Programme information for Week 17 (22-28 April) has now been released by the BBC Press Office, confirming that Episode 2, 'Tooth and Claw', will retain the 7.15pm timeslot established for 'New Earth' on 15 April, subject to any late running of a live football match that immediately precedes the episode.

As well as noting the launch of the new Tardisodes, the PDF documentfeatures a lengthy episode preview that concentrates on the return of Pauline Collins to the series after forty years. Commenting that Patrick Troughton (whom she worked with in 1966) was "a wonderful Doctor", Collins says that "having seen David Tennant in action, I believe he is going to be the best Doctor ever [...] He seems to combine authority and humour and quirkiness which, in a way, is an amalgam of all the very best Doctors. He’s terrific in it and I think he’ll be great." The interview also reveals that the episode's computer-generated werewolf was based on the movements of "two performance artists who demonstrated for us the sort of movements that the werewolf would do."

Further information on the episode (also a PDF) states: "The Doctor and Rose travel back to the year 1879 when an encounter in the Scottish Highlands with Queen Victoria and a band of Warrior Monks reveals a deadly trap, dating back centuries. Perhaps the local legends about a werewolf could really be true. David Tennant plays the Doctor, Billie Piper plays Rose Tyler, Pauline Collins plays Queen Victoria,Tom Smith plays The Host, Derek Riddell plays Sir Robert and Michelle Duncan plays Lady Isobel." The publicity material also includes a couple of previously uneen stills from the episode.

Finally eliminating the confusion surrounding the timeslot for the first broadcast of the series two premiere, New Earth, on BBC One, the homepage of the BBC Doctor Who site states: "Doctor Who 7.15pm, Saturday 15 April, BBC One. Doctor Who Night 7pm, Sunday 9 April, BBC Three." The Radio Times website has also now been updated to reflect this with complete schedule information for the Easter weekend debut.

The first edition of the second series of the documentary Doctor Who Confidential will be transmitted at 8pm, as soon as 'New Earth' finishes on BBC One. A BBC Three repeat of Episode 1 is now listed for 7.05pm on Sunday 16 April, and this is again followed by Doctor Who Confidential from 7.50 to 8.20pm.

There will now be three opportunities to see the first installment of theTotally Doctor Who series following its BBC One debut on Thursday 13 April: it is repeated on the digital CBBC channel at 6.30pm on both Friday 14 and Saturday 15 April, and again on Monday 17 April at lunchtime. The Digiguide listings service indicates that the Friday repeat may be a one-off, with Thursdays, Saturdays and Mondays being the regular slots for the children's show.

Note: The broadcast schedule on the news page will be updated later today.

C21 Media today reports that Canada's CBC network announced at the MIP broadcasters' conference in Cannes that it has agreed to become a co-production partner on Torchwood, the Doctor Who spinoff series, which it had already done for the main show. "The Canadian pubcaster, which is already a copro partner on series one and two of Doctor Who, has also agreed to partner a third season of the Timelord's adventures. Series two is due to air on CBC in fall 2006." The tagline reads: "Torchwood and Doctor Who are both produced by BBC Wales for the BBC in association with CBC."

Ratings for the broadcast of Doctor Who's fourth new episode, Aliens of London on Sci-Fi, its first US transmission, on March 31 are in. The episode had a 1.20 household rating with an average viewing audience of 1.5 million viewers, a slight drop from the previous week of 1.55 recorded for "The Unquiet Dead". The latest episode was down across the board; the show has experienced a total loss of 21% of household viewers and 16% in audience average since the first episode's transmission, although this was expected because of the curiosity from the episode's first broadcast. Meanwhile, for the rebroadcast of "The Unquiet Dead" immediately prior, 0.65 million viewers tuned in.

While your editor was away for the weekend, the press and web were hopping with a ton of new Doctor Who material:

Series Three Writers

The writers company The Agency appears to have spilled the beans on two writers assigned to pen episodes of the third series of Doctor Who. Fan favorite Paul Cornell, whose first season episode "Father's Day" was just recently nominated for a Hugo award by the World Science Fiction Society, is apparently slated to write a two-part story (which meshes with recent rumors that Cornell would be attached to the show for its third year), whileTom MacRae, author of this season's two parter "Rise of the Cybermen" and "The Age of Steel", is also signed up for one episode. The next issue of Doctor Who Magazine, due out late this month, is said to have the full list of series three writers.

Official Tie-In Sites

There's another new tie-in web site, for Millingdale's Organic Ice Creams, linked from the Leamington Spa site which we reported on late last week. The Millingdale site claims the company was established in 1860, and the main page plays the Doctor's theme (as used in the 'world is spinning' and stepping through the fan blades scenes in season one) as if it where the tune on an ice cream van.

There's now a new game linked from Who Is Doctor Who, in which Mickey asks the player to take remote control of a robot in the Leamington Spa Museum and look through the artefacts there to find one left over from the Sycorax Invasion. It's vaguely similar to the Dalek game, though the robot has no weapon.

