BBC News has posted a clip of its announcement yesterday of Christopher Eccleston's casting. You can view it by clicking here (note: you need RealPlayer installed to view). (Thanks to Gavin Winters)

In the wake of the casting announcement, story rumors are already flying. Today's Daily Mail (which actually got the casting of the Doctor wrong, they said it was Bill Nighy) reports that one of the stories being done for the first season is a Joan of Arc story with guests stars possibly including Audrey Tautou ("Amelie") and Alfred Molina. It's been pointed out to Outpost Gallifrey that Tautou is currently filming a Joan of Arc movie in France so this is probably a case of wires crossed. Meanwhile, says the Express, Eccleston has signed "a three year contract" (this could be speculation on their part). They mention that the official announcement of his signing is due "next week" and that the budget for each episode is "ú1 million". Also, the Daily Record is already talking about a second season (series) of episodes to be broadcast in 2006... though of course, we'll have to see how the first series does!

We've been told that the final casting deal for Eccleston was signed just yesterday (Friday), with enough time to get details, and quotes from Davies and the BBC, to the media for a Saturday announcement (you'll notice that the initial reports in the electronic edition of the Saturday morning papers came at just after midnight UK time!)

Press clippings are now available at the wonderful Cuttings Archive website; scroll down to updates on that site for a full list and links to many articles from yesterday and today's papers.

Strange reports coming in from Australia, where the Adelaide Sunday Mail picked up on the erroneous report in the UK paper of the same title, naming Bill Nighy as the Doctor! Meanwhile, the story has made international headlines in North America too, being picked up on CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corp.) overnight news broadcasts.

Outpost Gallifrey has it on good authority that while the Doctor Who series currently being published by BBC Books will indeed continue into next year, the adventures of the Eighth Doctor -- as they exist now, as their own separate series -- are coming to an end. After the first quarter of next year, the Eighth Doctor series (featuring the Paul McGann incarnation) will be blended into the "past Doctor" adventures, as the new television series gets going; while they won't be every other month there will be some emphasis placed on this Eighth Doctor, and novels will be able to branch back into the current existing series with Eighth Doctor companions that are no longer traveling in the TARDIS. There is currently no word as to whether or not there will be a book series running concurrently featuring the new Doctor, nor if the books will go back to the two-per-month release schedule of years past; hopefully there will be word on this in the next issue of Doctor Who Magazine, which is said to feature definitive word on the subject from range consultant/editor Justin Richards. More details as we get them.

For our readers who aren't familiar, here is a biography of Christopher Eccleston, the new Doctor, as submitted by Paul Hayes (who wrote this particular entry for Wikipedia):

Christopher Eccleston (born 1964 in Salford, Lancashire, UK) is a British stage, telvision and film actor, best known for his roles in several high profile 'prestige' films and television series. He first came to public attention as Derek Bentley in the 1991 film Let Him Have It, based on true events, but it was a regular role in the TV series Cracker - culminating in his character's dramatic death in the second series - that made him a recognisable figure in the UK.

He appeared in the low-budget Danny Boyle film Shallow Grave in 1994, in which he co-starred with another up-and-coming young British actor by the name of Ewan McGregor. The same year, he won the part of Nicky Hutchinson in the epic BBC drama serial Our Friends in the North, and it was the transmission of this production on BBC TWO in 1996 that perhaps really made him into a household name in the UK.

His film career has since taken off with a variety of high-profile but never quite - except in one or two cases - really mainstream roles, including parts in Elizabeth (1998), Gone in Sixty Seconds (2000), The Others (2001), 24-Hour Party People (2002) and another Danny Boyle film, the horror movie 28 Days Later.

Despite his successful film career, he has continued to appear in a variety of meaty television roles, racking up credits in some of the most challenging and thought-provoking British television dramas of recent years. These have included Clocking Off (2000) and Flesh and Blood (2002) for the BBC and Hillsborough (1997), a modern version of Othello (2002) and the religious telefantasy epic The Second Coming (2003) for ITV. He also finds time for the occasional light-hearted role, however, as his guest appearances in episodes of the comedy drama Linda Green (2001) and macabre sketch show The League of Gentlemen (2002) have shown.

Christopher Eccleston, star of The Second Coming and Cracker who has been rumored for the past several days in numerous fan circles, has been cast as the Doctor in the new Doctor Who TV series. The following is the announcement from PA News:

Outpost Gallifrey has learned that a press announcement confirming the casting of the Doctor for the new TV series is due on Saturday morning in the UK. Several news flashes on UK late-evening news programs have hinted that a press call is imminent, but word is leaking that the Daily Mirror will have a full-page press announcement on Saturday morning. Outpost Gallifrey will keep you posted all evening on the officialconfirmation of a new Doctor!

Update 2355 GMT: The UK Daily Mirror has apparently announced Christopher Eccleston and the Daily Mail has apparently noted that it's Bill Nighy. Could it be one or the other? Or perhaps a different actor entirely? At right is the Daily Mirror cover with the note about "Cracker Chris" referring to Eccleston being cast. (Thanks to "barryum," "DistantDave")

Updated 2330 GMT  Numerous fan sites and our own forum are buzzing with rumors about actor Christopher Eccleston being cast as the new Doctor for the forthcoming series. Eccleston's agent has denied that he has been cast, although the denial could be interpreted as simply not confirming such before the press announcement. An internal BBC memo circulated earlier in the week stated that the discussions were down to "a short list of three," although we've just heard word that there is a possible announcement coming in as early as the next couple of days. Outpost Gallifrey will bring you the news as soon as we hear official confirmation of the casting announcement.

Further to our story yesterday about the report from the UK Teletext, BBC News has picked up the same story, with a headline stating "Daleks May Return to Doctor Who"; the only difference between the two is a BBC spokeswoman stating "We are negotiating to feature the Daleks in the new series, but no deal has yet been made" and a denial that actors had been cast to play the new Doctor and assistant. "Negotiations are going on all over the place about the monsters, including the Daleks," she said. "We are just waiting to see what comes out." Update: the BBCi Doctor Who site also followed this up with this statement: "Cult did its own bit of checking, and was told the same by Publicity. They stressed, however, that they, 'Could not confirm the Daleks, or any other monsters for the new series.'" (Thanks to Rich Kirkpatrick, Steve Tribe, Jean McDonald, Richard Dinnick)

BBCi's Ninth Doctor (played in the webcast "The Scream of the Shalka" by Richard E. Grant) returns in print form today on the BBC's Cult / Vampire section. Doctor Who: The Feast of the Stone by Cavan Scott and Mark Wright ("Project: Lazarus") can be read by here. It's part of BBCi Cult's "Vampire Stories" section. (Thanks to everyone who let us know!)