Thursday morning's The Sun reveals a big spoiler about one of the characters in "School Reunion". Click on the spoiler tag to read it... or, if you don't want to know, don't!

The BBC Press Office has issued a press release detailing the BBC Radio Wales competition reported on Outpost Gallifrey on 11 September. "As part of this year's Children in Need, BBC Radio Wales is offering two lucky people the chance to be wined and dined in the company of the time-travelling lord Doctor Who and his companion Rose û aka David Tennant and Billie Piper. On Monday 12 September, Radio Wales will be launching the competition of all competitions û the chance to win tickets to the Doctor Who Galactic Dinner that's being held at the Holland House Hotel in Cardiff on Friday 14 October. David Tennant and Billie Piper will be materializing fresh from their time travels, along with the Doctor's arch-enemy the Dalek and maybe one or two other familiar faces. This amazing prize will consist of a pair of tickets to the dinner, overnight accommodation at the Holland House Hotel and the chance to mix with the cast of the hit drama Doctor Who. For a chance to win the hottest tickets in town, listeners will have to think of the question that they would like to ask either the Doctor, Rose, writer Russell T Davies or executive producer Julie Gardner. The two finalists will be selected on Roy Noble's programme on Friday 16 September 16 at 9.00am. They will then go head to head on The Afternoon Show (2.00pm) where one will be whisked off in the TARDIS and head for the dinner, and the other will be 'exterminated'. To find out how to enter, tune in to Radio Wales from Monday from 9.00am. If you're not lucky enough to get through then tune in to Radio Wales because tickets will be available to buy and Roy Noble will be announcing the all important number to call on Friday 16 September."

The official Doctor Who website features a report that states that John Barrowman will not have time to do a cameo in the second Doctor Who series currently in production.

Tuesday's edition of The Guardian carried an obituary for Michael Sheard. This makes special note of his appearances on Doctor Who: "Then there was Dr Who. He was proud to be one of that series' most prolific visiting actors, appearing alongside five Doctors in six stories between 1966 and 1988. His final association with the series is a studied performance opposite Paul McGann in an audio adventure to be broadcast on BBC7 shortly."

An article in last weekend's Sunday Mirror implied that the BBC archives, which hold Doctor Who episodes, were in danger. "Historic BBC shows are being destroyed - by rain. Many of the first year's episodes of EastEnders have been lost for ever, and some early Top of the Pops shows, Doctor Who episodes and landmark news and documentaries have also gone," said the article. "The rain has seeped through holes in the roof of the BBC's archive centre in Brentford, West London. The damage was discovered when researchers organising a 20th anniversary tribute to EastEnders asked staff for episodes starring Dirty Den and Angie Watts (Leslie Grantham and Anita Dobson). An embarrassed BBC source admitted that part of its stock of screen treasures is 'rotting away'. He said 'We get calls for programmes and go for them - only to discover they are damaged beyond repair. It is a terrible shame that household favourites are being lost forever. The archive is a national treasure and should be treated as such.' Other valuable footage has simply been lost in the huge warehouse stacked floor to roof with recordings."

The Stage has posted both interviews that Outpost Gallifrey reported on last week: with Big Finish producers Gary Russell and Jason Haigh-Ellery here and with Rob Shearman here. The Big Finish feature is an extended version of the one that was published in last week's print edition, and includes extra commentary from the producers about their working relationship with BBC Cardiff, editing Paul McGann's stories to fit the BBC7 schedule and the casting of both Doctor Who Unbound (including one potential casting for the Doctor that didn't quite come off) and Sapphire and Steel.

This Is London is running an online competition (from This Is London) to win one of two new 12" (though the article has made a typo - "12 ft"!) remote-controlled Dalek (with sonic screwdriver). The competition question: "Who is Dr Who's arch enemy?" The deadline date: 26 September 2005.

