David Tennant made one of his regular guest appearances on the Christian O'Connell Breakfast Show on Absolute Radio on 21st December, again starring in the show's festive performance - this time as the Virgin Mary in their Nativity, Dude, Where's My Donkey? The play was recorded and can be watched in three parts: One; Two; Three.

The actor also made the news for his novel way of deterring foxes from his back garden. [Standard, 21 Dec 2012]

Steven Moffat talked about his rituals over Christmas (as well as watching Doctor Who of course!). For example, on the subject of the inevitable requirements to put things together: "Sue will tell me to assemble something. Maybe just put batteries into some toys. And I'll sit on the floor with a screwdriver, and do my Daddy thing. Slowly, by degrees, it becomes a compulsion. I find more and more things to assemble. And then I need more and more! I'm rummaging in the bins, trying to find the instruction manuals among all the scarves and Sue's new jewellery. They start calling me for Christmas lunch, but "No!" I cry. "Just one more thing. I need to assemble just one more thing!" Then I'm breaking into the boys’ Lego kits and putting them together like a crazed junkie, destroying weeks of fun at a stroke. Somehow, though, before I can make it to Ikea to demand flatpacks at gunpoint, Sue will manage to get me to the dinner table to eat with the family." [Standard, 21 Dec 2012]

The recent series of Pointless Celebrities in the lead-up to Christmas - hosted as always by Alexander Armstrong - saw a number of Doctor Who-related actors and actresses taking part in the quiz. Nicholas Parsons appeared in episode eight, though he and partner Rick Wakeman were unable to win through to the final. However, former companion actress Bonnie Langford did reach the final with partner Todd Carty, though they were unable to find the pointless answer they needed to win the prize money for their charities. Likewise, the final episode of the series saw the pairing of two stalwart character actors Derek Martin and Graham Cole also make it to the final but fail to be pointless!

BBC Radio One DJ Reggie Yates presented his last edition of The Official Chart on 23rd December. He has been at the BBC for some ten years, and presented the chart show on Sunday evenings for the last five. Future projects include a new documentary series for BBC Three.

Karen Gillan has published a photo of her and co-star Brenton Thwaites during filming for her upcoming movie Oculus. [Karen Gillan via Twitter, 23 Dec 2012]

Louise Jameson goes on tour in January and February with the adult-themed play My Gay Best Friend. She will be appearing at The Lass O'Gowrie in Manchester on Saturday 5th January, Hull Truck Theatre on Thursday 24th and Friday 25th January, The Old Town Hall in Hemel Hempstead on Tuesday 12th February, Harrow Arts Centre on Wednesday 13th February, and The Under Ground Theatre in Eastbourne on Thursday 14th February. Jameson will also be appearing in Pulling Faces at The Berry Theatre in Hedge End on Friday 8th February. Again, this production has adult themes. [louisejameson.com]

New Year Honours List:

Michael Cashman has been made a CBE - Commander of the Order of the British Empire - for public and political service. The former actor played Bilton in Time-Flight but became more widely known as an actor for his role as Colin Russell in EastEnders. He is now a Labour MEP for the West Midlands and was a co-founder of Stonewall.

As an aside, the singer-songwriter Kate Bush has also been made a CBE, with her honour being given for services to music - for many years a fan myth persisted that she had written both Kinda and Snakedance under the pseudonym of Christopher Bailey - something the real Bailey found quite amusing!

Jenna-Louise Coleman was a guest on BBC Breakfast this morning, chatting about her impending arrival as Clara in tomorrow's The Snowmen, and how this relates to her previous appearance back in September, in Asylum of the Daleks:
In a pre-recorded interview with entertainment correspondent Liza Mzimba, she said:

Talking about the interaction between her character and the Doctor, she said:
Matt Smith mentioned the relationship between the two to Lizo:
Matt Smith was interviewed in The Independent, where he also commented on the new relationship:
He also explained a little more about the Doctor's grief at the start of the episode:

Videos:

Lizo Mzimba's preview of The Snowmen is available to watch on the BBC News website. The BBC have also released an interview with Matt and Jenna as part of their Adventure Calendar.

A roundup of coverage for The Snowmen that has taken place in the past week or so - please note that what follows below includes some plot details that might be considered spoilers.

Interviews:

Steven Moffat was a guest on the Simon Mayo Drivetime show on BBC Radio Two on Monday. Talking about Doctor Who's appeal on Christmas Day, he felt the show's accessibility as a "shared live viewing experience" was a great benefit:
Talking about an initially melancholy Doctor in the episode, he explained:
The full interview is currently available to listen to via a BBC podcast (from 12:50) until Monday.

Ahead of the press screening on Tuesday evening, Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman popped into the BBC Radio One Breakfast Show hosted by Nick Grimshaw. The duo chatted about their recent trip to New York and Jenna's arrival in the show (1:36:45), and later answered listeners' questions (1:52:55, and a clip is available to watch via the BBC iPlayer and YouTube).

Matt later appeared on ITV1's This Morning (after the first ad break), hosted by Philip Schofield and Holly Willoughby - the first time he'd appeared on the show. He chatted about his inspirations for the character of the Doctor, the enthusiasm of fans, things he kept from the old TARDIS, and of course not really saying what to expect on Christmas Day! Enthusing about guest star Richard E Grant, he said:

The end of the week was rounded off by an appearance by Matt on The Graham Norton Show, but although this was to promote the Christmas Special, as Matt pointed out:
Recorded last month, the show was still able to treat viewers to a brand new clip featuring the Doctor, Clara and Strax.

Norton mentioned that fellow guests Billy Connolly and Jennifer Saunders had once been suggested as potential Doctors, though the former said it wasn't true and the latter said she started the rumours herself!

