Doctor Who In Memoriam 2019Bookmark and Share

Tuesday, 31 December 2019 - Reported by Chuck Foster
As 2019 draws to a close, Toby Hadoke has released his annual look back at those from the Doctor Who universe who we lost over the past twelve months.

Remembering those from the world of Doctor Who whose deaths were reported in 2019.




FILTER: - Obituary

Doctor Who Series 12 T-ShirtsBookmark and Share

Monday, 30 December 2019 - Reported by Marcus
BBC Studios today announced that Forbidden Planet will be releasing brand new, exclusive Doctor Who T-shirts during Series 12, which goes on air from 1st January 2020.

A range of 10 Doctor Who T-shirts will launch during the new series, themed around each week’s episode and available to pre-order at ForbiddenPlanet.com the morning after transmission.

Kicking off the new series, Doctor Who will return to BBC One on 1st January at 6:55pm for a New Year’s Day special named Spyfall, with subsequent episodes broadcasting every Sunday.

Returning for her second season, the Thirteenth Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) will resume her travels through time and space with friends Ryan (Tosin Cole), Yaz (Mandip Gill), and Graham (Bradley Walsh).

Anita Majhu, Senior Licensing Manager at BBC Studios, said
This is such an exciting line and we’re thrilled to be offering Doctor Who fans the opportunity to be a part of the new series in this way.
Anthony Garnon, Licensing & Special Projects Manager, Forbidden Planet, said
Months of behind the scenes planning and co-ordination, this is Doctor Who merchandising on a whole new level. Don't just watch the episode, live it with Forbidden Planet!
T-shirts will be available to pre-order online and will be priced at £15.99 RRP.




FILTER: - Merchandise - Series 12/38

Predict the RatingsBookmark and Share

Saturday, 28 December 2019 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The Doctor (Series 12 Profile) (Credit: BBC)After a year off, Doctor Who is back and so are we with our festive Predict the Ratings competition! This year readers have the chance to win a copy of this latest series of adventures featuring the Doctor, Graham, Yaz and Ryan on Blu-ray/DVD upon its release date (currently scheduled for March 2020).

As always, the aim is to predict the final consolidated viewing figure in the United Kingdom for Spyfall Part One as reported by BARB, to the nearest 10,000 viewers (i.e. two decimal places). In addition, we'd like you to predict Doctor Who's position in the weekly chart (which will be used in the case of a tie-break).

The episode is broadcast in the UK on New Year's Day at 6:55pm on BBC One; ITV will broadcast Doctor Who's 'traditional' competition in the form of Emmerdale from 7:00pm, with BBC Two showing Masterchef: The Professionals Rematch 2019 (also at 7:00pm), Channel 4 halfway through The Lion King (6:00pm), and Channel 5 continuing The Two Ronnies: the Unseen Sketches (from 6:20pm). Last year's BBC prime time premiere was the return of Luther: this year it is the new adaptation of Dracula from the pen of Sherlock and of course Doctor Who writers Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss.

For comparison, last year's New Year's Day special, Resolution, was watched by 7.13 million viewers, and achieved 14th place in the weekly chart. Its 7:00pm timeslot put it up against Emmerdale on ITV, The Snow Wolf: A Winter's Tale on BBC Two, Sister Act on Channel 4 and The Morecambe and Wise Show: Look Back in Laughter on Channel 5. Doctor Who easily won its timeslot, but was narrowly beaten later in the evening by old rival Coronation Street (7.17m), and Luther (9.10m); the annual New Year's Day fireworks exploded their way to the top of the chart with 12.39m.


To enter our competition, please send the following details to comp-ratings@doctorwhonews.net with the subject, "No Doctor, I expect you to ...":
  • Your name and preferred email address
  • Your country of entry (full details will be requested only if you are the winner)
  • Your guess at the final viewing figure to the nearest 10,000 (eg.9.99m)
  • Your guess at the final position in the chart (eg. 1st) - this will only be used in the event of a tie-break
Terms and Conditions:
  • The competition closes at 08:00 GMT, 2nd January 2020
  • Only one entry will be accepted per person.
  • The competition is open worldwide
  • BARB final figures are expected in early 2020, we will contact the winner once they have been published
  • The prize is a copy of The Complete Series Twelve on either DVD or Bluray; we will confirm the format with the winner at time of notification.


Good luck and don't forget to watch the series opener yourself! See our guide for current schedules for the episode locally, and visit This Week in Doctor Who for the continuing adventures of all of the Doctors around the world!





