BBC Worldwide have today announced the host for the 2014 Australian and New Zealand tour of the Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular will be the fifth Doctor himself, Peter Davison.

The show runs in Melbourne from 31st January to 1st February before moving to Brisbane on 8th February and Wellington from 21st February to 22nd February.

Peter Davison, who played the Doctor for three years between 1981 and 1984, said todayJoining Davison will be conductor Ben Foster, who has conducted almost all of Murray Gold's music for the revived series since 2005. He also shared his delight in returning to the tour from his involvement last year:The content that will be performed in the live shows will include music spanning across the whole 50-year history of the show, many recent favourites as well as music from this years Christmas Special The Time of the Doctor.

New Zealand's Prime television channel will screen the 2013 Christmas Special The Time of the Doctor on Boxing Day, 26th December, at 8:30pm.

The New Zealand showing will commence exactly twelve hours after the special first screens in the UK.

Prime will also screen two 'marathons' comprising the two most recent Christmas specials and the whole of Series Seven, on 25th and 26th December.

The Christmas Day marathon runs from 9:45am to 3:45pm and includes The Doctor, The Widow And The Wardrobe, the first five episodes of Series Seven (Asylum Of The Daleks to The Angels Take Manhattan) and The Snowmen.

The Boxing Day marathon runs from 8:05am to 4:00pm and includes the remaining eight episodes of Series Seven (The Bells of Saint John to The Name of the Doctor).

Hot on the heels of the UK box office success, Australia's figures show that The Day of the Doctor was a huge hit in cinemas there, too! The 50th Anniversary adventure took $1.54 million (£872K) at the weekend, placing it third in the charts. Webwombat reported:
As with the UK, the runaway leader was The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, whose opening weekend took some $12.5m (£7.8m); however, second place was taken by Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa achieving $1.7m (£962K) in its second week.

Meanwhile, in New Zealand, Flicks reports the episode was even more successful, reaching second place in the chart after taking $187,029 (£95K) at the box office. Unsurprisingly, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire was again top of the charts, taking $2.16m (£1.1m) in its opening weekend. Thor: The Dark World took the third spot at $159,271 (£81K).

UKTV New Zealand has announced that it will screen An Adventure in Space and Time on Saturday 23 November. The New Zealand premiere of the drama is scheduled at 5:50pm, immediately following eleven hours of previously announced Doctor Who anniversary screenings on UKTV.

The New Zealand broadcast, which appropriately enough takes place on the actual date of the anniversary, will be less than two days after the UK, and one day after North America.

New Zealand's Prime television channel will screen The Day of the Doctor a little later than the simulcast that will be seen in many other countries.

If simulcast, the 50th anniversary special would have screened at 8:50am NZ time on Sunday 24 November. It will instead commence just ten minutes later, at 9:00am.

This brief delay is believed to be because Prime is not permitted to broadcast PGR (Parental Guidance Recommended) classified programmes before 9:00am in the morning. New series episodes of Doctor Who invariably receive this rating in New Zealand. Prime will repeat the special at 8:30pm the same day.

A couple of new documentaries to mark the anniversary are also scheduled on Prime for 24 November. Doctor Who Explained will screen at 6:30pm followed by Doctor Who in the U.S. at 10:15pm.

One additional item appears in Prime's line-up for 24 November. Closing Time will screen on 2:00pm. This is not part of the anniversary schedule but rather the latest in a run of weekly repeats of the latter half of Series Six.

November sees a packed line-up of Doctor Who on the UKTV Australia and UKTV New Zealand channels.

Eleven months of Doctor Who anniversary screenings on UKTV conclude with stories featuring Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor, as well as two full days of episodes and specials scheduled for the weekend of the 50th anniversary.

The Eleventh Doctor episodes are as follows:

3 November:
The Eleventh Hour - AU: 3:20pm (repeated 11:50pm); NZ: 5:20pm (repeated 4 Nov, 4:50am)

10 November:
The Time Of Angels & Flesh And Stone - AU: 2:35pm (repeated 11:50pm); NZ: 4:50pm (repeated 11 Nov, 4:25am)

17 November:
Amy's Choice - AU: 2:25pm; NZ: 4:35pm (repeated 18 Nov, 3:50am)
Asylum of the Daleks - AU: 3:25pm; NZ: 5:30pm (repeated 18 Nov, 4:40am)

Following these screenings, a Doctor Who marathon screening of episodes and specials running for more than 24 hours in total will be played out over the weekend of the anniversary.

