The Doctor Who Experience in Cardiff played host to two special guests today in the form of Matt Smith and Steven Moffat, who were there to have their hand prints immortalised in cement to become a permanent display within the exhibition.

Matt Smith said:
Steven Moffat added:

Several new exhibits have also been unveiled today, which include Oswin's dress and boots - as worn by new sidekick Jenna-Louise Coleman in Asylum of the Daleks - Solomon and Nefertiti's costumes from Dinosaurs on a Spaceship, the Robots from the same story, and the chained Weeping Angel and Cherub Angels from The Angels Take Manhattan.

Matt added:

Note: this article includes items discussing future and potential future casting/plot points, and may be considered as spoilers.


Filming has now commenced on episode six, the first episode of next year's run of episodes; it is written by Steven Moffat and directed by Colm McCarthy, with Simon Dennis taking up the reins as Director of Photography. The episode is provisionally entitled The Bells of Saint John.

McCarthy recently posted a photo featuring himself with two of this year's other directors: "Directors UK Roath Lock branch meeting with Farren Blackburn and Saul Metzstein." [Colm McCarthy via Twitter, 28 Sep 2012]

Rumours over the possible appearance of previous companions for the 50th Anniversary continue, fuelled by the usual "insider" gossip: "Next year is massive for the show. They are going to be pulling out all the stops - the 50th anniversary show is set to feature stars from the past and present. There will be plenty of nods to the show's remarkable history and some old faces are likely to be reappearing. Karen and Billie are two of the Doctor's greatest companions and it's hoped they will be involved." Other names being bandied around include former Doctor David Tennant and the Doctor's original travelling companion Susan as played by Carole Ann Ford. [Express, 8 Oct 2012}

Downton Abbey actor Thomas Howes has his eye on being a future Doctor: "There are a lot of dream roles I'd love, like James Bond and Indiana Jones. But I'd never get a look in there. Doctor Who is probably the only one that I could play because he's quite quirky – and he regenerates, so he can be anyone. So one day, who knows, I might have a chance. I'd love to play that part." [The Sun, 6 Oct 2012]

When asked about possibly being the next Katherine Jenkins, actress Jaye Jacobs exclaimed that she'd love to sing in Doctor Who! [Daybreak, 10 Oct 2012]

BBC Worldwide have announced that they are to utilise the new UltraViolet technology for future DVD and Blu-ray releases, with the Doctor Who: Series 7 Part 1 boxed set forming one of the initial releases to benefit.

UltraViolet is a new approach to help combat video piracy by enabling purchasers to "buy one, play anywhere" - a digital version of the item they have bought is also made available, which can then be played on up to twelve different devices, such as computers, mobiles and tablets, as well as streaming and download for online/offline viewing.

As well as Doctor Who, the initial range includes Top Gear Special Commission, Attenborough: 60 Years in the Wild, Rollercoaster (John Bishop). To enable UltraViolet, BBC Worldwide have teamed up with content delivery provider Flixster to provide the digital copies.

Claude London, Digital Director for BBC Worldwide Consumer Products, said:

Doctor Who: Series 7 Part 1 is available to pre-order in the UK on both DVD and Blu-Ray formats.

The BBC have released a special scene that tells the tale of what happened to Brian Williams after the departure of his son Rory and wife Amy at the end of The Power of Three. The scene was written by Chris Chibnall but never recorded, and is presented now through the use of animated storyboards, featuring the voice of Arthur Darvill.

Executive Producer Caroline Skinner said:

After several months delay, BBC Worldwide have finally launched Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock for the Sony PS Vita platform; the game is available to download now from the US and European PS Stores.


BBC Worldwide's executive producer Simon Harris explained via the Playstation Blog how the Vita version improves on the original PlayStation release:

The game, featuring Matt Smith as the Doctor and Alex Kingston as River Song, was originally released for the Sony PS3 back in May, with Matt commenting on the experience:

A PC version of the game is still in development.




You can follow the official game feed on Twitter.

