Music from the London production of William Shakespeare'a Much Ado About Nothing, starring David Tennant as Benedick and Catherine Tate as Beatrice has been released and is available to download from iTunes or Amazon.

The soundtrack features nine tracks featured in the stage production plus two bonus tracks with vocals from Tennant and Tate. The highly acclaimed show continues at Wyndhams Theatre in London until 1st September.

Visitors to the special Doctor Who immersive theatre experience, The Crash of the Elysium, got a surprise yesterday when the Doctor himself popped in to see them!

A fan of the organisers Punchdrunk since seeing one of their shows in New York, Matt Smith wanted to see the current production based around Doctor Who that has been taking place at the Manchester International Festival this month; normally, videos of the Doctor appear during the show, but producers arranged for him to appear in character yesterday instead of the final video, much to the delight of the 6-12 year old audience.

Commenting on the project, he said:

The final performance of The Crash of Elysium is today.

Matt Smith is to star in a new 90 minute BBC drama filming this summer that will explore the true-life story of two men whose partnership brought them gold medals in the 1948 London Olympics. Entitled Bert and Dickie, Smith will play the role Bert Bushell, who alongside Dickie Burnell won the double sculls rowing event. [Daily Mail, 1 Jul 2011; BBC Press, 26 May 2011]

Currently in the States, Smith was also seen to don Batman's costume in Los Angeles! The actor appeared in a play called Gotham Autopsy, part of the 24 Hour Plays event. [Telegraph, 20 Jun 2011]

David Tennant is expected to be at the UK premiere of his new film, Fright Night, which will take place at the O2 Arena in London on 14th August as part of the Empire Presents Big Screen festival. The film goes on general release on 2nd September. [The Wharf, 30 Jun 2011]

John Barrowman discussed the perception of being gay in the acting industry and how it can be changed with more openness: "We still have a whole lot of people out there who are not openly gay because they think it’s going to affect their jobs and stuff. Now I’m not out there to out people, and if that’s what you choose to do, that’s your choice, and I don’t see anything wrong with that. But I must say, if you’re doing it because you think it’s detrimental to your career, the more of us who come out and do things openly – I guarantee you, there’s a lot of us in Hollywood. And if we all just come out and don’t worry about it – in fact, not even come out, just live. If we could just be ourselves and live and not pretend and not lie and not have beards, things would be a lot different. And the public, in a way, has to accept that stuff. If a big Hollywood A-lister came out, do you really think it’s going to affect the films? People are not that stupid. And I think we need to give the people more power in that sense. There might be an area of society that will never believe it, will never want to believe it, but that’s their choice. I don’t have a choice, they do." [After Elton, 27 Jun 2011]

Doctor Who's head writer Steven Moffat spoke to Wired about making the shows, and commented on writing for the character: "When the new Doctor has worked, he’s been in tune with the times, yeah. I look at Tom Baker’s Doctor and that’s the ’70s to me. It’s nostalgic and wonderful. But because Doctor Who is an old show, it must never look old. It must always feel new. I’m not trying to make Doctor Who for the old fans. I’m trying to get the next generation of children to fall in love with the show." And on the audience: " It’s a big fat mainstream hit in Britain, and if you’ve got a big hit, you have to keep romancing the casual viewer. Keeping people happy who watch it now and then—that’s the hard part." [Wired, 28 Jun 2011]

Torchwood's head writer Russell T Davies put forward his view on why cuts in things like the BBC licence fee affect culture: "that is truly something of great cultural value - it's very easy to say that a school is more important than a play, that a hospital is more important than a drama, and that's because we're talking a totally false language in which these things are comparable and one reduces the other - that's the language of economics that simply does not fit cultural life. Reflecting on recent comments made by prime minister David Cameron on cleaning up the watershed, he said: "I'm delivering Torchwood to BBC1, we're delivering these episodes with weekly edits, it has sex, it has violence in it - (the watershed) does seem more stringent than ever, I have to say. I've always thought if your drama depends on a sex scene or a swear word that it's possibly a very slightly odd drama: I think that's true of some dramas, something like Queer as Folk, that's actually quite rare so I don't think we should automatically take a stand of saying these things are automatically good, because you've got to take it as it comes. It does seem more diligent than ever, that's why I'm surprised he is saying it needs policing - it seems to be policed ever since as we all know, with Jonathan Ross and the whole of the BBC came tumbling around our ears, compliance has been mad; but no matter how mad compliance gets, with diligence with hard work and with a very very close eye on the guidelines you can get strong material transmitted, I do believe that." [Front Row, 21 Jun 2011]

