BAFTA Cymru triumphs

Sunday, 27 April 2008 - Reported by Anthony Weight

Doctor Who has won six categories at the 17th annual BAFTA Cymru Awards, given to films and television programmes produced in Wales. The ceremony was held tonight at the Millennium Centre in Cardiff.

The programme took the awards for Best Drama Series (Phil Collinson, for "Voyage of the Damned"), Best Screenwriter (Steven Moffat, for "Blink"), Best Sound (BBC Wales Sound team), Best Director, Drama (James Strong, "Voyage of the Damned"), Best Director of Photography (Ernie Vincze for "Voyage of the Damned") and Best Make-Up (Barbara Southcott and Neill Gorton at Millennium FX for "The Shakespeare Code".)

Spin-off series Torchwood took one award, Best Costume for the episode "Captain Jack Harkness".

IC Wales and BBC News both have reports.

FILTER: - Steven Moffat - Awards/Nominations

Torchwood comes to Radio 4

Saturday, 26 April 2008 - Reported by Jarrod Cooper

Team Torchwood is slated to make an appearance on Radio 4 this summer. The 45-minute show, airing as Radio 4's Afternoon Play, has been written by Joseph Lidster (A Day In The Death) and will feature the voices of John Barrowman, Eve Myles, Gareth David-Lloyd and Freema Agyeman. Recorded in March, the story will be transmitted on Radio 4 as part of a day's programming dedicated to the CERN project, expected to air in June or July. According to an interview in Torchwood Magazine with writer Joseph Lidster, Martha calls the team while investigating strange goings-on at the CERN nuclear facility in Switzerland, leading to Torchwood's very first international adventure!

The story will be the first time that Torchwood has not featured Burn Gorman and Naoko Mori, though Lidster says their characters Owen and Tosh, who died at the end of series two, do have a part to play in the story.
"But the story isn’t about death," says Lidster, "and I think it will appeal to those Radio 4 listeners who don't usually watch Torchwood, as well as the fans."

FILTER: - Torchwood

Tristram Cary 1925 -2008

Thursday, 24 April 2008 - Reported by Marcus

Classic Series composer Tristram Cary has died at the age of 82, at his home in Adelaide, South Australia.

Cary worked on many of the earliest stories of Doctor Who, providing incidental music for some of the most memorable episodes. He scored the very first appearance of the Daleks in 1963 and his last contribution for the programme was for The Mutants in 1972.

Cary holds a unique place in contemporary music. While serving as a wartime naval radar officer in 1945, he independently conceived the idea of electronic and tape music, and was a world pioneer in this field. His work ranged from concert and entertainment musical repertoire to pure electronic music and from instrumental solos to orchestral and choral works covers.

He provided the scores for many well known British films including the Ealing comedy The Ladykillers in 1955 and the Hammer productions of Quatermass and the Pit in 1967 and Blood from the Mummy's Tomb in 1971.

Cary was a citizen of both Australia and Britain, and in 1991 was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for services to Australian music. In 1999 he received the SA Great Music Award for the year, and in 2001 he gained the degree of Doctor of Music at Adelaide University.

FILTER: - People - Obituary

Radiophonic Workshop - 50 years

Thursday, 24 April 2008 - Reported by Anthony Weight

The BBC Radiophonic Workshop would have been 50 years old this month. Disbanded a decade ago, the Workshop - based at the BBC's Maida Vale studios in London - was the in-house audio special effects team responsible for the majority of the special sounds, sound effects and electronic music heard in the classic series of Doctor Who.

To commemorate the anniversary of the Workshop, the BBC News website has today published a feature looking back at its work, including embedded video content. Interviewed are Dick Mills and Mark Ayres, both of whom worked extensively on Doctor Who, with Ayres still being involved in the sound restoration for classic series DVD releases.

Speaking about the creation of the iconic voices of the Daleks, Mills says: "We tried to give the impression that whenever a Dalek spoke, it wasn't speaking like we do, it was accessing words from a memory bank, so they all sound the same - dispassionate, mechanical and retrievable."

Both Mills and Ayres are scheduled to appear on Breakfast on BBC One tomorrow. According to a posting by Ayres on the Restoration Team forum today, they will be on about 9.45am. He adds: "In other words, any time between 9.30-10.00am, as long as a more important story does not break."

(Additional reporting by John Bowman, with thanks to Tony Clark.)

FILTER: - Audio - Production

Fires of Pompeii - Final Ratings

Wednesday, 23 April 2008 - Reported by Marcus

Final figures released by BARB give episode two of Series Four, The Fires of Pompeii, an official rating of 9.04 million viewers. The programme was the 10th most watched for the week on British Television. On BBC1 it was the 4th most watched for the week, beating an episode of EastEnders.

