Demon Records have announced a special vinyl collection will be released celebrating the Fourth Doctor as played by Tom Baker. 

Limited to just 600 and each including a signed print from Tom Baker, the collection celebrates Tom Baker’s unique portrayal of the famous Time Lord, almost 50 years after he made his debut in the role.

This limited edition 4 LP vinyl box set mixes thrilling audio drama with interviews and readings by the man himself.

Genesis of the Daleks is the original 1979 album version of the TV serial, whilst Doctor Who and the Pescatonsis the made-for-vinyl audio drama first released in 1976.

Exploration Earth: The Time Machine is an adventure specially produced by BBC Schools Radio in 1976, and The State of Decay is a unique audiobook reading from 1982.

The collection is completed by a selection of BBC radio interviews with Tom Baker made in the 1970s and 1980s.

• LP1 Doctor Who: Genesis of the Daleks
• LP2 Doctor Who and the Pescatons
• LP3 Exploration Earth: The Time Machine + Selection of BBC radio interviews with Tom Baker made in the 1970s and 1980s
• LP4 Doctor Who: State of Decay

Presented inside an eye-catching Fourth Doctor O-ring sleeve, this Dalek-fronted quadpack design houses 4x 140g LPs in Orange, Green, Blue & Red vinyl, each with full cast & credits and its own brand-new graphic design.

Every copy of this release also includes an exclusive, frameable photograph of the Fourth Doctor, hand signed by Tom Baker himself.

The set co-stars Elisabeth Sladen, Ian Marter, Bill Mitchell and John Westbrook,

The set will be released on 15th September 2023 and is available to preorder on Amazon

The Doctor Who Appreciation Society has published Cosmic Masque issue XVIII as a free download.

The magazine, edited by Nick Smith and Steve Hatcher is about 'being a fan' and contains items on gaming, events, and merchandise as well as five new pieces of fiction.

CM XVIII runs to over 110 pages and is available in two formats - single page for tablets and two-page spreads for computer monitors.

The cover image is by Cole Thompson

You can download the magazine (and previous editions too) by visiting the DWAS website at dwasonline.co.uk and clicking the Cosmic Masque image.

BBC Studios today revealed a first look at the Fourteenth Doctor’s Sonic Screwdriver.

Doctor Who returns in November 2023 with three special episodes with David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor to coincide with the 60th anniversary.

Ncuti Gatwa’s first episode as the Fifteenth Doctor will then air over the festive period.

Doctor Who will premiere exclusively on the BBC for the UK and Ireland. Disney+ will be the exclusive home for new seasons of Doctor Who outside of the UK and Ireland.

The Fourteenth Doctor's Sonic Screwdriver
A new sonic has arrived 🔊🪛

Issue 593 of Doctor Who Magazine looks forward to the return of the series later this year and the arrival of David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor alongside the return of Catherine Tate as Donna Noble. 

Highlights of the new issue include:

• David Tennant and Catherine Tate talk exclusively to Emily Cook on the set of the forthcoming 60th Anniversary Specials.

• Snakes Alive! – Janet Fielding, Sarah Sutton and writer/director Pete McTighe on The Passenger, the new mini-episode of Doctor Who, which sees the return of Tegan and Nyssa.

• Letter from the Showrunner – Russell T Davies reveals what happened when he made a suggestion for a special piece of set dressing…

• The DWM 60th Anniversary Poll – the analysis of the results continues, with this issue looking at the rankings of the Tenth and Eleventh Doctor’s adventures.

• Memory Worm – 1980s script editor Andrew Cartmel puts his knowledge of his Doctor Who career to the test.

• Production Diary – script editor Scott Handcock files his latest report, direct from Doctor Who’s HQ.

• Texting at Work – Sophie Cowdrey and Aled Griffiths reveal what it’s like to work as graphics assistants on the new series of Doctor Who.

• The Omega Man – a never-before-published interview with the late Richard Gregory, the props builder who redesigned the Cybermen for Earthshock.

• Liberation of the Daleks Part Ten – the adventures of the Fourteenth Doctor continue in the epic comic-strip adventure written by Alan Barnes and illustrated by Lee Sullivan.

• 60 Objects, 60 Years – the latest installment of the series that tells the story of one object from every year of Doctor Who’s history.

• The Fact of Fiction unlocks the secrets of the Eleventh Doctor story The Girl Who Waited.

• Gallifrey Guardian – all the latest official news.

• Other Worlds – the essential guide to new stories in Doctor Who’s expanded universe.