Doctor Who was praised at the TUC Conference in Brighton according to an article at BBC News. Says the item, "Writers have praised BBC One hit sci-fi series Doctor Who at the TUC annual conference in Brighton, in a call for more funding for UK TV productions. It showed there was 'still an audience for quality family entertainment', the Writers' Guild of Great Britain said. The union said there was no substitute for 'well-resourced, home-grown drama and comedy material written, performed and produced in the UK'. But member Hugh Stoddart criticised the BBC for what he called 'damaging cuts'. The writers' union ... which represents UK writers in TV, film, radio, theatre, animation and books - called for further BBC investment in programme-making to build upon the show's success. 'The popularity of the series demonstrates that there is still an audience for quality family entertainment, and that distinctive UK television productions can still provide a talking point for the nation,' Mr Stoddart said. He believed that 'while some imports and so-called 'reality' shows have their place in the schedules, they cost jobs and reduce opportunities for workers in our television industry'."

Stuff.co.nz writes about the Box Set of Doctor Who DVDs being available "early next year" and that You can import all 24 episodes on a seven-disc set from Britain (where it aired months ago) for less than what earlier seasons cost here."

Drum Media magazine says that "...before David Tennant was announced as the BBC's new Doctor Who, replacing the outgoing Christopher Eccleston, a number of actors were linked with the role in the media, all of them white. Sure, there has been the odd black name in the frame for these parts in the past, but it has always been reported in the media as a semi-novelty item." It also notes that "...former Red Dwarf star Craig Charles has spoken of his dream of becoming the first black Doctor." The writer of the article: "...visited four of the Internet's most popular Doctor Who and James Bond fan-sites and left near identical messages on each of their discussion forums. Posing as a 'lifelong fan, but first-time poster', I very gently suggested that maybe it would be 'cool' to have a black Bond or Doctor, and proposed Dirty Pretty Things actor Chitiwel Eijofor as a potential candidate. ... Doctor Who fans seem to fall into the same pattern of debate û a majority who simply state that 'The Doctor is white' and generate any number of convoluted and impossibly obscure plot-related reasons why this is an unalterable fact, and a minority who support the idea and are able to respond using their equally encyclopaedic knowledge of the Doctor Who universe in their defence."

(Thanks to Steve Tribe, Peter Weaver, Martin Hearn, Paul Hayes, Paul Engelberg, Bill Albert, Richard Jordan)

Today's (Wednesday) edition of Blue Peter demonstrated how to make Doctor Who pen pots! The recent appearance by David Tennant and results of the monster design competition continue to lead the viewers' poll (details), currently having 58% support with 891 votes.

The BBC7 website now features three of the series trailers recorded for the Paul McGann series, including the 'What is the TARDIS?' one (not so far available on the offcial Doctor Who site). It also has all four episode trailers for Sword of Orion, with a spoiler warning attached to the trailers for parts three and four.

BBC Three continues to revise the running for its Who repeats. Sunday nights now start with a full-length Confidential, which is followed by a double bill (this week featuring the idiosyncratic pairing of episodes 11 and 12 with the 10th instalment of Confidential. The Wednesday Cut Downs seem to have been dropped entirely. The Friday evening repeats do not follow this double-bill format, and have therefore immediately fallen several weeks behind. The Saturday evening Confidential, meanwhile, returns in a slightly later timeslot, showing the full-length version of the previous night's Cut Down. The radio and television schedules are adjusted on our schedule here on the News Page. (Note that Friday night's DW Confidential is actually the first ever showing of a "Cut Down" version of that episode, "Special Effects".

The BBC News story about the TUC conference (see mention in Press Clips, below) made a surprising mention today in its last paragraph. The paragraph originally read "A Christmas special is due to be broadcast on Christmas Day, followed by a 13-part series next year" but has been altered later on Wednesday to state "A Christmas special is due to be broadcast at Christmas, followed by a 13-part series next year." Outpost Gallifrey believes that the item was merely an error and was later corrected, as we have reported that the current information we have suggests transmission the day after Christmas, on Boxing Day, December 26.

