Julie Gardner, executive producer of the BBC series Torchwood and head of drama development for BBC Wales, tellsSCI-FI WIRE that Torchwood'sroots lie in a fascination with American science fiction shows - particularly those in the boom of the 1990s.

She talks about an early series she and Russell T Davies developed calledExcalibur which centered around a paranormal investigation team.

"It was a kind of [an] urban-landscape, present-day series," Gardner said.

"And the scene that Russell in his two-page pitch described was the scene where there was this sexy group of investigators in an alleyway at night, it's raining, a corpse is on the ground, and one of them brings out a glove and is able to bring the corpse back to life, which is, of course, the central first scene in Episode 1 of what became Torchwood."

iF Magazine has an interview with BBC head of drama commissioning Julie Gardner in which she talks about a range of subjects concerning Doctor Who,Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures, all of which she also co-executive produces.

In the interview, she quashes speculation that Dennis Hopper will be appearing on Doctor Who. "That's an unfounded rumor I'm afraid. He's not going to be on the show. It was all over the place, but he's not coming," she says.

However, Gardner gives a strong indication that the Master will be returning.

"It would be rude not to, and he’s a great character. John Simm is amazing and I would go to work every day with him. His scenes were so much fun to do," she says.

Julie Gardner, the executive producer of Doctor Who, has confirmed a long running rumour concerning the nature of Paul Cornell's story, which will form episodes eight and nine of series three. The confirmation comes as part of an interview to be published in the final issue of Dreamwatch magazine.

Julie Gardner, executive producer of Doctor Who, will be on the Richard Evans show on BBC Radio Wales on Friday 22 December from 1-2pm. Gardner will take phone calls on a variety of topics concerning the programme, including commissioning Russell T Davies to bring back the Doctor, the success of the show's spin-off Torchwood and the series Life on Mars. Fans can call in on +44 8100 100 110, text message +44 7786 20 10 40, or send email with questions.

Radio Wales can be listened to online by following the link on the BBC Wales Website

New series producers Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner will follow up production of the first season of "Doctor Who" with a lavish three-part period production of "Casanova" for BBC1, according to Broadcast Magazine. Originally commisioned by ITV from Granada's LWT in May 2002, Davies was originally set to produce it for ITV, but then Gardner, who was originally with Granada Television, joined BBC Wales as Head of Drama. Says Broadcast, "Her departure is thought to have prompted Davies to take the project to the BBC and sign it as part of a deal that also included him agreeing to write the new series of Doctor Who, which Gardner is overseeing." BBC controller of drama commissioning Jane Tranter told Broadcast: "We were keen to do what Russell wanted to do and to enable Julie to continue an ongoing relationship with Russell on Casanova and Doctor Who." Outpost Gallifrey is aware that Davies will be producing "Casanova" beginning in October 2004, and will hopefuly return to production of the second season of "Doctor Who" in the new year. (Thanks to Martin Day)

Julie Gardner, new series executive producer, was interviewed on the BBC Wales Evening News program this evening. When asked what the most enduring element of Doctor Who was that she personally wanted to bring back to the show, her considered answer was very simple: "Fear." She also confirmed that the production team was working hard to ready the series by "early next year," drawing closer to the rumored January start than in previous statements. The program is available to be watched for the next 24 hours; you can watch it by visiting the Wales Today section of BBCi. (Thanks to Kenny Davidson)