Doctor Who Adventures

This week's launch of Doctor Who Adventures from BBC Magazines has garnered extra publicity through its poll of six- to twelve-year-olds, which has found that Winston Churchill is the historical figure most children would like to meet if they had a time-travel machine. A BBC Worldwide press release also reveals that Elvis Presley takes second place: "Winston Churchill has been voted the number one person people would most like to meet in a 'time-travel' poll conducted to celebrate the launch of Doctor Who Adventures magazine, a new fortnightly title aimed at 6 - 12 year olds, launching on 5 April. Elvis Presley rocked into second place as Churchill's closest competition, followed by Albert Einstein, Marilyn Monroe and Martin Luther King Jr. 1000 people took part in the time-travel themed survey, asking 24-45 year olds, which famous person they would most like to meet, if they could travel back in time. Other favourites included Ghandi, Princess Diana, Nelson Mandela, Isaac Newton, Queen Elizabeth I and John Lennon. The survey also asked people what time in history would they most like to be part of and the swinging sixties came in as the top choice, followed by a large number of people more than content with right now, as 2006 made it into second place. Victorian times was a strong favourite at three, with football fans voting in the 1966 World Cup as their time travel choice at four and the 1800's at five." There has been some press coverage of the poll result from the Scotsman and Sky News, and a press release was also sent to various Doctor Who fan sites about the item.

Broadcasting

The Sun on Saturday noted that ITV presenters Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, aka Ant & Dec, "were not so pleased to meet The Sun's Dalek after Dr Who went head to head in the telly ratings with their Saturday Night Takeaway show last year. The boys hope to exterminate the Beeb with their new series." Last year's big television story regarding Doctor Who's broadcast was the defeat of the Saturday night ITV juggernaut in their head-to-head ratings battle.

Dutch broadcaster NOS will be broadcasting the second series in the Netherlands according to an announcement at a broadcasters trade show. Says the BBC Worldwide Territory Manager for the region, "BBC Worldwide has long enjoyed a successful and important relationship with audiences and broadcasters throughout the Netherlands. These new agreements further strengthen those relationships, continuing to offer Dutch audiences the best of our leading catalogue."

The new Doctor Who series will be seen in Finland starting around the end of August or beginning of September, according to a rep from TV Ohjelmapalaute in an email sent to an Outpost Gallifrey reader. "I'm sorry to let you know that Doctor Who doesn't have a fixed transmission date just yet,' says the report from YLE International Programme Acquisitions. 'It is scheduled for the autumn season. My guess would be somewhere around the end of August / beginning of September. ... As for which seasons we'll broadcast. At the moment the YLE TV2 has acquired only the first season, 13 episodes. This is more likely due to the fact that our contacts usually air their productions themselves before they start selling broadcasting rights abroad. However, I'm fairly confident that YLE will buy the second season as well in due time."

No Film For Who?

icWales also says that "Doctor Who genius Russell T Davies has put the Tardis in a spin - saying he won't work with the BBC to turn the Time Lord into a movie icon. Swansea-born Davies transformed Saturday night TV last year when he brought the Doctor back to life. But any big screen hopes have been ruled out by the writer who says he would never join up with BBC Films. Davies, now busy writing a third series, said: 'We would not have time to do a movie at the moment. Maybe if it was all over and still popular, but I would not be desperately keen to work with BBC Films myself. I'm not supposed to say this... but I can't bear them! 'I am in no rush to work with them whatsoever personally, but I suppose the BBC could have a go.' And he is in no rush to work with glamour model Jordan either. 'You open the papers sometimes and read how Jordan wants to be in Doctor Who and you think 'No chance' - bless her, but no way.' But Davies says the Tardis is always open for Charlotte Church, after dismissing reports that she is to star in the Who spin-off Torchwood. 'Charlotte was never going to do it,' he said. 'I love her though, I'd put her in.'"

