Big Finish are to hold a special sale this weekend of the trilogy of adventures starring Sylvester McCoy as the Seventh Doctor with Tracy Childs as Klein, the stories of which can currently be heard on BBC Radio 4 Extra.

A Thousand Tiny Wings The TARDIS arrives in 1950s Kenya during the Mau Mau uprising, and the Doctor again encounters Nazi scientist Elizabeth Klein.

Klein’s Story/Survival of the Fittest The secrets of Klein’s past are revealed, and a visit to an alien world sees an attempt to save an insect race from exctinction.

The Architects of History A new future is threatened by an attack by the alien Selachians...

The three adventures will be available individually or as a bundle.

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The two characters are to be reunited in October:

The Collectable Art Company has announced the release of the second in their range of Limited Edition Fine Art prints of the original Doctor Who costume designs.

The officially licensed print features the 1987 costume designed by Ken Trew for the Seventh Doctor. As with the first release of the Sixth Doctor's costume in February, the print comes with a Certificate of Authenticity and the print will be signed by both the designer and the wearer himself, Sylvester McCoy.

The print also comes with a 28 page booklet containing an introduction by McCoy, an in-depth interview with Trew describing the production process, plus never before seen preliminary designs and detailed photographs of the original costume.


Grahame Flynn, Managing Director of The Collectable Art Company said:

The print is limited to 750 worldwide, and is available for pre-order from the company's website.

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The first design print released, for the Sixth Doctor's costume as designed by Pat Godfrey, is still available to order. Grahame Flynn updated us on distribution, saying:
Colin also posed in costume with the design of his coat, as seen here.

Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy have been named as special guests at the fund-raising convention Nor-Con later this year. The event, to be held at the Holiday Inn Norwich North in Hellesdon, Norfolk, takes place on Sunday 2nd September. Money raised will go to local charities. [Norwich Evening News, 8 Mar 2012]

John Barrowman has won a leading role in a drama pilot for ABC called Gilded Lilys. He will play Julius Ashford Lily in the show, described as "an upstairs-downstairs look at the opening of the first true luxury hotel built in New York City circa 1895." [TV Guide, 6 Mar 2012]

Suranne Jones, Tom Ellis, David Warner, Sarah Smart, and Donald Sumpter are to star in the modern-day ghost story The Secret Of Crickley Hall on BBC One this autumn. James Herbert's novel has been adapted by Joe Ahearne, who will also be directing it. Filming on the three-part drama begins this month in and around the Manchester area. Jones said: "The Secret Of Crickley Hall is a classic haunted house spine chiller. With an emotional family story at its heart, Joe Ahearne has adapted the novel perfectly, and I am really excited about working with him as a director. It's a great cast and I am looking forward to working with David Warner, Donald Sumpter, and Tom Ellis." Ahearne said: "Everyone loves a good ghost story and James Herbert is an iconic writer in the genre. He's come up with a really thrilling and moving story that delights you while it's terrifying you. It's a testament to his craft that we've attracted such a great cast to play the characters he created."[BBC Media Centre, 7 Mar 2012]

Starting on Monday 12th March, Suranne Jones is reunited with Lesley Sharp for a second series of the crime drama Scott and Bailey in which they play two CID officers in the Major Incident Team of the fictional Manchester Metropolitan Police. The eight-episode show airs on ITV1 at 9pm.

Lily Cole is to front a series in which she interviews leading artists. The model and actress was awarded a double first in art history at King's College, Cambridge University, last year. Lily Cole's Art Matters will air on Sky Arts this autumn. [Press Association, 7 Mar 2012]

Richard Hope is currently appearing in Democracy, a play by Michael Frayn, at Sheffield's Crucible. When asked about his surprise reappearance in last year's finale, he said: "I play a character who I thought was killed off, but obviously audience research brings you back. You're not meant to talk about that sort of thing but I haven't disappeared so it's quite nice." The play ends its run on 31st March. [The Star, 8 Mar 2012]

Tony Curran has been signed up to appear in the new Syfy US series Defiance. The show sees humans and aliens co-existing on a future Earth that has been devastated by wars and changed by alien terra-forming machines. It is understood that production starts in Toronto next month. [SFX, 9 Mar 2012]

