Torchwood Ratings RoundupBookmark and Share

Sunday, 31 December 2006 - Reported by Marcus
Episode 11 of Torchwood, Combat achived a slightly lower value in the overnight ratings for Christmas week.

The BBC2 showing on 27th December achieved a figure of 1.90m, which was a 9.4% share. The Appreciation index for this showing was 81

On BBC3 the Boxing Day showing at 2230 was watched by 369,000 which was a 2.6% share. Later that night 96,000 or 4.3% of the audience watched the 0150 showing.

On Friday 256,000 watched at 2100 which was a share of 1.5% and 75,000 or 3% watched at 0130.

The programme had an extra repeat at 2235 on Saturday when it was watched by 176,000 or 1.3% of the audience.

The final two episodes will be shown on BBC Three on New Years Day






FILTER: - Torchwood - Ratings - UK

"Runaway Bride" - Signed repeatBookmark and Share

Sunday, 31 December 2006 - Reported by Marcus
The third showing of "The Runaway Bride" was watched by 244,000 viewers, according to unofficial overnight figures. The share was 18.4%.

The programme, shown on BBC1 at 2.25am, was part of the BBC's sign zone, so was shown with in vision signing for the deaf. It easily won its time slot.

Part of the programme was covered by a caption pointing viewers to BBC2 where there was breaking news on the execution of Saddam Hussain.




FILTER: - Specials - Ratings - UK

Who Was Who Where What When Why?Bookmark and Share

Sunday, 31 December 2006 - Reported by DWNP Archive
As 2006 draws to a close and in keeping with all those end-of-the-year-type reviews, here's something to boggle your minds. A roundup of who in the world of Who has been popping up where over the holiday period.

Derek Acorah (Army of Ghosts) - The Antiques Ghost Show, Most Haunted. Joe Ahearne (Series One director) directed This Life Plus 10 and Eccleston in Perfect Parents. Bob Baker, writer of Wallace and Gromit: a Close Shave.Tom Baker - the Voice of BT txt msgng, narrating On Show, Little Britain, Little Britain Abroad. Thelma Barlow (Series Three) in Mrs Henderson Presents. John Barrowman in Torchwood, Torchwood Declassified, The Royal Variety Performance, Jack and the Beanstalk, How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?, It Started With Swap Shop, The Heaven and Earth Show, The Big Finish. Big Brother (Bad Wolf) - Celebrity Big Brother. Christopher Biggins (The One Doctor) in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Samantha Bond in The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Invasion of the Bane.Nicholas Briggs - Blood of the Daleks, interviewed on BBC Breakfast. Jim Broadbent (The Curse of Fatal Death) in Nicholas Nickleby.

Noel Clarke The Christmas Invasion, Combat. John Cleese (City of Death) in And Now For Something Completely Different, A Fish Called Wanda. Camille Coduri The Christmas Invasion. Pauline Collins (Tooth and Claw) in Shirley Valentine. Phil Collinson - The Runaway Bride, The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Invasion of the Bane. Susannah Constantine (Bad Wolf) presenting Trinny & Susannah Undress. Mark Cossey (Doctor Who Confidential) - That Life.Jon Culshaw (The Kingmaker) in the Dead Ringers Christmas Special, The Secret Policeman’s Ball. The Daleks in The Vicar of Dibley. Gareth David-Lloyd in Torchwood, Torchwood Declassified. Russell T Davies - The Runaway Bride, Torchwood, Torchwood Declassified, The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Invasion of the Bane. Peter Davison among TV's Naughtiest Blunders.

Christopher Eccleston in Perfect Parents. Huw Edwards (Fear Her) presenting BBC News. Stephen Fry (Death Comes to Time) The Story of Light Entertainment, Arena: The Archers. Julie Gardner - The Runaway Bride, This Life Plus 10, That Life, Torchwood Declassified. Mark Gatiss in Fear of Fanny, The League of Gentleman: Christmas Special, The Wind in the Willows. Don Gilet in The Runaway Bride, The Ruby in the Smoke. Burn Gorman in Torchwood, Torchwood Declassified. Richard E Grant narrated The Story of ... Fairytale of New York. Tamsin Greig (The Long Game) in The Archers, Green Wing, Arena: The Archers.