Series Two

SFX Magazine features a joint interview with David Tennant & Billie Piper in which they both answer questions and joke extensively. "Fortunately we get along. We all get along, and we need to, really, because it's long months and it's quite intense and we're shooting 13-hour days," says Piper. "You're thrown together all the time. I feel like I've made a friend for life. ... Rose is growing-up. She's 20 this year and she's come on in leaps and bounds, I think, since the first series. She's a lot more proactive and she saves the day quite a few times. It's just a natural progression, really. And it's worked out really nicely." Says Tennant, their first scene shot together was "at the end of the Christmas special. We were both in it together, but we didn't have a lot to do together. It's when I tell Harriet Jones to go and stuff herself. That was the first scene we ever shot." Piper notes of Tennant and her previous co-star Chris Eccleston, "They're different men. ... Both great. I had a longer kiss with [Tennant], which I really enjoyed." About their relationship on screen, Tennant says "I think it's like all these relationships, like Mulder and Scully and Moonlighting, you know. Moonlighting jumped the shark when they got together, didn't it? I think you have to be very careful. Which doesn't mean to say that we don't see the relationship developing and becoming something that it maybe hasn't before. But I think you have to be very careful with those things." Piper says, "It's very cool being in Vogue. I like that. It's an exciting time for me to be alive and then to do something that I've wanted to do since I've been a kid. That means so much to me. And being here tonight and watching it. I just can't quite believe that it's all really happened and I'm really liking it and loving it and want to continue to do it for years. All of those things are just a bonus, really. The fact that I'm working everyday as an actress makes me really happy." Tennant says of the English accent he's donned, "It was what Russell had schemed, really, and there was an idea that the Doctor would imprint on Rose, like a sort of newly hatched chick. He would adopt Rose's way of speaking. And this was all explained in the Christmas special... The scene never got made because we ran out of time. So we're just sort of left with it now. I don't know. It's how Russell wanted to take the show and it's how he wanted the Doctor to be. ... Because Chris so brilliantly reinvented it by being Northern and being unashamed about that, it could have got a bit 'touring the regions', you know. But you're going to have to ask Russell what the thinking was behind that. ... You feel like the new boy until you start, because there was months of build up, months of waiting for it to start, months of people speculating about it and asking you about it and asking what you're going to be like and what you're going to be wearing – you didn't know." As for Tennant staying with the show, he says "Well, if I survive the end of episode 13." On Elisabeth Sladen, Tennant says, "It's interesting how the episode works, I think. If you know about Sarah Jane Smith, you kind of watch the episode from the point of view of the Doctor. And if you are younger or don't know that Lis Sladen was in the show before, you kind of watch it through Rose. And funnily enough, that was reflected in our own experience, because I grew up watching Lis in the show." Piper says that of herself and Sladen, "We have a great bitch-fight. And, it starts off... I mean, we're just waiting to go at each other. And we're both quite jealous, I think, which we find it quite hard to cope with... but we're straight in there. And it's good. And in the end Rose actually asks her questions about what it was like being with the Doctor and should she stay on as a companion. Is she going to be burnt? Is she going to be left behind? All of these things. She confides in her. So it was nice, nice to play."

Yahoo News takes something else away from the SFX Interview: "He gets to travel through time and kiss Billie Piper - but David Tennant has hinted that playing Doctor Who was not quite what he thought it would be. The Scottish actor, 34, has been a Doctor Who 'junkie' since his childhood. As a teenager, he wrote an essay about his addiction to the show and queued to meet former time-traveller Tom Baker. It was watching the sci-fi show in its early days that made the young Tennant decide to become an actor. But asked whether the reality of playing the TV icon matched the picture Tennant had imagined, he said: 'What I realised when I came to do this was that any sort of fantastic notions one might have had about this, were just that - fantastic notions.' He told SFX magazine: 'When you have to come and make real decisions about it, it's a different thing. Actors often say that the best bit about getting a job is a phone call that says you've got it, because at that moment it is all potential, and it could be anything. It's all possibilities, and as soon as you start making decisions it starts becoming reality, which is never as much fun.' Tennant also promised that the Doctor's relationship with Rose, played by Piper, would hot up in the second series. ... He said: 'It's a love story without the shagging! I think, it's explored quite deeply (in series two), certainly more deeply than any Doctor assistant relationship has been to this point ... It's great.'" Also reported on the ic Network of news feeds and in the Scotsman and This Is London.

The Sunday Mirror says that "The man who revived Dr Who says the inspiration behind his most ghoulish alien character was..film star Nicole Kidman. Writer Russell T. Davis he says he got the idea for villain Lady Cassandra - who exists only as a layer of skin with a brain tank attached - after watching the stick-thin beauty arrive at the Oscars. He feels it's wrong for Cold Mountain star Nicole, 38, to be so scrawny. 'Cassandra came about after I watched the Oscars,' he told the Sunday Mirror. 'It was horrific seeing those beautiful women reduced to sticks. Nicole Kidman struck me in particular. 'Nicole is one of the most beautiful women in the world. But she looks horrifying because she's so thin. 'It's like we're killing these women in public. We watch while you die.'"

People

Leeds Today on Saturday noted that 'former timelord Christopher Eccleston beamed his way into Leeds. The man, who played Doctor Who in the last series of the revived BBC show, was in the city for the launch of the First Floor project -- helping youngsters develop their acting skills. First Floor, which is being developed by West Yorkshire Playhouse, will provide a permanent arts facility for young people to take part in activities, including drama workshops, storytelling and dance. The star of numerous TV programmes and films including Shallow Grave, is patron of the scheme. 'I am very excited to be here to see the beginnings of what is going to be a very valuable project,' he said. 'I know how much myself and others from my background would have benefited from a much earlier exposure to the arts because as a 20-year-old halfway through drama school training in London, I struggled with seeing myself as belonging in the arts.'"

icWales says that "David Tennant may be the housewives' favourite, but it's Billie Piper who gets sent knickers in the post! Piper, who revives her role as Doctor's assistant Rose in the new series of Doctor Who, revealed all to Roast at the launch of the second BBC One series this week. 'I have had some ladies knickers in the post,' confessed Piper at Tuesday's party at the Wales Millennium Centre, where the first episode of the sci-fi fave was premiered. And her confession left her Casanova co-star red-faced, saying: 'I can only dream of women's knickers in the post.' But despite losing out, Tennant said he was chuffed to be voted a gay icon. The 34-year-old Scot was recently named the Pink Paper's 'sexiest man in the universe' in its annual poll, ahead of Brad Pitt and David Beckham. But despite setting men's pulses racing, Tennant says the only thing he gets sent are scarves. 'Somebody sent me a Tom Baker scarf. It had the right colours and everything, it is quite weird but lovely that someone spends all that time knitting it.' And on his gay icon status, he said: 'How can you react to something like that? If you start playing up to it you would immediately become less attractive to the people who thought you were attractive in the first place. It's flattering to come ahead of Brad Pitt and Beckham. It's a mystery to me but I am very proud of it.'"

