Peter Davison, who celebrates his 64th birthday today, is currently appearing in London's West End in the revival of the Musical Gypsy.

Davison plays Herbie in the show, which is based upon the memoirs of the stripper Gypsy Rose Lee, and which is currently previewing at London's Savoy Theatre. The cast is led by BAFTA award winning actress Imelda Staunton who was asked to take on the role of Rose by the play's lyricist Stephen Sondheim, after he saw Staunton's performance as Mrs Lovett in the 2012 production of Sweeney Todd.

The show's cast album, featuring Davison, is released on 27th April.

Davison will take time off from the show to host Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular’s UK tour this May.

NB The first London production of Gypsy in 1973, starring Angela Lansbury, featured a 9 year old Bonnie Langford in the role of Baby June.

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Fortitude, the psychological thriller television series starring Christopher Eccleston, has been renewed for a second 10-part series.

The series, which also stars Michael Gambon airs in the UK on Sky Atlantic, where the first episode was watched by more than 2.5m people and is the channels most successful original commission.

Wednesday ​April​ 15​ ​sees the release of ​Doctor Who: Twelfth Doctor #7​, written by Robbie Morrison and illustrated by Brian Williamson.

Big Finish have announced that the release date of May's Doctor Who novel adaptations titles has been brought forward - to next Monday, for those who order at bigfinish.com.

On Monday 13th April, Big Finish will release Doctor Who - The Novel Adaptations Volume 2. Originally scheduled as May releases, it's been brought forward exclusively through the Big Finish site, with other retailers keeping the May date.

Doctor Who - The Novel Adaptations Volume 2 is a limited edition, five-disc release (also available as a download) bringing together the content of Doctor Who - The Well-Mannered War, Doctor Who - Damaged Goods, and not only a fifth disc of interviews about the making of these tales, but for anyone buying through the Big Finish site, there's an exclusive download version of the fifth disc, featuring an additional 40 minutes of conversations with Russell T Davies and others.

Wednesday ​April​ 15​ ​sees the release of ​Doctor Who: Eleventh Doctor #11, written by Al Ewing and illustrated by Boo Cook.





A trailer has also been launched for the first volume of Doctor Who: The Eleventh Doctor, a collection of the first five issues of the comic.

Candy Jar Books have announced a change in schedules for their novels based upon the character of Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart.

Owing to Lance Parkin being unavailable for the project at present, his novel Horror of Det-Sen will no longer be published in June, with David A McIntee's The Schizoid Earth now moving into that slot. Shaun Russell, head of publishing, said:
McIntee's novel will be followed by a new replacement a few months later entitled Beast of Fang Rock which, as the name implies, is a prequel/sequel to the Season 15 opener Horror of Fang Rock; it will be co-written by Andy Frankham-Allen and the original script's writer Terrance Dicks. This will then be followed by the previously announced Mutually Assured Domination by Nick Walters.

Looking to 2016, novels have been commissioned from John Peel (author of a number of Virgin/BBC Books and story novelisations), Jonathan Cooper (former Doctor Who correspondent with the Mirror), Lizbeth M Myles (author of several short stories), and Adrian Rigelsford (The Hinchcliffe Years and The Harper Classics).

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To celebrate the success of the first book in the range, The Forgotten Son, Candy Jar Books have made a 65 page e-book freely available for download from their website. Hayley Cox, senior publishing co-ordinator, said:

Lethbridge-Stewart: Top Secret Files contains previously unpublished material, as well as an extended short story first published in Doctor Who Magazine #483 in February. It also includes a special, previously unreleased interview in which Doctor Who director Graeme Harper talks about the actor who played Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, Nicholas Courtney.

• The Ambush! – A short story originally published in Doctor Who Magazine #438, now extended with new scenes. It is set during the Doctor Who serial The Web of Fear, and serves as an introduction to the Lethbridge-Stewart book series.
• We Won’t Let Him Down – An extended version of the final chapter of Candy Jar Books’ Companions: Fifty Years of Doctor Who Assistants, focussing solely on the television adventures of the Brigadier.
• What Lies Beyond – A brief look at some of the Doctor Who novels that have featured the Brigadier over the years that pertain to the future of the Lethbridge-Stewart series of novels.
• Graeme Harper – An extended interview with Doctor Who director Graeme Harper (the only director to have worked on the classic series and the revived series) from the book Calling the Shots, in which he talks about Nicholas Courtney, the man who brought the Brigadier to life.
• Original Prelude – Never-before-seen original prelude that was written to open The Forgotten Son, set during the final moments of the Brigadier’s life.
• The New World – The opening chapter of The Forgotten Son, the first novel in the Lethbridge-Stewart series.

