Tom Baker has been named BritainÆs favorite Doctor, in a poll honoring the new series sponsored by SFX. The poll put Peter Davison in second place, followed by Jon Pertwee, Sylvester McCoy, Patrick Troughton, William Hartnell, Colin Baker and, in last place, Paul McGann. SFX editor Dave Golder said Christopher Eccleston, the time traveller in the new BBC1 series, would have a hard act to follow. "The ninth doctor will have to be pretty amazing to topple Tom Baker from his perch as the quintessential Dr Who. There arenÆt many children from the Seventies who canÆt clearly remember peering out from behind the sofa to see Dr Who with his hat, scarf, jelly babies and that wild curly hair." The story has been picked up in such periodicals as the Sun and the Guardian as of March 14.

According to the web page for the Doctor Who Confidential series on the official site, the producers of the BBC3 series are also producing a half hour special, Doctor Who - A New Dimension which will air on BBC 1 at 5.00pm on Saturday 26th March, before the first episode of the new series.

Latest Update: 12 March 0930 GMT (I've left today's items on the list temporarily...)

Chris Eccleston will be on GMTV on March 11 on the Lorraine Kelly section at approximately 8.35am. (Roy Barton, Doug Inman)

BBC Radio Leeds will be re-running a six minute report on "one Yorkshire fan's reaction to the new series hype, and details of his own Doctor Who influenced amateur films" which will run at 0210 GMT (or thereabouts) in the early hours of Friday 11 March. BBC Radio Leeds can be heard live online at bbc.co.uk/radioleeds.

BBC Breakfast News stated that Russell T Davies will be on the program being interviewed on Friday morning 11th March.

Doctor Who will once again be the subject on "Newsnight" on BBC2, March 17 at 11pm.

Chris and Billie will be on "Blue Peter" on March 21 from 4:55pm to 5:20pm on BBC1; the episode will probably be repeated the same evening at 18:00 on the CBBC channel. The Radio Times confirms the listing.

On the electronic Radio Times it states that Billie Piper will be a guest on Parkinson (ITV1, 10.10-11.15 on 19 March) where she will discuss her new role in Dr Who.

According to Radio Times, Saturday, March 19 will feature showings of "Doctor Who and the Daleks" (1965 film) at 3:50pm, "The Story of Doctor Who" (2003 documentary) at 7:30pm, Some Things You Need to Know about Dr Who" (a new documentary short) at 8:30pm, "Dr Who Mastermind" at 8:40pm, and "Parkinson" featuring an interview with Billie Piper at 10:15pm.

On the "On Show" program on BBC1 Wales on March 20, Sian Williams talks to Russell T Davies about his past work and his reinvention of Doctor Who. There's also a listing for BBC2W (the Welsh BBC digital service opt-out), of this "On Show" on Thursday 17th March 9-9:30pm with Russell Davies. (Not having this available to me, I can't get more detailed, sorry! -editor)

The Radio 2 Doctor Who site has just added an unconfirmed interview with Billie Piper on his show on Thursday 24 March. As usual, that's 2pm.

Christopher Eccleston will be on "Friday Night with Jonathan Ross" on 25 March, alongside Julian Clary and Sally Lindsay (Coronation Street actress).

As expected, a news organization has disproven the Sun's claims that Billie Piper was about to resurrect her singing career. According to the Mirror, Piper "laughed at the suggestion that she'll be releasing any more music. She told 3am this week: 'I don't want to sing again. I'm happy acting - it's something I have always wanted to do. I didn't want to do both, I felt that one would suffer as a result, I'd be trying to do too much.'" The comments were also picked up in the Western Daily Press and other periodicals.

BBC Wales South East has posted photos from both Tuesday's press launch and from yesterday's "Have your photo taken with the TARDIS" event, including shots of producers Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner and members of the audience. Check it out!

The BBC Cult website for BBC Four's eagerly-awaited forthcoming live re-make of "The Quatermass Experiment" says that "Doctor Who" writer (and "League of Gentlemen" writer/star) Mark Gatiss is playing one of the Professor's associates, Paterson.

