Longing For Longleat

Sunday, 2 April 2023 - Reported by Marcus

Forty years ago this week, any serious Doctor Who fan was heading for the west of England and the stately home of Longleat for the BBC official event celebrating 20 years of Doctor Who.

Those who made the journey, and paid their £7 for the two-day ticket, were treated to the greatest collection of stars and memorabilia from the series ever collected together in one place.

Not only were all four surviving Doctors in attendance but many companions and members of the production team were there to answer fans' questions and sign autographs.

The day was incredibly popular, taking the BBC by surprise, with queues clogging up the Wiltshire lanes for miles around.

To mark the anniversary a new download has been made available Longing for Longleat.

The download has been created by John Collier and Alex Storer who previously created two ebooks celebrating the Doctor Who Exhibitions in Blackpool - "Blackpool Remembered" and "Blackpool Revisited"

The publication is packed full of previously unseen photos and memories from attendees and some of the people behind the event.

It can be downloaded for FREE from this link

Jon Pertwee - Longleat 1983 (Credit: Nick Salmond)

Janet Fielding - Longleat 1983 (Credit: Nick Salmond)

Tom Baker - Longleat 1983 (Credit: Nick Salmond)

FILTER: - Convention

Bedford Who Charity Con 8

Wednesday, 1 March 2023 - Reported by Marcus

Bedford Who Charity Con 8 is being held this month and offering 10% off tickets for readers of Doctor Who News.

The convention is being held this year on Saturday 18th March in The King's House, Bedford, about 50 miles north of London.

All the profits from the day are going to be donated to two local charities: Bedford Foodbank (who provide emergency food to 2000 people a month), and FACES (who work with local families with particular needs).

Last year’s convention raised over £10,000 thanks to the generosity of Doctor Who fans.

The guest list includes:

Frazer Hines and Wendy Padbury joined by Neve McIntosh, in a rare convention appearance.
Sadie Miller and Christopher Naylor – the new Sarah and Harry for Big Finish
Jennie Linden (Barbara in Dr Who and the Daleks)
David Gooderson (the second Davros)
Christopher Ryan (Sontaran General Staal, and Lord Kiv in Mindwarp)
Peter Roy (supporting artist from Hartnell’s to Davison’s time),
Andrew Burford (stuntman and aliens – he was CyberBill in The Doctor Falls).

Tickets are available at full price from TicketTailor

However to claim your 10% discount you need to contact Simon Danes on info@bedfordwhocharitycon.co.uk and say you read about the event on Doctor Who News.

Full details on the convention website

FILTER: - Convention

Bedford Who Charity Con 7

Thursday, 24 March 2022 - Reported by Marcus

Bedford Who Charity Con 7 will take place on Saturday 9th April, and Doctor Who News readers can take advantage of a special offer of 10% off tickets.

Over the years, the Bedford conventions have established a strong reputation for being fun, relaxed, informal and friendly events, with a real intimacy between the guests and the audience.

The convention will raise money for Bedford Foodbank, a local charity that provides emergency food to 1400 people every month.

Guests this year include Colin Baker, Sophie Aldred, Terry Molloy, Miranda Raison (in a rare convention appearance), Brian Croucher and David Banks. Roger Murray-Leach, who designed some of the best-loved Tom Baker stories, will be giving a presentation about his work, too.

Full details of ticket prices and so on can be found on the convention’s website with updates on their Facebook page

To take advantage of the 10% reduction for your tickets, just email organiser Simon Danes on info@bedfordwhocharitycon.co.uk and say you read about the convention on Doctor Who News.

FILTER: - Convention

The Terrance Dicks Award For Writers

Tuesday, 15 March 2022 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The Doctor Who Appreciation Society has announced a new award for writers, in memory of the much loved, and highly influential, writer Terrance Dicks, who passed away in 2019.

Terrance captured the imagination of a generation of children and young adults, many of whom are at the forefront of modern television. Mark Gatiss said:

Very hard to express what Terrance Dicks meant to a whole generation. A brilliant TV professional, a funny and generous soul. Most of all, though, an inspirational writer who took so many of us on unforgettable journeys into space and time.