Matt was also 'required' to kiss a member of the audience by other guest Dustin Hoffman, which the actor only reluctantly agreed to as his mum was watching! A clip of this exchange is available on YouTube and BBC iPlayer.

UK Press Screening:

The press screening for the episode took place in the evening of 18th December, followed by a Q&A session with Steven Moffat, Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman, during which the adventure and the further adventures next year were discussed.

As seen in the trailer, the Doctor once again gets a firm kiss from his co-star, and speaking at the Q&A of their on-screen "relationship", Matt said:
On the other hand, Jenna responded:

The new TARDIS interior was also discussed, with Steven explaining how it came about:
Inevitably, the question of where the team would travel to in the TARDIS came up:

"The Kiss":

The BBC have released a couple of publicity shots to "cherish" the moment(!):

Media Coverage (United Kingdom):

Reporting on the preview, Catherine Gee of The Telegraph said:
Vicky Frost of The Guardian said:
Jenna explained a little of her character to Neela Debnath from The Independent:
Further coverage of the press screening can be found from the Daily Mail, Evening Standard and Western Mail.

Reviewing the episode, Jonathan Carley of What Culture said:
Simon Brew of Den of Geek concluded:

The Telegraph interviewed Jenna-Louise Coleman while on set last month and chatted about her career leading up to becoming the latest Doctor Who sidekick. In addition, Digital Spy have conducted video interviews with Steven Moffat about writing his third Christmas Special and and how to entice a new audience to the show, and with Matt and Jenna chatting about the Special.

Other general media coverage of The Snowmen include: Daily Mail; Daily Mail(2); The Sun; Independent; Metro; Mirror; Daily Star, and Radio Times.

Media Coverage (United States):

The United States press had their own screening in New York earlier in the month. Alex Zalvin of MTV reported:
Other coverage of the press screening appeared in: Wall Street Journal; io9; Forbes; and Huffington Post.

At an interview held at the BBC America offices (reported by CNN), Jenna was quizzed about her experiences of entering the very public world of Doctor Who:
Jenna also revealed that she had auditioned for the show before, and what her grandmother thought!
As previously reported, Matt and Jenna also undertook a Q&A for BBC America's Doctor Who Tumblr, fielding questions from the social networking community.

With Doctor Who having made the cover of TV Guide this December, the magazine also spoke to the two stars about their first jobs, what they do in their free time, their favourite current and childhood television shows, awkward moments, and what stands out for them in the Christmas Special.

Entertainment Weekly discuss Doctor Who and The Snowmen in their latest InsideTV podcast. Other US-based coverage included: Miami Herald; Tulsa World; San-Antonio Express; and Winston-Salem Journal; Seattle Times.

Bernard Cribbins is a firm supporter of the Surviving Winter campaign, which aims to help reduce isolation and vulnerability for older people. The actor said: "I am 100 per cent behind the campaign and delighted to be supporting it. I am going to donate my winter fuel allowance to support others in Surrey that need additional help during the winter. I encourage others who don't need their allowance to do the same." [Camberley People, 4 Dec 2012]

Having hung up his Merlin breeches, Colin Morgan has no plans to return to Doctor Who: "Well, that box has already been ticked, but I feel very lucky to have been part of that. It was my first filming job really, so it was a great thing to be a part of, but in terms of the future? Probably not." And as the Doctor? "No, I don’t think so!" [Radio Times, 3 Dec 2012]

Matt Smith played host to a fund-raising dinner for the National Youth Theatre on Monday 3rd December; the event, A Shepherd's Delight, was held at The Shepherd's Restaurant in Belgravia. Smith became a patron of the NYT in July. [Daily Mail, 4 Dec 2012]

Karen Gillan, back home in Inverness for Christmas, was invited to present a UNICEF Baby Friendly Award to NHS Highland maternity staff at the city's Raigmore Hospital; the award was in recognition of the education and support they have given to breastfeeding mothers. The actress said: "I knew very little about the benefits of breastfeeding until now. But I am definitely a convert. I have no plans to start a family – I have to find a boyfriend first. It is too early for me to settle down but when I do get broody, I will be following the breast is best advice. I have learned so much here, it has been great research if I have to audition for a nursing or midwife role in the future." [Daily Record, 12 Dec 2012]

David Tennant is to perform festive duties on the Christian O'Connell Breakfast Show this Christmas, and also portray the Virgin Mary in the celebrity nativity play due to be broadcast on 21st December. The presenter said: "David Tennant fans are going to really enjoy seeing his masculine Scottish jaw-line peeking out from under a head-scarf with me on his arm. He’ll need to draw on all his luvvie training to avoid being out-acted by me and Wrighty on the day." The actor has had a long association with O'Connell: he performed in another panto alongside Brian Blessed back in 2006, and has co-hosted the show in the past, too (2009, 2011); O'Connell was also a guest at the actor's wedding last year. [Radio Today, 12 Dec 2012]

Big Finish producer Nicholas Briggs talks about working with the Fourth Doctor, Tom Baker: "Tom's an interesting one, really. All the stories you've heard about him being aggressive about scripts - he's mellowed a lot in his old age, but you do occasionally get a little flash of the old Tom Baker. He can be quite savage to a Director! ...He was suggesting something, you know, to the nth time, and it was quite a crazy suggestion. I said, 'OK Tom, I'm gonna go with that,' and he just said, 'Oh, Nick! I can't tell how happy it makes me when you accept one of my suggestions!" He sounded very moved... he said, 'I was rewriting my will this weekend, and I put something in it for you!' [Chicago Now, 3rd Dec 2012]

