The BBC have announced that the next star of Doctor Who is to be revealed this coming Sunday evening in a special programme to be broadcast live on BBC One at 7:00pm, and simulcast by BBC America.

Update Friday Canadian channel SPACE have confirmed they will also broadcast the live show.
Update Saturday ABC Australia have also confirmed they will broadcast the live show.

Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor is to be presented by Zoe Ball, and is expected to feature previous Doctors, companions, special guests and 'celebrity' fans, leading up to the reveal of who has won the coveted role. Charlotte Moore, the Controller of BBC One, said:
In order to keep the half-hour show and the announcement under wraps, the BBC promoted it last week as an entertainment pilot that would pay tribute to 50 years of Doctor Who. For television schedules they instead listed a repeat of Celebrity Mastermind in the timeslot - a similar tactic was employed back in 2009 with Matt Smith's announcement, when the scheduled The Ten Doctors turned out to be a smokescreen for The Eleventh Doctor. BBC America, meanwhile, have had a repeat of The Eleventh Hour scheduled for Sunday afternoon.

Smith will also feature in Sunday's broadcast, lending advice on what it takes to play the Doctor; the show will also include interviews with Jenna Coleman and executive producer Steven Moffat, who said:

The casting process itself has been a well-kept secret, with plenty of speculation as to who will take on the role. Ben Stephenson, the Controller of BBC Drama Commissioning, commented:
As reported on Wednesday, established names such Peter Capaldi, Ben Daniels, Chris Addison, Rory Kinnear and David Harewood have all been popular choices with the betting public - though it is just as likely that a previously unconsidered name will be revealed come Sunday evening, as with Smith in 2009.

The 50th-anniversary episode of Doctor Who is to be broadcast around the world at the same time, it has been revealed.

It is believed the deal has been struck with global networks to prevent any spoilers and plot leaks, and is set to make it the world's biggest drama simulcast when it goes out on Saturday 23rd November.

In a statement, BBC Worldwide said: The episode, whose title is yet to be publicly announced, will be shown in both 2D and 3D.

The time differences around the world mean that an evening transmission in the UK on the Saturday would see it being shown earlier the same day in North America and early on Sunday 24th November in Australia and New Zealand.

The BBC have announced that Matt Smith is to relinquish the role of the Doctor at the end of the year, once filming has completed on the Christmas Special.

In a press release, the actor reflected:

Head writer Steven Moffat said:

Some tributes to Matt's tenure as the Doctor on Twitter include: Nicola Bryant (Peri) - "I'm sad that Matt Smith is leaving. I've loved his Doctor. I wish him and thank him for his time. :)"; Yee Jee Tso (Chang Lee) - "YeeJeeTso for the next Doctor!” Ha! It'd be fun... but I'd never be able to fill those shoes!"; Caitlin Blackwood (Amelia) - "Oh my Gosh. I'm a little upset that Matt smith is leaving doctor who..."; Mark Gatiss (writer) - "Desperately sorry to see Matt Smith go. A truly wonderful Doctor Who, a gifted actor & a lovely man. It's the end. But ( altogether now!)..."; Neil Gaiman (writer) - "thank you, Matt Smith. It was an honour and a delight to write scripts for you: you never did what I expected."; James Moran (writer) - "Anyway. End of an era. Start of a new one. It's why we love the show- laughs, tears, surprises. Also: explosions!"; Gareth Roberts (writer) - "Very sad Matt Smith will depart from Doctor Who. A brilliant actor and a good man."; Nicholas Pegg (actor) - "Matt Smith is a terrific actor, and a lovely, kind, funny, generous, considerate man. Always a pleasure to threaten him with extermination."; Barnaby Edwards (actor) - "Farewell, Matt. You were a joy to work with and a wonder to watch. Thanks for all the good times."; Tom Spilsbury (DWM editor) - "I am very sad to see Matt Smith leave. He has been a brilliant Doctor Who, as well as being a kind and generous man. Thanks from all at DWM."; Edward Russell (brand manager) - "It feels impossible to think that anyone could be as good as Matt. Still, I thought that when David left."


The news will of course generate a lot of media interest, with many of the Sunday newspapers commencing their speculation as to who the next person to play the Doctor will be (with front pages coverage by the Times, Mail and Star). It is also expected that bookmakers will begin offering odds for Smith's replacement imminently!

Lizo Mzimba presented an item on Matt's tenure during BBC One's news bulletin at 10:30pm (available in the UK via the BBC News site), whilst BBC Breakfast is expected to have an item on the news in the morning, with Doctor Who Magazine's editor Tom Spilsbury reporting on Twitter that he will appear on the programme.

Some fans in America have been enjoying the Doctor Who series finale early due to a mistake in the American distribution of the Series 7 Blu-rays and DVDs.

The Name of the Doctor, which concludes the current series of the show, is due for transmission next weekend in the UK, North America and Australia. The episode is included in the Series Seven - Part Two Blu-ray and DVD sets, which were due to be released on 28 May.

However a distribution error has meant some copies of the discs have already been sent out in North America giving some fans a sneak preview of the final episode.

