People

According to The Sun, Glamour Magazine's Women of the Year Awards have presented Billie Piper with the "UK TV Actress of the Year Award". Also reported at the official Doctor Who website and at BBC Radio 1, the latter of which says, "As if these two don't see enough of each other, David Tennant presents Billie Piper with her award. On style Billie says she's inspired by Kate Moss, Nicole Ritchie and Marilyn Monroe. But what do we think of Billie's dress girls? Bit dinner lady?" Additional reports all over the web including The Mirror, The Daily Mail and others.

The Stage and the London Theatre Guide report that "John Barrowman, David Ian and voice coach Zoe Tyler, who has worked with stars such as Elton John, Rod Stewart and Will Young, are to join Andrew Lloyd Webber on the judging panel for BBC1 talent show How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? The programme, which has been billed as a Pop-Idol style search to find a star for the upcoming revival of The Sound of Music, will be hosted by Graham Norton and broadcast later this summer."

The Hornsey and Crouch End Journal says, "Crouch End had a visit from the Doctor last week, when ex-Doctor Who star Peter Davison landed in Hornsey Town Hall square for filming. Peter, also star of All Creatures Great And Small, was out on location recording three scenes for an ITV comedy drama, tentatively called Easy Peasy, outside the town hall last Wednesday afternoon. ... The six-part series, due to go out this autumn, features the former Time Lord as a child psychologist who is left to care for his son while his wife, played by Josie Lawrence, is away. ... The current Doctor Who, David Tennant, lives in Crouch End."

Creative Match notes that Paul McGann has spoken out against a decision to ban a charity ad for World Vision, because it is, say the BACC, 'unfair to football' ... McGann has spoken out in support of charity World Vision as news broke of the British Advertising Clearance Centre's (BACC) ban on the airing of their new TV advert. Paul McGann supplied the voice-over for the ad which shows a child in Malawi making a football from plastic bags and string. The BACC banned the ad on the basis that it was ‘unfair to football' as it mentioned the £49 million it cost to sponsor the England football team alongside the 60p a day it costs to sponsor Masidi - the boy in the film." Paul McGann said: 'Does one laugh or cry? An advert describing how 60p a day might help a child in a developing country is pulled in order to spare the image of corporate sponsorship in a couple of rich ones. You couldn't make it up!"

The Daily Star says that "Scots actress Shirley Henderson knows how to pack a punchline on comedian Peter Kay's chin. She lands one smack on his kisser in the time travelling adventure of Doctor Who - broadcast on Saturday June 17, in which the pair are taken on board the Tardis as guest stars. While Phoenix Nights star Kay, playing a villain, is almost unrecognisable under layers of blubber, there's no mistaking Kincardineborn Henderson, famous for her role as Moaning Myrtle in Harry Potter. Shirley, 41, joins her Scots mate David Tennant, as the Doctor, in the episode titled Love and Monsters. She said: 'Peter is the funniest man I've ever met. I couldn't stop laughing at him. It was such a joy working with him.'"

The Satan Pit Pre-Publicity

CBBC News reporter Lizo says of the episode, "When I first heard the name of this episode a few months back, I wasn't really paying attention and thought that it was called The Santa Pit and that it was the name of this year's Christmas Special. I couldn't have been more off the mark - this second part of the story that began with the Impossible Planet is the darkest, most intense episode since Dr Who returned last year. Things pick up with the Doctor facing an opening chasm deep under the planet, while on the surface Rose and the crew of the base are under attack by the sinister Ood. Are they about to come face to face with the Devil himself? And will they all survive? There's action aplenty, but the biggest thing about the epsiode may well be a few words which could have a huge bearing on this series or the next. You'll know them when you hear them! It'll probably be debated for months what they mean, if anything. Things aren't made clear as to whether it's just a passing comment or a massive clue about the future. This aside, the characters including the Doctor are forced to go further than they've been before, face up to their greatest fears and risk death. As they come up against an enemy unlike they've ever faced before. One of the things that's great about seeing the Doctor in action is how he knows much more than the people around him. But here there's even more pleasure to be had from seeing him having to think on his feet as he disocvers things that are beyond even his knowledge. Fans will love the non stop action, as well a throw away comment about the Kaled race! And, naturally, Torchwood gets a quick mention. Despite being a two parter, there's a lot left unexplained by the end which is a shame. But all in all an outstanding episode that's all that Dr Who should be - the stuff of legend. We're now into unknown territory though. We've seen clips for several weeks in trailers from all the stories except for the next two, Love and Monsters, and Fear Her. It should be fun to see how in these two stories we've seen nothing of, things ramp up to the climax at the end of the series. Can't wait! Lizo's star rating for The Satan Pit: 4 out of 5."

