Fantom have released two new commentaries in their Who Talk series, providing new insights into classic episodes of Doctor Who.

The first release is called Adventures in Time, and is a collection of Hartnell themed historical stories including episodes from The Aztecs, The Romans and The Crusade. It features Maureen O'Brien, who played Vicki alongside the First Doctor, who is joined by William Russell, Julian Glover, Petra Markham, George Little, Kay Patrick, Ian Cullen, Clive Doig, Brian Hodgson, all once again under the watchful eye of Toby Hadoke.

The second release is another classic from the Pertwee era, The Claws of Axos. Producer Paul W T Ballard explained why the story was chosen. A special edition bundle featuring both The Claws of Axos and Adventures in Time is available. Each set will come with the cover signed by an actor from each release, and Adventures in Time contains a disc featuring exclusive additional commentaries on The Crusade and The Time Meddler.

These CDs are limited and exclusively available via whotalk.co.uk

Both sets are now available, you can purchase them directly from Who Talk at a discounted price of £10.99 each (RRP £12.99) or via download priced £9.99. The special edition bundle will be available exclusively via this website priced £39.99.

Please note: These commentaries contain no BBC copyrighted elements and do not feature any audio from the episodes themselves.

Pearl Mackie, who played Bill in the most recent series of Doctor Who, is returning to the London stage in a new production of Harold Pinter's play The Birthday Party.

The production runs at the Harold Pinter Theatre from 9th January until 14th April 2018 and marks the 60th Anniversary of the play.

Also starring Toby Jones, who played the Dream Lord in Amy's Choice, and Zoë Wanamaker, the voice of Cassandra, the production is directed by Ian Rickson.

Big Finish have announced that David Bradley will be reprising the role of the First Doctor in a new series of Audio plays.

Bradley will star as the First Doctor in this year’s BBC One Doctor Who Christmas Special alongside Peter Capaldi. Now Big Finish Productions, in arrangement with BBC Worldwide, are giving this reimagined First Doctor another chance to explore the cosmos.

Joining David Bradley are his co-stars from the Mark Gatiss Docu-drama on the origins of Doctor Who, An Adventure in Space and Time. Jamie Glover (Elizabeth, Waterloo Road, Holby City) plays Ian Chesterton, Jemma Powell (Alice in Wonderland, Angel, Foyle’s War) plays Barbara Wright, and Claudia Grant (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) plays Susan – the Doctor’s granddaughter and the original ‘Unearthly Child’.

Script editor and writer Matt Fitton said Executive producer Nicholas Briggs added Executive producer Jason Haigh-Ellery said This series of adventures pays homage to the beginning years of Doctor Who, and each of the four episodes in each story will be given an individual title. Two of the four stories are historical, focusing on tales from Earth’s history pre-1963. Back in its first few years, Doctor Who was intended to be an educational programme using time travel as a means to explore scientific ideas and famous moments in history, while still captivating the minds and imaginations of generations to come.

Not only will the Doctor be exploring our history, but he will also encounter strange new life forms – the Dalmari and the Ashtallans.

And in a Big Finish exclusive, the First Doctor will encounter his greatest foe, the first incarnation of fellow Time Lord, the Master, played by James Dreyfus.

Available in December, the stories in The First Doctor Adventures - Volume 1 consist of:

• 1.1 The Destination Wars by Matt Fitton
• 1.2 The Great White Hurricane by Guy Adams

And to follow in July 2018, Doctor Who: The First Doctor Adventures – Volume 2:

• 2.1 The Invention of Death by John Dorney
• 2.2 The Barbarians and the Samurai by Andrew Smith

Doctor Who: The First Doctor Adventures – Volume 1 is available for pre-order now at £23 on CD or £20 on download from Big Finish and will remain at this price until general release when it will be available for £35 on CD or £30 on download.

This week sees Titan release the latest in The Lost Dimension series, with the Tenth Doctor special - featuring a meeting between Ten and Three, and also a previous Doctor who makes his Titan Comics debut.

The Lost Dimension #3 - Tenth Doctor Special

Writer: Nick Abadzis
Artist: ​Mariano Laclaustra, Carlos Cabrera
Cover A: Tazio Bettin Cover B: Photo

Two treasures from classic Doctor Who are amongst 600 lots of movie memorabilia being sold in a London auction on Tuesday 26th September 2017

Sylvester McCoy’s signature hat from his spell as the seventh Doctor is up for sale alongside a Necros Dalek Model Miniature from Revelation of the Daleks, which starred Colin Baker. Both are estimated to sell for between £8,000 – £10,000.