Susannah Harker (Big Finish) in Perfect Parents. Graeme Harper - Robin Hood. Konnie Huq presenting Blue Peter, playing herself in The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Invasion of the Bane. Gethin Jones (Series Two Cyberman) presenting Blue Peter, playing himself in The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Invasion of the Bane. Paul Kasey in The Runaway Bride, Torchwood and interviewed on BBC Breakfast. Peter Kay (Love and Monsters) in Little Britain Abroad.John Leeson/K9 in The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Invasion of the Bane. Joanna Lumley (The Curse of Fatal Death) in Jam and Jerusalem. Paul McGann in Blood of the Daleks. Fulton Mackay (Doctor Who and the Silurians) in Porridge. Tom Macrae (Rise of the Cybermen/Age of Steel) in Parallel Worlds - a User's Guide. Anna Maxwell Martin(The Long Game) in The Wind in the Willows. Steve Meo (Random Shoes) in High Hopes. Jason Mohammad(Doomsday) presenting BBC Wales Today. Naoko Mori in Torchwood, Torchwood Declassified. Eve Myles in Torchwood, Torchwood Declassified. Sophia Myles (The Girl in the Fireplace) in Dracula.

Kim Newman (Time and Relative) in Parallel Worlds - a User's Guide. Bill Nighy in Love Actually, All Fingers and Thumbs. Roger Lloyd Pack (Rise of the Cybermen/Age of Steel) in The Vicar of Dibley. Billie Piper in The Ruby in the Smoke, The Christmas Invasion, The New Paul O'Grady Show, The Friday Night Christmas Project. Jonathan Pryce(The Curse of Fatal Death) with Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean: the Curse of the Black Pearl. Patricia Quinn (Dragonfire) in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Wendy Richard (Dimensions in Time) in EastEnders. Gareth Roberts - The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Invasion of the Bane. Anne Robinson (Bad Wolf) presenting The Weakest Link. Andrew Sachs (Shada webcast) in The Midnight Folk. Gillane Seaborne (Doctor Who Confidential) - That Life.Elisabeth Sladen in The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Invasion of the Bane. Sheridan Smith in Blood of the Daleks, Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps. Richard Stokes - Torchwood, Torchwood Declassified. Catherine Tate in The Runaway Bride, The Catherine Tate Christmas Special, The New Paul O'Grady Show.

David Tennant in The Christmas Invasion, The Runaway Bride, Music and Monsters, Jo Whiley Meets Dr Who, Hogmanay Live, The Friday Night Project. Patrick Troughton in Jason and the Argonauts. Zoe Wanamaker (The End of the World, New Earth) in My Family. Marc Warren (Love and Monsters) in Dracula. Arabella Weir (Exile) - one of the Grumpy Old Women at Christmas, Grumpy Old New Year. Sam West (Dimensions in Time) in Random Quest.Simon Williams (Remembrance of the Daleks) in Sherlock Holmes: the Eligible Bachelor. Penelope Wilton (Aliens of London/World War Three) in The Christmas Invasion, Calendar Girls. Barbara Windsor (Army of Ghosts) in EastEnders.Trinny Woodall (Bad Wolf) in Trinny & Susannah Undress.




FILTER: - People

The Sarah Jane Adventures Countdown BeginsBookmark and Share

Saturday, 30 December 2006 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

This weekend's countdown begins toward the Monday debut of the hour-long special The Sarah Jane Adventures. The episode, broadcast Monday 1 January from 4.50 to 5.50pm on BBC1/CBBC, is the pilot episode for a limited-run series that will air later in the year and brings Elisabeth Sladen back to the screen in the title role of Sarah Jane Smith, the role she was last seen as in the last Doctor Who season's episode "School Reunion".