Sunday's Guardian Weekend magazine Fashion section featured David Tennant, although he gives no info on the new series. 'As Casanova he donned flouncy blouses, as Dr Who he gads about the cosmos in Converse trainers, but what does actor David Tennant like to wear? Hadley Freeman finds out.' The article was accompanied with various photos of Tennant in different garments.

Miscellaneous

Media Guardian asks, "Has Doctor Who lost out to snobbery? Let me first of all acknowledge that this might appear as a most outrageous piece of corporate cross-promotion. But it wouldn't worry the BBC, so here goes. On this week's MediaGuardian podcast (available at an online iTunes store near you) lead writer Russell T Davies and BBC drama commissioner Jane Tranter complain about how Doctor Who is being treated by awards juries. Davies puts a perceived lack of nominations down to 'snobbery', contrasting the enthusiasm of ordinary viewers with industry attitudes. He says it makes him 'angry' and that if the show doesn't win some craft awards he will be 'furious'. Tranter says she is 'very disappointed' and goes on to liken making popular drama to having children - in that 'you must give and never expect to receive'. Serious stuff and no doubt there is something in what they say about the attitudes of fellow professionals. But what this little outburst really illustrates is something about the BBC in general and the drama department in particular. The BBC had historically been the home of some outstanding popular drama - All Creatures Great and Small, Bergerac, as well as Boys from the Blackstuff to name but a few. But from the late 1980s onwards BBC drama was cast into the shadows by rampantly successful ITV fare - Heartbeat, Cracker, Morse, Peak Practice, Prime Suspect, and it took on a tendency to be serious and often dark. Popular drama came to be regarded with great suspicion as akin to scraping the bottom of the barrel in search of ratings. Even the word 'popular' was frowned on. It is one of the reasons that Nick Elliott - ITV's controller of drama and one of the past masters of creating the kind of very high quality popular programming the BBC needed - only had a short stint at the corporation. But the flipside of the dominant 'snooty'culture was a kind of crusading, 'chippy' solidarity amongst those committed to the cause of popular programmes. Mal Young - ex of Brookside - was initially regarded as a barbarian invader when he became a senior executive at BBC drama. But he plugged away, kept EastEnders and Casualty in rude health, launched Holby City and went on to champion Daziel and Pascoe, Judge John Deed and Waking the Dead. Meanwhile others were creating Spooks, Hustle and other quality dramas unashamed about being popular. The fact is, BBC drama has been almost completely reinvented, not least through the efforts of Tranter, and now stands some way ahead of much of the competition in terms of popularity and quality. Having chaired the Bafta jury for drama series this year, I must say that the overall quality of entries (including Doctor Who) was fantastically high and that I can't imagine BBC drama ever having had a stronger slate. There really is widespread appreciation of how far BBC drama has travelled. I can also say that I did not detect the faintest hint of snobbery amongst the jurors but if you look at the shortlist of nominees you will see that we were spoilt for choice."

The Sunday Mail has a contest in cooperation with BBC Magazines: "To celebrate the launch of the new Doctor Who Adventures magazine, we've arranged a fantastic contest with BBC Magazines to give signed Doctor Who merchandise to five budding time travellers. Just write your own Dr Who story and you could win prizes signed by the Doctor (David Tennant), Rose (Billie Piper) and series writer Russell T. Davies. Each lucky winner will receive a copy of the first Doctor Who Adventures magazine, a DVD box set of the first series, a Doctor Who electronic board game and the Doctor Who Annual. Two runners-up will win a six-month mag subscription. ... Just send us a short story based on Doctor Who to: Dr Who Contest, Fun On Sunday, Sunday Mail, One Central Quay, Glasgow, G3 8DA, to arrive by April10. The five winning stories selected by our judges win the first prizes. The next two receive a six-month subscription to the Doctor Who Adventures magazine. Editor's decision is final."

The Daily Star proposed "some female candidates for The Doctor we'd like to see on screen" this weekend. Among the choices proposed as the Doctor by the paper (remember, last week Russell T Davies said he wouldn't be opposed) were Charlotte Church ("Voice of an Angel would be a sound hit in the Tardis"), Sigourney Weaver ("Russell T. Davies has already admitted he's a fan"), Angelina Jolie ("Would definitely give the ratings a massive boost. Brad could have a role"), Davina McCall ("A bit of a disaster with her chat show, so maybe she would like a trip in the Tardis"), Kiera Knightley ("Hottest young Brit actress would become an even bigger star") and even Billie Piper ("It would stretch the imagination a bit, but maybe Rose could somehow morph into the Doc").