The Daily Star previewed it by saying, "Doctor Who is in for one hell of a shock when he comes face-to-face with the ultimate foe - Satan. The Time Lord (played by David Tennant, 34) lands in trouble after hurling himself into a dark abyss on a desolate planet. .... Once again it's up to the time traveller to save the universe. Meanwhile sidekick Rose (Billie Piper, 23) is being pursued by a frightening group of aliens who are out to kill her. But the feisty lass shows she can shoot from the hip with a space gun in the episode, to be screened this Saturday on BBC1 at 7pm."

The Guardian discusses the marketing of the episode. "While today may be plain old June 6 to most of us, to some it's 06.06.06. That gives it a whole new level of significance, for it becomes the day of the Control: max-age=0
Origin: httpichrist - who is known by the number 666. ... Even Doctor Who is getting in on the act. He has a date with the devil this Saturday teatime, after England play Paraguay - in the absence of Armageddon."

Heat's Chris Longridge writes: 'When you call your episode The Satan Pit, it had better live up to the title. So it's with relief that we report that the Doctor has not only to keep the Ood's planet from tipping into the ?Black Hole, but, if he can fit it into his schedule, stop the entire universe from being devoured by The Beast. Rose, meanwhile, merely has to fend off the squiddy things (ie the Ood), who are not quite as hungry as The Beast.' (he awards this the max 5 stars, and this concluding part is at number 6 in Heat's best TV shows of the week).

Closer magazine: 'The second part of this scary deep-space adventure sees Rose battling those delightful aliens the Ood, as the Doc attempts to save the planet from slipping into a black hole. Such is the secrecy surrounding Doctor Who episodes, the rest is under wraps, but we can guarantee lots of exaggerated facial expressions from David Tennant, and eye candy in the form of Strictly Come Dancing's Will Thorp.'

Reveal magazine says, 'Rose faces up to the deadly Ood as the planet's future hangs in the balance. Meanwhile, the Doctor's beliefs are challenged as he confronts the mysterious occupant of the pit. (Reveal awards this 4 out of 5 stars)

Sneak comments on one of their Must-Sees for Saturday: 'As Rose gets angry with the murderous Ood, the Doctor battles to stop the Earth falling into a black hole. As you do.'

Additional Media Items

The Guardian says, "Thank God for Doctor Who (BBC1, Saturday), in which a bunch of butt-ugly aliens started chanting such things as, 'We are the legion of the beast!' while Woody from Casualty was possessed by the devil and went on a killing spree. Rose and the Doctor shared a tender moment when they thought they were trapped on a dead planet circling a black hole, and even contemplated getting a mortgage and choosing carpets together. She kissed him on the helmet as he descended into the pit to face the very devil himself, who arose at the end of the episode with some great sepulchral laughter. The alien army, who were called the Ood and looked as if they had long-term cocaine habits, were set to zap everyone with their nose-tentacles. Nobody mentioned football or said, 'Dad ... I love you', which justifies the Bafta, in my opinion.'" Also on the site, on the online-only overnights ratings report, broadcasting editor Jason Deans gives Saturday's ratings a surprisingly positive spin: "Doctor Who's audience dipped to a new low on Saturday, with 5.9 million viewers tuning in. However, this can be attributed to the weather, as the audience share for Saturday's episode, The Impossible Planet, was 40% - one of the show's best. The third episode of the current series, broadcast on April 29, also got a 40% share - but won 7.6 million viewers, because more people were watching TV at that time on a Saturday. Doctor Who was up against ITV1's Bond movie repeat, Tomorrow Never Dies, which attracted 2.5 million viewers and an 18% share."