Prosthetics wizard Neill Gorton is involved in the make-up for the 25th anniversary touring production of The Phantom of the Opera. John Owen-Jones, who shares the title role with Earl Carpenter, said of the make-up: "It takes two hours but we hope to get it down to one." The show is currently previewing at the Theatre Royal Plymouth, where it officially opens on March 17th. After ending there on 31st March it moves on to Manchester's Palace Theatre, the Bristol Hippodrome, Dublin's Grand Canal Theatre, Leeds Grand Theatre, Edinburgh Playhouse (where Earl Carpenter takes over the title role a third of the way through the run), Milton Keynes Theatre, and the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton, with more dates to be announced. [Wales Online, 9 Mar 2012]

Mekhi Phifer has changed allegiances for his next role, switching from the CIA in Torchwood: Miracle Day to the FBI in White Collar. The actor appears in series four of the USA Network show as agent Kyle Collins, who is described as "the bureau's top international fugitive-hunting specialist". The ten-episode series will air this summer. [Entertainment Weekly, 9 Mar 2012]

Reggie Yates is to front a BBC Three documentary series bringing together six youngsters with Tourette syndrome for a one-off live musical performance. The series, which has the working title of Tourettes: Let Me Entertain You, is a follow-up to the channel's documentary I Swear I Can Sing, which aired last December. A transmission date is yet to be announced. [BBC Media Centre, 9 Mar 2012]

Liza Tarbuck has been given her own show on BBC Radio 2. She will join the station on May 12 as presenter of the Saturday evening slot from 6pm to 8pm, replacing Alan Carr. Tarbuck has regularly deputised on Radio 2 programmes since 2007. [BBC Media Centre, 8 Mar 2012]

Eve Myles talks about her audition for her role in All New People, the play by Zach Braff: "It was one of the strangest auditions of my life. On the Friday my agent phoned me up very excited because I was desperate to get back to doing theatre, and I wanted to do some comedy because I've never done comedy. She said 'I've got this wonderful script, I'm going to send it to you and they're going to have a look at some of your stuff over the weekend. And if they like what they see then on Monday you might get a phone call and you might have to read for them.' Monday came and they were very interested in me. They arranged for me – on the Wednesday – to audition on Skype, which I’d never done before. Anybody who knows me knows that I have difficulty with a mobile phone, never mind the internet! So I had a Skype audition with Peter DuBois, who was in New York, which lasted an hour and a half, then I had another 40-minute audition with Zach in Los Angeles. So the audition lasted nearly three hours with these two geniuses. In the meantime my babysitter had let me down so we put Alice In Wonderland on for Matilda. So I’m doing all these big scenes on Skype and my daughter is screaming, 'Off with her head!' in the background. But within 20 minutes they'd made an offer." [SFX, via Dave Golder, 21 Feb 2012]

Sylvester McCoy talks about his role in the play Plume, opening at the Tron Theatre Company on Thursday 1st March: "It's a beautifully written play about loss and sadness, and the change in a human being because of that loss. The man I play is a retired teacher, who's widowed, and his son being blown up in a plane affects and changes him from being a lovable, nice, kind, caring human being into an angry person. (On the influence of the real-life Lockerbie tragedy) Lockerbie is there, but it's not principal to the story. It's not a political play in that way, but there's the final straw that releases all this anger in him. One of the reasons for me wanting to do it was that I've got sons, and when I was reading it, I thought, well, how would I feel if that happened to me? I was touched." [The Herald, 28 Feb 2012]

David Morrissey will appear in the next series of The Walking Dead, playing the role of "The Governor". The series is due to start filming in Atlanta in the spring. [News in Time and Space, 26 Feb 2012]

Bill Pullman is returning to a familiar role ... the Independence Day star will be once again assuming the mantle of US President, this time in the new NBC comedy series 1600 Penn set around 'ordinary' life in the White House. [TV Guide, 24 Feb 2012]

A performance of Arthur Darvill's Cinderella forms part of the Nabokov Arts Club's Fable event at Battersea Arts Centre on 2nd/3rd March. The composition is described as a rock-opera, and is "a musical subversion of the Cinderella story". [Nabokov Online. A Younger Theatre]

Roger Lloyd-Pack has been named as patron of the 2012 Breckland British Film Festival. The festival aims to bring classic films to local villages, with the actor attending a screening of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (in which he played Inspector Mendel) in Garboldisham on 14th March. [Norwich Evening News, 27 Feb 2012]