The award will recognise those whose writing across screen, audio, book and magazine have contributed to, and enhanced, the worlds of Doctor Who.

The inaugural award, which is in the bequest of the Society Executive, will be presented by Elsa Dicks, Terrance's wife, at the sold out Capitol convention being staged at the Crowne Plaza, London-Gatwick across the weekend of 2nd/3rd April. Tony Jordan, organiser of the event, said:

Terrance was adored by fans across the world as well as being a great friend of the Society. In 2010 he received the Society's 'Outstanding Contribution to Doctor Who' Award, and it's lovely to now have an Award in his venerable name. Never was anyone more deserving.

Elsa added:

The hallmark of Terrance's writing was his simple dramatic story-telling. No sentences full of long words, adjectives and flourishes. He was his own critic, re-reading what he had written and paring it back if needed. He would say if you want to be a writer, be a reader first, The books you enjoy will colour your writing.

The Terrance Dicks Award For Writers takes the form of a statue of The Master, as portrayed by Roger Delgado, crafted by Gary Glover of Mooncrest Models. The character is Terrance's most famous creation, and continues to feature in Doctor Who half a century after his first appearance in the Jon Pertwee story Terror of the Autons.

FILTER: - Awards/Nominations - Conventions - DWAS

Time Space Visualiser: Zoom! - Starts Today

Sunday, 17 January 2021 - Reported by Marcus

Time Space Visualiser: Zoom! is bringing the Doctor Who Fantom convention experience into your home for free in 2021

Right now we are sadly not able to meet up in person as we would like to, but fear not, because we are bringing back the magic of our Time-Space Visualiser to help our Doctor Who family through lockdown.

Last year we produced ten full-length online conventions, broadcast live and for free into your homes. Hundreds of hours of Doctor Who content to keep everyone’s spirits up, with Doctors, companions, guest stars and more, all doing their part, joining in to help out. For anybody who missed it, you can still catch up with these on our YouTube channel.

This year Time-Space Visualiser: Zoom! will be a series of informal question and answer sessions, hosted on Zoom. The first session stars Katy Manning and begins on Sunday 17th January at 1700 UK time.

There is no charge for joining in with these, but you will need to pre-register your interest. It is requested that if possible a donation is made to to the Theatre Support Fund.

Sunday 17th Jan KATY MANNING
Wednesday 20th Jan MARK STRICKSON
Sunday 24th Jan TBA
Wednesday 27th Jan ANNETTE BADLAND & ERIC POTTS
Sunday 31st Jan BONNIE LANGFORD

Places can be booked here

FILTER: - Convention

Doctor Who @ Comic Con

Wednesday, 16 September 2020 - Reported by Marcus

Doctor Who’s Time Lord Victorious and Maze Theory (Credit: BBC Studios)

Doctor Who will have a strong presence at this year’s New York Comic Con X MCM Comic Con Metaverse

BBC Studios have announced that two panels will join the already announced Doctor Who Spotlight panel from BBC America featuring Jodie Whittaker, Mandip Gill and Bradley Walsh.

New York Comic Con and MCM Comic Con’s Metaverse is a multi-faceted digital event with a focus on the fan experience. From October 8-11, Metaverse will exclusively live stream free panels on the New York Comic Con YouTube channel from leading entertainment brands.

‘The Making of Time Lord Victorious’ will see producer and writer James Goss talk about how this ambitious multi-platform project came together, and he will be joined by Joe Sugg, Nicholas Briggs and Ayesha Antoine for a sneak peek of the animated series Daleks! due to launch in November. Hear more from the cast about what fans can expect, who they play, and how they filmed their voiceovers during the global pandemic.

Also joining the Comic-Con line-up is Maze Theory’s ‘Exclusive: New Doctor Who games launching soon’ which will see Ingrid Oliver (Doctor Who), Maze Theory’s Studio Director Russ Harding, writer Gavin Collinson and CEO of Kaigan Games, Azmi Shah, reveal exclusive new Doctor Who adventures that form a trilogy of experiences across multiple gaming platforms.

The Time Lord Victorious panel will premiere on the New York Comic Con YouTube channel on Saturday 10th October, and the Maze Theory panel will premiere on Sunday 11th October. Check the Doctor Who Facebook page and www.findthemetaverse.com for updates to the premiere time.