• Previews, reviews, prize-winning competitions, Time and Space Visualiser and more.

Doctor Who Magazine Issue 593 is on sale Thursday 20 July from panini.co.uk and WH Smith priced £7.99 (UK). Also available as a digital edition from pocketmags.com priced £6.99.

The plaque was unveiled last Sunday by two of Troughton's children, Michael and Joanna, at a star-studded ceremony attended by many of Troughton's friends, colleagues and admirers including Sylvester McCoy, Frazer Hines, Carole Ann Ford, Sophie Aldred, Michael Jayston, Hugh Fraser, Madeline Smith, and Renny Rye.

A limited number of reproduction Patrick Troughton mini plaques will be available for purchase soon from the Doctor Who Appreciation Society.

BBC Books has announced that Target novelisations of the 2023 Doctor Who Specials will published early next year. 

The three specials will be broadcast in the upcoming Autumn season, marking 60 years of Doctor Who. They all feature David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor and Catherine Tate returning to the series as Donna Noble.

The scripts have been written by returning showrunner Russell T Davies and each book will be written by a different author. 

• Special One: The Star Beast novelised by Gary Russell
• Special Two: Wild Blue Yonder novelised by Mark Morris
• Special Three: The Giggle novelised by James Goss

Each book will have specially commissioned cover artwork by Anthony Dry.

Launched in 1973, Target Books published novelisations of almost every Doctor Who serial aired between 1963 and 1989.

In 2012 BBC Books began reissuing these classic paperbacks and in 2018 expanded the Target range to include all-new novelisations of modern-era Doctor Who episodes. This year, Target Books celebrates its 50th year publishing Doctor Who.

All three books will be published on the 11th of January 2024 and are available to preorder. 

The actor John Nettleton has died at the age of 94.

In 1989 John Nettleton played the Reverend Ernest Matthews in the Seventh Doctor story Ghost Light.

He was best known for his portrayal of the Whitehall Mandarin Sir Arnold Robinson in the comedy series Yes Minister and its successor Yes, Prime Minister. 

Born in South London in 1929, John Nettleton graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1951, the same year as Joan Collins and Jacqueline Hill. 

As a successful character actor, he had a 40-year career in British Television appearing in some of the best-known series of the time such as Softly Softly, Armchair Theatre, The Avengers, Please Sir!, Elizabeth R, Black Beauty, Upstairs Downstairs, The Pallisers, All Creatures Large and Small, The Professionals, Tales of the Unexpected, Brideshead Revisited, Crown Court, Minder, Rumpole of the Bailey, Midsomer Murders, and The Bill. 

Nettleton’s film work included A Man for All Seasons in the 1960s  and a 2005 adaptation of Oliver Twist

His voice is very familiar to a generation who grew up in the 1970s thanks to his frequent use as a narrator for illustrated stories told on the BBC Children's programme Blue Peter, 

His work at the National Theatre included Alan Bennett’s adaptation of The Wind in the Willows in 1990 and The Voysey Inheritance in 2006. He was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company and London's Old Vic. 

A statement from the theatrical agency Scott Marshall Partners said:

He is survived by his wife the actress Deirdre Doone, who he married in 1954, their three children and five grandchildren. 

The BBC has confirmed that Season 20 of Doctor Who will be the next season released as a box set on Blu-ray.

The season, starring Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor, was originally broadcast in 1983. It will be released as a limited edition 9-disc box set, containing each story from season 20 as well as the 20th Anniversary story The Five Doctors. 

Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the programme, these stories feature the return of old friends, enemies, and even past Doctors! Over seven stories, the Fifth Doctor, Nyssa (Sarah Sutton), Tegan (Janet Fielding) and Turlough (Mark Strickson) face off against the Black Guardian, Omega, the Mara, the Master, Cybermen and the Time Lords themselves!

All episodes have been newly remastered from the best available sources including original film elements for The Five Doctors – these classic adventures have never looked or sounded so good on home media.

The Collection: Season 20 Blu-ray box set also includes extensive Special Features including:​

THE FIVE DOCTORS – 40TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION
A brand new version of the 90-minute anniversary special, with updated special effects, Dolby Atmos & surround sound, plus an exclusive new commentary with Peter Davison, Janet Fielding and Mark Strickson.

UPDATED 2023 SPECIAL EFFECTS
Exclusive to Blu-ray, on Snakedance and Enlightenment.