An article in the Sunday Times interviews Andrew Marr, former BBC political editor, and discusses his appearance in Doctor Who this past season. "The cameo role on Dr Who, however, shed shade on Marr's often stated, old-school concern for the corrosive modern interplay of celebrity personality and journalistic propriety. ... 'I loved doing Dr Who. I was presenting a news report about an alien invasion. They took hours and hours to light it, which was bizarre, because they were mimicking something I normally do in five minutes with one cameraman.'" Also in today's Sunday Times, in the Biteback column: "Dr Who fans, while generally enthusiastic about the latest series, felt it had too many episodes set in the UK. I gather Stephen Fry has written one of the 13 episodes of the next series, and it is likely to be set in the 1930's England. To retain viewers' interest, he has been promised some of the series' best special effects."

BBC News interviews John Barrowman about "why he swapped Doctor Who for a role in West End play A Few Good Men alongside Hollywood star Rob Lowe." The article talks to Barrowman about gay rights, confirms that "I won't be in Season 2 but I will be back for Season 3... There was talk of me coming back for the next series, but because of the commitments I have it just wasn't going to work out" and talks about the new show "Simply Musicals" that he will soon take part in. "It's important to bring theatrical stuff back to television," says Barrowman. The article asks, "So what will the Whovians say when they see Captain Jack sing? Barrowman is sure they'll approve. 'Science-fiction is not that far from musical theatre,' he says. 'In the end, it's all just heightened reality.'"

Colin Baker opines on the new series in the newest issue of "Dreamwatch" magazine, where he praises the series in a two-page article that mentions "The Empty Child"/"The Doctor Dances" as his favorite story and Annette Badland and Florence Hoath as the season's best guest actors. "It was great to sit down and watch the new Doctor Who from the very first moment, knowing I was not in it," Baker wrote.

Peter Davison appeared this week on Look North, a BBC regional news programme. He was shown visiting The World of James Herriot, an exhibition in Thirsk in Yorkshire, which is dedicated to the author on whose books All Creatures Great and Small was based. Davison is also in the news at Yorkshire Today when he recently visited a set from the other series he's well known for. "One of the stars of All Creatures Great And Small said things had not changed all that much when he visited the vets' surgery that inspired the famous tales. Yesterday Peter Davison, who played Tristan Farnon in the long-running BBC series, called in at the World of James Herriot in Thirsk. The award-winning attraction opened in 1999 at 23 Kirkgate û the 'Skeldale House' of the Herriot books û and original surgery of Herriot creator and real-life vet Alf Wight. 'Last time I came it was still a working practice, when Alf was still working here,' said Mr Davison. 'Even then the waiting room was full of American tourists with copies of books to sign.' A global TV audience of 460 million is estimated to have seen All Creatures since the first of 88 episodes was broadcast in 1978, but Mr Davison said at the beginning the producers had no inkling of how popular the show would be. 'They did not know it would be so successful and zipped through the first books too quickly,' he said. 'Some stories could have made an entire episode but there were four or five stories in each episode.'" Davison is currently on location in Northumberland, filming a second series of Distant Shores, which will be broadcast on ITV in the New Year.

Corey Johnson, who appeared as Van Statten in "Dalek," will be appearing in next week's season-opening two-parter of "Spooks", playing the part of 'Richard Boyd'. The episodes, which kick off the fourth series of the spy drama, are being shown on Monday 12 September and Tuesday 13 September at 9pm on BBC One.

An article at BBC News from Ssaturday notes that Russell T Davies will take part in this weekend's annual gay and lesbian Mardi Gras on Saturday in Cardiff, alongside such notables as singer Charlotte Church. Also noted at .

The BBC Press Office has put online a small press pack for the new Verity Lambert-produced comedy/drama "Love Soup", due to start this autumn on BBC One. The series is also notable for starring Tamsin Greig, the Nurse from "The Long Game".