FILTER: - Competitions - Ratings - Series 12/38

The Thirteenth Doctor Meets the Tenth in Comic FormBookmark and Share

Tuesday, 24 December 2019 - Reported by Marcus
The Tenth and Thirteenth Doctor join forces in battle against the Weeping Angels and the Autons in the latest comic from Titan, due to be released in the new year.

THE THIRTEENTH DOCTOR YEAR 2 ISSUE #1

Writer: Jody Houser
Artist: Roberta Ingranata
Colourist: Colourist
Doctor Who NewsEisner-nominated writer Jody Houser and Witchblade artist Roberta Ingranata return for a brand new story in the Thirteenth Doctor comic series. An epic adventure spinning off the new season starting in the new year, starring Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor. With her pals, Ryan, Yaz and Graham, the Doctor encounters a familiar foe, and it'll take a familiar face to stop them!
Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor Year 2 #1 - Cover 1 (Credit: Titan )Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor Year 2 #1 - Cover 2 (Credit: Titan )Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor Year 2 #1 Cover 3 (Credit: Titan )Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor Year 2 #1 Cover 4 (Credit: Titan )Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor Year 2 #1 Cover 5 (Credit: Titan )

Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor Year 2 #1 - Page 1 (Credit: Titan )Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor Year 2 #1 - Page 2 (Credit: Titan )Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor Year 2 #1 - Page 3 (Credit: Titan )Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor Year 2 #1 - Page 4 (Credit: Titan )Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor Year 2 #1 - Page 5 (Credit: Titan )





FILTER: - Comics - Tenth Doctor - Thirteenth Doctor

Classic Doctor Who Launches on BritBox on Boxing DayBookmark and Share

Friday, 20 December 2019 - Reported by Marcus
The biggest Doctor Who Classic collection ever streamed in the UK comes to BritBox in the UK from Boxing Day.

From 26th December, 627 pieces of Doctor Who Classic content will be available on the service. This tally is comprised of a mix of episodes, spin-offs, documentaries, telesnaps and more and includes many rarely-seen treasures. Subscribers will be able to access this content via web, mobile, tablet, connected TVs and Chromecast.

BritBox is the digital video subscription service created by the BBC and ITV. The service aims to bring the very best in past, present and future British programming and award-winning content to viewers all in one place for £5.99 per month in HD. It launched in the United States in 2017 and the United Kingdom last November.

129 complete stories, which totals 558 episodes spanning the first eight Doctors from William Hartnell to Paul McGann, form the backbone of the collection.

The collection also includes four complete stories; The Tenth Planet, The Moonbase, The Ice Warriors and The Invasion, which feature a combination of original content and animation and total 22 episodes. The unaired story entitled Shada which was originally presented as six episodes (but has been uploaded as a 130 minute special), brings this total to 28.

A further two complete, solely animated stories - The Power Of The Daleks and The Macra Terror (presented in HD) - add 10 episodes.

Five orphaned episodes - The Crusade (2 parts), Galaxy 4, The Space Pirates and The Celestial Toymaker - bring the total up to 600. Doctor Who: The Movie, An Unearthly Child: The Pilot Episode and An Adventure In Space And Time will also be available on the service, in addition to The Underwater Menace, The Wheel In Space and The Web Of Fear which have been completed via telesnaps. Spin-off drama K-9 And Company, and documentaries More Than 30 Years In The TARDIS and Doctor Who: Doctors Revisited complete the collection.

BritBox will also be curating special Doctor Who Classic collections, including ‘New to Who’, featuring one key episode from each of the first seven Doctors as an introduction to the uninitiated. Further collections will be devoted to the most memorable monsters, with Cybermen, Daleks, The Master and Sontaran each getting the limelight. Regeneration episodes have also been collated.

Boxing Day also marks the start of a longer-term collaboration with the BBC, with a shared vision of making BritBox the ultimate home of Doctor Who Classic content in 2020 and beyond, and ensuring the widest collection of content available is presented in the best possible format and quality.

Reemah Sakaan, Group Director ITV SVOD, commented:
BritBox becoming the first complete digital home of Doctor Who Classic creates a special opportunity for fans and streamers across the UK. We are looking forward to expanding the collection even further by working with the show creators to lovingly restore lost and previously unavailable episodes in the months to come and offering a truly exclusive experience.
Sally de St Croix, Franchise Director for Doctor Who at BBC Studios added
It’s thrilling to partner with BritBox and see all this amazing Doctor Who Classic content congregate in one place where subscribers can stream to their hearts’ content – some experiencing the show for the first time whilst others will simply be enjoying it all over again.