Sylvester McCoy talks about almost being Bilbo The Lord of the Rings, and how he came to play Radagast in The Hobbit: "It got down to two actors eventually from quite a few, and I was one of them. Of course the other was the great and glorious Ian Holm. I was a bit disappointed, but I was also quite pleased to be in such great company. So they knew me from that, and so as luck would have it, I was touring with Ian McKellen in King Lear, playing the fool to his king, and we went to New Zealand. And they knew me before, but they were reminded of me again, and they saw Ian and I working on the stage together. I think they must have quite liked that." [LA Times, 3 Dec 2012]

It has been announced that Russell T Davies married his long-term partner Andrew Smith during the course of last week. The couple moved back to the United Kingdom last year so that they could be closer to friends and family after Andrew was diagnosed with cancer. [Anglotopia, 7 Dec 2012]

Strictly Come Dancing judge Bruno Tonioli talks about his love of Doctor Who: "I am absolutely addicted - in fact I dedicated a chapter of my autobiography (to it). When I first came to the UK I didn't understand English at all, so the first show I watched on TV was Doctor Who because you could follow the story and understand it without understanding the language. And I've been addicted since, it gets better and better and better. Unmissable! I am desperate to be in it - I'd pay for it!" [The One Show, 11 Dec 2012]

Former MP Louise Mensch is one of the contributors to the new book, Behind The Sofa: "I always had a sneaking suspicion that everyone in the world loves Doctor Who - well, now I have concrete proof. If I could get all the famous names who contributed to this book into one room, I think it would be the maddest convention ever. Until then, their favourite memories of the programme are preserved for all to see. Plus, everyone who buys a copy will be helping to give hope to the 820,000 people in the UK living with dementia today." [Telegraph, 3 Dec 2012]

The sixth in our occasional series marking the 50th anniversary of events leading to the creation of a true television legend.

The story so far . . .

In the summer of 1962, the BBC commissioned a report into identifying specific science-fiction stories suitable for adapting for television.

The report started events that would lead to the transmission of the first episode of Doctor Who. Today, we examine the career of the man who was to reinvigorate BBC television drama and sow the seeds for an icon of the genre.

If there is one man who can claim to be the true father of Doctor Who, one man without whose inspiration, guidance, and care the series would never have been made, then that man is Sydney Newman, who joined the BBC on Wednesday 12th December 1962, exactly 50 years ago today. A brash, outspoken Canadian, his arrival at the BBC was a shock for an establishment more used to employing products of the country's public schools and university system. He arrived with a distinguished track record of success in production on both sides of the Atlantic, and with a brief to shake up the Corporation's drama department and bring it into the 1960s.

The Early Years:

Sydney Cecil Newman was born in Toronto on 1st April 1917 to a Russian Jewish immigrant father. His interest in art and the movies led him to attempt a career designing film posters, before switching to working in the film industry itself. A trip to Hollywood in 1938 led to an offer from the Walt Disney Company, a role he was unable to take up because of work permit issues. He returned to his native country, and during the Second World War he joined the National Film Board of Canada, first as an editor and later as a producer. He produced many documentaries and propaganda films during the war, and continued to work for the NFB in the post-war era. By 1952 he had produced some 300 short films, many of which were for Canada's government.

His excellence in the field led to him being appointed Supervising Director of Features, Documentaries, and Outside Broadcasts for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) in 1952, where he was involved in producing some of the earliest outside broadcasts on Canadian television, including early episodes of the iconic Hockey Night in Canada and the first Canadian Football League game to be shown on television. Despite having limited experience in drama, he was made Supervisor of Drama Production in 1954, and he used the role to encourage young writers and directors, including William Kotcheff and Arthur Hailey.

Among his productions for CBC was the highly successful Canadian Television Theatre presentations, and his work was being increasingly admired at home and abroad, including in Britain where several of his CBC productions were screened by the BBC. In an interview he explained that it was during a visit to the UK that he realised the kind of drama he wanted to produce when seeing John Osborne's play Look Back In Anger with then Head of BBC TV Drama Michael Barry. However, it was to be Howard Thomas - managing director of one of the new ITV network franchise holders, Associated British Corporation (ABC) - who decided Newman could provide him with the type of contemporary drama he wanted to broadcast, and recruited him to ABC in 1958.

Becoming Head of Drama at ABC, Newman took over the production of the popular Armchair Theatre anthology play series, networked nationally on Sunday evenings to huge audiences and which he insisted should use only original material that had been penned for television. He commissioned plays for the series by writers such as Alun Owen, Harold Pinter, and Clive Exton. Newman also devised a thriller series called Police Surgeon, starring Ian Hendry. Although not a success, Newman used elements from the series, including its star, to create The Avengers, a programme that would go on to achieve international success.

While at ABC, he also produced the children's science-fiction serial Target Luna and its three spin-offs - Pathfinders In Space, then Pathfinders To Mars, and finally Pathfinders To Venus. The four series, comprising 27 episodes, were written by Malcolm Hulke and Eric Paice and centred on the space exploits of the Wedgwood family. Actors who appeared in the different series included Michael Craze, Bernard Horsfall, Gerald Flood, and George Coulouris. The shows aired between April 1960 and April 1961, with the last series being the most ambitious and whose complexity and need to keep videotape editing to a minimum saw the decision made to have live action performed in the electronic studio and visual effects done on film. During the summer of 1961, a sci-fi version of Armchair Theatre was proposed by story editor Irene Shubik, and between June and September 1962 the resulting anthology series Out Of This World was shown, consisting of 13 one-hour dramas, with an extra introductory one - entitled Dumb Martian, produced by Newman - shown in the Armchair Theatre slot six days before Out Of This World started.