An article at IC Wales discusses the various lines of toys coming soon including the "12-inch radio-controlled Dalek, a sonic screwdriver with a built in UV light to reveal secret handwriting and walkie talkies in the shape of Doctor Who characters. And, according to retailers, demand for the toys is so high they're worried they won't be able to keep up. Alan Vaughan, assistant manager of Cardiff's Comic Guru Presents, a shop that specialises in Doctor Who merchandise, said, 'We have people coming in two to three times a day asking about when the new toys are going to come out, everyone's waiting for them. When they come in we expect them to start flying out the door. In between now and Christmas that's what everyone will be wanting. ... It's a nostalgia thing. Everyone remembers it and, even if you haven't watched it, you know what a Dalek looks like.' The toys, which will be the first official merchandise to accompany the new BBC series, were supposed to have arrived in the shops at the beginning of this month. But the toy's manufacturers, Character Options, said although they are now being distributed there were a lot of delays partly due to massive demand. They are now expected to arrive by the middle of September. Managing partner of Galaxy4, one of the UK's leading suppliers of Doctor Who merchandise, said demand for Doctor Who products has increased by 15% over the past year. But he said the brand is unique in being able to attract new fans without alienating older ones. He said, 'Doctor Who is unlike anything else. The new series has attracted a new fan base. But they've also managed to retain their older fan base, people who have been fans for over 20 years. That's a remarkable achievement. We've already had thousands of preorders for the new range. The most popular toy so far seems to be the sonic screwdriver, because it's something kids can keep in their pocket, and they can play the role of the Doctor, or Rose. But there's also lots of collectors, people in their 60s who will be buying them as well.' One such collector is John Campbell Rees, member of Timeless, a Doctor Who appreciation society based in Wales. The assistant librarian from Treherbert said his earliest memory is of watching Doctor Who and he has been collecting memorabilia for more than 30 years. His collection includes more than 300 books, DVDs and toys and he said he can't wait to see the new range."

In reaction to the new 'police boxes' used in Glasgow, BBC News says that the boxes aren't amenable to blind people. Says a correspondent, "The centre of Glasgow has seen the the arrival of the new Strathclyde Police information system in the style of an old police box. But instead of a policeman inside, it is just electronics. As a totally blind person, I went down to see what all the fuss was about following the press coverage the 'Tardis' received. Sorry, I am visually impaired, there is no emergency. As it was recently designed, I was hoping that it might talk, after all it was there to provide information to the public. I walked from St. Enoch underground station with my cane and finally bumped into the large steel structure. I felt my way around the object, touching the screens and buttons. They were sunk into the casing, so were quite difficult to feel."

The new edition of "emagazine", a UK publication for teachers of English Literature and Language, has David Tennant as its cover star. He is pictured in a scene from the recent production of John Osbourne's 'Look Back In Anger'. An article inside the magazine contains two other pictures of Tennant in the role of Jimmy Porter.

Additional links: more coverage of Barrowman's appearance on "Simply Musicals" at The Stage, Whats On Stage,PlayBill; more on Barrowman in "A Few Good Men" at PlayBill, The Evening Standard; additional coverage of Eccleston's win of the TV Quick/TV Choice awards at DeHavilland, In The News, Hello Magazine, Monsters and Critics.

(Thanks to Steve Tribe, Paul Engelberg, Paul Hayes, John Bowman, Joe McKee)

Big Finish has informed listeners that both September audio plays, Thicker Than Water by Paul Sutton and Live 34by James Parsons and Andrew Stirling-Brown have been delayed slightly "due to a slight delay at the pressing plant" and will both be out at the end of September. Also, the prologue to the novel The Coming of the Queen by Iain McLaughlin and Claire Bartlett is now available at the site for download; the novel is a biographical work about Erimem, the companion who joined the Fifth Doctor and Peri for recent adventures as played by Caroline Morris.

The Web Planet, which was due out this month in the UK on DVD, has apparently been delayed for a month, and is now being listed on various retail sites like Play.com as being out in early October. The discs have already been pressed and packaged, according to a post on the Restoration Team forum, and there is currently no official word as to the delay. We'll keep you posted...