The Sunday Telegraph features an article written by a fan as a set visit to the filming of the upcoming series two episode Tooth and Claw. "Transported five years into the future (by fearful imagination rather than the Tardis), I am wondering whether my newly truculent teenage son will remember that his father once took him to the set of Doctor Who, and so hate me that little less for helping bring him into the world. For the present, Louis is eight and anything but truculent at the sight of a young woman in dungarees entering a room inhabited by a dozen production staff huddled around minuscule television monitors. 'Ooh, ooh, oooooh, look, quick, it's Rose! Here. In the room. Rose! With us. Rose Tyler!' arises a counter-tenor squeal. 'For goodness sake, it's Billie Piper, not Rose Tyler,' comes the instant rebuke, 'and Dad, will you please shut up and stop embarrassing me.' Billie wanders over and welcomes Louis to the set of 'Tooth and Claw' (the second episode of the new Doctor Who series, which starts on Easter Saturday), with a handshake, a grin and a cheery 'Hello darling, you all right?' All right? We're in heaven, both of us, albeit the gauche, mumbling, foot-shuffling, face-reddening heaven of the grievously star-struck. If Billie Piper's progress from teeny pop star to world-class actress seems remarkable, it is probably less so than the regeneration of the series itself, after almost two decades in a state doubtless known to its nerdsome fans as cryogenic stasis. ... The BBC is naturally loath to give much away, but the episode we have come to watch filmed on this crisp morning involves the use, by malevolent monks (doubtless aliens in disguise), of a werewolf in a typically audacious bid at global domination. Queen Victoria, who happens to be visiting this red-brick pile on her way to Balmoral, is in grave peril. For once Her Majesty - in the form of a black-clad Pauline Collins - seems highly amused. What, I facetiously ask, is her motivation? 'My motivation,' she smilingly replies, 'is pretending to be Queen Victoria.' Collins is making a hurried return to the series, she explains, having appeared 'wearing long knickers' in a Patrick Troughton episode in the late 1960s. It's safe to declare that the production values have changed in the intervening 38 years. Where in the past episodes looked like they'd been filmed in two hours on a couple of wobbly camcorders, the process now seems as laboriously perfectionist as a medium-budget movie, and in the eight hours we spend on set only a few minutes of film are recorded. The atmosphere throughout, however, is extraordinarily jolly, thanks largely to the presence of a tall, skinny and endlessly good-humoured man in a brown-and-white striped suit and white pumps. 'David Tennant's coming over,' Louis warns me. 'Please, Dad, don't do your I'm-just-as-old-as-the-Doctor speech. It's very boring, and anyway you're 42, not 900.' ... Tennant appears to be that most precious of beings, the wholly unactorly actor who is entirely at ease with obsessive fans. After lunch in a double-decker bus parked in the grounds of the house, which doubles up as a museum of Victoriana, a middle-aged woman wanders over. 'Excuse me, I'm looking for the Morgan Room,' she says, apparently mistaking him for a tour guide, and he couldn't be more helpful. Later, a couple of theatre buffs sidle up for an autograph. When they mention having seen him on stage, he drops into a pastiche of the queeny theatrical egomaniac, inviting them to agree how simply marvellous he was. ... 'I think he's going to be the best Doctor ever, even better than Eccleston,' Louis whispers when the director is finally satisfied. Rather than the usual second-guessing of a potential audience with endless market research, the BBC has gone back decades by giving absolute creative control to people who evidently love what they are doing. It helps, of course, that Russell T. Davies, the executive producer as well as chief writer, is a rampant genius. His scripts work as well for adults as for children, seamlessly combining wit, pathos, emotional depth and cracking story lines with innate mastery of the sci-fi genre, shards of political satire, the odd slice of homosexual self-parody and a very cute way with ersatz mythologising ('Do you know what they call me in the ancient legends of the Dalek home world?' Eccleston's Doctor asks the titanium pepper pots. 'The Oncoming Storm'). The technical crew are just as passionate as Davies. Upstairs in the art department, a group of Doctor Who nuts (all male, though not all bearded) are hunched blissfully over Apple Macs refining the next tranche of monsters, most notably the new look, bulked-up Cybermen. The room is full of odd bits and bobs - telescopes, sextants, radar equipment - bought from a junk-shop owner who seems to have cornered the market in the broken-up contents of disused plane and boat cockpit consoles. 'Would you like me to show you the Tardis?' asks the head designer. 'The Tardis? Nah, I don't think we can be bother ...' A small hand interrupts my idiocy with a well-deserved pinch and we are led downstairs to the large studio that houses the time ship in its newly organic, petrified forest manifestation. Outside the room stands a Dalek, the one that took its own life in the last series after subsuming Rose's DNA and finding itself unable to cope with the loneliness of being the only one of its kind. Further along the wall is the Face of Boa, a huge, glass-encased leonine head believed to be as old as time itself, and scheduled for an important return in the spring. How could any devoted fan not yield to over-excitement on such a day as this? 'Thank you so much, that was wicked, totally totally wicked,' exclaims a squeaky voice as we shake hands with Billie Piper and David Tennant back at the house. 'Dad, please,' insists a more mature one as we leave them and the Queen Empress to their werewolf. Somehow, though, for all the embarrassment, I doubt he'll forget."

