TV Shows on DVD is reporting that the New Beginnings DVD box set will be released in North America (Region 1) on June 5th, 2007. The set, which was released in the UK in January, contains the stories The Keeper of Traken, Logopolis and Castrovalva. These stories cover the final two adventures with Tom Baker as well as the first with Peter Davison.

In addition to the featured episodes, the three-disc set contains commentaries, interviews, specially produced featurettes, photo galleries, production notes, trailers and isolated music tracks.

Runaway Bride co-stars David Tennant and Sarah Parish were interviewed in a filmed insert shown on BBC1'sBreakfast throughout this morning's edition about their new drama Recovery, which will be broadcast on BBC1 this coming Sunday at 9:00pm.

Blue Peter ran an item on how to make a TARDIS bird feeder on the 14th February edition of the programme; full details on how to make it are available on the CBBC website.

12th February saw actress Angela Griffin (Waterloo Road) "beg" to be in Doctor Who on the Richard and Judyshow, after presenter Richard Madeley thought she'd be great in the show!

Billie Piper can currently be seen as a schoolgirl in the Walkers walkears.com advert for this year's Comic Relief.

Meanwhile, next week, Penelope Wilton, Sophie Okonedo (Scream of the Shalka) and James Fox (BBCi/Big Finish's version of Shada) are some of the stars in Harold Pinter's Celebration, which can be seen on More4 on 26 February.

Various online sources are reporting that actor Hugh Grant has expressed his regret at not taking on the role of the Doctor when the BBC Wales production team offered it to him on the off-chance back in 2004, as detailed in Russell T Davies's Doctor Who Magazine "Production Notes" column at the time.

"I was offered the role of The Doctor a few years back and was highly flattered," Grant is quoted as saying onSyFyPortal, amongst many other websites. "The danger with those things is that it's only when you see it on the screen that you think, 'Damn, that was good, why did I say no?'"

However, Grant added that he may yet appear in the series, and is apparently in discussions to guest star in an episode. "I'm in talks about a one-off role. I'd prefer to be a baddie. They're always much more fun to play."

Also reported at: ContactMusic, TeenTelevision, Bits of News and Digital Spy.

It would not be the first link with the show for Grant - in 1999 he was one of the star names to play the Doctor in the Comic Relief TV spoof The Curse of Fatal Death, which was written by Steven Moffat.

The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films has announced the nominations for the 33rd Annual Saturn Awards, and Doctor Who has received two nominations: BEST SYNDICATED/CABLE TELEVISION SERIES and BEST TELEVISION SERIES RELEASE ON DVD.

Leading the nominations was Bryan Singer's Superman Returns with ten. Other notables were X-Men: The Final Stand (6), Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth (6), Lost (6), Heroes (5), and Battlestar Galactica (4).

This year marks the Academy's 35th Anniversary. The non-profit organization was founded in 1972 by film historian Dr. Donald A. Reed. The Academy is currently headed by Robert Holguin, who serves as President of the Academy.

The winners will be announced at this year’s 33rd Annual Saturn Awards, which takes place on Thursday, May 10, 2007 in Universal City. Hosting the event will be actor Greg Grunberg (Heroes) and comedian Jeffrey Ross.

To learn more about the Saturns, visit the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films' website.

Actor Derek Waring who played Shardovan in Castrovalva died of cancer yesterday at 79.

He was also well-known for his roles in Z Cars and Moody and Pegg.

Other TV shows Waring appeared in were The Professionals, Dixon of Dock Green and The Adventures of Sir Lancelot, which starred William Russell - later to become Doctor Whocompanion Ian Chesterton - in the title role.

More details of Waring's life and career are online at Yahoo News.

UPDATE (22 Feb): His death has subsequently been reported at BBC News, where there is also a detailed biography plus tribute. The Guardian carries an obituary.

Pictured below is Waring in character in Castrovalva, which was recently released on DVD in the UK as part of the New Beginnings box set. Click on the image for a larger version.

The Magazine is holding a Dalek Building Contest.

The craft-oriented contest is open to Canadian residents under 18 years of age.

Prizes include one of four copies of the Doctor Who Series Two DVD box set and the grand prize is a remote control Dalek.

The Magazine is Canada's best-selling monthly youth entertainment publication.

If you get one or more of the following public TV stations, they have bought into the Christopher Eccleston Doctor Who package, available to stations as early as March 1. Additional stations may have bought into the package, but they have not made themselves known yet.