The e-book is also available for the Kindle via Amazon.

Wed​nesday ​April​ 15​ ​sees the release of ​Doctor Who: Tenth Doctor #9, written by Robbie Morrison and illustrated by Daniel Indro.

Doctor Who: Listen has been nominated for a 2015 Hugo Award.

The episode, written by Steven Moffat and directed by Douglas Mackinnon, was the fourth episode of Series Eight, shown worldwide last Autumn, and is nominated in the Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form category.

Other shows nominated include Game of Thrones, which has triumphed at the awards in the previous two years. The 2015 Hugo Award and John W. Campbell Award winners will be announced Saturday, August 22, 2015, during the Hugo Awards Ceremony at the 2015 Worldcon.

Doctor Who News is pleased to offer readers a chance to purchase an official Doctor Who 4th Doctor Scarf at a special discounted price.

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BBC Worldwide has announced a new collaboration with content distribution service BitTorrent to mark a decade of new Doctor Who.

To celebrate ten years since the series reboot, the file sharing network will be offering a ten story box set featuring specially selected highlights from the modern era of Doctor Who for $12 globally.

The package will include exclusive video content from incumbent Doctor Peter Capaldi who gives his insight into some of his favourite Doctor Who episodes as well as Doctor Who: Earth Conquest – the documentary about the 2014 global tour which saw Capaldi and companion Jenna Coleman travel the world to meet their fans.

Julia Kenyon, Director of Drama Brands, BBC Worldwide comments: Matt Mason, Chief Content Officer at BitTorrent adds: The ten story box set will be available globally to stream or download from the BitTorrent Website.

The $12 Download / Stream Package includes

• Series 1: Rose
• Series 1: The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances
• Series 2: The Girl in the Fireplace
• Series 3: Blink
• Series 4: Special - The End of Time (Parts 1 & 2)
• Series 5: The Vampires of Venice
• Series 6: The Doctor’s Wife
• Series 7: The Rings of Akhaten
• 50th Anniversary special: The Day of the Doctor
• Series 8: Listen

A new project is seeking submissions for for a Doctor Who short story anthology.

Time Shadows: Into Abyss is a project for charity by Pseudoscope Publishing, edited by Matt Grady and Sam Gibb. Commissioned writers will receive a printed contributor’s copy of the anthology.

All sale proceeds will be donated to e-NABLE, a global network of volunteers who are using their 3D printers, design skills, and personal time to create free 3D printed prosthetic hands for those in need.

Submission Guidelines

Submission for Twelfth Doctor stories will not be accepted. Submissions will be by invite only.

Stories should feature one of twelve televised incarnations of the Doctor (i.e. William Hartnell to Matt Smith), including the War Doctor.

Stories should range in length between 2500 to 8000 words.

Stories should be set in the Doctor Who universe (no crossovers), featuring the Doctor as the protagonist. Stories featuring an established companion or enemy as the protagonist will be considered, as long as the Doctor makes a prominent cameo. Companions or villains may be drawn from the TV series or Big Finish audios.

Stories with adult themes are acceptable as long as the content is neither gratuitous nor unnecessary.

Continuity-heavy stories will be considered, as long as the story comes first and stands up on its own legs.

All work should be original. Do not submit any work that has been printed elsewhere. If your work is accepted, you must not allow it to appear anywhere else (including online) for at least a year after the release of the anthology.

What to Send

Send an outline in Word or Rich Text format, or as text in an e-mail. Outlines should be no more than 500 words in length, and include a full plot synopsis.
In addition to the outline, if this is your first time submitting, send some sample fiction you’ve written previously, such as a chapter from a novel or a short story.
E-mail submissions to editors Matt and Sam at pseudoscope2015@gmail.com.
Deadline for outlines is April 30, 2015.