As we noted early in the week, Doctor Who was one of the awards announced in the BAFTA coverage as shown on ITV, coming up about forty minutes into the show which was hosted by Bad Wolf guest voice Davina McColl. Kevin Whately and Amanda Holden announced the nominees in the Drama Series category, and the clip shown of Doctor Who was of thousands of Daleks flying through space from The Parting of the Ways. Here's a recap of what transpired:

Billie Piper, Phil Collinson, Julie Gardner and Russell T Davies came on stage to accept the award after the winner was announced, with David Tennant applauding from back at the show's table. Gardner did the acceptance speech on their behalf, thanking Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper and particularly Davies as well as everyone else who makes the show. When she mentioned Davies, his name got a large round of applause from the audience. Then suddenly from the wings - and much to the audience's delight - a Dalek appeared. Oddly, given that press and last night's news coverage had shown a regular gold Dalek gliding down the red carpet, this Dalek, although new series style in construction, was painted jet black. It angrily announced, with the familiar Nick Briggs voice, that "all BAFTAs will be surrended to the Daleks!", before Kevin Whately foiled it by placing his hand over its eye. The Dalek protested that it could not see, and then sternly warned them not to touch the Dalek. Gardner, clearly quite amused by the creature's presence, admitted that they wouldn't have been there without the Daleks.

One hour into the show the winner of the Pioneer Audience Award was announced, the nominees for which had been shown in two groups of four clips earlier in the evening between other awards. This award was announced by the Chairman of Pioneer, who simply stood there and didn't say anything, and much-loved British television actor Sir David Jason. Jason ran briefly through the nominees, and compared Doctor Who to Strictly Come Dancing - "one is about a spry but eccentric one million year old man and his sexy sidekick, the other is about a flying police box." After Jason, following some initial struggles with the envelope, announced Doctor Who as the winner, Billie Piper accepted the award on her own, the theme tune playing loudly through the hall as she walked to the stage. Grinning and describing the award as "a treat!" she enthused about how much the award meant to the cast and crew and how grateful they were, before wishing everyone else a "great evening".

Finally, around one hour twenty minutes into the ceremony, David Tennant came on stage. After speaking briefly about Dennis Potter, he said how any writer who receives an award presented in Potter's name must be very special. He then said how he was proud to count Davies as a boss and a friend, and then outlined the writer's career and achievements to date. There then followed a collection of clips of Davies's work since The Grand, interspersed with clips of actors and colleagues enthusing about his work. They included Julie Gardner, Nina Sosanya (Casanova), Anthony Cotton (Queer as Folk), Lesley Sharp (Bob & Rose and The Second Coming), Matt Lucas (Casanova), Nicola Shindler (founder of Red Production Company), David Liddiment (former Director of Programmes at ITV) and Billie Piper. Said Tennant, "Dennis Potter understood that television was an art form that was new and unique. His writing was consistently fresh, often controversial and always stimulating. Television drama would never be the same again after him. Any writer who gets a BAFTA presented in his name has to be something very special indeed. It is safe to say that tonight's winner is just that. He is one of the most unique voices in television today. I am delighted to describe him as my boss, but I'm proud as punch to call him a friend. It is Russell T Davies. ... A self-confessed Doctor Who enthusiast, Russell achieved the apparently unachievable – revitalising and updating a television icon that many thought was beyond redemption. But he injected the series with a heart, a wit and an imagination that made a forty year-old concept fresher than just about anything else around it. Russell's great friend, the writer Paul Abbott, said: 'the humanity and wit that Russell crams into the tiniest corners of human behaviour sets him far far above the professional typists masquerading as writers in this industry'. The exceptional quality of his output is only achieved by a working day that would leave most Calvinists shrinking in shame. He is the finest inspiration any friend and colleague could wish for, and he's given me two of the best roles that I could ever hope to get, so it is a great, great privilege for me to be chosen tonight to present the Dennis Potter Award to a man so fabulously deserving." Tennant then introduced a montage of clips followed by introducing Davies, who came to the stage to great applause and hugged Tennant. He thanked the Academy for "an honour beyond words". He said there were too many people to thank it was like "drowning in a sea of faces in your head". He thanked his agent and his boyfriend, and then thanked his friend Sally Watson, not a member of the television industry, but who once told him "why don't you write like you?" when he worried about comparing himself to other writers. He claimed it was the best piece of advice he had ever been given.

(Thanks to Paul Hayes)

The Time Shift series celebrates the 40th anniversary of Doctor Who's Cybermen this Saturday "with a look at the rollercoaster fortunes of robots, androids and cyborgs in fact and fantasy; from the Flash Gordon serials via The Six Million Dollar Man to Marvin the Paranoid Android. For decades we were alternately warned that robots could take over the planet, and promised that they would liberate us from the drudgery of everyday labour. But in the real world scientists struggled to design robots that could even climb the stairs. Yet the continued appeal of the Star Wars films, the recent remake of the TV classic A for Andromeda and the return of the Cybermen to our screens all prove that there's artificial life in the machine men yet. Among the contributors exploring whether we're on the cusp of the true robot age are actor Anthony Daniels, aka C-3PO in Star Wars; British SF visionary Brian Aldiss; writer Kim Newman; and a host of real-life robotics scientists." The programme airs on Saturday 13 May at 8.15pm on BBC4, repeated at 11.50pm. (Thanks to Chuck Foster)