Joining Sladen in the episode is Samantha Bond, best known as Miss Moneypenny in the Pierce Brosnan "James Bond" films and for her role in the series "Distant Shores," as Mrs. Wormwood, and Jamie Davies as Wormwood's henchman, Davey. Sarah Jane's young sidekicks in the episode are Yasmin Page as Maria, Porsha Lawrence Mavour as Kelsey and Thomas Knight as Luke. K9 (possibly voiced by John Leeson) is to be seen briefly in the special but will not be in the series to follow.

The episode is entitled Invasion of the Bane, and is written by Gareth Roberts and Russell T Davies. Davies and Julie Gardner executive produce; Phil Collinson and Matthew Bouch are the producers.

Below is the episode's press release, as well as a collection of photos from the episode, presented here as a teaser for the Monday airing; click on each for a larger version. (As always, all photos are copyrighted to the BBC and used solely to promote the episode.)
Elisabeth Sladen -- Doctor Who's former sidekick -- is back as Sarah Jane Smith in a brand-new, fast-paced children's drama, created by Russell T Davies and from the makers of Doctor Who. The Sarah Jane Adventures ensures that children never look at fizzy drinks in the same way again...

Sarah Jane is fascinated by Bubbleshock, a strangely addictive organic drink that is taking the world by storm. She is almost oblivious to the arrival of her new neighbour, Maria, a young girl starting a new life with her father. Maria becomes intrigued by the strange goings on at Sarah Jane's house but, before she can investigate, she's whisked away by her new friend, Kelsey, to the brightly coloured, but sinister, Bubbleshock factory.

As Sarah Jane tries to find out what the mysterious Mrs Wormwood is doing at the factory, Maria and Kelsey embark on a tour which leads them into the path of a monstrous creature and a strange young boy with no name or past. When Sarah Jane and Maria discover the secret ingredient of Bubbleshock, they realise they are the only ones who can stop Mrs Wormwood and her evil plans for the human race.





FILTER: - Sarah Jane - Broadcasting

The Week in the PressBookmark and Share

Saturday, 30 December 2006 - Reported by DWNP Archive
With Christmas fast fading and the New Year upon us, here's a roundup of some of the massive press coverage over the past couple of weeks.

The Runaway Bride

The Daily Mail writes: "New water crisis as Doctor Who drains the Thames".

"He has already caused disruption to a number of London landmarks. Now Dr Who drains the Thames in a Christmas special, The Runaway Bride, to be broadcast on Christmas Day ...

"A horde of alien spiders make their base under the Thames and when the Doctor and Donna - the runaway bride in the title played by Catherine Tate - escape from the lair, water pours in, emptying the river. The scene sees the pair standing on top of the Thames Barrier, staring out across the city minus the Thames.

"Asked what other landmarks in the capital he wanted to target, Tennant suggested Buckingham Palace. He joked: 'Let's blow that up, come on!' He added Madame Tussauds was also in the Doctor's sights. Donna, from Chiswick, becomes the first woman to turn down Dr Who's advances at the end of the programme."

The Times has an interview with Catherine Tate. On her character in The Runaway Bride, Donna "doesn’t want to be with the Doctor. She just wants to get married." 'Tate wasn’t a huge fan of Doctor Who as a girl. "I was more into The Kids from Fame," she says laughing. "I think Rose (Billie Piper’s character, now departed) is the reason so many girls are into it now." Tate’s daughter Erin, 4, is a fan – "she loves the Cybermen".

The Guardian lists this year's Doctor Who Christmas special as "unmissable TV this Christmas" and one of the "best shows on the box".

"While it feels as if the Doctor Who Christmas special is a fixture of the festive season, this is only its second such outing. Here, the Doctor has Catherine Tate at his side to fight Sarah Parish's Big Bad - half-woman, half-spider, the Empress of [the] Racnoss."

The short article goes on to mention that "there's a Jo Whiley Meets Doctor Who special on Radio 1 on Christmas Day, The Sarah Jane Adventures are on BBC1 on New Year's Day, along with, on BBC3, the explosive conclusion of Torchwood. BBC7 also plays host to a new story, Blood of the Daleks, on Hogmanay."