Portsmouth Today says that "Dr Who's latest adventures took a strange turn when he ended up facing an old adversary, the cyberman -- in a book shop. But this wasn't really a day when he would have to face terrifying monsters -- it was actually a special event for kids at Ottakar's book store in Fareham Shopping Centre. Staff decorated the store and made a Tardis and K9 models for the 80 children who took part in the activities afternoon. Fun for the youngsters included a fancy dress competition, make-a-monster sessions, a Dr Who treasure trail, and a quiz to encourage kids to read and use their imaginations."

June 5's Daily Star says, "Maybe I had a sordid imagination, but as a kid, I assumed that the assistants of DOCTOR WHO (Saturday BBC1) were his girlfriends. Why was he zooming round the galaxy with Leela and Teegan if he wasn't going out with them? They were useless at Tardis maintenance, and they squealed if a Cyberman clunked in their direction. Thinking back, I realise I was wrong. The Doctor's first assistants also included Peter Purves and Fraser Hines, and we can be sure that, back in the 70s, Time Lords didn't have boyfriends. But one of the reasons the new-look Who gives us so much pleasure has to be that little cosmic frisson of you-know-what between the Doc and Rose (Billie Piper). It grew into a minor tremor at the weekend as the pair shared their first kiss. Admittedly, he was wearing a protective visor and the kiss landed six inches from the bit where his nose joins his forehead. But it was screen history nonetheless. Could you imagine Jon Pertwee or Patrick Troughton landing a big wet smacker on their assistants - or vice versa? Perhaps it's one of the ways in which this reincarnation of the show has grown up. In the Saturday tea-time of my youth, the Doctor, his shipmates and the relationships between them were as unreal as the plots. Each week, they defeated some ugly lifeform, dusted themselves down and zoomed off to the next galaxy. The nearest anyone came to having a character was the irritating robot-dog K-9. Nowadays, odd though it seems to think it, Doctor Who is more real. Rose misses her mum and her home. The Doctor is in an awkward relationship to her - protecting her but also fancying her a bit too. On Saturday, having lost the Tardis in an earthquake on a planet at the rim of a black hole, they wondered what the rest of their lives would be like. For just a second they considered a life together then, as if reading each other's minds, started to blush and splutter. Yes, it was tongue-in-cheek, but not much less convincing than some of the scenes our soap operas dish up as serious drama. And with all the black holes, alien slave rebellions and underground demons, rather more fun."

The June/July issue of Wetherspoons New says, "Dr Who? Just ask his fans. Dr Who fans returned to their favourite haunt to celebrate the launch of the new TV series. The Printworks, a Lloyds No. 1 bar in Clerkenwell, London was the venue for a special party attended by readers of Dr Who magazine. They met with the programme's production crew and the iconic K9, Dr Who's beloved mechanical dog. More than 300 party-goers from all over the world enjoyed special advance screenings of episodes frm the new series in the comfort of the Lloyds bar. The bar's manager, Nuno Goncalves (pictured), said: 'The launch party for the Dr Who series was held at The Printworks last year, so I was delighted to welcome the fans back once again. They enjoyed themselves so much that they have already asked to hold next year's party here too!'"

Also: BlogCritics reviews last weekend's "The Impossible Planet"; the official Doctor Who website wants drawings from under-12's;

(Thanks to Paul Engelberg, Scott Matthewman, Peter Weaver, Jim Sangster and Paul Hayes)

ABC TV Australia has begun screening adverts for the forthcoming debut of series two there. Using the tag, "Do you fancy a Christmas in July?", with clips from "The Christmas Invasion" shows, the 30-second promo doesn't identify the specific date the series is premiering on, only noting that the show is "returning soon". However, as we already reported it will be broadcast starting 8 July on ABC. The ABC website also has preview information. (Thanks to Murray Harper, William Binnie, Adam Kirk and Niall Doran)

Issue #6 of Doctor Who Adventures, the BBC magazine for younger viewers, is out soon, and we have a preview below; click on the thumbnail for a larger version of the cover. (Thanks to BBC Magazines)

Final viewing figures are in from the BARB for The Idiot's Lantern, the seventh episode of the new season, broadcast on 27 May: 6.76 million viewers are said to have tuned into the broadcast, including time-shifted viewers. The episode was seventh highest on the list of total television shows (adjusted for multiple episodes, behind episodes of "Coronation Street," "EastEnders," "New Tricks," "Emmerdale" and "Heartbeat" and the special "Full Length and Fabulous: The Beckham World Cup Party") and eighteenth on the list of the week's total broadcasts. However, the episode only scored a bit less than 2% of a smaller viewing audience than the corresponding episode the previous season, "The Doctor Dances".