Writer Neil Gaiman (The Doctor's Wife) appeared on The Late Late Show, ostensibly to talk about his writing and the new series American Gods based on his books, but discussion inevitably veered towards Doctor Who, being a fan, and of course his episode this year!
[The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, 28 Jun 2011, via Ferguson's YouTube Channel]

Russell Tovey (Frame, Voyage of the Damned/The End of Time) will be playing the role of Henry Baskerville in the new adaptation of the classic Conan Doyle tale being made for Steven Moffat's other current series, Sherlock. [Russell Tovey on Twitter, 20 Jun 2011]

Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson was recently revealed to own one of the old Doctor costumes worn by Sylvester McCoy (who has a role in Jackson's The Hobbit). Actress Frances Barber (recently seen as Madame Kovarian in A Good Man Goes To War) reported: "Sylvester and I were in Peter’s house and he said: 'Look in that cabinet', in there was Sylvester’s Dr Who costume. Peter bought it on eBay. Isn’t that wacky?" [Express, 28 Jun 2011, reported from Doctor Who Insider]

Matt Smith is to star in a new BBC Drama playing Bert Bushnell, one half of the team which took the double scull Olympic Gold Medal for the UK in the 1948 London Olympics.

The film shows how Bushnell, and his partner Dickie Burnell, overcame class differences to win the event for Britain. Filming will take place in August with Smith returning to the role of The Doctor, to film this year's Christmas Special, in the Autumn.


Meanwhile the Fifth Doctor, Peter Davison, joins Graham Norton this Saturday on BBC Radio 2 from 10am. Questions for the actor can be emailed to the show at graham.norton@bbc.co.uk

After enormous public demand, the organisers of the interactive theatre project The Crash of the Elysium at the Manchester International Festival have announced that a number of tickets will be made available enabling adults to enjoy the experience as well as children. The After Dark performances will run at various times between 8:00-9:00pm from 8th-15th July, and are only open to adults and children over thirteen years old.

The Crash of the Elysium will take place at the BBC's new MediaCity UK building at Salford Quays, and is performed by Punchdrunk in association with BBC Worldwide. The experience is written by Punchdrunk's Felix Barrett and Doctor Who writer Tom MacRae, based on an original idea by Steven Moffat.

Tickets (£25) will go on sale exclusively via Ticketmaster from tomorrow (Wednesday) at 10:00am.
(with thanks to Kate Carter/The Corner Shop PR)

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Writer Tom MacRae recently spoke to the Telegraph about the premise behind the show:

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The annual Portal Awards have been announced by Airlock Alpha, with Doctor Who once more well represented within the various categories.

Best Actor sees Matt Smith nominated for his role as The Doctor; he will face competition from Andrew Lincoln (The Walking Dead), Sean Bean (Game of Thrones), Joshua Jackson (Fringe), and Eddie McClintock (Warehouse 13). This award was won overwhelmingly by David Tennant last year with some 68% of the vote (with second place going to John Barrowman with 10%!).

Similarly, Best Actress sees co-star Karen Gillan pitted against Lena Headey (Game of Thrones), Anna Torv (Fringe), Paula Malcomson (Caprica), and Summer Glau (The Cape). Gillan lost out last year to Eve Myles for her portrayal as Gwen Cooper in Torchwood: Children of Earth.

Doctor Who itself is nominated for Best Television Series, which it won last year (Torchwood came second). This year sees it up against Fringe, Game of Thrones, Stargate: Universe and The Walking Dead. Also, The Doctor's Wife has been nominated in the Best Television Episode category, facing episodes from Fringe, Stargate: Universe, Game of Thrones and Caprica.

Alex Kingston has been nominated for Best Television Special Guest, an award she won last year for The Time of Angels; this time her role in Day of the Moon is being recognised, and she faces competition from another Doctor Who guest, Michael Gambon for A Christmas Carol. Christopher Lloyd and Leonard Nimoy are also nominated for Fringe, plus Michael Rosenbaum for Smallville.

The late Elisabeth Sladen has been nominated for the Gene Roddenberry Award which honours lifetime achievement; the other nominees are H.G. Wells, J.J. Abrams, Rick Berman and Gene L. Coon.


The full list of categories are available from Airlock Alpha, and fans will be able to vote from the 25th June until 24th July.