FILTER: - Broadcasting - Classic Series

Donald Tosh 1935-2019Bookmark and Share

Wednesday, 18 December 2019 - Reported by Marcus
Donald ToshThe writer and Script Editor Donald Tosh has died at the age of 84.

Donald Tosh was the last surviving writer from the era of the First Doctor. He served as Script Editor for 9 months, writing much of the 1966 story The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve, rewriting the original script supplied by John Lucarotti. Later in the year, he rewrote much of the script of Brian Hayes classic story The Celestial Toymaker.

Donald Tosh had a long career in British Television. He was working at Granada Television in Manchester when he was asked to commission a twice-weekly series to compete with Emergency Ward 10, then the most popular show on the air. His solution was a new project called Florizel Street, created by a young man called Tony Warren. This later changed its name to Coronation Street.

In the early 1960's he moved to the BBC, working for Donald Wilson, then Head of Serials at the BBC. Against his better judgement, he was asked to script edit the soap Compact.
A twice-weekly serial! It was the one thing I loathed and wanted nothing to do with. However, I did it for eighteen months and learned a great deal about scriptwriting. Eventually, I went back to Donald and he told me that there were a few things that he'd be quite happy to move me to. One was another twice-weekly serial, and I said, no way and then he suggested Doctor Who and also told me that John Wiles was going to take over as producer from Verity Lambert and I said, oh, yes, then certainly I'd like to work on Doctor Who, as I knew Johnnie, we got on very well, and I had a huge respect for his work.
He joined the show in the summer of 1965, staying until the spring of 1966 and overseeing the stories The Time Meddler, Galaxy 4, Mission to the Unknown, The Myth Makers, The Daleks' Master Plan, The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve and The Celestial Toymaker. While some scripts needed very little work, most needed major rewrites to get them into a form necessary for TV Production.

His most accomplished work was probably for the story The Massacre of St Bartholomew’s Eve., set in the French court of 1572. The script had been supplied by John Lucarotti, but on reading it Tosh realised it would need to be completely rewritten.
John sent in a script, and he hadn’t had any time to do his research, which was very unlike him. He had missed the whole point of the story, and everything else that was going in. It’s a period I know quite a bit about, so I had to go away and rewrite it from page one. Bill Hartnell was a good actor, and I wanted to give him something different to do. I gave Bill a doppelganger story where I got him to play the Abbot of Amboise, not just the Doctor. He had great fun doing it, as he wasn’t having to learn all the usual scientific lines, as he had to do as the old man. As a result of that, when he came back to playing the Doctor, his performance had really improved. I thought it worked brilliantly, and it’s one I’m still very proud of. It’s such a shame that the BBC no longer have it.
Tosh left the show in March 1966 after an argument over the scripts for The Celestial Toymaker, which had been rewritten while he was on holiday. He told the DWAS magazine The Celestial Toyroom, that he did regret leaving the series as quickly as he did.
I really always felt that I should have stayed on as story editor until after The Gunslingers, until after Donald Cotton was settled, but when I spoke to the new producer, Innes Lloyd, it became very clear to me that his idea of what Doctor Who should be and my idea of what Doctor Who should be were poles apart. So there was really no point in me trying to stay on. I could have done, but I suspect it would have lead to untold battles in the production office, which is very bad for any programme.
After Doctor Who worked on shows such as Sherlock Holmes and Ryan International, but left Televsion in the 1970's. He worked for a time for English Heritage and became Head Custodian of Sherborne Old Castle in Dorset.




FILTER: - Classic Series - Obituary

Lethbridge-Stewart: An Ordinary ManBookmark and Share

Monday, 16 December 2019 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Candy Jar Books have announced the third instalment in the six-book Bloodlines sequence of novels is now available to pre-order:

Lethbridge-Stewart: Bloodlines: An Ordinary Man (Credit: Candy Jar Books)Lethbridge-Stewart: Bloodlines: An Ordinary Man
Written by Andy Frankham-Allen and Tim Gambrell
Cover artwork by Colin Howard

The destruction of the causal nexus continues, as the timelines of the Lethbridge-Stewarts and Traverses are wiped out of existence.