Arrival at the BBC:

Newman's success at ITV led to him being head-hunted by the BBC, and in 1961 he was offered the role of Head of Drama by the Corporation's Director of Television, Kenneth Adam. Although he accepted the position, he was forced by ABC to fulfil his contract, finally leaving the commercial network to take up his new appointment in December 1962. In a later interview he stated:


He would spend five years with the BBC, but the influence of his tenure would ripple throughout the decades. While at the Corporation, he would oversee the arrival of new anthology series The Wednesday Play - a BBC equivalent of Armchair Theatre. He employed the likes of Dennis Potter, Jeremy Sandford, and Ken Loach, and under his watch seminal plays such as Cathy Come Home and Up the Junction were produced, tackling serious social issues of the day. Series produced under his aegis included the fantastical, Verity Lambert-produced Adam Adamant Lives!, the first two series of sci-fi anthology drama Out Of The Unknown (both produced by Shubik - now also working at the BBC), and legendary costume drama The Forsyte Saga - which became one of the most acclaimed and popular productions of his era, watched by 100 million people in 26 countries.

But it is for Doctor Who, now approaching its fiftieth anniversary, for which he remains best-known.

Future Head of Drama Shaun Sutton would comment in his book The Largest Theatre In The World:

Post-BBC:

Rather than having his contract renewed, Newman instead left the BBC to pursue a career as a film producer with Associated Film Producers, but no projects were to reach fruition and after being paid off when EMI took over in 1970 he decided to return to Canada.

Back home, he became Acting Director of the Broadcast Programmes Branch at the Canadian Radio-Television Commission, and later that year was appointed Government Film Commissioner and Chairman of the National Film Board of Canada. He continued to have a strong influence in the media, though more in an advisory rather than hands-on role. In 1981 he was awarded the Order of Canada, the country's highest civilian honour.

After the death of his wife, Newman returned to the UK and worked for a time at Channel 4 - and was also asked by BBC1 Controller Michael Grade in 1986 about how to revamp Doctor Who, though this was never taken further. He formally retired back to Canada, where he died of a heart attack in Toronto on 30th October 1997.

The BBC have released a further two interviews with stars of the Christmas Special, The Snowmen, as part of their Adventure Calendar. The short videos are with Richard E Grant, who plays Dr Simeon, and Dan Starkey who reprises his role as the Sontaran Strax.

Other interviews:

The Radio Times features the eponymous Snowman by Raymond Briggs on its cover for this year's legendary Christmas double issue; inside, however, it does feature interviews with Doctor Who's stars Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman about their similarly named The Snowmen!

Smith also discusses his plans to stay with the series for 2013 and its fiftieth anniversary - and how his mother doesn't want him to give up the role! Talking about the influences on his Doctor, the actor said:

Meanwhile, BBC America conducted an online Q&A with the duo during a promotional visit to the United States last weekend, featuring questions that were submitted by the Tumblr community and answered via their official Doctor Who page.

Entertainment Weekly have also recently interviewed Jenna, during which she discussed getting the role, and how she dealt with the two characters Oswin and Clara.

The BBC has released a press pack containing interviews with the main cast of the 2012 Christmas Special, The Snowmen.

Neil Gaiman will be in Tasmania next month as part of the music-and-arts-centred Mona Foma Festival. An Evening With Neil Gaiman is to be held at the Theatre Royal in Hobart on Sunday 20th January. (NB: Although the event is described as being suitable for all ages, explicit language is used in the theatre's web page about the show.)

In addition, Gaiman's urban fantasy TV series Neverwhere, which aired on BBC Two in 1996 and had an accompanying novelisation, is currently being made for BBC Radio 4 and Radio 4 Extra. Adapted by Dirk Maggs, who is also co-directing it, and with a cast that includes Christopher Lee, Bernard Cribbins, Anthony Head, Yasmin Paige, David Harewood, Sophie Okonedo, Don Gilet, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Andrew Sachs, the six-parter is scheduled to be broadcast during the early part of 2013. [neilgaiman.com, 28 Nov 2012]

Sheila Hancock and Lee Evans are to star in a new comedy at Wyndham's Theatre in London next year. Barking In Essex tells the tale of a gangster fresh out of jail and returning to his dysfunctional family to retrieve more than £3.5m. It has been written by Clive Exton and will be directed by Harry Burton, with Evans playing the "dim-witted idiot of the criminal underbelly" Darnley and Hancock playing Emmie, described as Darnley's "Rottweiler mother". The production previews from Friday 6th September, opening on Monday 16th September. [BBC News, 30 Nov 2012]

A new play by David Haig that was due to open at the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh next May before transferring to Chichester Festival Theatre has run into casting problems. Pressure, which is about the meteorologist Captain James Stagg, who had the task of predicting the weather ahead of the D-Day landings in the Second World War, has been postponed until spring 2014 while the search to find "the right person" to play Stagg continues. [The Stage, 30 Nov 2012]

Jessica Hynes and Olivia Colman have both been nominated as Best TV Comedy Actress in this year's British Comedy Awards. Colman has, in fact, been nominated twice - firstly for Rev and secondly for Twenty Twelve, with Hynes's nomination also being for Twenty Twelve. The spoof "mockumentary" about this year's London Olympics, which had a voiceover commentary by David Tennant, is itself up for Best Sitcom against, among others, The Thick Of It, which starred Peter Capaldi, and both Capaldi and Hugh Bonneville are vying for the title of Best TV Comedy Actor for their roles in those two respective shows. Meanwhile, David Mitchell is in the running for Best Male Television Comic and he is also among the nominees for the publicly-voted King and Queen of Comedy. The ceremony will be shown live on Channel 4 on Wednesday 12th December. [BBC News, 2 Dec 2012]