On multi-channel television, the Sunday BBC3 repeat was watched by 1.03 million viewers and was the 8th most watched programme for the week. The Saturday showing of Doctor Who Confidential got 0.63 million. Friday's repeat of Partners in Crime got0.74 million viewers and was the 25th most watched programme for the week.

Full ratings data and audience profile can be found in the Doctor Who Forum.

Top Programmes w/e 13 April 2008

1 CORONATION STREET (MON 2029) - 11.18 - ITV1
2 CORONATION STREET (MON 1931) - 11.03 - ITV1
3 EASTENDERS (MON 2001) - 10.60 - BBC1
4 CORONATION STREET (FRI 2029) - 10.17 - ITV1
5 CORONATION STREET (FRI 1934) - 10.08 - ITV1
6 CORONATION STREET (WED 1931) - 9.85 - ITV1
7 EASTENDERS (FRI 2000) - 9.49 - BBC1
8 BRITAIN'S GOT TALENT (SAT 1949) - 9.44 - ITV1
9 EASTENDERS (THU 1929) - 9.04 - BBC1
10 DOCTOR WHO (SAT 1846) - 9.04 - BBC1
11 EASTENDERS (TUE 1930) - 8.94 - BBC1
12 UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE (TUE 1929) - 7.92 - ITV1
13 EMMERDALE (MON 1901) - 7.92 - ITV1
14 FOYLE'S WAR (SUN 2004) - 7.74 - ITV1
15 EMMERDALE (WED 1900) - 7.35 - ITV1
16 EMMERDALE (FRI 1902) - 7.34 - ITV1
17 THE APPRENTICE (WED 2100) - 7.32 - BBC1
18 EMMERDALE (TUE 1859) - 7.20 - ITV1
19 EMMERDALE (THU 1900) - 7.04 - ITV1
20 CASUALTY (SAT 2051) - 6.76 - BBC1

Top Multi Channel Programmes w/e 13 April 2008

1 FORD SUPER SUNDAY (Sun 1533) 2,308,000 - Sky Sports
2 GAVIN AND STACEY (Sun 2102) 1,401,000 - BBC3
3 FORD SUPER SUNDAY (Sun 1300) 1,300,000 - Sky Sports
4 UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE LIVE (Wed 1900) 1,210,000 - Sky Sports
5 60 SECONDS (Sun 2101) 1,189,000 - BBC3
6 BRITAIN'S GOT MORE TALENT AUDITIONS (Sun 2000) 1,163,000 - ITV2
7 EASTENDERS (Tue 2200) 1,043,000 - BBC3
8 DOCTOR WHO (Sun 2002) 1,029,000 - BBC3
9 KATIE AND PETER: THE NEXT CHAPTER (Thu 2100) 994,000 - ITV2
10 EASTENDERS (Mon 2202) 963,000 - BBC3
11 EASTENDERS (Thu 2200) 937,000 - BBC3
12 UEFA CUP (2007- 2008) (Thu 1927) 932,000 - ITV4
13 HOME AND AWAY (Mon 1829) 875,000 - Five Life
14 BRITAIN'S GOT TALENT (Sun 1847) 870,000 - ITV2
15 COME DINE WITH ME (Sun 1742) 834,000 - More4
16 COME DINE WITH ME (Sun 1816) 819,000 - More4
17 HOME AND AWAY (Wed 1829) 801,000 - Five Life
18 HOME AND AWAY (Tue 1829) 798,000 - Five Life
19 HOME AND AWAY (Thu 1829) 787,000 - Five Life
20 SKINS (Mon 2200) 766,000 - E4

Source BARB

FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Series 4/30

Doctor Who Adventures - 61

Wednesday, 23 April 2008 - Reported by Marcus

Doctor Who Adventures issue 61, is now out across the United Kingdom.

PRESS RELEASE

Ood news!

This week’s issue of Doctor Who Adventures is an really Ood issue. There’s a menacing red-eye Ood staring out on the cover and inside we look at our favourite moments of last week’s scary episode! You can also test out how well you know the Ood with our tricky quiz.