Australia's INS News says, "How sad it's been decided the legendary Dr Who has to be 'raunchy'. It has always captured the imagination of the young and the old without snogging scenes from Billie Piper and Casanova star David Tennant. The steamy scenes occur when the Tardis lands on a new planet in episode one. I suppose it's a sign of the times, however I do feel that longstanding programmes like Dr Who should stick with the same format. If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Joking Apart, the early 1990's TV series written by Doctor Who writerSteven Moffat, will be released on May 22 on DVD, according to theJoking Apart fan site.

The latest issue of BBC's It's Hot magazine (Issue 50) is running a text poll: 'Do you prefer the new Doctor (David Tennant) to the old one (Christopher Eccleston)? Text HOT WHO to 80402 followed by YES or NO.' The magazine also has one page of 5 behind-the-scenes pictures (scan attached). It also has a one-page advert for the Doctor Who Adventures magazine with Rose at the forefront and the tag line: 'Not your average girl next door', plus 'Catch Rose's amazing adventures with the Doctor every two weeks! Doctor Who Adventures magazine is packed with the latest Who gossip, amazing time travel, stunning posters, and has a fab comic strip too. It's one big adventure you'll just love.'

Yesteray's Telegraph says that "There was a time not so long ago when the only British television programmes Americans knew or cared about were Monty Python's Flying Circus, The Benny Hill Show and the occasional costume drama shown so late at night that only insomniacs watched. But now, judging by the column inches currently devoted to British television in serious newspapers, there's a big chunk of America that's as au fait with British TV as we are with the plotlines in 24 and Will & Grace. Indeed, on a recent trip to America I spent much of my time answering questions such as: 'Is the second series of Nighty Night as dark as the first?', 'Is Joan Collins really in Footballers' Wives?' and, my favourite, 'Is the new Doctor Who [as played by Christopher Eccleston] really gay?' ... The Russell T Davies-penned incarnation with Christopher Eccleston has taken this BBC drama from nerdy cult to mainstream hit. Shown on Sci-Fi Channel. 'Affectionate, ironic, the show has an essential silliness' - New York Times."

icWales says that Wales "has become a beacon for new film and television projects. Lighting rigs, cameras, directors and A-list stars are now regular sights as the film industry realises the urban settings and sprawling countryside of Wales equals celluloid heaven. Already a host of major films have started filming in and around South Wales, with more international stars due to arrive later this year. Doctor Who star David Tennant said Wales was a perfect alternative to overused locations like London. 'In London people are so hacked off with film crews, they've no time for them,' he said. 'But one of the great things about filming in Wales is everyone is so pleased to see us.' ... Doctor Who has proved filming in Wales can be a big business. The second series alone gave jobs to a 200-strong mostly Welsh crew bringing revenue to South Wales and it has spawned a spin-off, Torchwood due to be filmed exclusively in Cardiff. Writer and producer for Doctor Who Russell T Davies said the success of the show has definitely brought more jobs to Wales. He is proud of the landscape. He said, 'I feel honour bound to show the country.'" Also, News Wales has created a map of film projects in Wales.

The home page of GMTV home page is currently running a 'Whose your favourite Dr Who' poll. As at 9.50am BST today, the Time Lords' scores were Tom Baker at 25%, Christopher Eccleston at 22%, David Tennant at 22%, Other at 18% and Jon Pertwee at 13%.

(Thanks to Paul Engelberg, Steve Tribe, Peter Weaver, Benjamin McKenzie, Steve Jones, Greg Dunn, Aidan Brack)

The trailer for Series Two of Doctor Who made its debut this weekend in the UK. It originally debuted at 6.58pm on Saturday on BBC One in a one-minute version, which was simultaneously put online at the official Doctor Who websiteand was then shown once each by BBC Two, BBC Three and BBC Four through the evening. A shorter version of 40 seconds debuted on BBC One on Sunday morning, while a 20-second edit was first screened on BBC One at 8.59pm on Sunday. The full version is due to be shown again before EastEnders this Monday evening (just before 8pm). (Thanks to Steve Tribe)

Today's Media Guardian has two podcasts of interviews with David Tennant, Billie Piper, Russell T Davies and BBC drama head Jane Tranter, all conducted at Tuesday evening's press launch. The accompanying report concentrates on Davies' "anger" at the "snobbery" of the Royal Television Society and BAFTA for the relative lack of nominations for Doctor Who. "You watch a Charles Dickens adaptation and you're clapping [at] all those antique lace collars, but if you watch a bird woman from the 57th century you don't imagine that someone put two weeks' thought and work into it," Davies said. His criticism concerns the lack of recognition for the talents and efforts of the actors and the crew: "you always sounds a bit stupid raging about awards, they don't matter in the end - but if our design, costume, makeup and effects departments aren't nominated [in the Bafta Craft Awards] I will be furious." Jane Tranter comments that "there is something about Doctor Who that is so effortlessly entertaining that it just doesn't show its colours in terms of quite how brilliant a piece of drama it is ... [unlike] a classic adaptation ... Doctor Who hides the talent and the expertise that's put into it." The Tennant/Piper podcast on the Guardian is the whole of the open Q&A from the press launch; in it, "Mine's for three series." It's at that moment that Tennant observes that "Mine [his contract] is not as simple as that."