Meanwhile, the Sun, under the headline "It's time to lord it up, Tate", had this to say:

"Killer festive decorations, slayer Santas and a flesh-eating spider - it can only be the Doctor Who Christmas special. David Tennant is his usual quirky self, but The Runaway Bride really belongs to Catherine Tate. Her character Donna is bristling with rage at being beamed into the Tardis while half-way up the aisle. Donna is more than a bit Lauren-esque [her schoolgirl character from The Catherine Tate Show] as she screeches at the Timelord: 'No stupid Martian is going to stop me getting married.' Even when she gets kidnapped by a Father Christmas in a taxi, the Cockney secretary deadpans, 'You ARE kidding me?'

And, in the Metro's "Tate takes a trip in the Tardis": "Catherine Tate takes a trip in the Tardis with Doctor Who - and turns down the chance to be his assistant. The comedienne appears in BBC One Christmas episode The Runaway Bride - where the Doctor, played by David Tennant, ends up falling for her. In their final scenes he asks her to join him on his time-travelling adventures but she leaves him heartbroken by saying no. Catherine admitted: 'I was devastated. They'd have made a great team. They're a slightly unconventional pairing. They don't really get on at first but by the end they have rather fallen for each other so it's a bit of a shame.'"

The Telegraph covered the story with "Evil monsters from Doctor Who? Am I bovvered, asks Tate". In the article,David Tennant talked about returning to the show without Billie Piper: "Tennant admitted he has found it hard to adjust to life without her. 'It was a little bit odd going back in July - it was like going back to school and all the old team was still there except Billie, so it was very different. But I loved working with Catherine and I suppose that's what acting is about, you develop these new relationships. The show is different and just as good."

Tate is quoted about her not being asked to stay on as a permanent companion and how much fun she had on the show. The Sun also had a piece on (as they put it) Tate's "Doctor Who snub".

There's also a story about Tate and the Christmas special - "Tate's Christmas Date with the Doctor" - on line at BBC News.

In the Glasgow Daily Record's "Am I Bovvered?": "Telly funny girl Catherine Tate is set to make history by becoming the first woman to turn down Doctor Who. Catherine - whose characters include rebellious schoolgirl Lauren and the outrageous swearing Nan - joins Scot David Tennant for the Christmas Day Doctor Who special The Runaway Bride. Catherine plays the bride who finds her wedding day interrupted by an alien plot to destroy the Earth. After losing his former companion Rose - actress Billie Piper - the Doctor invites bride Donna to live in the Tardis. But she declines in the final moments."

In another on-line BBC News story, entertainment reporter Kevin Young discussed "What TV critics watch at Christmas": "With hundreds of programmes on offer throughout Christmas, what do the people who spend their lives reviewing TV shows want to watch?". He talked about a handful of programmes, including The Ruby in the Smoke (Piper) and This Life Plus 10 (Joe AhearneJulie Gardner), but singled out Doctor Who.

"There is no doubt about it - Doctor Who is this year's overwhelming festive favourite among TV critics. 'I'm so desperate to watch this that if our TV broke down, I'd just go and knock on the neighbours' door, and invite myself on to their sofa,' says Caitlin Moran, a columnist at The Times. 'Then I'd ask them to go into the kitchen for a bit so they didn't ruin the atmosphere by talking.'"

In the Mirror's, "How very dare you": "[…] Tate has told how her hopes of becoming Dr Who's new sidekick were dashed when BBC bosses snubbed her, despite starring in the Christmas special. The award-winning comic appears in The Runaway Bride as the timelord's temporary assistant Donna who is mysteriously transported into the Tardis during her wedding. But yesterday Tate claimed she was not even considered for the permanent role left vacant by Billie Piper who played Rose Tyler for two series."

There was a long article in the Manchester Evening News under the headline "Doctor Who: Bovvered?", which also made mention of the Civil Partnership of Matt Lucas, who appeared opposite Tennant in Casanova: "Tennant gave nothing away about his future at today’s first screening of the Time Lord’s latest Christmas special. It was a relatively early start in London’s Soho, bearing in mind he’d been at yesterday’s wedding of Little Britain star Matt Lucas. For those anxious to know about Matt’s panto-themed reception, David went as Buttons and Doctor Who writer Russell T Davies was, of course, a Dame."