Tamsin Greig and Anne Reid will be among the guest stars appearing in a new darkly comic anthology that has just started filming for BBC Two. Written by Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, the six-part series, which has the working title of Inside No 9, will take a look at what goes on behind closed doors at six very different residences sharing the number 9. [BBC Media Centre, 3 Dec 2012]

Sheridan Smith - companion Lucie Miller to the Eighth Doctor in the Big Finish audio dramas - is to return as mystery-solver Jonathan Creek's sidekick Joey Ross in a new episode of the BBC One crime-comedy-drama. Filming on The Clue of the Savant's Thumb, written by David Renwick, starts later this month, with the 90-minute Jonathan Creek special due to air next Easter. [BBC Media Centre, 5 Dec 2012]

David Tennant has been talking to STV's Moviejuice about his starring roles in the new seasonal film Nativity 2: Danger In The Manger! in which he plays twins Donald and Roderick Peterson. Not only was the film improvised in its entirety, it was also shot in sequence, and Tennant said of the improvisational nature of the film: "It was terrifying. But that's why you do certain things, isn't it? 'I've never done that before, that'll be utterly terrifying – so I'll have a go.'" The film also stars Jessica Hynes as Angel Matthews, Ian McNeice as Mr Peterson senior, and Jason Watkins as Mr Shakespeare. [STV Entertainment, 26 Nov 2012]

Katy Manning will be on tour in the Agatha Christie murder-mystery A Murder Is Announced early next year. Performances are as follows: Thursday 17th to Saturday 19th January: Capitol Theatre, Horsham; Tuesday 22nd to Saturday 26th January: Buxton Opera House; Tuesday 29th January to Saturday 2nd February: The Derby Theatre; Monday 4th to Saturday 9th February: Lincoln Theatre Royal; Tuesday 12th to Saturday 16th February: The Gordon Craig Theatre, Stevenage; Wednesday 27th February to Saturday 2nd March: Haymarket Theatre, Basingstoke; Tuesday 5th to Saturday 9th March: Lyceum Theatre, Crewe.

Meanwhile, Colin Baker will be in the touring production of the Wilkie Collins thriller The Woman In White, starting at The Lighthouse Theatre, Poole, from Tuesday 22nd to Saturday 26th January. From Monday 28th to Thursday 31st January it will be at The Grand Theatre, Blackpool; Thursday 14th to Saturday 23rd February, Lincoln Theatre Royal; Tuesday 26th February to Saturday 2nd March, Garrick Theatre, Lichfield, finishing its run at the Theatre Royal, Windsor, from Monday 4th to Saturday 9th March.

Baker was voted off I'm A Celebrity . . . Get Me Out Of Here! earlier this week. He was the fourth contestant to go. As previously reported, he joined the ITV1 reality show, based in a jungle in Australia, earlier this month.

Bernard Cribbins narrates the CBeebies panto Jack And The Beanstalk, which airs as a simulcast on the CBeebies channel and BBC One on Friday 21st December at 4.30pm. Featuring all the CBeebies presenters, it was performed at The Palace Theatre in Manchester. [BBC Media Centre, 27 Nov 2012]

Sheila Hancock will be among the new celebrity contestants on this year's Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Day special on BBC One, with previous contestant Ann Widdecombe making a guest appearance. [BBC Media Centre, 28 Nov 2012]

David Morrissey has begun filming the second series of BBC Scotland's crime drama Field Of Blood in Glasgow. He plays editor Murray Devlin. Filming will continue until late December, with the thriller to be shown next year. [BBC Media Centre, 29 Nov 2012]

Director Farren Blackburn has his first feature film released in the UK and USA next spring. Hammer Of The Gods, which stars Charlie Bewley and James Cosmo, is set in Britain of 871AD and tells the story of a young Viking warrior sent by his father, the king, on a quest to find his estranged brother, who was banished from the kingdom years earlier. [Bleeding Cool, 27 Nov 2012]

A six-part spy thriller by Toby Whithouse has been commissioned by BBC Cymru Wales for BBC One. Set in the world of 1970s espionage, The Game will tell the story of the invisible war fought by MI5 to protect the nation from the threats of the Cold War. The drama is to be executive-produced by Whithouse, Brian Minchin, and Faith Penhale (head of drama at BBC Cymru Wales). [BBC Media Centre, 30 Nov 2012]

Adam Simmonds, the newly-elected police and crime commissioner for Northamptonshire, wants to see police boxes back on the county's streets. He said: "I would like to bring a focal point back into villages. It's all about putting the police back on to the streets and I would love to be able to put Tardises back in every community." He added that he hoped to work with Northampton-born Matt Smith to launch his Blue Box Initiative. [Northampton Chronicle & Echo, 25 Nov 2012]

In Memoriam:

The actor Roger Hammond has died at the age of 76. A contemporary of Waris Hussein, Derek Jacobi, and Clive Swift at Cambridge University, he trained at RADA and had a varied and accomplished career on the stage and TV as well as in film and on radio. Hammond appeared in three episodes of Doctor Who, firstly as the Elizabethan philosopher, statesman, scientist, author, and jurist Francis Bacon in The Executioners (episode 1 of The Chase) in 1965 and then as Doctor Runciman - the resident physician at Brendon School - in the first and final parts of Mawdryn Undead in 1983. [The Stage obituary by Martin Jarvis, 23 Nov 2012]

The fifth in our occasional series marking the 50th anniversary of events leading to the creation of a true TV legend.