The Daily Telegraph, meanwhile, is more concerned with kissing. The first UK newspaper to fret about the implications of Russell T Davies' sexuality for the series in 2003 is now worried that the Doctor and his companion "are being forced into silly roles". This "is the latest in a long line of ludicrous adjustments forced on our favourite characters by PC modernisers"; fans of the series must be feeling "betrayed by a kiss". The prospect of "an enforced sex change" for the Doctor, referring to Davies' comments at the press launch that he would consider casting a female lead, would be part of a trend to follow "political correctness" in "updating" popular characters for "modern sensibilities"; "bisexual" Captain Jack is also part of this trend. Towards the end of the article, DWM editor Clayton Hickman is quoted pointing out that "the time-travelling pair kiss only because one of them is possessed by an evil alien".

BBC Radio Wales has an interview with David Tennant and Billie Piper, recorded at the press launch on Tuesday evening. The interview previews the new series and the first episode in particular, and includes a few clips that have not been broadcast elsewhere so beware (minor) spoilers. The piece can be heard via a report on BBC Wales's Doctor Who mini-site. In the printed article, it states that "Tennant revealed he'd be battling foes old and new in this series, including the Cybermen and a race of cat-nun women, with guest stars including Peter Kay, Pauline Collins and Tony Head. But he said the strangest of all was starring with Elisabeth Sladen, who played one of the Doctor's companions in the 1970s. 'It's a bit surreal,' Tennant confessed. 'When I was a kid she was on the TV playing Sarah Jane Smith. When she's suddenly calling me Doctor, it's a bit of an out of body experience.' He was delighted with the reception the cast and crew had received on location in Wales. 'It's such a joy to be filming here - everybody here has been so enthusiastic and so indulgent of us that we have a really lovely time. So I'd like to thank the people of Cardiff for putting up with us blocking their roads and asking them to go round the long way while we film scenes!'"

Lifestyle Extra says taht "Many lifetimes of time travel and fighting Daleks seem to have finally taken it's toll on Dr Who - leaving him only five inches tall. The Time Lord, who crash-landed his Tardis back onto TV screens last year in a triumphant return has been turned into toy action figure. The figure of 10th Doctor, played by David Tennant, sports a distinctly modern look in his pinstriped suit and plimsolls. Male fans are also in for a treat as they can now own a poppet-sized figurine of the Doctor's helper Rose Tyler, played by the beautiful Billie Piper. The action figures have been developed by toy licensee, The Character Group plc in partnership with the BBC to mark Series 2 of the show going on air this spring. The wildly eccentric new Doctor and Rose are just two of twelve 5" figures that are either in stores now or being launched over the next few months. Also available will be the Doctor in his trademark long coat with sonic screwdriver, the Slitheen and the evil Sycorax Leader from the Christmas Invasion, teamed up with companion of past adventures K-9. Following on are the last human, Lady Cassandra O'Brien and the blue-skinned Moxx of Balhoon. just two of the new figures to be launched nearer the summer. Jerry Healy, from Character said: 'Last year Doctor Who products proved extremely popular with both young audiences and die hard enthusiasts. This new range of figures looks set to build on that. As well as the new-look Doctor, we're expecting huge interest in the new K-9 action figure, from fans of the series from the Seventies as well as the current day. A whole generation fondly remember K-9 as an ever-faithful companion to the Doctor.'"

The Christian publication World Magazine says of the US broadcast that "Christopher Eccleston plays the ninth Doctor with the wit and manic energy of the 1970s' Tom Baker, though with shorter hair and a more restrained wardrobe than the other Doctors. (In the series, the Doctor "regenerates" whenever the character is killed or a new actor is hired.) The old series was beloved for its low-budget special effects. In the new episodes, the production values are much higher, but with some cheesiness for old time's sake. When a mysterious entity brings the world's plastic to life, the characters fight department store mannequins. When they pull an arm off of the plastic dummy, they then wrestle the arm. The Doctor defeats the menace with a vial of "Anti-Plastic." The show is simultaneously humorous and serious. One episode has the Doctor and his companion Rose go 5 billion years into the future to witness the explosion of the sun. Here they meet the last human being, evolved into a square of skin with eyes and a mouth stretched out on a frame, hooked to a brain in a jar. Worldviews are rather scrambled in Doctor Who, but there is no sex, bad language, or gore—just weird stuff that might scare or confuse a young viewer. Like Narnia's wardrobe, the Doctor's vehicle has an inside bigger than the outside. Just like the human mind."