The just-published March edition of Televisual, 'The business magazine for the broadcast and production industry', has an extensive report on the new series, speaking to several people working on the show. On creating a show for the 21st Century, Steve Moffat says: "I don't think the fact that we're in the post-Star Wars era is an issue, but matching Buffy is. Doctor Who was never a space drama anyway, it was about horror: dark shadows and creepy monsters lurking just around the corner." Admitting his blueprint for the series was Buffy, RTD says: "In the 60s we could watch programmes like Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) because we were happy with the spectacle, but now we're more adult and we expect that emotional content." Davies and Julie Gardner has a 'tone meeting' out of which came the rule that in every episode the Tardis must come back to Earth. Says Davies: "We need to return to Earth to get an emotional focus on what's going on. If we're on Planet Zog and Zog people are being affected by a monster, we couldn't really give a toss. But if there's a human colony on Planet Zog, then that's more interesting." On Christopher Eccleston, Davies says: "He's not like Tom Baker, but what they have in common is that they can go around being as funny and daft and as gormless as they like, but you still take them seriously because they're fundamentally both scary, impressive men." The new Tardis interior (6.5m tall and 20m wide), it says, is raised off the ground to get away from the studio floor feel that's plagued past outings. Designer Edward Thomas: "Russell and I thought the most powerful Tardis was the first one, so we kept this in mind but then went back to nature, basing designs on organic materials, the main structure being coral, with glass walls and lots of wood." Will Cohen of The Mill is quoted saying it's the largest number of effects shots ever for a UK TV drama, and talks briefly about animating the character of Cassandra. On episode two, Cohen says: "We refer to it as the 'space opera' episode because there are two exterior space-station shots, views from outer space, a lot of green-screen set replacements, animated spiders and loads of particle work with suns expanding." For the Slitheen (creatures reported to be in "Aliens of London," Cohen says it's still difficult and time-consuming to create moving characters in human form so, for the close-up shots they used prosthetics specialist Neill Gorton's prosthetics while for the wider shots they used CG. Miniature effects superviser Mike Tucker says The Mill animated a retro-looking UFO smashing into Big Ben based on designs by conept artist Bryan Hitch, but the moment of impact was best achieved using a miniature. "You could sit there and hand-animate every single particle of dust, but sometimes it's easier to create miniatures and then just smash them up," says Tucker. Brand manager Ian Grutchfield on reaching a new generation of children: "The challenge is to get younger children to watch the show. Adults know Doctor Who exists but kids won't have heard of it and they're not traditionally the most prolific consumers of drama."

In a separate news story, the Televisual magazine reports: 'BBC canned HD deal for Doctor Who'. According to the report, the BBC turned down a Sony sponsorship deal to use HDCam kit for its high-profile return of Doctor Who, it has emerged. Instead, the decision was made to shoot the series on DigiBeta. A BBC spokeswoman explains that negotiations had started "too late in the day. We'd gone a long way down the DigiBeta path, although we had talked about HD." It said that "HD advocates fear the decision could hinder long-term international sales. 'It makes sense for such a big-budget production to future-proof the product,' says VMI managing director Barry Bassett."

The Scottish Daily Record has a humorous article about the new Doctor Who aliens today: "If the sneak preview we had yesterday of the Blue Moxx is anything to go by, the villains in the new version of Dr Who look like they're going to be a bit more menacing than the overgrown pepperpots and extras wearing upturned buckets wrapped in tinfoil that the Time Lord used to battle in the Sixties and Seventies. ... Let's just say the following list of forthcoming evil baddies is just informed speculation." It includes such items as the "Teekay Moxx," like the Moxx of Balhoon, only wearing last year's fashions; "The Dohleks," similar to the Daleks, but not as intelligent... they have a fatal weakness for doughnuts and duff beer; the "Cydermen," crazed monsters from the English West Country; and the "Eltonjonians," manic, vertically-challenge beings that regard all authority figures as vile pigs and go around chanting "Exfoliate, exfoliate"!

(Thanks to Joe Cannon, Paul Hayes, David Brunt, Russ Meresman, and as always, Paul Engelberg and Steve Tribe for today's listings)

Today's edition of the trade periodical "The Bookseller" carries an advert for this year's annuals from Panini, which includes an illustration that may likely be the cover for the Doctor Who annual, buried under a few other items for sale. At right is a small version of a scan of the item; we'll post the actual cover itself when we get it. (Thanks to Steve Tribe)

While the UK, Canada and New Zealand count down until their broadcasts of the new Doctor Who series, there's still no final confirmation from an Australian broadcaster but that is expected to be announced soon. Meanwhile, the BBC Prime satellite network, carried in Europe, Asia and Africa, has announced on its FAQ page that it will not be carrying the show, nor any reruns of classic episodes. And while there's no confirmation of this whatsoever, Outpost Gallifrey has been told by a source to be on the lookout for some sort of possible announcement about an American broadcaster in early April -- could there be hope on the horizon for the US? Stay tuned! (Thanks to John Wilkins for the BBC Prime info)

The newest issue of Digit Magazine, a 3D Design magazine, has a Doctor Who front cover; emblazoned on the front is the Tardis from the new series. Inside is an in depth review of the special effects for the new series by The Mill. There are several stills from the teaser trailer and a photograph of a spider like CGI creature. There are also descriptions of several other creature designs from the new series including the character played by Zoe Wanamaker in episode 2. They quote that there are 1000 effects in the new series, 200 alone in episode two. (Thanks to Martin Asquith)

We've removed the covers posted today regarding new Doctor Who children's books as seen on Amazon. BBC Worldwide have contacted us to let us know that these were simply potential concepts that were accidentally sent to Amazon, and do not represent Penguin Books' actual schedule or cover illustrations for any potential book items, so we've removed them. As soon as we have more concrete information, we'll give you an update.