These iconic pieces of television history will be sold alongside props and costumes from over 200 films and television shows, worth £2-£3 million, at Prop Store’s Entertainment Memorabilia Live Auction.

A preview exhibition presenting over 300 auction lots will take place until 26th September at the BFI IMAX in Waterloo, London, where movie fans and collectors alike can see these incredible pieces of movie history up-close.

Stephen Lane, Prop Store CEO, commented on the upcoming auction The auction will be live-streamed online for fans to track the bidding on auction day. Registration and bidding is now open. Bids can be placed online, over the phone or in person.

The free exhibition is open to the public at the BFI IMAX, Waterloo, London, England SE1 8XR from 10:00am to 9:30pm, until 26th September 2017.

Prop Store’s Entertainment Memorabilia Live Auction, in partnership with the BFI IMAX proudly presented by ODEON, will also take place at the BFI IMAX Waterloo on Tuesday 26th September 2017 from 12:00pm.

Ninth Doctor Christopher Eccleston is to play Macbeth in the 2018 summer season for the Royal Shakespeare Company.

The actor is to make his RSC debut playing the Scottish King at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-Upon-Avon, in the season which runs from 13 March until 18 September 2018.

In joining the RSC the actor follows in the footsteps of Tenth Doctor David Tennant, who played Hamlet in 2008 season at Stratford. Eccleston himself played Hanlet in the 2004 West Yorkshire Playouse production of the play.

The contemporary production of what is described as Shakespeare’s darkest psychological thriller, will be directed by Polly Findlay and will also star Niamh Cusack as Lady Macbeth.

The actor actively sought the role according to RSC artistic director Gregory DoranThe production will be broadcast live to cinemas on April 11th, 2018

Priority Booking opens from 25 September. Public booking opens on 23 October on the RSC website.

Fantom has announced the release of an audio version of Daphne Ashbrook's autobiography, read by the author.

The actress, who played Dr. Grace Holloway alongside Eight Doctor Paul McGann, first released her biography in 2012.

Co-produced by Spokenworld Audio, Dead Woman Laughing is now available unabridged over 5 CDs priced £15.99.

Candy Jar Books has announces its latest pdf-only short story, The Cruel Oil by Harry Draper. This can be downloaded for free from the Candy Jar website.

Range Editor Andy Frankham-Allen introduces the story:
Twenty year old Harry Draper is one of the youngest authors to write for the Lethbridge-Stewart range. Originally from Bristol, he nows lives in Ormskirk, west Lancashire, and explains a little of his long-standing desire to write some Doctor Who related material:
The Cruel Oil is set shortly before the novel The Dreamer’s Lament, released last month.

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• It is also possible to order a preview copy of the new Lethbridge-Stewart spin-off, The Lucy Wilson Mysteries, announced last month. The book is due to be released commercially early 2018, but limited copies are available now via the Candy Jar website.
  
  
• Candy Jar Books is also offering an exciting new opportunity for aspiring writers. Launching at Candy Jar Book Festival in Cardiff, writers can submit a short story based on the Doctor Who character – Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. More details can be found in this article.

Doctor Who spin off Class has been officially cancelled by the BBC.

The news was confirmed by BBC Three controller Damian Kavanagh speaking today at a Broadcasting Press Guild. Class was created to appeal to the young adult market and initially released in the UK on BBC Three, now an online only platform. It was hoped that high-quality original content would drive young viewers to the online station. However, the decision meant that Class was initially only seen by a fraction of the audience it would have received on a broadcast channel.

The series was later screened on BBC One, but as a late night double bill, where it struggled to find an audience, getting viewing figures around a third of the timeslot average.

In June, writer, and creator of the series, Patrick Ness announced that he would not be involved in any future commission of Class and today the BBC finally confirmed that the Corporation would not be making any more episodes.

The latest issue from the Dark Archive, looking at the production of the Tenth Doctor story Human Nature / Family of Blood has just been released.

The book details the production of the Series Three story. It is available in paperback or in digital form from Obverse Books.