Sam Hodges, Head of Communications for BBC1, Fiction, Daytime and HD at the BBC has confirmed on Twitter this afternoon that Doctor Who has indeed been commissioned for a further fourteen episodes, with Matt Smith continuing in the role. Head writer Stephen Moffat re-iterated:
No details on how the next series will be broadcast have been revealed at present, though Doctor Who Magazine confirmed that one will be the now traditional Christmas Special for 2011. Meanwhile the Guardian has reported a BBC spokesperson as saying:

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The news comes after UK satirical publication Private Eye commented on Twitter that details on the state of Doctor Who production appear in their latest issue; coupled by an interview with Matt Smith in Saturday's Mirror about his Hollywood aspirations, this had promoted widespread speculation in fandom over the series' future.

Immersive theatre producers Punchdrunk are to create a new interactive experience for the Manchester International Festival based upon Doctor Who.

Aimed for children between the ages of six and twelve, The Crash of the Elysium is based around the wreck of the steamship and an exploration inside the remains. There are two tie-in websites that provide more 'background' to the adventure, the Northwest Historical Society's coverage of the crash, and a blog by salvage diver Daryl Christofi and his plans to visit the wreck.

The experience is written by Felix Barrett, creative director for Punchdrunk, and Tom MacRae - who wrote Rise of the Cybermen/Age of Steel for the 2006 series of Doctor Who - and the story is based on an original idea by series head writer Steven Moffat.

As with a number of associated projects in recent years, there's an introductory video on the site from the Doctor himself (see below for more on this)



The performances will take place at the BBC's new MediaCity UK building at Salford Quays as part of this year's festival, running from 30th June to 17th July.

The production is around an hour in length, and the audience walk throughout the performance. The show is restricted to children in the age range 6-12, with a version just for them and another which is aimed for younger children of 6-8 accompanied by a parent. Full details including booking information can be found on the festival event page.

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Punchdrunk are known for their projects to convert old buildings into theatrical experiences, and as their site explains:

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The video above has also appeared on the BBC website itself as part of a 'hidden messages' game played over the first few episodes of the last series.

The London production of Shakespeare's comedy Much Ado About Nothing - starring the former Doctor/companion teaming of David Tennant as Benedict and Catherine Tate as Beatrice - opens later today, 1st June, at Wyndham's Theatre.

The play, which has been previewing for the past two weeks, sees Tennant return to the London stage for the first time since January 2009 when he played Hamlet.

Much Ado About Nothing was written around 1600 with the earliest recorded performances being two that were given at Court in the winter of 1612–13. In the play marriage seems inconceivable for reluctant lovers Beatrice and Benedick whose endless witty sparring threatens to keep them apart forever. Meanwhile two young lovers Claudio and Hero are to be married imminently but the devious scheming of a resentful Prince looks set to thwart the nuptials.

This version is set in the 1980s and sees Tennant appearing in a white naval uniform while Tate dons the dungarees of a a beer-swilling, cigarette smoking, feminist.

The play is directed by Josie Rourke, Artistic Director of the Bush Theatre,and runs at Wyndham's Theatre in Charing Cross Road until 3rd September.

Doctor goes up against Doctor in the 2011 Constellation Awards, with both Matt Smith and David Tennant nominated for their role as The Doctor in the Best Male Performance - Television category.

The Awards, now in their fifth year, are Canada's premier awards rewarding excellence in science fiction film and television. Because they cover programmes broadcast in 2010, both the Tenth and Eleventh Doctor's are eligible. Tennant for his performance in The End of Time - Part Two, and Smith for his performance in last year's Christmas special, A Christmas Carol. David Tennant was given last year's award for his performance in The Waters of Mars. Also nominated is Tony Curran for his portrayal of Vincent Van Gogh in Vincent and the Doctor.

Karen Gillan is nominated for Best Female Performance - Television for her role in Amy's Choice and faces Katherine Jenkins nominated for A Christmas Carol.

Doctor Who is also nominated in the Best Science Fiction Television Series category, a category it has one three times before although it lost out in last year's awards to Supernatural, which has also been nominated for 2010.

Murray Gold earns a nominaton for Doctor Who's music in the Best Technical Accomplishment category, with Steven Moffat and Richard Curtis both being nominated for Best Overall 2010 Science Fiction Film or Television Script, Moffat for The Eleventh Hour and Curtis for Vincent and the Doctor.

For a full list of nomanees see the awards website.

The awards will be announced at a Ceremony on July 16, 2011 at the Sheraton Parkway Toronto North hotel.