The story so far. In the summer of 1962, the BBC commissioned a report into identifying specific science-fiction stories suitable for adapting for television.

The report started events that would lead to the transmission of the first episode of Doctor Who on Saturday 23rd November 1963, exactly 49 years ago today. Today we examine the TV schedule of 50 years ago.

Exactly one year before Doctor Who started, the BBC was showing Captain Pugwash, the John Ryan cartoon series following the adventures of Captain Horatio Pugwash as he sailed the high seas in The Black Pig, assisted by trusty cabin boy Tom, and pirates Willy, Barnabas and Master Mate. The character had first been seen in the comic The Eagle in 1950, before appearing as a strip in Radio Times. He came to television in 1957, with the voices provided by Peter Hawkins.

Other highlights of the day included a Sid James comedy, the latest in the American series Dr Kildare, starring Richard Chamberlain, and a look at the work of the French actress, singer, screenwriter and director Jeanne Moreau, who had recently been seen in the film Jules and Jim.

Saturday evening saw The Lone Ranger being transmitted in what would become the Doctor Who slot. The episode shown was the final one in the fourth series of the American show. Starring Clayton Moore, it first aired in the States in 1957.

Home-grown entertainment came in the form of Mr Pastry's Pet Shop. Mr Pastry was a bumbling old man with a walrus moustache, who had adventures, partly slapstick, partly comic-dance, with two young friends. He was played by Richard Hearne, who would later be considered for the role of the Fourth Doctor.

Later in the evening, viewers could see the police drama Dixon of Dock Green and highlights from Bertram Mills Circus. Another American series, the Western Laramie, provided the main drama of the evening, with the 1946 psychological thriller The Spiral Staircase taking viewers up to the late news.

The late evening saw the debut of a new satirical series, That Was The Week That Was. Devised, produced and directed by Ned Sherrin and presented by David Frost, the programme - whose theme music was composed by Ron Grainer - would go on to be one of the most influential BBC series of the early Sixties, redefining the relationship between television and the political world. It was also a show that had a particular date with television history ahead of it a year later, when possibly its most famous edition - a shortened, non-satirical tribute to the assassinated US President John F Kennedy - was broadcast on the night of Saturday 23rd November 1963.

On consecutive Thursdays between 8th November and 29th November 1962, the sci-fi serial The Monsters was broadcast by the BBC. Based on a Panorama documentary concerning the Loch Ness Monster, the drama - written by Evelyn Frazer and Vincent Tilsley - centred on a zoologist on honeymoon searching for a similar creature and stumbling upon a bigger mystery to do with humanity's survival. The four 45-to-50-minute episodes were directed by Mervyn Pinfield and the cast included Philip Madoc, Clifford Cox, George Pravda, Clive Morton, Clifford Earl, and Norman Mitchell. The music was by Humphrey Searle, and Bernard Wilkie was one half of the team behind the special effects.

BBC TV's schedule for 23rd and 24th November 1962:

BBC: FRIDAY 23rd November 1962 9.40am - 11.55am: Schools Programming 1pm (Welsh transmitters): Newyddion (Welsh-language news programme) 1.05pm - Heddiw 1.25pm - News 1.30pm - Let's Imagine: Living Under the Sea 2.05pm - Pioneers of Social Change: Number 9 - Lloyd George 2.25pm - Interval 2.30pm - Watch With Mother Closedown... 5pm - Tales of the Riverbank 5.10pm - Captain Pugwash 5.25pm - What's New? 5.50pm - News 6pm - View 6.50pm - Tonight Trevor Philpott reports from Belgium on the problem of language. Part of the country speaks Flemish, the other French, leading to deep divisions, culminating in riots. The Government's solution is a language frontier. Plus, if you're looking for a change of menu this weekend, then maybe Louise Davies has an idea for you. Paella. 7.29pm - Headline News 7.30pm - Adventure: First Look at Africa Series of films taken by world travellers & explorers. The story of an expedition into the regions of Uganda, virtually unknown to man, by a party of English & African students. Narrated by David Parry. 8pm - Dr Kildare 8.50pm - Citizen James: The Jury Comedy series starring Sid James, featuring Sydney Tafler, Walter Hudd and Derek Nimmo. 9.15pm - News Including reports on four British engineers killed in the Hungarian airliner crash in Paris and the murder of George Brinham, a member of the Labour National Executive who was killed in his flat by a 16-year-old boy. 9.25pm - Wednesday's Child, play 10.30pm - Film Profile: Jeanne Moreau Derek Prouse talks to French actress Jeanne Moreau about her career. 11pm - News 11.10pm - Weather: Road Works Report

BBC: SATURDAY 24th November 1962 12.10pm (Welsh transmitters) - Telewele 12.35pm - Newyddion 12.40pm - Public Service announcements 12.45pm - Grandstand including racing from Newbury, Ice skating, Championship Snooker from Birmingham, Rugby League: Hull v Wigan and Sports Results and News Service 5pm - The Lone Ranger: One Nation Indivisible Two brothers working their way west after they lose their farm because of the war encounter the Lone Ranger and learn about what a future can be if they can let go of the past 5.25pm - Mr Pastry's Pet Shop: 2, A Very Dark Horse 5.50pm - News 5.53pm - Today's Sport 6pm - Juke Box Jury 6.30pm Dixon of Dock Green: A Home of One's Own. Police drama starring Jack Warner 7.15pm - Bertram Mills Circus 8pm - Laramie 8.45pm - Film: The Spiral Staircase A serial killer is targeting women with 'afflictions'; one night during a thunderstorm, mute Helen feels menaced. Starring Dorothy McGuire, George Brent and Ethel Barrymore. 10.05pm - News, Weather In America, enquiries have begun into the crash of the United Airlines Viscount in Maryland and seven-year-old Carl Connor, who was partially blind and deaf, was reunited with his grandmother after spending a night on Dartmoor. In Perth, the British Empire and Commonwealth Games were opened by the Duke of Edinburgh. 10.15pm - Saturday Sport In the FA Cup there were no shocks, with Hinckley scoring two goals against Queen's Park Rangers' seven. 10.50pm - That Was The Week That Was New topical satire programme presented by David Frost - with Kenneth Cope, David Kernan, Roy Kinnear, Millicent Martin, Lance Percival, and Willie Rushton.