Katherine Jenkins is to appear as one of the contestants on the US version of the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing, Dancing With The Stars. The singer is about to begin training for the show, saying on Twitter: "So now I have a spare day to prepare myself for DWTS and for my first day of training with Mark Ballas" [Katherine Jenkins, 29 Feb 2012]

Visual effects designer/supervisor Tim Barter (between Smith and Jones and The End of Time) has made a remarkable recovery from a skull fracture he suffered in 2009. Reflecting on his accident, he said: "Life stopped for a number of months. I couldn't work and I had double vision. I was frightened that my eyesight would never go back to normal and that I would have to give up my job for good. I'm making the most of everything now where I didn't before." [Standard, 28 Feb 2012]

We'll Take Manhattan, starring Aneurin Bernard as David Bailey and Karen Gillan as Jean Shrimpton will premiere in the United States on 3rd March on cable channel Ovation.

The channel have provided links to three interview segments with Gillan: in the first, Karen talks about the impact of Jean Shrimpton and David Bailey; in the second she discusses the differences between her two characters, Amy and Jean; finally, she talks about the real Jean Shrimpton.

Matt Smith on Top Gear

Matt Smith demonstrated his driving skills on last Sunday's Top Gear as the "star in the reasonably priced car", and achieved the fastest lap-time of all the 'modern' Doctors that have appeared on the show so far, completing the circuit in 1:43.7, as compared to David Tennant with 1:48.8 and Christopher Eccleston with 1:52.4. Billie Piper has also completed the circuit, with a 'controversial' time of 1:48.3 (a three second penalty was overturned). The lap can be watched in the UK via the BBC iPlayer until 22nd April (starts at 30:32).


The 'current' Doctors aren't the only ones to take the challenge, however; back in 2003 the Sixth Doctor aka Colin Baker participated in a special 'sci-fi' item on the show, appearing in costume in a competition against a Dalek, Cyberman, Klingon, Darth Vader and Ming the Merciless to find the "Master of the Universe"! Unfortunately he ended up in 4th place, with the Cyberman being the fastest - the Dalek was disqualified for not fitting in the car! Baker was reported as completing the lap in 1:43, but the missing decisecond makes it unclear if he actually beat Smith's own lap time ...

In Memoriam

BAFTA-winning costume designer Michael Burdle, who worked on Colony In Space and The Armageddon Factor, has died at the age of 69. Other programmes he was involved with included Dad's Army and Don't Wait Up, but his great passion was period dramas and in 1985 he won a BAFTA for the BBC's Masterpiece Theatre adaptation of Bleak House. [The Stage, 23 Feb 2012]

Actor, director, and producer Malcolm Taylor, who played Walters in The Ice Warriors, has died aged 74. Among his many credits, he was the dialogue coach for Richard Harris in This Sporting Life - the 1963 film that also included William Hartnell and brought the latter to the attention of Verity Lambert when she was casting the role of the Doctor. [The Stage, 21 Feb 2012]

Matt Smith is to feature on Top Gear as the "star in the reasonably priced car" - recorded last Wednesday, his attempt will appear in the episode due to be broadcast at 8:00pm, 26th February on BBC2/BBCHD. Both of his predecessors have attempted this in the past, with Christopher Eccleston in 2005 (completed in 1:53:4) and David Tennant in 2007 (1:48:8, watch here).

Alex Kingston talks about the period setting on Upstairs, Downstairs (returning to BBC1 tomorrow evening at 9:30pm): "Oh yes, setting this series just before the Second World War is clever. In 2012, our world is changing radically and that is reflected in Upstairs Downstairs, too. These characters are on the verge of something, they don’t know what is going to happen and people will identify with their fears. This is the beginning of the modern world and here is a society just clinging onto what they know, but it is going to change irrevocably." [What's on TV, 16 Feb 2012]

Sylvester McCoy will be playing the lead role as Mr Peters in Plume by the Tron Theatre Company in Glasgow; it runs from 1st-17th March. The actor will also be a guest on Janice Forsyth's show on BBC Radio Scotland on Saturday. [JaniceForsyth, 16 Feb 2012]

The CBeebies animated series Tree Fu Tom, featuring the vocal talents of Sophie Aldred and David Tennant, starts on Monday 5th March. [BBC Media Centre]