In its article, the Western Mail, concentrated on the Sarah Parish's role as the Empress of the Racnoss in "Move aside Daleks for the scariest monster ever": "Younger viewers may find the half-human, half-spider Empress of Rachnos too scary to watch. Cutting It star Sarah Parish is unrecognisable in the role.

"She admitted that even her own family might run for cover at the sight of her character when they sit down to watch the festive episode, called The Runaway Bride. 'I've got four very excited nieces and I don't want them to hate me,' she said. 'I think it's behind-the-sofa scary, not nightmare psychiatric ward scary.' David Tennant, who plays the Doctor, added, 'It's the right side of scary.'"

The Manchester Evening News also covered this story under the headline "Cutting it as a Doctor Who baddie". As didSky News in its "(Dr) Who's The Monster?".

Though the press coverage for the Christmas special was overwhelmingly positive, not everyone was happy, however. In the process of being generally miserable about Christmas television, Nicholas Barber in the Independent, finds time for a pop at Doctor Who, too: "The second most popular programme of Christmas '05 was a Doctor Who 'special', so there's another one on this year - but how special can it possibly be? An hour in duration, it's only 15 minutes longer than the dozen other Doctor Who episodes that we've already seen this year."

John Barrowman

John Barrowman is interviewed on Rainbow Network. Barrowman remarks that: "Towards the end of Doctor Who, Jack was becoming more human - I mean human in the sense that he was starting to feel for other people rather than just thinking about himself. As Torchwood begins, he's lost some of that. He doesn't always consider other people's feelings - his priority is the good of the world.

"A life-long fan of Doctor Who, John admits that his home is stuffed with Captain Jack memorabilia, including his racy leather trousers, squareness gun and the bullets he aimed at the Daleks when we last saw him."

On the Weevils, Barrowman describes them as "one freaky bunch of aliens […] and every once in a while a Weevil goes rogue and attacks. That's when we have to step in because they can be mighty vicious."

David Tennant

Top of the Pops magazine (BBC, issue 153) has quotes from David Tennant. Asked how he feels to be the most popular actor on TV, Tennant replies: "It's nice to know that people are grateful for what I'm doing. It's a great honour." On whether he will be staying on as the Doctor: "As long as I don't get the sack, I'll do another series." And on whether Tennant is living life to the max: "I'm keenly aware, all the time, of failing in some way. That feeling never goes away. With hindsight, I'll probably wonder why I didn't make the most of it."

There is also a small interview with Yasmin Paige who plays Maria in The Sarah Jane Adventures. Paige comments that: "My character moves in next door to SJ and they end up fighting aliens together. She's very quirky, loves technology and aliens." Paige mentions that her favourite scene from the Christmas episode is "the factory explosion. I was so nervous because I haven't experienced anything like that before. It was just amazing."


Christopher Eccleston

From the Australian publication The Age comes the essay "Timeless - why I Love Doctor Who", an affectionate run-down of ten reasons that make the 2005 series of Doctor Who a hit with critics and audiences everywhere.

While, WCET 48 Cincinnati, OH has issued a press release regarding their acquisition of the Christopher EcclestonDoctor Who episodes. The full release is available here, but this is the abbreviated version: "WCET has purchased the new Doctor Who series to air this Spring. It will air Thursday nights. WCET is currently one of 4 PBS broadcasters in the US airing the classic series. Grace Hill, CET's Programming Director, noted: 'We're pleased to be bringing more Doctor Who to CET. This series has been a success worldwide, and we can't wait for the new series to come on our air.'"

Miscellaneous

In "Who's The Top Toy?", the Daily Record ran a piece about the popularity of Doctor Who toys this Christmas. "Dr Who proved the biggest hit with the kids this Christmas as merchandise from the show continued to fly off the shelves. The popularity of the BBC1 show saw supplies of Daleks, Cyberman Voice Changers and Sonic Screwdrivers outstrip demand, according to the UK's biggest toy store chain. Toys R Us said stores were forced to source Doctor Who merchandise from across the world to keep up with demand. And in-store displays were being replenished up to five times a day in November and December."