The BBC faced competition for viewers from its commercial rival, ITV, which had been launched under the auspices of the now-defunct Independent Television Authority (created by The Television Act of 1954) to break the corporation's TV monopoly.

The first ITV station to launch was Associated-Rediffusion on 22nd September 1955, serving the London area. By 14th September 1962, with the start of WWN (the transmission name of Teledu Cymru for Wales West and North), the UK and Channel Islands were covered by the regional ITV network, with separate franchises for weekdays and weekends.

Each service sought to reflect its regional identity by having its own programmes in opt-out slots, as well as what it thought viewers would like to see from programmes made outside the region (eg, on Friday 23rd November between 5.25pm and 5.55pm, viewers in the Southern and Associated-Rediffusion areas were watching the antics of Yogi Bear while their counterparts in the Midlands were enjoying the exploits of Supercar on ATV, those in south Wales and the west of England were being entertained on TWW by The Adventures of Robin Hood (co-starring John Arnatt), people in the Anglia region had Mr Ed, Granada was showing The Terrific Adventures of the Terrible Ten, while Westward was airing National Velvet, etc), so to give a full picture of what was being aired when on ITV across the network on each day would result in a list far too long and - at times - irrelevant for the purposes of this feature.

Instead, here, as far as research allows, is what would have been seen by viewers tuning into their ITV channel on both days:

ITV: FRIDAY 23rd November 1962 12.45pm - 2.35pm: Very few ITV stations broadcasting, but ATV had Thought For The Day at 12.45pm, followed by Lunch Box between 12.47pm and 1.25pm, while Anglia began at 1.35pm by covering the Central Norfolk by-election, and both Granada and TWW started schools broadcasting at 1pm 2.35pm - 3.41pm: For Schools 4.45pm - Small Time (Willum's Tea Party) Some ITV stations only 5pm - Street of Adventure, presented by Hugh Moran 5.25pm - Opt-outs (see above) 5.55pm - News 6.05pm - Regional News 6.10pm - 7pm: Opt-outs (including, at different times, Day By Day, Out Of Town, Close-Up, Top O' The Shop, Midland Profile, Arena, People And Places, The Jim Backus Show, and Westward Diary) 7pm - Take Your Pick, presented by Michael Miles 7.30pm - Emergency Ward 10 8pm - 9pm: Opt-outs (including, at different times, I'm Dickens . . . He's Fenster, starring Marty Ingles and John Astin, Bonanza, The Dave King Show, Comedy Hour, and Police Five) 9pm - News 9.15pm - Television Playhouse: The Road To Anywhere, with Sam Kydd and Betty Baskcomb 10.15pm - midnight: Opt-outs (including, at different times, The Verdict Is Yours: Regina vs Hoskins, The Sword In The Web - The Munition Factory, Adventures In Paradise, Now You're Talking, White Hunter, Tightrope, and The Unsleeping Sword) Some stations had closed before midnight after the weather forecast or the epilogue, but shortly after midnight, following the weather forecast on Southern, the ITV network had closed down for the day.

ITV: SATURDAY 24th November 1962 1.15pm - News 1.20pm - 5pm: Sport and results 5pm - 5.15pm: Opt-outs (including It's A Model World, introduced by Charles Oates, Bugs Bunny, The Wizard of Oz, and Meet Foo Foo) 5.15pm - City Beneath The Sea (Episode 2 - Escape To Aegiria) 5.45pm - News 5.50pm - Thank Your Lucky Stars, introduced by Brian Matthew (except Anglia, which had the weather followed by The Flintstones and Popeye) 6.30pm - 8.25pm: Opt-outs (including Cheyenne, Bonanza, Man of the World, and Surfside) 8.25pm - Bruce's Show, hosted by Bruce Forsyth, starring Frank Ifield and Bill Howes 9pm - News 9.10pm - 10.05pm: Opt-outs (including 87th Precinct, Ben Casey, and Hawaiian Eye) 10.05pm - The Avengers, starring Patrick Macnee in The Sell-Out, with Frank Gatliff and Arthur Hewlett. (The series had been created by Sydney Newman.) 11pm - 11.50pm: Opt-outs (including, at different times, On The Braden Beat, ABC At Large, Broadway Goes Latin, Hennesey, and The Sword In The Web) 11.50pm: News and, on most stations, weather (all but TWW, which showed The Sword In The Web at 11.05pm, followed by the weather) 11.55pm - Epilogue (only some stations; weather forecast on Southern; Faith For Life on Westward)

On Saturday 24th November 1962, The Times ran a feature in its Notes On Broadcasting section, headlined Viewers Begin To Make Themselves Felt, in which its "Special Correspondent" said that "by general consent" the current season's television had "been one of the most disastrous in terms of quality since the Independent Television Authority came into operation."

Reference was made to The Pilkington Committee report on broadcasting, published in June 1962 at a cost of £45,450. Among a number of things, the inquiry had criticised ITV's "triviality" and backed T S Eliot's evidence statement to the committee that "Those who aim to give the public what the public wants begin by underestimating the public taste; they end by debauching it".