Doctor Who's brand manager, Edward Russell, has appealed to fans who have seen the episode to keep the show's secrets until it is broadcast at the weekend. On twitter he said
Update Monday. The BBC have now added on Twitter: "Steven Moffat has promised if fans help keep the finale’s secrets, we’ll release a special video featuring Matt and David right after the ep!". This was also detailed via their Facebook page:

Update Tuesday. An email has been sent to recipients of the boxed set, as follows:

Brian Minchin has been made executive producer on Doctor Who alongside showrunner and lead writer Steven Moffat with immediate effect, it was announced this afternoon.

He replaces Caroline Skinner, who stepped down last month to join BBC Drama Production in London.

Minchin is an executive producer for BBC Wales's drama department, where he has been working on The Game, a new Cold War spy thriller from Toby Whithouse for BBC One, and Wizards vs Aliens, the Russell T Davies and Phil Ford co-creation for CBBC. He has also worked as BBC executive producer on Dirk Gently - based on the novels by Douglas Adams - and Being Human (another Whithouse creation).

He has been a script editor on Doctor Who and was a producer for spin-off series The Sarah Jane Adventures as well as the UK sections of Torchwood: Miracle Day, and was assistant producer on Torchwood: Children Of Earth.

Having grown up in Aberystwyth, Minchin joined the BBC Wales drama department in Cardiff in 2005 as a script editor working on the BBC One Wales production Belonging, before moving to network dramas Doctor Who and Torchwood in the same role.

He said: Faith Penhale, the head of drama at BBC Wales, said: And Moffat added:

The BBC has confirmed that Ninth Doctor Christopher Eccleston has decided that he will not take part in the 50th anniversary episode.

The statement follows reports in the tabloid press that the actor had pulled out of the story just as filming was due to begin. However, the BBC makes clear the actor was never contracted for the story, which is currently in production.

A BBC spokesman explained:

Eccleston played the Ninth Doctor when the series returned in 2005, staying with the show for just one season. In 2011 he gave an interview saying he left the series because of politics and because he did not see eye-to-eye with senior members of the production team. He has stated how much he enjoyed the role and fans had hoped he could be persuaded to make an appearance in the 50th anniversary special.

An appearance from the Ninth Doctor in the story may still be possible using archive footage from the series.

Filming has continued this week, with Gelligaer Common north of Caerphilly playing host to the TARDIS (times two) yesterday. Jenna-Louise Coleman was present for recording scenes involving her on the Doctor's anti-grav bike, and a helicopter was also present during the morning. You can read a summary of events up in the hills via the She-Goat: blog.

Meanwhile, John Hurt was at the BAFTAs yesterday, with the BBC report saying: "Hurt revealed he had come to the event from filming Doctor Who, for its 50th anniversary, in Cardiff."

The BBC have now confirmed the time of the series "7B" premiere of Doctor Who: The Bells of Saint John will be broadcast on BBC One at 6:15pm on the 30th March 2013.

The episode launches the new early evening line-up for BBC One, with the new series of The Voice following it at 7:00pm. BBC Two broadcasts Easter from Kings until 6:30pm, whereupon there is a repeat of The Good Life leading into a tribute at 7:00pm to Richard Briers, who died last month. Meanwhile, ITV are broadcasting the news followed by You've Been Framed, Channel 4 have racing followed by the news, whilst Channel 5 are showing the film Police Academy 4.

Competition:

To celebrate the return of the series, Doctor Who News are offering readers the chance to win one of two copies of Series 7 Part 2 when it is released (currently scheduled for 20th May in the UK).
To enter the competition, please send your answer to this email address with the subject line "Run, you clever boy!", along with your name and address, plus your preferred format (Blu-ray or DVD) and region. The competition closes at 6:15pm GMT on Saturday 30th March.

Publicity Images:

New publicity images have been released for the story which can be viewed below, along with the other images from earlier in the week:

The BBC has announced details of a special three day event to be held in London in November to celebrate 50 years of Doctor Who.

The three day Doctor Who 50th Celebration Weekend will be held at the ExCeL centre in London, beginning on Friday, 22 November with tickets for over 15,000 fans available.

More details about the event, including guests, itinerary, ticket prices and booking information will be revealed soon with fans invited to sign up to the doctorwho.tv newsletter.

Amanda Hill, Chief Brands Officer at BBC Worldwide said:

The event follows the two day convention which took place in Cardiff last year and which saw fans get a chance to meet the current stars of the show and take a trip to the TARDIS set.

The last time the BBC celebrated an anniversary of the show with a convention was in 1983 when thousands of fans attended an event to celebrate the 20th anniversary at Longleat House in Wiltshire.

The BBC have announced that the first of the eight episodes that comprise the second part of Series Seven will premiere on BBC One from Saturday 30th March - back in its 'traditional' Easter weekend slot! Though Doctor Who Magazine had already reported that the series would be on during April, this is the first time the BBC themselves have confirmed the date of a regular series of episodes so far ahead of its intended schedule - normally it is only announced a few weeks beforehand.

The time of broadcast has yet to be confirmed.

Both BBC America and SPACE (Canada) have confirmed that they, too, will launch the second part from the 30th March; no announcements have been made for the series to premiere in the other main countries as yet, though based on recent years they are likely to be close to transmission of the series in the United Kingdom.