The BBC has appealed to fans not to spoil the new series of Doctor Who, after a number of scripts from upcoming shows were leaked onto the internet.

The first five scripts for Series Eight, including the series opener Deep Breath, are understood to have been compromised after being sent to the BBC Worldwide office in Miami, where they were due to be translated for the Latin America market. The BBC is trying to achieve a near simultaneous global release of the series, including broadcasts on BBC Entertainment, throughout the region.

BBC Worldwide told Radio Times they were pleading with the public and fans sites not to share the material released
The scripts appear to have been uploaded from the BBC Worldwide site in Miami, which was left open to public indexing, meaning scripts from Doctor Who, as well as scripts from other popular BBC programmes such as Top Gear and Call the Midwife, were accessible to anyone with an internet link. It is understood video files were also stored on the server, but it is not known if these contained content relevant to Doctor Who. The server has now been taken offline.

The series has been leaked before. In 2005 the first episode of the relaunched series, Rose, leaked onto the internet, a few weeks before its launch on BBC One, and in 2013 the series finale, The Name of the Doctor, was released early due to a mistake in the American distribution of the Series 7 Blu-rays and DVDs. In 1983 the Target novelisation of the twentieth anniversary story, The Five Doctors, was published two weeks before the story was transmitted by the BBC.

The series is due to premiere around the world from August 23rd.

The BBC have broadcast a new 20 second trailer for the forthcoming new series of Doctor Who, shown between the France/Germany World Cup match and the BBC News:

The 2014 series of Doctor Who will have its World Premiere in Cardiff on August 7, BBC Wales has announced today.

The screening will mark the start of the shows world tour, and will be fans’ first chance to see Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor, alongside Jenna Coleman as on-screen companion Clara, in episode one of the new series, Deep Breath.

The stars will be attending the lunchtime St David’s Hall red carpet event, together with lead writer and producer Steven Moffat.

Tickets will be available to the public from St David’s Hall Box Office from Monday 7 July.

BBC Wales Director Rhodri Talfan Davies says:The event is held in association with BFI Sci-Fi: Days of Fear and Wonder, the full programme for which will be announced later this month.

The BBC have confirmed the news, originally reported in October, that the award-winning novelist and screenwriter Frank Cottrell Boyce will be writing an episode of Doctor Who for Series Eight.

The novelist is best known for his children's books for which he has won two awards, the 2004 Carnegie Medal for Millions, and the 2012 Guardian Prize for The Unforgotten Coat. He also worked on the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony.

Cottrell Boyce’s episode for the thirty-fourth season of Doctor Who will feature a cast of child actors including Harley Bird, the voice of household favourite Peppa Pig, alongside Abigail Eames (Harry And Paul, The Crimson Field), Ashley Foster (The Woman In Black) and Jaydon Harris-Wallace (CITV Text Santa).

Cottrell Boyce spoke of his joy at writing for the series:
Steven Moffat, lead writer and Executive Producer, says:
The episode will be directed by Sheree Folkson (Casanova, Hit & Miss), and produced by Paul Frift (Escape Artist, Best Possible Taste, Restless).

Cottrell Boyce is the final confirmed writer for the series, working on episode ten. The other writers confirmed for the eighth series are Mark Gatiss, Phil Ford, Gareth Roberts, Peter Harness, Steve Thompson and Jamie Mathieson as well as showrunner Steven Moffat himself.

Doctor Who returns on Saturday 23rd August.

The Cybermen are to return in the new series of Doctor Who, the BBC revealed today.

Following the announcement earlier in the day of the casting of Michelle Gomez as the Gatekeeper of the Nethersphere, the show's official Twitter account subsequently tweeted a behind-the-scenes picture showing Gomez with Peter Capaldi in Cardiff and Cybermen behind them.

It is believed they were shooting scenes for the Series 8 finale.

Doctor Who returns on Saturday 23rd August.



The picture was tweeted again a few hours later with the words: "In case you missed it … Peter Capaldi, Michelle Gomez and some familiar faces, earlier today!"