Some other BARB final ratings figures are now available. The original broadcast of Doctor Who Confidential on the same night as "The Idiot's Lantern" scored, according to the BARB, 453,000 viewers; the Sunday night repeat of Doctor Who on BBC3 (28 May) had 642,000 viewers, placing it #14 in the list of the top twenty non-terrestrial broadcasts for the week. Also, the repeat of the prior episode, The Age of Steel the night before the next, Friday 26 May, had a total of 394,000 viewers.

Meanwhile, for this past weekend's broadcasts, the Sunday night repeat of The Impossible Planet, the eighth episode of the season, on BBC3 was watched by 662,000 viewers (3.8% audience share) and "Doctor Who Confidential Cut Down," the reduced repeat version, had 421,000 viewers (2.1% share). Doctor Who was the most watched programme on BBC3 on Sunday. Additionally, the night before the broadcast of "The Impossible Planet," Friday night's (2 June) repeat of "The Idiot's Lantern," was watched by 407,500 viewers (2.6% share) while the repeat of "Confidential" originally broadcast with that episode was watched by 212,800 viewers (8.3% share). These figures are overnights reported by Viewingfigures (as opposed to BARB final ratings, which will be available next week.)

Finally, another piece of news regarding "The Impossible Planet": Preliminary figures indicate that it achieved an AI (audience appreciation index) figure of 85, while the AI figure for the broadcast of "Doctor Who Confidential" the same night had an AI figure of 83. (Thanks to 'Shaun Lyon,' Andy Parish)

Ratings for the twelfth episode of the first season of the new series, Bad Wolf, on US television on the Sci Fi Channel, have come in: the telecast dropped a bit to a 1.02 household rating with an average of 1.3 million viewers, down from the previous broadcast ("Boom Town") two weeks before and the smallest average audience to date for a Doctor Who original this season. The show was on a week-long hiatus, with viewers possibly tuning out after the lack of a broadcast the week before. Season-to-date, Sci Fi reports that Doctor Who is currently averaging a 1.27 household rating and an average audience of 1.5 million viewers for the season. The season finale airs this Friday, June 9.

Overnight ratings for The Impossible Planet, this season's eighth new episode of Doctor Who, show that the episode was viewed by 5.94 million viewers. While the average numbers are down, the lowest single rating for the new series to date (though by a slim margin), the episode scored a 39.8% audience share, a significant boost from the previous weekend. The discrepancy: the total television audience at 7pm was also the lowest since the show began (only 12.4 million viewers watching at that time). The episode itself peaked at 6.78 million viewers in its final quarter-hour. Doctor Who was #2 on the top thirty by audience and top thirty by share lists, beaten only in actual numbers by an episode of Casualty at 8.15 (which itself only scored 6.5 million viewers).

Meanwhile, on BBC Three, the sixth instalment of Doctor Who Confidential was watched by 542,100 viewers (4.7% audience share), an increase from the prior week. (Thanks to 'Shaun Lyon,' Andy Parish)

The BBC Press Office issued Programme Information (link) for 17-23 June on Friday, with an interview with guest starMarc Warren leading the promotion for episode 10, Love & Monsters, to be aired on 17 June. The actor, who plays Elton Pope in Love & Monsters, notes that "Elton is looking for the Doctor, who he last saw when he was four years old when his mother died, and has been searching for him ever since. He meets a group of people who get together every week to talk about their sightings of the Doctor with an aim of trying to find him, and they become great friends." Warren says that he was "gobsmacked" when he first read the script - "it was all this Elton kid... I couldn't really believe it. It must be quite unusual for Doctor Who to have a [guest] part that's so central - but it definitely worked out well for me." Also released by the Press Office is the Programme Copy for the episode (link) which is reproduced below.