1) Georgia Public Broadcasting
2) Idaho Public Broadcasting
3) Iowa Public TV
4) KACV 2 Amarillo TX
5) KBTC 28/KCKA 15 Tacoma/Centralia WA
6) KERA 13 Dallas TX
7) KLCS 58 Los Angeles CA
8) KLRU 18 Austin TX
9) KOCE 50 Orange County CA
10) KOZK 21/KOZJ 26 Springfield/Joplin MO (Ozarks Public TV)
11) KRMA 6 Denver CO (and repeaters through Colorado)
12) KTEH 54/KCAH 25 San Jose/Monterey CA
13) KTWU 11 Topeka KS
14) KUED 7 Salt Lake City UT
15) KUHT 8 Houston TX
16) KVPT 18 Fresno CA
17) Louisiana Public Broadcasting
18) Maryland Public TV
19) North Carolina Public Broadcasting
20) Prairie Public Broadcasting (North Dakota's statewide network)
21) Nebraska Educational TV
22) New Hampshire Public TV
23) Oklahoma Public Broadcasting
24) Oregon Public Broadcasting
25) South Dakota Public Broadcasting
26) WCET 48 Cincinnati OH
27) WEDU 3 Tampa FL
28) WILL 12 Champaign-Urbana IL
29) WJCT 7 Jacksonville FL
30) WLIW 21 Long Island NY
31) WLVT 39 Allentown PA
32) WMFE 24 Orlando FL
33) WMVS 10 Milwaukee WI
34) WPBT 2 Miami FL
35) WQLN 54 Erie PA
36) WSKG 46 Binghamton NY
37) WTTW 11 Chicago IL
38) WTVP 47 Peoria IL
39) WUFT 5 Gainesville FL
40) WXXI 21 Rochester NY

Big Finish Productions has updated their website, with information on new and upcoming releases. The Seventh Doctor story Nocturne and the CD of the BBC7 Eighth Doctor story Blood of the Daleks - Part 2 have both been released to subscribers, as have the first four releases of The Companion Chronicles. Actress Sara Griffiths, who played Ray in the 1987 story "Delta and the Bannermen", returns to Doctor Who in the April release, I. D. by Eddie Robson. The cover and synopsis for the latest Bernice Summerfield adventure, The Tub Full of Cats, are available on the website, as is information about new and upcoming releases in the Sapphire and Steel, which has now been confirmed for a third season, and Tomorrow People lines. And the cover and blurb are now available for next month's main Doctor Who release, Renaissance of the Daleks, which is also the first story on the main range to feature the new cover design. This release is based on a story by former Doctor Who script editor and writer Christopher H. Bidmead:

Monday's edition of The Sun has picked up on the furore over remarks by John Barrowman.

It follows sexual comments made by Barrowman in Doctor Who Magazine, which prompted letters of complaint and an apology.

The 39-year-old Torchwood and Doctor Who star made certain references about himself,Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant and Torchwood director Ashley Way in a previous edition of the magazine.

DWM reader Robert Mitchell from Brighton had a letter published in the current edition in which he said: "The magazine is called Doctor Who Magazine and not Gay Times."

The Sun lifts part of the response by editor Clayton Hickman, quoting him as saying: "We consider the magazine is for older readers, but some of this content may have overstepped the mark. Apologies."

Though a few weeks away from Series 3 of Doctor Who (and any possible Who-related listings-magazines covers), both this week's and next week's issues of the Radio Times sport front-page covers and corresponding articles of two of the show's stars, albeit for different roles.

The current issue of the listings-magazine (17 to 23 February) has a Catherine Tate cover - "Bovvered?" - and features a three-page interview with the former Doctor Who companion by Alexei Sayle (the DJ in Revelation of the Daleks). This is to coincide with tonight's premiere of the ITV1 drama The Bad Mother's Handbook, which stars Tate. There's nothing about Doctor Who in the article itself but the magazine's editor Gill Hudson makes a brief mention in her "Editor's letter".

Meanwhile, next week's Radio Times (24 February to 2 March, on sale now) features a (bearded) David Tennant cover - "TV's Most Wanted" - and article to coincide with his BBC1 drama Recovery, which co-stars the Empress of the Racnoss herself, Sarah Parish. This issue also has a short interview with Penelope Wilton and a "One Final Question" interview with Life on Mars star John Simm.

Previously, to coincide with Matthew Graham's second series of Life on Mars, the 10 to 16 February issue of the Radio Times had a double cover - "Life on Mars!" - featuring Simm and Philip Glenister. The top cover - in the current Radio Times style, showing the pair in character and including a sub-heading "Primeval: Is this ITV1’s answer to Doctor Who?" - opened up to a second cover with the same picture but styled as the Radio Times was in 1973!