Matt Smith has revealed his keenness to appear in a play by the Bard. "I definitely want to do Shakespeare. I don't know what role, though, and it wouldn't be just yet. I'm too busy at the moment, there's just not enough time," he said. [Telegraph, 7 Oct 2012]

Superhero series Arrow is due to premiere tonight on The CW in the United States, and on Sky 1 in the UK from Monday 22nd October. As previously reported, John Barrowman is to feature as a recurring character in the series, described only as "the well-dressed man". Lead actor Stephen Amell says: "He's a very well-spoken, well-respected businessman in Starling City. I know I tweeted a couple of weeks ago that I was reading a script that was episode 7 and I read a scene and I audibly gasped and I went "[gasp] that's really cool!" It's from the beginning of episode 7, and it's a scene with John. He's a really fun guy to work with. He obviously is very comfortable and he made the crew and even me, when it was my coverage, crack up during a rehearsal and it took a while to get it back for the actual takes." Actor Colin Salmon will also feature in another recurring role. [KSiteTV, 4 Oct 2012]

Barrowman talks about his third Christmas pantomime in Glasgow alongside The Krankies - Jack and the Beanstalk at the Clyde Auditorium: "There's a sense of humour up here that is unlike any other in the country and it's the same kind of sense of humour that the three of us have so it goes over very well. We can play right to the kids because they see Jack, Jimmy and their dad doing all this stuff but the adults know it's John, Ian and Janette who are having a bit of fun, so those jokes go to them and just go right over the kids' heads. I love coming up and doing panto in Glasgow at Christmas." [Daily Record, 8 Oct 2012]

Tommy Knight makes his debut in Waterloo Road tomorrow evening on BBC One. Talking about recognition, the Sarah Jane Adventures star said: "Well, the attention side of acting isn't really my favourite thing, I'll be honest! I was out in Glasgow high street a few weeks ago and I was with Kaya Moore who plays Phoenix, and with the amount of attention he was getting, it must have taken us a couple of hours to get down the high street! I was standing there thinking, 'Oh my word', and I was a little bit worried about it. It's a bit intimidating as being on Waterloo Road will probably mean the most attention I've ever had. I think I'll be alright, I suppose I'll just have to see how I feel about it when it happens. When Sarah Jane was first out, I was recognised an awful lot. I used to pick up my little brother from his primary school every day and I remember when the show first aired, it got really hectic around the primary school. I was trying to find my little brother among all these kids going, 'Sign my contacts book!' and 'Sign my face!'" [Digital Spy, 10 Oct 2012]

Caitlin Blackwood - aka the young Amelia Pond - will be taking part in a question-and-answer session at The Churchill pub in New York on Friday 12th October. Book via event organiser Who York.

Referring to his "music obsession", Arthur Darvill has a particular era he would have liked his character Rory to have visited: "I'd have liked to travel back to the Sixties and do something with the Doctor there. Or go back to when I was an annoying child and reassure myself it's all going to be all right." He also thinks that after Amy and Rory's departure from the series "they have a very quiet life – which is quite sad after having such an adventurous time – but they're just happy to be together. Obviously it doesn't run smoothly as they're stuck back in quite a horrible place but they've got each other and that's all they really need." [Radio Times, 8 Oct 20120]

Mark Gatiss, Daniel Mays, Tom Goodman-Hill, and Brigit Forsyth will appear in the BBC Radio 4 series Living With Mother when it returns for a second series later this month. The individual comedies focus on mothers and adult sons living together. Gatiss will be in the first episode, when the series starts on Wednesday 31st October at 11.15pm, with Mays in the second one, Goodman-Hill in the third, and Forsyth in the fourth. [Radio Times, 9 Oct 2012]

Katy Manning will be appearing in You're Only Young Twice at The Crewe Lyceum Theatre from Tuesday 30th October to Saturday 3rd November. Also starring in the show are John D Collins and Melvyn Hayes (pictured right with Manning), the former husband of Wendy Padbury.

Paterson Joseph has been talking of the thrill of being in the Series 1 episodes Bad Wolf and The Parting of the Ways. He said of the show: "I did watch it when I was a kid. I can't actually say I was obsessed with it as some other people are, but I was very happy to be shown around the Tardis. It was then I suddenly thought, 'Wow this is really exciting'. I also got the chance to get killed by a Dalek and not many people can say that in their lives. I had a 6ft Dalek rolling towards me screaming, 'Exterminate'. It was truly frightening." Joseph plays Brutus in Julius Caesar at the New Theatre in Cardiff from Tuesday 23rd October to Saturday 27th October. [Wales Online, 7 Oct 2012]

Dark Horizons author and Doctor Who fan Jenny Colgan has spoken of her excitement at writing the book. "The thrill of typing 'The Doctor opened the door of the TARDIS' was huge," she said, adding that she approached the BBC to write a novel. "A friend of mine called Naomi Alderman had written one for them [Borrowed Time] and that gave me the idea. I asked them nicely and they said, 'Oh well you can't put any kissing in it' and I promised faithfully that I wouldn't, and then I offered them three different ideas for stories and they chose one. It was enormous fun to do." She also tells of the background work she did. "I did a lot of research into Vikings because I wanted to write about the Lewis chess set, the set of figures that was found there that are about a thousand years old. Nobody knows how they ended up there, so I thought it would be an interesting mystery for the Doctor to solve. There are a couple of bits I really hope readers will enjoy: a scene set on a beach in the current day, and the Norse God that the Viking princess thinks the Doctor is." [TV Book Club, 7 Oct 2012]

Frazer Hines is taking his one-man show The Time-Travelling Scot to Tasmania. He will be in conversation at the Wrest Point Entertainment Centre in Sandy Bay, Hobart, on Sunday 9th December, telling behind-the-scenes stories about his time on Doctor Who.