The latest issue of Comics International (#196) is on sale now; says the release, the magazine "bringing together the founder of Doctor Who Weekly (Dez Skinn) and former editor of Doctor Who Magazine (John Freeman) for a special overview of Doctor Who in the comics. From 1964's TV Comic featuring William Hartnell, the feature charts through all the UK and US comics and graphic novels produced up to the latest two additions, Doctor Who Adventures and Battles in Time. With a handy sidebar checklists for completists and quotes from artists, writers and editors, hopefully it's the definitive overview of the Doctor's many lives in comics." It also stated that if you can't find a copy, you can order direct from the publisher here. A thumbnail of the cover is at right. (Thanks to John Freeman)

Issue #4 of Doctor Who Adventures from BBC Magazines, the children's magazine for fans of the show, will be out on 17 May, and we have a preview below; click on the thumbnail for a larger version. (Thanks to Naomi at BBC Magazines)

According to several sources, BBC Video may be releasing The Hand of Fear starring Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen (in her final performance in the classic series until "The Five Doctors") on DVD in the UK on 24 July, followed by The Mark of the Rani starring Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant with Anthony Ainley and Kate O'Mara on 4 September. This is after the release of Inferno starring Jon Pertwee on 5 June and in-between select releases of Series Two DVD sets on 10 July (Volume 3), 7 August (Volume 4) and 18 September (Volume 5). This information was recently communicated to various dealers of Doctor Who merchandise by BBC Worldwide, though it still remains unofficial and unconfirmed in the meanwhile.

This week's Programme Information from the BBC Press Office previews the episode The Idiot's Lantern on 27 May with an interview with Mark Gatiss on page 11 of the Features article (note: PDF file); the article includes at least one picture spoiler. Says Gatiss on how the story came about, '[Lead writer] Russell [T Davies] asked me to do a Fifties story. It was originally meant to be much more rock 'n' roll but everyone loved the notion of the Coronation – it's one of those big, gettable 'front-of-the Radio-Times' ideas so we settled on 1953. I've always loved old TV and the early BBC days at Ally Pally so it was lovely to use all that – and very appropriate to have a monster that gets at you via your telly! It's a very atmospheric episode and Euros [Lyn], the director, has shot it in a semi-noirish, Fifties style which is terrific.' Gatiss says his writing on the series is 'a dream come true. Last year it was so unreal, this year everyone's found their feet a lot more, I think, but because the show's an established hit there's that extra pressure to top the success. It's just brilliant to be part of a vibrant, modern show that's still absolutely the Doctor Who we grew up with and loved.' Gatiss notes that he loves 'the historical stories. They were always my favourites in old Doctor Who. I'm hoping that the 'Gatiss by gaslight' becomes an annual fixture! I wouldn't rule out doing a modern-day story but I do have so much fun popping back in time. Having said that, I didn't know as much about the Fifties as I do about Victoriana so I had to do quite a bit of research, but that was delightful. So many people remember the Coronation. I talked to my Dad and some older friends and they all have a version of the 'everyone crowded into one room' story which is at the heart of the episode.' He notes that 'You have to be much more aware of the feel of the whole season. You don't want the leads to be jarringly different in each story just because there's a different writer. What's great about this season is that there's so much variety, with lots of different types of adventure: scary, funny, sad and some that are very, very moving.'

The Programming Information document (also PDF) for Saturday 27 May shows the episode returning to the 7pm timeslot. Details on the episode are noted below.

Issue #370 of Doctor Who Magazine will be released on May 25, and we have an early preview below; click on the thumbnail for a larger version of the cover. (Thanks to Tom Spilsbury/DWM)

Final viewing figures for the season's third episode, School Reunion(broadcast on April 29), are in: according to the BARB, with timeshifted viewings taken into account, the episode was watched by an average of 8.31 million viewers, the twelfth most watched programme of the week and the fifth highest ranking television show. This is an upwards adjustment of approximately 700,000 additional viewers. Also, BBC3 repeat of "School Reunion" on Friday night May 5 was watched by 430,900 viewers (2.8% audience share), seventh for the evening on the non-terrestrial channels, peaking at 471,200 viewers. Interestingly, the earlier repeat of "School Reunion" on Sunday April 30 achieved a massive Audience Appreciation Index (AI) score of 89.

Meanwhile, the latest transmitted episode this season, The Girl in the Fireplace broadcast last Saturday (May 6), achieved another high initial AI figure of 84, the second-highest ranking of Saturday evening. The Sunday evening (May 7) repeat of the episode on BBC3 was watched by 686,000 viewers (3.5% audience share) according to Viewingfigures, peaking in the five-minute intervals at the end of the transmission to 878,000 viewers, ranked fifth in the non-terrestrial channels for the evening. The installment of "Doctor Who Confidential Cut Down" that immediately preceded it had 299,000 viewers (1.8% audience share). The AI ranking for the Saturday night episode of "Confidential" (May 6) was 82. (Thanks to 'Shaun Lyon,' Andy Parish)