BEHIND THE SOFA
Seven new episodes with Peter Davison, Colin Baker (The Doctor), Sylvester McCoy (The Doctor), Sarah Sutton, Janet Fielding, Mark Strickson, Katy Maning (Jo) and Sophie Aldred (Ace).

BLU-RAY TRAILER
A brand new episode of classic Doctor Who.

IN CONVERSATION
Interviewer Matthew Sweet chats to Janet Fielding and Sarah Sutton.

LET’S GO DUTCH!
The TARDIS crew travel to Amsterdam to revisit locations and reminisce about Season 20 and their time on the programme.

LOOK WHO’S DRIVING
Join Peter Davison, Janet Fielding and Sarah Sutton on an hilarious European Road Trip.

WHEN JANET MET MARTIN
Janet Fielding chats to Martin Clunes, 40 years on from his appearance in Snakedance.

MAKING THE KING’S DEMONS
The regular cast return to the castle location and reminisce.

MAKING THE SEASON 20 TRAILER
A look behind the scenes

LONGLEAT CELEBRATION FOOTAGE
A previously-unreleased look at the iconic 1983 convention, plus panels featuring Peter Davison, Tom Baker, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee and many more.

STUDIO FOOTAGE
Hours of material going behind-the-scenes on production of Arc Of Infinity, Snakedance and The Five Doctors.

LOCATION FILM RUSHES
From The Five Doctors.

RARE CONVENTION FOOTAGE
Including Australian interviews with Peter Davison and Janet Fielding shot during production of this season.

ONCE UPON A TIME LORD
A rare US documentary from the 1980s.

NEW 5.1 SURROUND  SOUND MIXES
On Snakedance and The Five Doctors. Plus Dolby Atmos mixes on The Five Doctors.

ARCHIVE TREATS
Hours of rare and previously unreleased material from the BBC Archives.

HD PHOTO GALLERIES
Including many previously unseen images.

INFO TEXT
Behind-the-scenes information and trivia on every episode.

PDF ARCHIVE
including scripts, exclusive unseen BBC production files, the Radio Times 20th Anniversary Special and other rarities.

This nine-disc box set also includes hours of special features previously released on DVD including Documentaries, Featurettes, Audio Commentaries, The Five Doctors Special Edition and more.

The box-set is available for pre-order on Amazon 

Tegan's Surprise Reunion! | The Collection: Season 20 Announcement Trailer
Tegan Jovanka's adventures continue... but not in the way she expected!

Candy Jar Books ihave announce details of the second of its Counter Measures:

Birds of Prey is the second book in a two-novel event, following up book one Birds of Passage.

Counter Measures, featuring characters Group Captain Gilmore, Professor Rachel Jensen and Dr Allison Williams, was created by Ben Aaronovitch for Doctor Who back in 1988. The characters were expanded on in Aaronovitch’s later novelisation of their debut story, Remembrance of the Daleks, and made the odd appearance in Doctor Who prose fiction throughout the 1990s. The team has enjoyed a long life in audio dramas from Big Finish Productions since 2012, and Gilmore made a cameo in one of Candy Jar’s Lethbridge-Stewart short stories. They even appeared in a comic written by Andrew Cartmel.

Birds of Passage was written by Robert Mammone, who had hoped to write the follow up too. Alas, life intervened, as range editor Andy Frankham-Allen explained:

The chosen author was James Middleditch, who has written a couple of Lethbridge-Stewart novels, plus short stories for the UNIT series:

Andy continued:

James concluded:

Ordering details can be found on the Candy Jar website.

Candy Jar Books has announced a very special book for 2023, the hardback illustrated edition of The Grandfather Infestation by John Peel.

Like the illustrated edition of Beast of Fang Rock, this book has been inspired by the illustrated Doctor Who Target books from the early 1970s, combined with the popularity of the Lethbridge-Stewart Colouring Book, which was made available via Amazon and good retailers last month with four brand new images.

In 2016 Range Editor Andy Frankham-Allen compared The Grandfather Infestation with the work of John Wyndham in 2016. He said:

The book has a brand new cover, but the actual look of the Grandfathers has not been changed. Martin Baines opted to keep Colin Howard’s original design:

Martin has also provided internal illustrations for the book. He continued:

This release comes with a free postcard, as well as a brand new Lucy Wilson Mysteries book The Grandfather Club written by John Peel. Shaun Russell, head of publishing at Candy Jar, felt that the time was right return to the Grandfathers. He said:

The Grandfather Infestation is now available for pre-order directly from Candy Jar Books..