A new reality has been created, so very close to the essential timeline. And it is into this reality that Anne Travers is sent to retrieve a man who bears a shocking resemblance to Brigadier Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart.

February 1969, and school-teacher Archie Lethbridge-Stewart lives an ordinary life. A contented life with his little family in the Cornish village of Bledoe. But that is all about to change. First his old pupil, Owain Vine, is having strange visions. Visions of a London covered in web! And on the news it seems London itself is being evacuated – a major gas leak and bears breaking free of London Zoo. Can these events be connected?

Linking all this is a strange old man. A man who insists he knows Archie. Only, the man insists on calling him Alistair. Who is this strange old man? What is this talk of the future? And why should Archie and Owain risk everything to go with the old man to London?

Anne Travers has the answers. But, unfortunately, she appears to be little more than a ghost!

Originally intended as a solo project by Andy Frankham-Allen, An Ordinary Man is now a co-authored project, with Tim Gambrell coming on board to share the author duties. Andy explained the change in author line-up:
The same life stuff that got in the way of Loose Ends got in the way of this book. When it became clear I would not have the time to write the novel, I turned to a trusted author, one who understood the main setting of the book, the village of Bledoe.
Tim Gambrell said:
An Ordinary Man has certainly been no ordinary book. I have enormous respect for Andy; it takes guts to admit all is not well and that you need help with something. When he asked me to write this with him, I did what I'd do for any mate in trouble: I shifted things about in my own life and agreed immediately. Andy had laid the book's groundwork for me. This is still his book at the end of the day. The cornerstones of the plot and the structure had been laid, and the cast assembled. My initial challenge was planning a lot of the bits that went in between – plotting the character journeys from A to B to C. First and foremost, this is a character-led story, not an action-packed adventure. There are characters here I'd not written for before, such as Owain. But I know Bledoe, I've long known its occupants and, because I've always been a reader of the series as well as writing for it, I felt comfortable with Owain.
Andy added:
Unlike a normal Lethbridge-Stewart commission, this one had much more than a shopping list of elements. The story was already laid out, the opening chapters written. Tim had a very specific brief. Once he’s finished his work on it, I shall then take a pass over it myself, tweaking scenes here and there so that it more accurately matches my vision of the story.
Tim continued:
What I've enjoyed most about writing An Ordinary Man has been immersing myself in these characters, because they're not quite what we expect them to be. I've loved seeing how far I can push a situation before the characters say 'enough is enough', or ‘okay, you win’. And what really prompts us, as human beings, to take action outside of our comfort zone, or make changes to our lives for anything other than selfish reasons. I've got a wife and a young family, I've got adult responsibilities. And I've done a lot of soul-searching in writing this book. And it's got a cover by Colin Howard. I've not had one of those before, so that's exciting!

Colin Howard returns for cover-art duties, and he was particularly excited by the challenges presented to him:
I had quite a lot of fun with this cover, despite the original brief. That posed a few challenges. For Lethbridge-Stewart on this occasion it required him to be of the same age as Web of Fear’s colonel, however in this novel he is simply a Cornish School teacher in Bledoe, minus the famous moustache! So, time for screen grabbing Web again, to find a suitable reference of Nick Courtney at that age. Then I had to view elements of Inferno, to find a forehead reference as well as top lip! In order to flesh out my digital painting, I also added a blazer and tie of the type worn by the younger school-teacher Brig in Mawdryn Undead. I then opted for my usual ‘Way too much detail’ background of a Cornish Fishing Village. I sketch these digitally first, then paint over the sketch at around three hundred times magnification on multiple layers to allow for necessary repositioning if required at the cover layout stage. Anne Travers was again a challenge, as Tina Packer spends most of Web playing a supportive sympathetic cast member in two-hander scenes with Patrick Troughton, so therefore is subsequently ‘facially in-shadow’ with most of her scenes in the Unit base. I then had to add more of a 1970s hairstyle and dress, as her character does a little inter-dimensional time-hopping!
On top of those challenges, Colin was excited to be able to do the one thing he’d wanted to do since first joining the Candy Jar artist roster in 2015:
I have been desperate to get to do a Yeti-related cover, but things didn’t ever quite work out. So this time I ‘politely insisted’. In this novel I was told that the Great Intelligence’s London invasion is more successful without the Doctor or Lethbridge Stewart to thwart them. I decided to go to town a little with Big Ben swathed in flowing web, and two of our furry friends looming in the foreground of that section. The other element I was originally asked for was the ‘Sphere-crackling with energy’, so that completed my design idea.