One story from each Doctor will be screened, arranged in chronological order, each preceded by the corresponding instalment of Doctor Who Revisited. The episodes of Revisited featuring the three most recent Doctors have never before been screened in Australia or New Zealand.

23 November:
Doctor Who Revisited: The First Doctor - AU: 5:30am; NZ: 6:35am
An Unearthly Child - AU: 5:55am; NZ 7:00am
Doctor Who Revisited: The Second Doctor - AU: 8:00am; NZ: 8:40am
The Tomb of the Cybermen - AU: 8:30am; NZ 9:10am
Doctor Who Revisited: The Third Doctor - AU: 10:35am; NZ: 10:50am
The Three Doctors - AU: 11:05am; NZ 11:20am
Doctor Who Revisited: The Fourth Doctor - AU: 1:10pm; NZ: 1:05pm
The Hand of Fear - AU: 1:40pm; NZ 1:35pm
Doctor Who Revisited: The Fifth Doctor - AU: 3:45pm; NZ: 3:20pm
The Caves of Androzani - AU: 4:15pm; NZ 3:50pm

24 November:
Doctor Who Revisited: The Sixth Doctor - AU: 6:10am; NZ: 7:20am
Revelation of the Daleks - AU: 6:40am; NZ: 7:50am
Doctor Who Revisited: The Seventh Doctor - AU: 8:45am; NZ: 9:25am
The Curse of Fenric - AU: 9:15am; NZ: 9:55am
Doctor Who Revisited: The Eighth Doctor - AU: 11:20am; NZ: 11:35am
Doctor Who: The Movie - AU: 11:50am; NZ: 12:00pm
Doctor Who Revisited: The Ninth Doctor - AU: 1:35pm; NZ: 1:30pm
Rose - AU: 2:05pm; NZ: 1:55pm
Doctor Who Revisited: The Tenth Doctor - AU: 3:10pm; NZ: 2:45pm
Blink - AU: 3:40pm; NZ: 3:10pm
Doctor Who Revisited: The Eleventh Doctor - AU: 4:45pm; NZ: 4:00pm
Asylum of the Daleks - AU: 5:15pm; NZ: 4:30pm

In addition, Doctor Who 50th: Vivid Sydney will screen on 23 November (AU: 6:15pm, repeated 24 Nov 6:15pm; NZ: 5:40pm). This ten-minute programme features the Doctor Who musical projections that illuminated Sydney's Customs House for the anniversary.

UKTV is also screening four Doctor Who America Specials on Sundays, including The Timey Wimey Stuff of Doctor Who (AU: 10 Nov, 4:30pm); The Science of Doctor Who (NZ: 17 Nov, 6:30pm); The Destinations of Doctor Who (AU: 17 Nov, 4:25pm) and The Women of Doctor Who (NZ: 24 Nov, 6:30pm).

Further episodes scheduled to screen on UKTV in Australia during November include stories from Series One to Three on weekdays at 9:20am, and the first half of Series Seven on Sunday evenings at 5:30pm .

Meanwhile, New Zealand also has screenings of episodes from the first half of Series Seven, on Sunday evenings at 6:30pm, with all five episodes repeated twice daily weekdays from 18-22 November.

Upcoming broadcasts can be found on UKTV's Doctor Who guide for Australia and New Zealand.

Following the issue of the gold and silver Doctor Who 50th annniversary coins earlier this year, New Zealand Mint has now released a set of ½ ounce 999 Fine Silver coins featuring all eleven Doctors.

Each Doctor is depicted alongside one of his adversaries, including Daleks, Cybermen, the Master, Davros, Omega, Slitheen, Ood, and a Weeping Angel.

The limited edition set of 11 coins comes packaged in a 3D replica of the Doctor’s fob watch. 3,000 of these sets will be issued worldwide.

The coins are also available to purchase separately, limited to 1,000 of each Doctor.

As with New Zealand Mint’s earlier issues, these coins are legal tender for $1 in the Pacific island nation of Niue.

Simon Harding (NZ Mint chief executive):

There are not many television shows which boast a 50 year history. To be able to celebrate that evolution in such a unique way, as this silver coin set does, is something Doctor Who fans will love. 