The BBC has announced that Michelle Gomez will join the cast of Doctor Who, playing the Gatekeeper of the Nethersphere in the new series.

Gomez is best known for her performances in Green Wing, The Book Group, and Bad Education. In 2008 she performed as Kate in Royal Shakespeare Company's production The Taming of the Shrew. Doctor Who fans may know her from her role as Jevvan in the 2007 Big Finish audio Valhalla.

Speaking about the role, Gomez said:Lead writer and executive producer Steven Moffat added: Filming on Series 8 is nearing its conclusion with the crew believed to be based at a central Cardiff location, working on the series finale, directed by Rachel Talalay.

Guest stars confirmed to join Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman in the new series, which starts on BBC One on Saturday 23rd August, include Frank Skinner, Ben Miller, Tom Riley, Keeley Hawes and Hermione Norris.

The series will premiere with a feature-length episode Deep Breath.

No time has yet been confirmed for the BBC One Transmission, however BBC America have confirmed they will show the episode at 8pm ET. SPACE in Canada have also confirmed it will show the episode that evening as has FOX in Germany.

ABC Australia have confirmed the series will début downunder on Sunday 24th August.

The Doctor's farewell to Rose in Doomsday has been voted the greatest moment in sci-fi, horror and fantasy by readers of the magazine SFX, it was revealed today.

To mark the publication of issue 250 of the monthly magazine, readers were asked to vote for a definitive list of the 250 greatest moments of sci-fi, horror and fantasy in genres covering cinema, television, books, comics and video games. A total of 96,300 votes was cast and Doctor Who came top with that emotional scene set in Bad Wolf Bay. Originally broadcast on 8th July 2006, the concluding part of the two-episode story that ended Series Two was written by Russell T Davies - who was the showrunner at the time - and directed by Graeme Harper.

In a statement, SFX said:
David Tennant told SFX: SFX recruited some of the biggest names in the world of sci-fi to share their favourite moments, with Buffy The Vampire Slayer star Anthony Head among those agreeing that John Hurt's chest-burst scene in the 1979 film Alien was their greatest.

He said: The Top 10 greatest moments in sci-fi, horror and fantasy as voted for by SFX readers are as follows:

• 1: Doctor Who - The Doctor and Rose say farewell at Bad Wolf Bay in Doomsday
• 2: Avengers Assemble - The Hulk destroys Loki
• 3: Alien - The chest-burst scene
• 4: Firefly - Mal Reynolds kicks a bad guy into Serenity's engine intake (The Train Job)
• 5: Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back - Luke discovers that Darth Vader is his father
• 6: Blade Runner - Roy Batty's "Tears in rain" monologue
• 7: Game of Thrones - "The Lannisters send their regards" (The Red Wedding)
• 8: The Matrix - Neo dodges bullets in the bullet-time scene
• 9: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (novel) - Dumbledore's death
• 10: Back To The Future - "Where we're going, we don't need roads."

The full list is printed in issue 250 of SFX, which is on sale as of today and also features contributions from Davies and current showrunner Steven Moffat.

UPDATE - 8.20PM: Since the result was announced, the BBC has uploaded the scene to its official Doctor Who YouTube channel. Watch it below:

Following on from the World Tour announcement yesterday, both BBC America and ABC have reported via their press releases that Doctor Who will air in the United States and Australia respectively in August, with the former confirming that it will broadcast on the same air date (to be announced) as the United Kingdom.

Speaking of the tour, BBC America's SVP for Programming Richard De Croce said:
ABC's Head of Programming Brendan Dahill said:
Amanda Hill, Chief Brands Officer at BBC Worldwide said:

BBC America has released a still from the teaser trailer heralding the return of Doctor Who this August.

The image shows the Doctor, as played by Peter Capaldi, silhouetted inside the TARDIS console room as explosions rage behind him.


Glimpses of the scene were shown in the teaser released on 23rd May, when the month of the show's return was announced.