Jean Marsh reflects on her appearances in Doctor Who: "I was in the very first series, I think (Season 2's The Crusade), which has probably been wiped. I can’t remember what it was called, but I remember I played a Princess of France in the 10th century. That was just one episode. Then I came back as Sara Kingdom (The Daleks' Master Plan), sort of a space spy, fabulously ridiculous, wearing a catsuit of very tight, elastic brown tweed. Why one has to wear those sort of things… It was a bit like Joanna Lumley. It was just to show your body, I suppose. So I did eight episodes of that and turned from being a baddie into being a goodie. Then I was killed in a brilliant way. I was running — in my catsuit — away from someone who was trying to kill me, and he had an aging gun. And he hit me, and I started aging very quickly, and they had to keep switching my makeup, and then the last shot of me was of a very, very, very old woman. So that was terrific. Then the third one was Morgan le Fay with King Arthur (Battlefield). I loved doing that because they were beginning to take Doctor Who more seriously, and that was a bit more fun." [A.V. Club, 5 Oct 2012]

BBC Two has commissioned the comedy-thriller The Wrong Mans from James Corden and Mathew Baynton. The six-parter centres on two lowly office workers - Phil (Corden) and Sam (Baynton) - who become caught up in a deadly criminal conspiracy after Sam discovers a ringing phone at the scene of a horrific car crash. Filming starts in January 2013. [BBC Media Centre, 9 Oct 2012]

Final ratings data for the week ending 30th September 2012 released by the Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board, or BARB, gives Doctor Who: The Angels Take Manhattan a final rating of 7.82 million viewers.

Doctor Who was the thirteenth most-watched programme of the week on British television and the fifth highest rated on BBC One, the same positions as the previous week.

The final rating includes all those who record the programme and watch it within a week. It does not include the BBC Three repeat, where around 300,000 watched. Nor does it include those watching on iPlayer where over 1 million people have accessed the episode so far.

The average rating for 2012 is now 7.96 million, higher than the figure for last year, with the Christmas episode still to be included.

Doctor Who could make it on to the cover of the prestigious and long-running American weekly listings publication TV Guide for the first time.

The programme is among the 10 nominated shows for the magazine's third annual Fan Favorites Cover Poll, and whichever programme wins will feature on the cover of the edition for the week starting Monday 10th December.

Polling ends on Sunday 28th October at midnight Pacific Time, and people can vote as often as they want to, although they have to "Like" the publication on Facebook first.

The other programmes nominated by TV Guide are: Fringe, Grimm, Happy Endings, Parks And Recreation, Pretty Little Liars, Scandal, Spartacus, The Vampire Diaries, and The Walking Dead.

Votes can be cast via this link.

TV Guide was first published on 3rd April 1953 and currently has a total paid, verified, and analysed non-paid circulation average of 2,010,879 copies a week.

The third and final part of the fan reimagining of Power Of The Daleks has been released online.

The film is an adaptation of the Second Doctor's debut adventure, which has been reworked and directed by Nick Scovell, who stars as the Doctor in this version. Also in the cast are Nicholas Briggs, Lisa Bowerman, and Barnaby Edwards.


As previously reported, the film will be shown in full and in high definition at the Doctor Who Appreciation Society's Riverside Reflections convention in London on Sunday 21st October, where it is now hoped the man behind the iconic Dalek design, Raymond Cusick, will join the original director of Power of the Daleks - Christopher Barry - and actress Anneke Wills, who played companion Polly in the TV version, among the guests.

The film has been made by the people behind the acclaimed Portsmouth stage productions of The Web of Fear, Fury From The Deep, The Evil of the Daleks, and The Dalek Masterplan (the latter having been renamed from the original 12-parter).

The Angels Take Manhattan has averaged 552,000 viewers in the five major Australian capital cities. It was the top-rating ABC drama of the day and the tenth-highest-rating programme of the day overall. These figures do not include regional and rural viewers, time-shifted viewers, and iView downloads.