The new series of Doctor Who will premiere on Saturday 1st September, with the show being broadcast on BBC One in the UK at 7:20pm, and on BBC America in the USA at 9:00pm(ET).

United Kingdom (BBC):

For the UK, this places Asylum of the Daleks into the heart of Saturday prime time television, going head to head against the Ant and Dec ITV game show Red or Black?. The Doctor has faced the Geordie duo before, most notably for the return of the series in 2005 when Rose beat Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway by 2.5 million viewers. The Doctor faced Red or Black? last year when ITV1's HD ratings helped Red or Black? edge slightly ahead of Doctor Who, although the latter outrated the game show for the period the programmes were in direct opposition.

On BBC Two the Doctor will be up against BBC Proms 2012 where conductor John Wilson and his orchestra pay tribute to the composers and arrangers responsible for creating the Broadway Sound; meanwhile Channel 4 continues its coverage of the Paralympic Games.

The series will be preceded by a new mini-adventure, Pond Life, which kicks off online from Monday 27th August.

The time of broadcast for Asylum of the Daleks of 7.20pm is one of the latest for the series since it returned in 2005, with only Gridlock in 2007, School Reunion, and Rise of the Cybermen in 2006 being later in the evening.

Trivia: the Daleks have been used to launch the show a few times in its past, with Day of the Daleks in 1972, Destiny of the Daleks in 1979, and Remembrance of The Daleks in 1988 - Destiny also coincidentally premiered on 1st September!

United States (BBC America):

For BBC America, the premiere forms part of the channel's Supernatural Saturday themed evening.
The full press release can be read on BBC America's website. Meanwhile, BBC America have also released a new trailer to promote the series:


The announcement of 1st September confirms that the trailer witnessed by viewers earlier in the week citing the 8th as the launch was accidentally broadcast rather than being the finalised date.

Canada (SPACE):

SPACE have also confirmed a 1st September premiere, at 9:00pm(ET).

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]

Diamond Comic Distributors have announced a distribution deal with Penguin Books UK to enable them to publish the successful Doctor Who Children's Books in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Penguin Books UK have published a large number of books and novels in its Doctor Who young adult and children's line, including titles like Monstrous Missions, Step Back in Time and Alien Adventures, the Doctor Who Activity Book, and Where's The Doctor?. The new deal brings the range to American comic book specialty stores, bookstores, mass-market merchandisers, libraries and other outlets.

Bill Schanes, VP-Purchasing for Diamond Comic Distributors, said:
Juliet Matthews, Penguin UK’s Media and Entertainment Publisher, said:

Who is the Doctor: The Unofficial Guide to Doctor Who: The New Series is a new episode guide written by fans Graeme Burk and Robert Smith?, and is due to be released by Canadian publisher ECW Press in April.


The book can be pre-ordered from ECW Press, where you can also read an excerpt. More information and updates can be found via the authors' Who is the Doctor page on Facebook.

Torchwood: Miracle Day premiered on the Canadian French-language channel Ztélé on Monday. The series originally premiered in Canada on SPACE in July 2011.

Premiere dates:
Episode 2: Le transfert - 30 January, 9pm
Episode 3: Phicorp - 6 February, 9pm
Episode 4: Mort, c'est mort - 13 February, 9pm
Episode 5: Les modules - 20 February, 9pm
Episode 6: Les témoins - 27 February, 9pm
Episode 7: Péchés immortels - 5 March, 9pm
Episode 8: Le bout du tunnel - 12 March, 9pm
Episode 9: Le rendez-vous - 19 March, 9pm
Episode 10: La fin du miracle - 26 March, 9pm

You can view the full schedule including repeats at This Week in Doctor Who.

Ztélé are also showing Torchwood: Web of Lies - the animated web series companion to Miracle Day - on their website.

The BBC have released publicity photographs for the finale of Torchwood: Miracle Day, The Blood Line; the episode is due to broadcast on Starz in the United States on 9th September (10:00ET), on UKTV in Australia (9:30pm) and on Space in Canada (9:00ET) on Saturday 10th September, and on BBC1/BBC1HD in the United Kingdom on 15th September (9:00pm).

Diamond Book Distributors have announced that first three of the recent Target novelisation reprints from BBC Books will be released in North America in early September:

(with thanks to Kuo-Yu Liang/Diamond Book Distributors)

Saturday's showing of Let's Kill Hitler on SPACE was the most watched broadcast ever on the channel.

Around 834,000 people watched the transmission at 8ET on Canada’s national science fiction, horror and fantasy channel.

When the ratings for the repeat showings are added the episode attracted 1.2 million unique viewers. “Let’s Kill Hitler”, was the most-watched program overall on Canadian television for adult viewers (18-49 and 25-54).

Torchwood Miracle Day, ranked as the number 2 program among adults 18-49. The episode, End of the Road, drew 528,000 total viewers. Both episodes are available within Canada for viewing on spacecast.com.

The premiere of Torchwood: Miracle Day drew nearly a million viewers to SPACE on Saturday delivering the channel its highest audience ever.

The New World achieved an average of 432,000 viewers with 929,000 watching some part episode. When compared to the premiere of Torchwood’s third series, Children of Earth, the premiere of Miracle Day increased 55% among total viewers, 49% among A25-54, 53% among A18-49, and 56% among female viewers.

The series continues next Saturday, July 16 at 9 p.m. ET.

Bell Media in Canada have announced that it will be launching a high definition version of the SPACE channel from the 6th July - just in time for Torchwood: Miracle Day!

Rick Brace, the President of Speciality Channels and CTV Production, Bell Media, said:
The channel will be available via Bell Satellite TV (channel 1746) and Bell Fibe TV (channel 1632).


The HD channel will mirror it's 'normal' version, with high definition programming being shown where available, such as the BBC series Outcasts and Syfy's Alphas.