FILTER: - Conventions

Double up on Doctor Who event viewing this Saturday

Saturday, 25 April 2020 - Reported by Chuck Foster

There's not one but two Doctor Who related online events taking place today. Starting at 10:00am BST, the Doctor Who Appreciation Society present The Capitol: CONtact has been made, and from 2:00pm BST Fantom Events present their fourth online event, Time Space Visualiser. Both will be broadcast on the organisations' respective YouTube channels and can be viewed afterwards for those in different time zones to the UK, as well as a host of other archive material from previous events also available to enjoy.

The Capitol - CONtact has been made (Credit: DWAS)

The Capitol: CONtact has been made
Presented by the Doctor Who Appreciation Society (via YouTube)

We're delighted to announce The Capitol CONtact has been made, a virtual event that will launch at 10.00am BST on Saturday 25th April. We have specifically chosen this time and date as it’s when The Capitol FIVE was originally scheduled to get underway.

CONtact has been made will be available at our You Tube Channel DWASonline, and features panels from the first four Capitols in their entirety. We are very grateful to our wonderful guests for giving us permission to make them available in these troublesome times as we continue to battle against the invisible enemy.

Panels will include Steven Berkoff talking about Shakespeare, Sylvester Stallone & Hitler, and Jon Culshaw trading blows with Terrance Dicks in a unique double header.

Time Space Visualiser 4 (Credit: Fantom Events)

Time and Space Visualiser
Presented by Fantom Events (via YouTube)

We are back this Saturday with our fourth online convention, bringing you a hectic mixture of brand new interviews, special features, competitions, and archive material, broadcasting live and direct on YouTube… all completely for FREE.

This week we are honoured to have our first Doctor joining us; the seventh Doctor SYLVESTER McCOY is taking part in a specially recorded interview for the event.

Of course any Doctor needs his loyal companions, and we have three of his fabulous friends. KATY MANNING (Jo Grant/Jones), JOHN LEESON (K9) and DAN STARKEY (Strax) will also be joining in the fun.

And if that wasn’t enough, we have brand new interviews with a trio of wonderful guest stars. GRAHAM COLE is best known to Doctor Who fans as The Melkur, but is probably more familiar as PC Tony Stamp in The Bill. JESSICA MARTIN was Mags (and also the voice of the Queen) and also read one of our new stories recently. And finally, JASON WATKINS, one of the most recognisable faces on television right now, who was also a guest star in NIGHTMARE IN SILVER.

FILTER: - Conventions - DWAS - Fantom - Online - Online Events - Sylvester McCoy

Time Space Visualiser: Cyber Saturday

Thursday, 9 April 2020 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Fantom Events will be presenting their third online convention this coming weekend (11 Apr), this time focussing on the Doctor's silver nemeses, the Cybermen!

Time Space Visualiser: Cyber Saturday runs from 2pm to 5pm, and once again will feature a mix of new and archive interviews, and other specially recorded features, as well as live interaction with fans through YouTube and Twitter:

Interviews include Gregg Palmer, who was an original Cyberman in The Tenth Planet, as well as Matt Doman and Matthew Rohman, who have played Cybermen in the new series, including the recent series finale with Jodie Whittaker.
A special reunion for the classic serial Earthshock; we span the continents to reunite James Warwick and Clare Clifford.
And as if that wasn’t “excellent” enough, Cyberleader extraordinaire David Banks joins us for a chat.
Archive footage includes interviews from Kevin Hudson, Adam Sweet and Daz Parker, as well as Kevin Clarke who wrote Silver Nemesis. We will also be showing a panel from 2011 reuniting three cast members of The Tomb of the Cybermen; Deborah Watling, Clive Merrison and Bernard Holley.

The event will be broadcast on the Fantom Events YouTube channel, where you can also find both of their previous events and additional interviews that weren't included on those afternoons.

As with last week, Time Space Visualiser will be followed in the evening by another shared viewing of a story, this time the 25th anniversary adventure Silver Nemesis. As is usual with these viewings, fans worldwide can join in to discuss the story on Twitter, and this time will be joined by 'ace' companion Sophie Aldred!