The issue comes with a FREE Judoon notepad, a set of monster tags and there’s also the final part of our giant Doctor Who double-sided poster. On one side you get a picture of Donna and on the other you get all the monsters from the last series!
PLUS:
Three brand-new posters: Miss Foster, Planet of the Ood and the Master.
The Sontaran Stratagem: special preview of the next Doctor Who episode.
Tales from the TARDIS: the Titanic is about to hit Buckingham Palace…
Fact file: all you need to know about the Pyrovile.
Activity: make a cool 3-D Cyber head!
Doctor's Data: Foon Van Hoff.
Create your own monster winner: we reveal the winning monster – who also stars in a special comic strip with the Doctor.
Time Teasers: Ood food and Bloodtide and Doomfinger with a fun word search.
Who knows! Are Cybermen from Earth and can Weeping Angels fly?
Win: answer the questions correctly and you could win loads of prizes!
Subscription offer: if you subscribe you’ll get a FREE Doctor Who audiobook – The Feast of the Drowned.
AND LOADS MORE!

Sadly, DWA is not available on the Ood home planet.

FILTER: - Magazines - DWA

Christmas Special Cast Member Revealed

Tuesday, 22 April 2008 - Reported by DWNP Archive

Posted By John Bowman

David Morrissey has been reunited with his Blackpool co-star David Tennant for this year's Doctor Who Christmas special.

According to a report by the Press Association, the pair appeared on set yesterday in the grounds of Gloucester Cathedral.

Further details are given in the spoiler box - which may contain information you do not want to know. The PA report - with pictures - was carried today by the Daily Mail. Again, do not click on the link if you want to remain spoiler-free.

According to PA:

"College Green was covered with artificial snow for the scene filmed today, in which mourners in Victorian costume marched in front of a horse-drawn cart carrying a coffin.

"Tennant was dressed in the Doctor's trademark ankle-length brown coat, while Morrissey was kitted out in full period garb - a tan knee-length jacket and red waistcoat.

"A security guard sat in front of the Tardis, which was tucked down a nearby alleyway, covered by a white sheet.

"Tennant waved to the crowds as the crew prepared the intricate set and covered the surrounding historic buildings with fake snow.

"Secrecy surrounds the Christmas episode's storyline, but it's believed to feature the Cybermen - the Doctor's deadliest enemies."

Elsewhere, it has been reported that Dervla Kirwan is also in the special.

FILTER: - People - Production - Series 4/30

Radio Times cover revealed

Monday, 21 April 2008 - Reported by Anthony Weight

The official Radio Times website has revealed a preview of the Doctor Who themed cover for next week's edition of the magazine, which is released to newsstands in the UK tomorrow.

The cover features an image of a Sontaran from the forthcoming two-part story "The Sontaran Stratagem" and "The Poison Sky", which begins this Saturday at 6.20pm on BBC One.

The cover of the magazine also advertises the free CD of part one of the Doctor Who audiobook "The Resurrection Casket", which is being given away free with the magazine. The concluding part will be included with the following week's edition.

FILTER: - Magazines - Series 4/30 - Radio Times

Planet of the Ood - AI and Digital Ratings

Monday, 21 April 2008 - Reported by Marcus

Episode Three of series four of Doctor Who, Planet of the Ood, achieved an Appreciation Index of 87.

With overnights now available for the whole week, Doctor Who is currently the 15th most watched programme of the week. Final figures will be released byBARB in 9 days time.

Saturday's edition of Doctor Who Confidential was watched by 0.65 million viewers, according to unofficial overnights. The programme, which had a share of 3.3%, was the 4th most watched on multi channel television on Saturday.

Sunday's BBC3 repeat of Planet of the Ood got an overnight audience of 1.03 million, a 4.7% share and was the 4th most watched programme on multi channel TV for Sunday. Doctor Who Confidential got an audience of 0.55 million for the repeat showing.

Meanwhile last Friday's repeat of The Fires of Pompeii got an audience of 0.43 million and was the 7th most watched multi channel programme for the day.

FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Series 4/30

Planet of the Ood - Overnight Ratings

Sunday, 20 April 2008 - Reported by Marcus

Unofficial figures show that episode three of Series Four, Planet of the Ood, was watched by 6.9 million viewers, giving it a 33.4% share of the total television audience.

The programme was the second most watched of the day, being beaten by ITV1's Britain's Got Talent, which got a massive 10.3 million. It won the time slot, beating Animals Do the Funniest Things, which got 4.0 million viewers.

The audience grew by nearly two million during the programme and peaked in the last quarter hour at 7.5 million. The programme is currently the 14th most watched for the week. Final figures will be released byBARB in ten days' time.

FILTER: - Ratings - UK - Series 4/30

Previous 10 Stories

BAFTA Cymru triumphs

Torchwood comes to Radio 4

Tristram Cary 1925 -2008

Radiophonic Workshop - 50 years

Fires of Pompeii - Final Ratings

Doctor Who Adventures - 61

Christmas Special Cast Member Revealed

Radio Times cover revealed

Planet of the Ood - AI and Digital Ratings

Planet of the Ood - Overnight Ratings

This Week in Doctor Who

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