Today's print edition of The Guardian asks "What is it with all these nicknames?" and then parodies "a leaked memo circulated among executive producers at the BBC" that it says "reveals some major concerns" about Doctor Who. "1 Girls can't do maths or read maps - surely insurmountable problems when applied to the calculations in 17 dimen sions that a Time Lord must habitually make. Also, cannot afford to spend entire pre-credits sequence waiting for her to park the Tardis. 2 Not keen on whole episodes set in Ikea watching her pick out perfect window treatments for her interplanetary home. Or fretting about ageing effects of time travel. Retinol A must remain name of satellite Gallifreyan moon, not anti-wrinkle cream. 3 Doctor must be eccentric. Can women be eccentric without being covered in cat hair and/or smelling of wee? Research how. 4 Cannot afford necessary pre-launch campaign explaining to Whovians what a woman is. 5 Hierarchical problems. Doctor needs mentally and physically inferior sidekick to be afraid of Cybermen/ stretchy-faced Penelope Wilton/glowy-headed fat people. If Who is female, will need to cast six-year-old boy (or rather 800 of them, because they can't work for more than 10 minutes at a time without some bleeding-heart waving child labour legislation at us - talk to Stephen Daldry if you don't believe me) or tin of Spam. Check whether there is Spam rights group. If so, investigate availability of Jimmy Krankie. Could be years before they sort out what we can and can't do with him. Her. God, this messes with your head. 6 Metaphysical problems. Doctor is same person, regeneration provides new body only. Reincarnating as female suggests feminine aspect has existed all along. Might mark series as camp? 7 Aesthetic problems. Doctor historically not been in any danger of being mistaken for Michaelangelo's David. Tom Baker nice chap but face like a bag of pork chops and Sylvester McCoy frankly disturbing. As ugly women now shot on sight at television auditions, how to cast? Go with Claire Goose and throw acid in her face? (Call her agent.) 8 Insurmountable problem - Time Lady just sounds wrong. 9 On the other hand, we've got to find something to do with Davina McCall."

There is currently a poll running at the US TV Guide magazine site for the favorite new mid-season drama. Doctor Who currently is in second place at 22%, following "The Unit" (42%) and trailed by NBC's "Heist" at 15%, ABC's "The Evidence" at 13% and "Thief" at 6%.

There's more coverage of the press launch (with nothing new added), the TARDISODES and the "kiss" stuff from last night and today at Now Playing Mag, TV Squad, News.com.au, Evening Times, The Stage, Sky Showbiz,Digital Spy, The Register, TechDigest, SyFyPortal,Starpulse, INS News, Indian Television, Contact Music.

(Thanks to Steve Tribe, Paul Engelberg, Peter Weaver, Scott Matthewman, Bill Albert)

The BBC Press Office has this afternoon issued a second press release to promote the imminent launch of Doctor Who Adventures, the new children's comic from BBC Magazines. It says that "the first issue will feature a Doctor Who themed 6-piece stationery set and readers will also have the chance to win a life-size dalek. ... Moray Laing, Assistant Editor, Doctor Who Adventures said: 'Doctor Who Adventures is big, bright and bold, like the series itself. There's something exciting on every page for young Doctor Who fans, who will be immersed in their very own time travel adventure. In the first issue there is a cut-out-and-keep guide to the Daleks and fans can make their own Slitheen mask, perfect for scaring friends!'" Of note is the promise of heavy promotion in the shops, with "point of sale merchandise including shelf wobblers, shelfbarkers and posters. The magazine has also achieved strong listings in all of the key retailers, with the launch issue being heavily promoted." A larger version of the cover is also now available, courtesy a mailing sent to us from the publishers; click on the thumbnail at right for a larger version.

The BBC Press Office has this morning released official confirmation that Series Two will begin on BBC One in the week beginning Saturday 15 April... but still says that the episode is "unplaced" in BBC1's schedule. The report also features a synopsis of "New Earth," the first episode, which we feature below (including a mix-up in the press release regarding actress Camille Coduri). Interestingly, on BBC1's schedule, Strictly Dance Fever is shown as running from 6.15 to 7.15pm on Easter Saturday; a live football match has been confirmed elsewhere as scheduled for 5.15pm on BBC One the following week, which is likely to run until 7.15pm (at least). It may be that 'New Earth' will launch the series in a slightly later timeslot than last year; we'll keep you posted.

There have been a couple of changes to BBC Three's schedules over the next fortnight, along with more details of the content of the Doctor Who Night on Sunday 9 April. The reruns of Series One will still begin with two double bills (episodes 1 to 4) from 7pm on Thursday 6 April and Friday 7 April, but 'World War Three' has now moved to Saturday 8 April at 7.10pm. The double bills resume with episodes 6 and 7 on Monday 10 April and conclude with episodes 13 and 14 on Thursday 13 April. (See list below.)

The Doctor Who Night on Sunday 9 April is comprised of Doctor Who Confidential: One Year On, a repeat of The Christmas Invasion, and another showing of 2003's documentary The Story of Doctor Who

There will also, as in 2005, be another airing of 1960s Peter Cushing movieDr. Who and the Daleks on BBC Two ahead of the new series; this year, the film is on Thursday 13 April at 11.10am.

Advance listings guides are also showing a CBBC repeat of the first Totally Doctor Who for 6.30pm on Friday 14 April. This contradicts the information given in the latest DWM (which suggested Saturday evenings as the likely time for a repeat), but may not reflect the final schedules. The premier of the new children's series is confirmed for BBC One at 5pm on Thursday 13 April.

The updated schedule, along with the US airings of Doctor Who on the Sci-Fi Channel, are now on the Outpost Gallifrey news page's TV schedule in the left-hand column; note that this includes the new series as assumed to be premiering on April 15 at 7pm like noted in Doctor Who Magazine, although as stated in the news story below, this seems to be a bit up in the air as of today. (Thanks to Steve Tribe for compiling this information)