Media Guardian is running a story about how the way the music charts are calculated in the UK is to be shaken up so that it will take account of track downloads from albums, even old albums, in future. Tests show that the ELO song "Mr Blue Sky" would have registered in the chart with this new system after its appearance in the Dr Who episode Love and Monsters. Full story in the Media Guardian.

Lalla Ward received a mention in an article - "Preaching to the converted", which was an interview with her husband Richard Dawkins - in the Telegraph. The relevant piece concerns whether it was Dawkins who once said that "a dog-collar was always a sign of a low IQ"?

"At this Dawkins, quite unexpectedly, starts to giggle. 'Actually, that was my wife [the former Dr Who actress, Lalla Ward]. What, in fact, she said was that whenever she sees a dog-collar, she imagines one of those electronic streamers going round and round saying, "Low IQ, Low IQ, Low IQ…" But she was only joking,' he adds, not altogether convincingly.

"'Besides,' he says, 'I think it's important to remember that you're dealing with a whole spectrum here. If you've got a Creationist who claims that the world is only 6,000 years old, I'd say that person was both pig-ignorant and thick _ thick, because if you're that ignorant you really ought to be doing something about it. But with someone like the Archbishop of Canterbury, it would be quite wrong to say that he's thick. I'd say mistaken, put it that way.'"

(With thanks to Kenny Davidson, Benjamin Elliott, Chuck Foster, Paul Hayes, Andrew John and Peter Weaver.)




FILTER: - People - Press - Radio Times

Series Three UpdateBookmark and Share

Friday, 29 December 2006 - Reported by DWNP Archive

Early details have been revealed about series three news in the pages of the next issue of Doctor Who Magazine, specifically the titles of four of the next season's episodes and some additional casting news.

The title for episode four is Daleks in Manhattan. The recent trailer for series three at the end of "The Runaway Bride" confirmed the Daleks would return in the new series; this episode is set in 1930's New York and is written by script editor Helen Raynor. There is currently no information on the title for episode five, the second half.

Episode six is The Lazarus Experiment. The episode features Mark Gatiss as Dr. Lazarus; in the series three trailer, Gatiss was seen both as his own age and in makeup depicting a much older person. "The Lazarus Experiment" is written by Stephen Greenhorn.

The title of the first episode (#8) of Paul Cornell's two-part story hasn't been revealed, but episode nine has: it's The Family of Blood. The two-parter features the previously mentioned Jessica Stevenson as Joan; new cast listings includes Harry Lloyd (as Jeremy Baines), Thomas Sangster (Tim Latimer), Tom Palmer (Hutchinson), Pip Torrens (Rocastle), Rebekah Staten (Jenny), Gerard Horan (Clark), Lauren Wilson (Lucy Cartwright) and Matthew White (Phillips). It has long been rumored that Cornell's two-parter is an adaptation of Human Nature, the novel he penned for Virgin Publishing as part of their "New Adventures" line; the casting information makes this seem almost certain as many of these characters (Joan, Tim, Hutchinson, Rocastle, Lucy) appear in that novel.

Episode ten, by Steven Moffat, is still untitled, but features in its cast Ian Boldsworth and Richard Cant.

Episode eleven, written by Russell T Davies, is entitled Utopia.





FILTER: - Production - Series 3/29

Doctor Who Magazine 378Bookmark and Share

Friday, 29 December 2006 - Reported by R Alan Siler
Details for issue 378 of Doctor Who Magazine have been released, which features exclusive coverage of "The Runaway Bride", the season finale of Torchwood, and the premiere of The Sarah Jane Adventures. To see the full size cover, click on the preview below.
(Thanks to Tom Spilsbury/DWM)
This issue, the magazine celebrates the "Best Christmas Ever" for Doctor Who, with a massive 30-page feature on the making of "The Runaway Bride", the series finale of Torchwood, and the first feature-length episode ofThe Sarah Jane Adventures.

