The Story of Doctor Who, a one-hour documentary celebrating the show's 40th anniversary, will air on BBC1 on Tuesday December 30 at 6:30pm. Says the blurb: "Nostalgic retrospective of the longest-running sci-fi series ever, which made its low-key debut 40 years ago and went on to become a national institution that had generations of young viewers hiding behind their sofas from the colourful alien menaces tackled by the time-travelling hero. This documentary features behind-the-scenes revelations, recalls some of the classic stories from the series' past and interviews all the surviving actors who have played the good Doctor on TV, including Tom Baker and Peter Davison." (Thanks to Alexander Sives, Phillip Madeley, Neil Perryman, John Leacey, Andrew Foxley)

The ic North Wales site has a three-page article today on the 40th anniversary of Doctor Who, a summary of the show and it's connections with the Welsh. Interestingly, says the article, "The absence of a special Dr Who weekend of programmes dedicated to the time travelling doctor marks a bizarre scheduling decision which is entirely in keeping with the BBC's love/hate relationship with the adventurous Time Lord," omitting the fact that UK Gold did exactly that all weekend. You can read the full article by going here. (Thanks to Steve Tribe, Andrew Harvey)

The Friday, November 21 edition of Blue Peter will be devoted to celebrating the 40th anniversary of Doctor Who. The programme, to be broadcast live, will celebrate some of the classic Doctor Who monsters, featuring clips from the show, and will feature a competition to win various prizes. The Hyde Fundraisers group will be taking part in the show as well. Meanwhile, the next day, Saturday November 22, the Museum Of Film & Photography will play host to a celebration of Doctor Who which will include special Dr Who screenings. These include 'The Horns Of Nimon' featuring Tom Baker and the first sixties Dalek film starring Peter Cushing, 'Dr Who & The Daleks'. (Thanks to Kevin Taylor)

Channel 4's 100 Greatest Scary Moments finally aired and Doctor Who made the cut twice. At #39, Doctor Who: Daleks: "Despite Doctor Who creator Sydney Newman promising that Doctor Who wouldn't have any 'bug eyed monsters', four weeks into its run the British public were introduced to the Daleks. Perhaps the Daleks' scariest moment was actaully their first appearance when viewers caught a glimpse of an advancing Dalek, as yet unseen. All we saw was something like a sink plunger, and then the look of horror and screams of Dr Who's companion Barbara as the episode ends." And at #54, Doctor Who: Opening Titles: "The theme music and titles from Doctor Who were always so evocative that even the first bars of the music would send children hiding behind the sofa at the beginning and end of this popular children's drama. The music was composed by Ron Grainer and created by Delia Derbyshire of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Bernard Lodge created the swirling images for the titles which married so well with the music." (Thanks to Gerald Lea)

A new hour-long documentary about The BBC Radiophonic Workshop, Alchemists of Sound, has made its debut. Says the BBC press release: "In the Sixties, Delia Derbyshire frightened thousands of children every week, forcing them to hide behind sofas, cover their ears, and run crying to daddy. She did it by twanging strings, fiddling with wobbulators, and sticking tiny bits of tape together to create the theme tune to Doctor Who. Delia was part of a dedicated band of ground-breaking experimenters in the electronic manipulation of sound who laboured quietly behind the door of Room 13 in the BBC?s Maida Vale studios. They went by the name of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, and received regular calls from members of the public who thought they repaired wirelesses. They were unsung pioneers in the field of electronics, whose strange inspiration was rooted in the curious constraints of the available equipment, and the combination of mathematical, musical, electronic and manual skills that their work required. Alchemists Of Sound is a lovingly crafted documentary in which those involved in the Radiophonic Workshop tell the story of this creative, and occasionally haphazard, group. It contains original footage of the team and the amazing machinery that created some of the best-known sounds of the times. It also reveals that the entire output of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, from 1983 onwards, would have been lost to posterity had it not been for a series of legendary mishaps. Their work added intense dramatic impact to productions such as Quatermass, The Hitch-Hikers Guide To The Galaxy, The Body In Question and countless children?s television programmes, including Blue Peter. It was a style particularly suited to sci-fi and, in many respects, these 'alchemists' shaped the future of sound. The airing of this documentary coincides with the 40th anniversary of Doctor Who?s first transmission, which the BBC and BBC Worldwide will be celebrating with various activities." The programme contains archive footage and clips, and interviews with numerous Radiophonic Workshop luminaries including Delia Derbyshire (on archive film), Brian Hodgson, Dick Mills, Desmond Briscoe, Paddy Kingsland, Peter Howell, Roger Limb and Malcolm Clarke. A certain Radiophonic Workshop 'associate' by the name of Mark Ayres also features...and one segment in particular should be of interest to fans of the Doctor Who theme. The documentary was broadcast today in the UK (October 19) at 9pm, on BBC4, and will be repeated Monday 20th at 1.10am, Tuesday 21st October at 8.30pm, and Wednesday 22nd October 3.30am; it's hoped that a BBC2 replay will happen soon. Click here for the BBC4 webpage and full details. (Thanks to Mark Ayres)

Myth Makers Presents: Essentials is a special fiction anthology release celebrating the show's 40th anniversary from the Doctor Who Information Network of Canada. "Contributors have selected an element of Doctor Who they consider to be essential to the longevity, success and popularity of the series, and have written a story to showcase their chosen element. In addition, notable people from inside and outside of Doctor Who circles were asked for their essential elements and their answers will be included throughout the issue." The "Essentials" volume features fiction from such Doctor Who book authors as Andy Lane, Daniel O'Mahony, Mark Clapham, Mags L Halliday and Dale Smith, with others to be announced. For more information visit the DWIN website at www.dwin.org. (Thanks to Richard Salter)