The second episode of Doctor Who: The Adventure Game, Blood of the Cybermen, is now available for download in the United Kingdom.

The PC game is available from the BBC Doctor Who site. A Mac version will be available on June 30th. An international version is expected to be released commercially next month.

Sixth Doctor, Colin Baker, has spent the last few days filming for an independent feature film, Shadows of a Stranger. The film is described as an original tale that 're-samples' Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol in a dark melange of 'ghostly' visitations, psychic travelling, and the search for one's atrophied humanity. It is being shot entirely on bluescreen.

Doctor Who Composer, Murray Gold has given an interview to The Daily Anthenaeum, in which he talks about his work on the series since its return in 2005 and the pressures of the relentless Doctor Who schedule. "There is never more than two weeks for a complete turnaround," he says. "At one point we dubbed five episodes in five weeks. It was almost impossible. I would start an episode and it would need to be finished four days later."

Writer Neil Gaiman has won the Cilip Carnegie Medal, for his fantasy tale The Graveyard Book. The award for children's fiction is the second major award for the novel, about an orphaned boy brought up by ghosts. The Carnegie Medal is awarded annually to the writer of an outstanding book for children. It was established by in 1936, in memory of the Scottish-born philanthropist, Andrew Carnegie. Gaiman has completed a script for the 2011 series of Doctor Who.

Torchwood: Children of Earth has won a Saturn Award for Best Presentation on Television for BBC America.

The 2010 Saturn Awards were presented by The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films, recognizing excellence in the genre fields of movie and television.

Torchwood: Children of Earth was transmitted on BBC America in July 2009, shortly after its UK Premier. The series was stripped Monday to Friday in a 75 minute slot.

Other nominees in the category included Doctor Who: The End of Time.

Doctor Who fans in Cardiff can meet Daleks and Cybermen this weekend, at a special event held at The Hayes.

Hosted by Jason Mohammad, the BBC newsreader and presenter who's appeared in The Christmas Invasion, Voyage of the Damned, Turn Left and The Stolen Earth, as well as several episodes of The Sarah Jane Adventures, the event runs on Saturday from 10am until 2pm. There is the chance to play the second in the Doctor Who The Adventure Game series, Blood of the Cybermen, which is released that day. Scenes from the game will play on the big screen there'll be a limited supply of free post cards and posters available.

The Royal Mint have released a collection of Monster Medals to tie in with series five of Doctor Who:

First three in the collection are the aforementioned Dalek, plus a Weeping Angel and a Smiler, as seen below:


Further medals of the Doctor, Amy and Winder will be available in the collection soon.

Building of the new BBC Studios at Cardiff Docks commenced yesterday. The press release reports:
The press release suggests that, as well as the forthcoming series six, series seven would also continue to be filmed at the current Upper Boat Studios, assuming the schedule follows the pattern of previous years (i.e. from Summer 2011 to Spring 2012).

Meanwhile, demolition has commenced on the BBC premises on Victoria Road in London, originally built on the site of TCC Condensers (seen in stories like The Invasion and Spearhead from Space) and subsequently used as rehearsal rooms in the production of many other classic Doctor Who stories. It is believed that the site will be developed into flats (a fate already received by the former BBC Visual Effects Unit site nearby!).

It has also been reported that the building that was once home to Shawcraft Models in Uxbridge is also threatened with demolition. Shawcraft built many specialist props for the early seasons of Doctor Who, most notably remembered for the original Daleks (you can find out more about the company in a feature on the Doctor Who DVD release of The Space Museum/The Chase).

The BBC in-house magazine Ariel published an article on the future of BBC Television Centre itself this week:

Doctor Who Director Pennant Roberts has died at the age of 69.

Pennant Roberts was well known as a director in British television working throughout the seventies and eighties on such classic programmes as The Onedin Line, Survivors, Angels, Blake's 7, Juliet Bravo, Tenko and Howards' Way.

For Doctor Who he directed six stories. His first, in 1977, was the fourth Doctor story The Face of Evil, which saw the introduction of the character of Leela played by Louise Jameson. He returned later in the year to direct The Sun Makers , and then a year later he directed the Douglas Adams story, The Pirate Planet. He directed another Douglas Adams story, Shada, which was intended to end the seventeenth series of the programme, but which was not completed due to industrial action at the BBC. Parts of the story were later used in twentieth anniversary story The Five Doctors.

In 1984 he was given the task of bringing back The Silurians and The Sea Devils in the Fifth Doctor story, Warriors of the Deep, and in 1985 his final story for the series was the sixth Doctor story, Timelash.

Louise Jameson worked with Roberts in both Doctor Who and Tenko. Speaking to Gallifrey Base and The Doctor Who News Page she paid this tribute.

The latest edition of Doctor Who Magazine prepares for The Big Bang on Saturday as the magazine goes on set, braves the darkness of the Underhenge and talks to the people behind the finale of Doctor Who, including stars Matt Smith, and Karen Gillan, head writer Steven Moffat, director Toby Hayes and monster maker Neill Gorton.

Also in DWM 423

• It's Payback Time
  We know what Steven Moffat thinks of the stars of Doctor Who – but what do they think of him? Executive Producer Piers Wenger asks Matt Smith and Karen Gillan what they really make of "the Mofferator" in a very different production notes.
• Neighbours from Hell
  It was the unlikeliest flat share story ever, but The Lodger could have been even stranger? The magazine catches up with writer Gareth Roberts, who tells how he came up with his latest script, and what ideas didn’t make it onto TV. Plus, the stars of the show, Matt Smith and James Corden.
• It's only Natural
  It’s all change for the TARDIS team as the Doctor and Amy uncover the dark secret deep within an alien jungle – but at what price? And will the Time Lord and Pond ever be the same again? Find out in Supernature Part 3, written by Jonathan Morris with art by Mike Collins.
• Living in the Plastic Age
  They could be plastic, anything plastic – or they could look just like you. Join the Watcher as he reveals everything you need to know about the sinister Autons in the latest of his in-depth guides.
• Turn to Stone
  Dalek operator Barnaby Edwards talks about his years of experience in operating the various designs of the universe’s most malevolent monsters.
• Every Vote Counts
  Let everyone know what you thought of the latest season, as the magazine gives you the opportunity to rate the episodes in its annual season poll.
• Reasons to be Cheerful
  The Happiness Patrol is put under the spotlight in The Fact of Fiction.

PLUS! All the latest official news, previews and reviews of all the latest DVDs and audio releases, prize-winning competitions for the cream of Doctor Who merchandise.

This issue comes with a giant-sized, double-sided poster, depicting the Daleks on one side, and the Doctor and Amy on the other.

The TARDIS used by ninth Doctor Christopher Eccleston sold for £10,800, when auctioned at Bonham's earlier today.

The prop was one of several Doctor Who related items up for sale at the London auction house.

A console built for the Doctor Who exhibition at Longleat sold for £900 while a Cyberman helmet from the second Doctor stories Moonbase and The Tomb Of The Cybermen went for £7,800.

Two Daleks fetched £4,800 each and a model of K-9 was sold for £1,200.