The novel is available to pre-order from the Candy Jar website, and is covered by subscriptions.


Candy Jar Books is currently having a Christmas Sale: more details here.





FILTER: - Books - Candy Jar Books - Lethbridge-Stewart

Doctor Who: Series 5 Steelbook announcedBookmark and Share

Monday, 16 December 2019 - Reported by Chuck Foster
BBC Studios have announced the forthcoming release of Doctor Who's fifth series of adventures for the 21st Century in a limited edition Steelbook:

Doctor Who: Series 5 Collection Steel Book (cover) (Credit: BBC Studios)Transport yourself back in time and space with Doctor Who: The Complete Fifth Series on Steelbook Blu-Ray.

Series Five welcomed the arrival of Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor and Karen Gillan as his new friend, Amy Pond.

After his explosive regeneration, the Doctor awakes to discover his TARDIS is about to crash. Pulling himself out of the wreckage, he comes face-to-face with Amy Pond and promises to take her on a journey to the stars. Boarding the TARDIS, Amy and the Doctor embark on a series of adventures that will change her life forever.

Executive Produced by Steven Moffat, the series features Arthur Darvill as Amy’s fiancé Rory Williams and guest stars including Olivia Coleman, James Cordan, Bill Nighy, Ian McNeice, Annette Crosbie, Helen McCrory, Lucian Msamati, Alex Price, Sophie Okonedo, Nia Roberts, Meera Syal and Nina Wadia.

Bonus features include two ‘Meanwhile in the Tardis’ additional scenes, four ‘The Monster Files’, a three-part video diary, thirteen ‘Doctor Who Confidential’ cut-downs, six in-vision commentaries, out-takes and over twenty teasers and trailers.

The Steelbook will feature new and exclusive artwork.
Doctor Who Collection: Series 5 Steelbook (front cover) (Credit: BBC Studios) Doctor Who Collection: Series 5 Steelbook (back cover) (Credit: BBC Studios)

The steelbook is due to be released on 10 February 2019, and is available to pre-order in the UK from Amazon.




FILTER: - Blu-ray/DVD - Doctor Who - Matt Smith - Series 5/31

Anjli Mohindra and Laura Fraser to guest star in Doctor WhoBookmark and Share

Saturday, 14 December 2019 - Reported by Marcus
Laura FraserAnjli MohindraThe BBC has announced that television stars Anjli Mohindra and Laura Fraser are set to guest star in upcoming episodes of Doctor Who.

Previously starring as Rani Chandra in the CBBC Doctor Who spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures, Anjli is no stranger to the Whoniverse but as she takes on a new character, it’s safe to say she’ll be worlds away from her usual appearance…

Starring in a separate episode, Laura has previously starred in various dramas including the hit BBC show, The Missing and more recently Better Call Saul.

On appearing in Doctor Who, Anjli Mohindra says:
As a huge fan of the last series, it’s a bit of a dream come true getting to work opposite Jodie, Mandip, Tosin and of course after all these years, to work with Bradley again! There’s something undeniably special about Jodie’s Doctor, and to be bringing some terror to the joint was rather fun indeed.
Laura Fraser adds:
I love this episode and couldn’t resist playing such an intense character. I watched Doctor Who every week as a child, so it was a massive thrill to be asked to take part in such an iconic show.
Matt Strevens, Executive Producer, says:
It was a real joy to welcome Anjli and Laura to the show. We’ve wanted to work with them since we started and have found the perfect characters for them to show off their talent and range - both formidable in very different ways.
Doctor Who will return to BBC One on New Year’s Day at 6.55pm. The new series will begin with a two-parter entitled Spyfall, with part two airing on Sunday 5 January.




FILTER: - People - Series 12/38

School Produces Doctor Who ProjectBookmark and Share

Friday, 13 December 2019 - Reported by Marcus

Pupils at a special needs school in Wales have produced their own episode of Doctor Who, narrated by Seventh Doctor, Sylvester McCoy.

Ysgol Pen-y-Bryn is a school based in Swansea, for pupils aged 3-19 years, with a wide range of special needs.

Throughout the past year, their film enterprise group have been filming around Wales and making their own props for a special Doctor Who project.

Today sees the launch of the completed episode (just under 40 minutes in length) on the school's YouTube channel for free.




FILTER: - Fan Productions - Seventh Doctor