To join in, simply pop in your DVD of Silver Nemesis, or access a streaming service such as iTunes or Britbox, and then hit play at 6:00pm BST / 1:00pm EDT / 3:00am AEST / 5:00am NZST and share your viewing experience!

Tweet #SilverNemesis

FILTER: - Conventions - Fantom - Special Events

Time Space Visualiser: Missing Episodes

Saturday, 4 April 2020 - Reported by Chuck Foster

After the success of their first online convention last weekened, Fantom Events will be presenting another this afternoon (Saturday 3rd April), this time focusing on the missing episodes of Doctor Who.

Running from 2pm to 5pm, Time Space Visualiser will include a mixture of new interviews archive material and some specially recorded features for the afternoon, with each hour following a theme:

The first hour looks back at the making of The Savages, with a 2013 stage interview with Andrew Lodge (First Assistant) and Peter Thomas (Captain Edal) together with an interview recorded this week with Kay Patrick (Flower).
The second hour looks at family connections with a specially recorded interview with David Troughton, and an archive interview with Carole Ann Ford and Jessica Carney looking at the parallels of being and playing the Doctor’s Granddaughter.
The final hour sees Andy Futter talking to Peter Purves in a brand new interview shot for this event, followed by an archive stage panel with William Russell and Anneke Wills from 2013.

You can watch the event live from the Fantoms Events YouTube channel, where you can also find the complete event from last weekend, plus individual interviews including its own "missing" recording with Nicola Bryant!

Time Space Visualiser will be followed in the evening by what's becoming a regular pasttime for Doctor Who fans, a planned worldwide simulcast viewing of a story to tweet along to; tonight's will be the most recently recovered complete story, The Enemy of the World, which will also includes tweets from Philip Morris, the discoverer of the long-lost Patrick Troughton adventure in Nigeria.

To join in, simply pop in your DVD of The Enemy of the World, or access a streaming service such as iTunes or Britbox, and then hit play at 6:00pm BST / 1:00pm EDT / 3:00am AEST / 5:00am NZST and share your viewing experience!

Tweet #Salamander

To tie in with the 'watchathon', Fantom have also made the first episode of their alternative commentary for the story available for free to listen to this weekend via YouTube.

FILTER: - Broadcasting - Conventions - Fantom - International Broadcasting - Patrick Troughton - Special Events - William Hartnell

Time Space Visualiser: a free worldwide online event

Tuesday, 24 March 2020 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Time Space Visualiser, by Fantom Events (2020) (Credit: Fantom Events)

Fantom Events are planning a special event to take place online this coming Saturday, 28th March from 2:00pm. Time Space Visualiser will be streamed over the Internet for free, enabling any fan around the world to join in. Company Director Dexter O'Neill explains:

The show must go on... Unfortunately, due to the social distancing measures advised by the government we have had to postpone a couple of events, however the moment has been prepared for!

It is important to stay together and socialise as a community – and this platform will allow us to come together and experience rarely seen and new material, interacting with each other through live hosted segments.

Activities will include a mixture of pre-recorded and live interviews, plus some specially commissioned and performed short stories, a dip into the Fantom archive for some convention panels, and a couple of surprises too! Guests participating include Sophie Aldred, Bonnie Langford, Nicola Bryant, Mark Strickson, Katy Manning, Annette Badland, Ian Hallard and Mark Gatiss - with a few still to be revealed.

You can follow the event via the Fantom Events website on Saturday, and further news about the event can be found on social media using #timespacevisualiser and #tsv, or by joining their mailing list.

FILTER: - Conventions - Fantom - Special Events

Previous 10 Stories

Longing For Longleat

Bedford Who Charity Con 8

Bedford Who Charity Con 7

The Terrance Dicks Award For Writers

Time Space Visualiser: Zoom! - Starts Today

Doctor Who @ Comic Con

Double up on Doctor Who event viewing this Saturday

Time Space Visualiser: Cyber Saturday

Time Space Visualiser: Missing Episodes

Time Space Visualiser: a free worldwide online event

Amazon Associate paid Link. Doctor Who News is supported by qualifying purchases.

This Week in Doctor Who

ARCHIVE

FILTER