Packed with new photographs, design drawings, and including exclusive interviews with David Tennant, John Barrowman, Elisabeth Sladen, Russell T Davies, and many more, this is one feature not to be missed!

Also this issue, a new comic strip adventure begins as the Doctor is reunited with a dear friend in the first part of "The Warkeeper's Crown"; Captain Jack, alias actor John Barrowman, faces the terror of the TARDIS tin; the Time Team watch "Time-Flight" and "Arc of Infinity" in their quest to see every Doctor Who story in order; and an exlcusive preview of the New Begnnings DVD box set, featuring "The Keeper of Traken", "Logopolis" and "Castrovalva".

Plus! Exclusive news about the adventures in store for the Doctor and Martha in the new series, including the return of the Daleks, new guest cast members, and four new episode titles revealed!

All this, plus your regular favourites in DWM 378, on sale from Thursday 4 January 2007.




FILTER: - Magazines - DWM

Doctor Who in The ArchersBookmark and Share

Thursday, 28 December 2006 - Reported by DWNP Archive

Doctor Who can do more than entertain, it seems. On Christmas Day, it managed to bring together two warring brothers whose enmity towards each other has been a part of the UK's long-running radio serial The Archers (BBC Radio 4) for several months now. The Grundys - Ed and Will - fell out when the younger brother, Ed, stole Will's wife, Emma. The whole nasty business led to some of the most dramatic episodes of the 15-minute drama that the series has seen in a long time.

However, on Christmas Day, the brothers appeared at their parents' house and, according to their mother, Clarrie, remained under the same roof together for longer than they had in ages. And what was it that kept them there? The Doctor Who Christmas special, "The Runaway Bride", of course.

In the episode, their dad, Eddie, remarked that Doctor Who is "not too bad once you get used to Billie Piper not being in it". And Clarrie commented delightedly, "The boys didn't say much to each other but they both stayed for the whole of the programme."

The episode can be heard again as part of the omnibus edition of The Archers on New Year's Eve on BBC Radio 4 at 10-11.15am.

(With thanks to Andrew John for this story.)




FILTER: - Press

BBC Denies Tennant LeavingBookmark and Share

Thursday, 28 December 2006 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The BBC have issued a statement reported by the Press Association to refute any decisions made by cast or crew over the fourth series of Doctor Who.

Reported by BBC NewsCBBCicWalesPress Association24dashManchester Evening News.
Dr Who bosses have denied claims that star David Tennant is to quit the show - but said a fourth series featuring the Scot as the Timelord has not yet been ordered.

Reports claimed Tennant, 35, would leave in the middle of the fourth series of the sci-fi drama, due to begin filming next year - sparking a hunt for the 11th Timelord after less than two years in the role.

But a BBC spokeswoman said that no fourth series had even been commissioned yet and negotiations with the star would not begin until it had been given the green light.

"David is absolutely committed to the show and is currently filming the third series," said a BBC spokeswoman today.

"There is no fourth series currently commissioned yet so we could not confirm his involvement in that yet.

"David Tennant is committed to the series. When a further series is commissioned, we will be able to confirm his involvement."




FILTER: - Production - David Tennant - Press

"Runaway Bride" AI FigureBookmark and Share

Thursday, 28 December 2006 - Reported by Marcus
As well as having one of the highest audiences on Christmas Day, Doctor Who was also one of the most enjoyed programmes with an AI of 84.

The Appreciation Index, or AI, is a measure of how much the audience liked the programme. It is a score out of 100, based on responses from a carefully selected panel. The average score for drama on BBC1 and ITV1 is 77. A score in excess of 85 is regarded as excellent while a score below 60 is poor.

The average score for Season Two of Doctor Who was also 84.

Only two programmes on Christmas Day received a higher score than Doctor Who. The Vicar of Dibley and Porridge both scored 85.

Doctor Who Confidential at 1pm scored 81.

Meanwhile, the BBC3 repeat of The Runaway Bride got an overnight rating of 556,000, which was a 2.8% share. It was the third highest rated show on Multi Channel TV for the day.




FILTER: - Specials - Ratings - UK