Cosima Shaw (Steffi Ehrlich, The Waters of Mars) plays Emma, Colin McFarlane (Alien Voices, Voyage of the Damned) Terrence, and Miranda Raison (Tallulah, Daleks In Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks) Kate in the new three-episode series of Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, based on the books by Douglas Adams. The transmission date and time are yet to be confirmed, but it is currently due to start on BBC Four during the week beginning Saturday 3rd March. [BBC Media Centre]

The theatrical version of The King's Speech, featuring Ian McNeice as Winston Churchill and which premiered in Guildford earlier this month, is to transfer to Wyndham's Theatre on Thursday 22nd March for a four-month West End run, following its provincial tour. [BBC News, 17 Feb 2012]

John Simm is appearing on stage as Jerry in Betrayal by Harold Pinter at The Crucible in Sheffield from Thursday 17th May to Saturday 9th June. [@john_simm]

Just opened in the West End - appropriately enough at the Noel Coward Theatre - is Hay Fever, Coward's classic comedy of bad manners, with Lindsay Duncan (Adelaide Brooke in The Waters of Mars) leading a cast that also includes Kevin McNally (Hugo Lang in The Twin Dilemma), Olivia Colman (Mother, The Eleventh Hour),and Sam Callis (Security Guard, Bad Wolf). It is on until Saturday 2nd June. [Broadwayworld.com, 17 Feb 2012]

Brian Cox (Voice of Elder Ood, The End of Time: Part One) and Ron Donachie (Steward, Tooth and Claw) are to star in a new three-part TV comedy called Bob Servant Independent. Set in Dundee and airing on BBC Four later this year, the show's origins lie in the hit BBC Radio Scotland comedy The Bob Servant Emails and the best-selling Bob Servant books, and will see the title character, played by Cox, bid to become the MP for Broughty Ferry. [BBC Media Centre, 16 Feb 2012]

Ronnie Corbett has received his CBE from the Queen at an investiture at Buckingham Palace. As reported previously, the comedian, who played Ambassador "Rani" Ranius in the 2009 Sarah Jane Adventures special for Comic Relief, was recognised in this year's New Year Honours list for services to entertainment and charity. [BBC News, 16 Feb 2012]

The latest Doctor Who crewmember that can be followed on Twitter is James Strong (@jimmystrong); the David Tennant-era director's work has most recently been seen on screen in Law and Order UK and Downton Abbey, and the film United (which also featured Tennant).

In Memoriam

Fight choreographer and fencing Olympian Bob Anderson has died aged 89. He had just one role in Doctor Who - that of Fighting Guard in episode 4 of The Enemy of the World - but achieved great acclaim in the film industry, working with - among others - Errol Flynn and coaching Charlie Sheen and Johnny Depp. Most notably, perhaps, he played Darth Vader in fight scenes in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, standing in for Dave Prowse. [The Stage, 14 Feb 2012]

The BBC and 2|Entertain have given further details about the forthcoming DVD releases of The Dæmons, Nightmare of Eden, and the Ace Adventures box set comprising Dragonfire and The Happiness Patrol.

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A reminder to our readers that the Revisitations 3 DVD box set, comprising special remastered, repackaged and reappraised editions of The Tomb of the Cybermen, The Three Doctors, and The Robots of Death is released on 13th February 2012 and is available for pre-order. The special features for each story are as follows:

David Tennant was amongst the stars gathered together for the annual Ultimate Pub Quiz, a charity event organised by Centrepoint for homeless young people in London. John Raynham, head of fundraising, said: "We can't thank the teams, celebrities and everyone who makes this event possible, enough for all they do. With youth unemployment at over 1 million, things have probably never been tougher for the young people we support. But thanks to our supporters' generosity, we can carry on working with them to achieve the two most important things they need to leave homelessness behind: a job, and a home of their own." [Press Association, 2 Feb 2012]

Eve Myles talks about the highs and lows of being in a cult show: "The high is the response from the fans – there’s no bigger high. I used to be scared of doing signings and going to conventions. Then, when I started to do them, I enjoyed it. Meeting people who are so loyal to the show gives you a massive boost. The lows all stemmed from the fact I was worried people might just see me as the Welsh action girl who plays Gwen Cooper but things like this play [All New People] can change that perception. Torchwood has taken me from Cardiff to London and LA, and I’m eternally grateful to it." [Metro, 2 Feb 2012]