Rachael Hammond (BBC Worldwide ANZ’s Senior Licensing Executive, Consumer Products): 

To celebrate 50 years is a remarkable achievement for a television show and these 11 silver coins provide a worthy memento of Doctor Who’s enduring popularity.

The coins are now available to order from New Zealand Mint.

BBC Worldwide Australia & New Zealand have announced that the 50th Anniversary feature-length Doctor Who story, The Day of the Doctor, is to be screened in 3D in some 87 cinemas in Australia and 19 in New Zealand.

Sharon Wilson, Head of Marketing, Brands for BBC Worldwide Australia & New Zealand said:

The cinema screenings will be held on Sunday 24th November, the same day as the anniversary is broadcast in those countries, and will also include specially-shot introductions that will be seen by cinema audiences around the world.

United Kingdom: The National Media Museum in Bradford will play host to an 'invasion' of Daleks during the October half-term (26 Oct - 3 Nov). Doctor Who Family Fun will give visitors the chance to learn about the Doctor's foe in the Science of the Daleks event, and will also be able to participate in making a light-up TARDIS, a moving Dalek or even create their own monster to take home. Other events include behind-the-scenes on the making of the show, plus a screening of this year's Nightmare in Silver. Learning programme coordinator Elaine Richmond said: "We hope families will join us this half term to help keep the Museum from the clutches of the dreaded Daleks. We’re very excited about this event and promise a lot of Doctor Who-themed fun and activities in anticipation of the 50th anniversary episode next month."

UK: The University of Central Lancashire are planning a special event on the 16th November: Doctor Who: The Science Behind The Scenes will be a day of presentations about the show and the science it uses, including topics like Science Fact or Science Fiction?, The Psychology of Doctor Who and Is Time Travel Possible? There will also be workshops, make-up, costumes and mask-making, and a area to have memorabilia assessed and valued! [EventBrite]

UK: The popularity of Doctor Who Experience at Cardiff Bay has led to the town council to consider additional parking space in order to ensure that the perceived lack of space is leading to a drop-off in number of visitors to the area. A BBC Worldwide spokesperson commented: "An improvement in parking in Cardiff Bay will support increased visitor numbers but there is no suggestion that visitor numbers at the Doctor Who Experience are falling. We do receive comments from potential visitors and visitors post-event about the lack of parking in the Bay and we welcome the move to improve the situation." [Wales Online, 19 Sep 2013]

UK: Special Events Group Limited are arranging for a mass Doctor Who themed wedding which is expected to take place at the Bloomsbury Ballroom in London on 24th November. [Doctor Who Wedding]

UK: As part of the BBC's plans to simulcast The Day of the Doctor across cinemas in 3D, Cineworld in Crawley Leisure Park aim to host a special day to celebrate, including an appearance by Simon Fisher Becker, who played Dorium in the series. Money raised from the day will be donated to the charity Autism All Stars. [Crawley Observer, 2 Oct 2013]

UK: Doctor Who features as a session at next weekend's Film and TV Conference in Norwich; Doctor Who and Beyond: Science Fiction & Fantasy TV takes place on the 12th October at 11:15am and is expected to feature writer Phil Ford amonst panel speakers. [Norfolk Eastern Daily Press, 27 Sep 2013]

UK: Three fans have set off on a round-trip from Pontllanfraith in Wales to Munich in Germany - each dressed as the Doctor - in order to raise money for Parkinson's research. Richard Shelton said: "Three years ago I took part in a similar rally across Europe to Croatia. We want to raise between £1,000 and £2,000 for Parkinson's UK and have £800 so far." [South Wales Argus, 20 Sep 2013]

UK: A Dalek ended up "chasing" a pensioner in Southampton as fan Chris Baker was in the process of moving home. Tony Holland had in fact offered to pull the prop along; as Baker observed: "This dalek is worth quite a few thousand pounds and I wasn't sure it would survive being pulled along by a mobility scooter! But Tony was very keen to assist and I saw no harm in giving it a go. He did a great job. We kept having to stop as people wanted to have their picture taken with the dalek." [Daily Star, 25 Sep 2013]

UK: Chester Zoo have released a video featuring their penguins - all with Doctor Who related names! [YouTube, 25 Sep 2013]

United States: The Norman Public Library in Tulsa is to hold a Doctor Who event on the 4th October to celebrate the show's 50th anniversary. The library website states: "The event is open to all ages and features games, crafts, Doctor Who-themed snacks and a chance to look at and check out the library’s collection of Doctor Who books." [Pioneer Library System, 1 Oct 2013]