The Times ran a front page story on Thursday morning on Doctor Who, mostly the same information as in our previous report quoting Christopher Eccleston about his Doctor's accent. Eccleston said of the original series that he "found the character of the Doctor 'too authoritarian' and tried to avoid watching it." On the cover of the Times is an image marked in our spoilers tag below.

BBC Breakfast featured a very lengthy series of installments on the show, including some footage from the press launch (in which DWM editor Clayton Hickman was quoted as saying, "If the kids don't like that, then the kids don't deserve to have any television ever shown to them again!") and extended interviews with Eccleston and Billie Piper. BBC News' Newsnight program this evening (Wednesday 9 March) featured a report on the return of the series. Host Stephen Smith arrived in a TARDIS, sat behind the sofa and introduced a montage of clips, including scenes from the show, interview clips with news media people and children who haven't a clue what "Doctor Who" actually is. The new series also appeared on an edition of Newsround with several clips from the first episode of the new series and brief interview clips with Eccleston and Piper.

SFX Magazine now has a review of the first episode to go along with the spoilers we mentioned to you that were on their site in the last press clips report. Check out the review, and read that article about their coverage of the press launch. Meanwhile, you can find those spoilers under our spoilers tag below.

Today's The Sun has an article with huge SPOILERS from what we believe is the second episode (called "The End of the World") about several new aliens. We've listed them in the spoilers tag below; note that this is pretty extensive and the article features photos (which we haven't reproduced but you can see them on the Sun site.)

BellaOnline today ran an article "Doctor Who 101ùA Newbie Viewing Guide to the Classic Series" which takes a lighthearted look at the original series in preparation for the new. A very amusing line in its Trivia section: "The special effects were bad even in their own day, thanks to a virtually non-existent budget. Imagine, if you will, creating a green lumpy monster by wrapping someone with green-painted bubble wrap. They did that. Yes, this show was famous for its cheesy effects."

The Guardian features a story, "Why can't Daleks go up stairs?" which discusses the peril of the classic monsters and how they've been updated for the new series. "As terrifying as Dr Who's arch enemies might have seemed, the fact that they could be outwitted by a simple staircase made them a shade less menacing. It's a design fault that has been rectified in the new BBC television series, due to begin at Easter."

The leak of the first episode was mentioned on American public radio network NPR's show Talk of the Nation hosted by Neal Conan, during a story called "Movies, Technology and the Future of Viewing". Conan mentioned the first episode and that downloaders "must feel that it's pretty cool to see the new Doctor Who three weeks before the BBC airs it," although the story itself was about the transformation of media and the new digital age. Also, a Reuters story on the Rose leak was on the front page of Yahoo (USA Yahoo, not UK Yahoo) for a while today... obviously, though America doesn't yet have a broadcast deal, it's still in the American consciousness.

The CBC Television network in Canada now has its own website for its broadcast of the new series. Meanwhile, on Thursday March 10th at 9:15am (EST) CBC Newsworld will be airing a feature on the leaking of the first episode of the new Doctor Who series. CBC's Allison Smith will be interviewing Canadian fan and DWIN member Rod Mammitzsch about the new series of Doctor Who, and the recent leak of the first episode onto the internet.

Today's Daily Record features an interview with Jimmy Vee, the 3'8" actor who plays a role in the new series. We've fully protected this information with our spoilers tag; read it below.

AND FINALLY... Over the past several days it's been a whirlwind keeping up with all the press clips, so I'd like to thank and credit the following people who have been providing updates, news and information: the incomparable Paul Engelberg and Steve Tribe, without whom this couldn't possibly happen; plus Paul Hayes, Malcolm Prince, John Ryan, John Molyneux, Steve Roberts, Paul Vanezis, Chuck Foster, Graeme Burk, Mike Doran, Rowan Bridge, Matt Chayt, David Baker, Darin Patea, Andrew Harvey, Richard Dinnick, Matthew Godley, Nick Johnson, Shannon Patrick Sullivan, Assad Khaishgi, Ian Beard, Richard Carletta, Michael S. Lucart, Kevin Elhart, James Crout, Simon Howe, Kenny Davidson, Ryan Piekenbrock, and Benjamin Elliott.

The new issue of SFX, (in the shops from Thursday 17 March) features Billie Piper on the cover, and includes another 8-page feature on the new series. As well as more of in-depth chat with Russell T Davies, the feature also includes interviews with the following: writers Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat; production designer Edward Thomas; the team from The Mill (CGI effects), and Neill Gorton (monster prosthetics). One little teaser for you: prepare to learn about Dalek graffiti... The feature is illustrated with stills from "Rose" and "The End Of The World," including a close-up of the TARDIS console, spread over two pages. The issue also comes up with a free A1 poster of the new Doctor Who art by Chris Achilleos that was used in the previous issue.