The author of the feature bemoaned the fact that "after the summer doldrums, the unveiling of the autumn schedule with a blare of publicity trumpets brought only weaker and worse." They noted that the best of the American shows had been replaced by "feeble American derivatives or even feebler British substitutes", citing 87th Precinct, which took over from Naked City on ITV, as an example. Withering criticism was also levelled at The Saint and Ghost Squad, both of which were labelled "ineffectual".

On the positive side, it was noted that viewers' response had been so bad that the ITV companies were being forced to rethink things, an example being Associated-Rediffusion's sitcom It's A Living, starring Jimmy Jewel and Ben Warriss, being deemed so bad it was unceremoniously dumped after four episodes when it should have enjoyed a 13-week run. There was also reportedly such a negative reaction to ATV's Ghost Squad "that it suddenly disappeared for a week or two and re-emerged with some bland recasting . . . and a much livelier approach to scripting and direction."

Similarly, the Granada sitcom Bulldog Breed (starring Peter Butterworth and Geoffrey Palmer) disappeared from the schedules after six weeks, one week before it was supposed to end, while another Granada series, The Verdict Is Yours, which dramatised real trials, had started with a Monday evening peak-time slot but got ignominiously bumped by Rawhide to post-10pm on Fridays.

However, the BBC wasn't "in any position to congratulate itself", said the writer, noting that the corporation was relying on "tried and true favourites" for major audience pulling power but that these were starting to become "increasingly faded and routine", with Z-Cars and Maigret both being singled out as guilty parties.

What this all meant, believed the writer, was not necessarily that bad TV was driving out good but that TV companies were beginning to adopt "a far less cavalier attitude to viewers' wishes" than had previously been the case, since in the past unpopular programmes had been allowed to "limp along" and stay the course but now "programmes which have gone are precisely those which the higher-browed critics would agree were not worth preserving."

Epilogue: the television of today

The two-channel television viewers of 1962 would be overwhelmed at the multitude of ways to watch a multitude of programmes across a multitude of channels that exist half a century later; but, perhaps, they would be less surprised at the mix of shows that are still broadcast on the main two channels from their time: 1962 had Doctor Kildare, 2012 has Casualty, likewise Dixon of Dock Green/Midsomer Murders, That Was The Week That Was/Have I Got News For You, and - well into his fifth decade on television - all-round performer Bruce Forsyth still occupies a prime-time Saturday evening slot! (Two other long-lived shows of note are Coronation Street which commenced in 1960, and The Sky At Night which launched in 1957 and is still presented by Sir Patrick Moore.)

BBC1: FRIDAY 23rd November 2012 6.00am - Breakfast 9.15am - Neighbourhood Blues 10.00am - Homes Under The Hammer 11.00am - Watchdog Daily 11.45am - Cash in the Attic 12.15pm - Bargain Hunt 1.00pm - BBC News 1.30pm - Regional News programmes 1.45pm - Doctors 2.15pm - Escape to the Country 3.00pm - BBC News 3.05-5:15pm CBBC 5.15pm - Pointless 6.00pm - BBC News 6.30pm - Regional News programmes 7.00pm - The One Show 7.30pm - Nigel Slater's Dish of the Day 8.00pm - EastEnders 8.30pm - Outnumbered 9.00pm - Have I Got News For You 9.30pm - Me and Mrs Jones 10.00pm - BBC News 10.35pm - The Graham Norton Show 11.20pm - The National Lottery Draws 11.30pm - Live at the Apollo Midnight - EastEnders (omnibus)

ITV1: FRIDAY 23rd November 2012 6.00am - Daybreak 8.30am - Lorraine 9.25am - The Jeremy Kyle Show 10.30am - This Morning 12.30pm - Loose Women 1.30pm - ITV News 2.00pm - Crime Stories 3.00pm - Dickinson's Real Deal 4.00pm - Midsomer Murders 5.00pm - The Chase 6.00pm - Regional news programmes 6.30pm - ITV News 7.00pm - Emmerdale 7.30pm - Coronation Street 8.00pm - Island Hospital 8.30pm - Coronation Street 9.00pm - I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here 10.30pm - ITV News 11.10pm - Accepted

BBC1: SATURDAY 24th November 2012 6.00am - Breakfast 10.00am - Saturday Kitchen Live 11.30am - Baking Made Easy Midday - BBC News 12.15pm - Football Focus 1.00pm - Bargain Hunt 2.00pm - Escape to the Country 3.00pm - Formula One Live: Brazilian Grand Prix - Qualifying 5.30pm - BBC News 5.50pm - Pointless Celebrities 6.40pm - Strictly Come Dancing 8.00pm - Merlin 8.45pm - National Lottery Draws 8.55pm - Casualty 9.45pm - Live at the Apollo 10.15pm - BBC News 10.30pm - Match of the Day 11.50pm - The Football League Show

ITV1: SATURDAY 24th November 2012 6.00am-9.25am - CITV 9.25am - News 9.30am - The Jeremy Kyle Show USA 11.15am - Murder, She Wrote 12.20pm - All Star Family Fortunes 1.05pm - ITV News 1.10pm - Holiday Home Sweet Home 3.10pm - The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor 5.20pm - Regional News programmes 5.30pm - ITV News 5.45pm - The Golden Rules of TV 6.15pm - New You've Been Framed 6.45pm - Take Me Out 8.00pm - The X Factor 9.45pm - I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here 10.45pm - ITV News 11.00pm - Paul McCartney - Live Kisses Midnight - The Cube