US: Fans are attempting to have the Empire State Building in New York lit for the 50th Anniversary; an online petition states: "We are asking the Empire State Building to light up “TARDIS Blue” on November 23rd to celebrate 50 great years of Doctor Who. The Empire State Building regularly uses their spectacular light show to celebrate special moments in pop culture, such as sports events, the 15th anniversary of The Lion King, and Wrestlemania, as well as all the holidays and occasions it’s more known for being lit up for. As far as we know, however, they’ve never lit up to celebrate a SciFi show. What better place to start than the iconic series Doctor Who?" [Change Petitions]

US: Fans from the Tech Valley Center of Gravity in Troy, New York, have built a "TARDIS photo booth" for use at community events; creator Mick Cipollo said: "There was a concept for Troy night out first for a video booth for 30 second clips of 'why you enjoy Troy.' Then Laban Coblentz, founder and chairman of Tech Valley Center of Gravity, thought it should be in a TARDIS. I thought is was a good idea also." [All Over Albany, 27 Sep 2013]

Canada: A candidate in the Edmonton council elections has turned to Gallifrey for inspiration; Jim Gibbon used the Doctor's language to make up his campaign signs, Vote Gibbon Ward 5. Gibbon said: “You need to take your time and see what the person (a candidate) is all about”. [Canoe, 2 Oct 2013]

Australia: The Thuringowa Library in Townsville, North Queensland has had an exhibition of Doctor Who memorabilia courtesy of fan Robyn Gandini, who will also be making a presentation about her collection on the 5th October. [ABC, 30 Sep 2013]

AU: Actor and fan Santa Strohfeldt has been building his own TARDIS, and aims to have it completed in time for Peter Capaldi's debut at Christmas. His creation can be found in Southport on the Gold Coast. [ABC, 25 Sep 2013]

New Zealand: Another TARDIS builder, Michael Fenton from Inglewood, Taranaki, explains how his prop now helps him to teach school children: "What started as a gimmick for the careers expo became really cool for kids when I was teaching science and mathematics at high school. The whole idea is to show that stuff you're learning at primary and high school can be useful in the real world. I was trying to show students that you don't have to wait until you're older, you can actually do this stuff now." [Stuff, 19 Sep 2013]

October sees the broadcast of nine episodes featuring David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor on Australian and New Zealand television. These screenings are part of the 50th Anniversary season of Doctor Who on the UKTV Australia and UKTV New Zealand channels.

The selection includes four episodes each from the 2006 and 2008 series, with the 2007 series represented by just one episode. All four of Steven Moffat's Tenth Doctor episodes are included.

The schedule for the month in both countries is as follows:

6 October
School Reunion - AU: 4:35pm; NZ: 4:45pm (NZ repeat 7 Oct, 4:20am)
The Girl in the Fireplace - AU: 5:30pm; NZ: 5:35pm (NZ repeat 7 Oct, 5:05am)

13 October
The Impossible Planet - AU: 3:35pm; NZ: 3:50pm (NZ repeat 14 Oct, 3:25am)
The Satan Pit - 4:30pm; NZ 4:45pm (NZ repeat 14 Oct, 4:15am)
Blink - AU: 5:30pm: NZ: 5:35pm (NZ repeat 14 Oct, 5:05am)

20 October
Silence In The Library - AU: 2:25pm; NZ: 4:45pm (NZ repeat 21 Oct, 4:10am)
Forest Of The Dead - AU: 3:25pm; NZ: 5:40pm (NZ repeat 21 Oct, 4:55am)

27 October
The Stolen Earth - AU: 2:25pm; NZ: 4:30pm (NZ repeat 28 Oct, 3:50am)
Journey's End - AU: 3:25pm; NZ: 5:20pm (NZ repeat 28 Oct, 4:40am)

Episodes featuring other Doctors also scheduled to screen on UKTV during October include in Australia, a screening of Series One (2005), weekdays at 9:20am beginning Thursday 17 October, and Series Seven (2012-13) Sunday evenings at 5:30pm from 20 October. New Zealand has The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe at 6:30pm on Sunday 6 October, followed by Series Seven, also on Sunday evenings at 6:30pm from 13 October.

Upcoming broadcasts can be found on UKTV's Doctor Who guide for Australia and New Zealand.