Eve's Torchwood co-star Kai Owen is to appear in As You Like It by Terry Hands at the Mold Clwyd Theatr Cymru. The actor will play court wrestler Charles, and has had to train for scenes with fellow actor Alex Felton (Orlando): "We've been wrestling hard for the last few weeks. Daniel Llewelyn-Williams, the fight director, has been training both myself and Alex, so the moves are getting nice and sleek. I've never wrestled before, other than doing stage combat at drama school. I'm not a fan, though I do follow boxing. Rugby is the closest I get to contact sports. Alex is taller than me and leaner – he's a very good-looking boy! I think there may be some topless scenes. You will have to wait and see what we decide to do!" [Daily Post, 3 Feb 2012]

Arthur Darvill has been announced as the voice of Sam the Penguin in a new animated short film. The project is being funded through donation, with regular updates via Facebook and Twitter. About the film: "Penguin" is the comedic tale of Sam, a young male penguin in the human world. He's just like us, he has a job, friends, and what makes him so similar to the humans is his love troubles. After being rejected by a potential girlfriend for reminding her too much of a "pet", this drives Sam on a journey of self-discovery where he tries to determine whether the dating world really is for him. [Facebook, Bleeding Cool, 2 Feb 2012]

You can also catch Arthur on BBC Radio 4 this afternoon (Sunday 5th) starring as Lemuel Gulliver in a new three-part adaptation of Gulliver's Travels. [BBC Media Centre]

Tom MacRae described the environment created for his interactive event, The Crash of the Elysium, which features as part of the London 2012 Festival in Ipswich: "Once you enter a Punchdrunk show, the laws of physics are switched off until you leave again. There is no stage, no comfy seating, no division between the world of the audience and the world of the show. You are at the heart of the action, you drive the story forward. “No two shows will ever be the same, no individual adventure will ever be repeated. The madness and brilliance of Doctor Who could not find a better theatrical partnership than Punchdrunk." [East Anglian Daily Press, 2 Feb 2012]

Janet Fielding (Tegan) is campaigning on behalf of a project to save Ramsgate's Motorhouse Museum from being auctioned off and potentially demolished. Project Motorhouse aims to redevelop the rundown building as an arthouse cinema and flexible modern theatre space. [Isle of Thanet Gazette, 3 Feb 2012]

Ian McNeice, who has played Winston Churchill in four episodes of Doctor Who, is reprising the role on stage in The King's Speech, which received its theatrical world premiere in Guildford, Surrey. It is there until 11th February and then goes on tour to Nottingham, Bath, Brighton, Richmond and Newcastle. [BBC News, 3 Feb 2012]


As previously reported, a longer interview with Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred conducted by Shadowlocked has now been made available on the Minister of Chance website.

This weekend sees recording begin on a special adventure for the Seventh Doctor and Ace, as played by Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred; the two are joined by Lisa Bowerman, who reprises her character Professor Bernice Summerfield in her first ever adventure, Love and War!

Originally written as a novel by Paul Cornell in 1992 as part of Virgin's New Adventures range, this adaptation is by Jacqueline Rayner and is being recorded to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the character, whose own association with Big Finish can be traced back to their premier release in 1998 of Oh No It Isn't! (also by Cornell).

Love and War is due to be released on its anniversary in October.

The DVD releases of Nightmare of Eden, Dragonfire and The Happiness Patrol have been cleared by the British Board of Film Classification.

Extras for all three stories were also cleared, with the details as below.

Nightmare of Eden will have the following extras:
Dragonfire's extras comprise:
while those for The Happiness Patrol are:
Release dates for the DVDs have yet to be confirmed. A trailer for Dragonfire that was cleared on 18th January states that the story will form part of The Ace Box.

(with thanks to Dave Ashby)

Shadowlocked have conducted an interview with Sylvester McCoy - who stars in the Death Comes to Time spin-off audio series The Minister of Chance as The Witch Prime - alongside his former seventh Doctor sidekick Sophie Aldred.

In an short interview segment released by the site, Sophie discusses how she might have appeared in The Sarah Jane Adventures, whilst Sylvester reflects on the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who and how fans would like to see the Doctors re-united, or cast in other cameo roles ...


The full, hour-long interview will appear at The Minister of Chance website soon.

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You can also read Shadowlocked's "complete reviews" of Doctor Who, kicking off from the very start with An Unearthly Child through to The Wedding of River Song, published this week.