, Dombey & Son and Doctor Finlay.

In 1980 he directed the BBC Television Shakespeare version of Hamlet in which he cast Derek Jacobi as the eponymous Dane, alongside Patrick Stewart and Lalla Ward. In 1993 he directed the ITV production of The Darling Buds of May in which he cast a relative unknown called Catherine Zeta Jones.

He received two BAFTA nominations for Monsignor Quixote and The Legend of King Arthur.

Rodney Bennett was born March 1935, died January 2017.

You can read a full obituary by Toby Hadoke, who interviewed Rodney Bennett for the Big Finish Who's Round series, at tobyhadoke.com.

Toby has also compiled a tribute to those from the world of Doctor Who who died in 2016 which can be viewed on YouTube.