Seventh Doctor Sylvester McCoy, has been appointed this year’s Chieftain at Cowal Highland Gathering in Dunoon taking place in August.

The gathering is Scotland’s biggest highland games and attracts up to 23,000 spectators and over 3500 competitors from all round the world with more than 500 highland dancers and 3000 pipers competeing to win championship titles.

The role of the Chieftain is a ceremonial one whose main duties include presenting prizes to the winners of the Cowal Pipe Band Championships & the World Highland Dancing Championship. The event comes to a climax when the Chieftain takes salute during the pipe band march past when the massed bands, which make up 3000 pipers & drummers, form and play the salute to the Chieftain.

Sylvester McCoy, who was born in Dunoon, said:
Malcolm Barclay, Event Manager for Cowal Highland Gathering said:
McCoy played the Doctor from 1987 - 1989. He has recently been rumoured to be playing a major role in feature film The Hobbit.

The British Board of Film Classification has cleared a trailer for a forthcoming double DVD release of Revenge of the Cybermen and Silver Nemesis.

Revenge of the Cybermen is a fourth Doctor story first shown in 1975. As well as Tom Baker it stars Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith and Ian Marter as Harry Sullivan. Written by Gerry Davis, the co-creator of the Cybermen, and Robert Holmes, the story is set on Nerva Beacon and on Voga the fabled planet of gold. It was the first story for the Cybermen since they appeared in the 1968 second Doctor story The Invasion and their last until Earthshock in 1982. Other cast members include Ronald Leigh-Hunt, Christopher Robbie, Jeremy Wilkin, William Marlowe, Michael Wisher, Kevin Stoney and David Collings. This story was the first Doctor Who story to be released on VHS in October 1983 with a retail price of £39.99.

Silver Nemesis was a seventh Doctor story, first shown in 1988. Alongside Sylvester McCoy as the Doctor, the story starred Sophie Aldred as Ace. Written by Kevin Clarke the story was part of the 25th year celebrations for the series. Other cast members included David Banks, Mark Hardy, Anton Diffring, Courtney Pine, Fiona Walker and a special appearance from film star Dolores Gray. In 1993 an extended version of this three-part serial was released on VHS. It is understood that this special edition will not be included on the DVD release, nor, due to rights issues, will the accompanying VHS documentary.

There is no date announced for this release, but the classification of the trailer indicates the stories are likely to be available in July.

Doctor Who has often flirted with politics in its past; during the Barry Letts/Terrance Dicks era of the show a number of stories dealt with political matters in a fantasy environment (for example, the recent DVD release The Curse of Peladon/The Monster of Peladon features stories that explored early 1970s issues), Robert Holmes took umbrage with taxes in The Sunmakers, and even stories from the 'modern' era (World War Three) touched upon hot political topics of the time. However, the latter years of the 1980s produced political satire in the form of stories like Paradise Towers and The Happiness Patrol - something the Sunday Times explored this weekend in an article, "Doctor Who in war with Planet Maggie". Doctor of the time, Sylvester McCoy, commented:
Andrew Cartmel, script editor of the time, commented on what he outlined to producer John Nathan Turner during his interview for the position:
However, a BBC spokesman was reported to say that "we’re baffled by these claims - the BBC’s impartiality rules applied just as strongly then as they do to programmes now."

The Times piece was briefly discussed during BBC Breakfast on Sunday morning, alongside another popular media topic in highlighting current 'celebrity endorsement' of political parties (such as views by former Doctor David Tennant about the Conservative Party). Tonight's Newsnight on BBC2 saw a more lengthy debate on the pros and cons of political comment in Doctor Who between presenter Gavin Esler, Andrew Cartmel, and Doctor Who fan/former Conservative MP Tim Collins.

Cartmel clarified that the comment on overthrowing the government was taken out of context, and that John Nathan Turner then said that the most that Doctor Who could do is show that "people with purple skin and green skin are all equal". Collins was also quick to dismiss any intimation from the recent media interest that there was no 'secret' agenda that was hidden from the Conservatives - they were perfectly aware of the satire in the show at the time and quite happily enjoyed Doctor Who! He went on to point out that the show could be just as 'right-wing' as 'left', with the comment on tax from The Sunmakers a decade earlier targeting a Labour Government, and a mention of launching weapons in "45 seconds" from the recent revival (i.e. World War Three).

A feature accompanied the discussion, by correspondent Stephen Smith. It looked into how the BBC was being considered too "left-wing" in some quarters at the time, with comment from former BBC1 Controller Jonathan Powell; writer Adam Roberts also noted how science fiction in the UK in general had leanings in that direction. The item also included a comment by Terrance Dicks (considered ironic by Tim Collins in light of stories when he was script editor in the early 1970s!):


Newsnight is available in the UK on the BBC iplayer for the next seven days and the story is available around the World on the Newsnight Website.

The next theatrical venture for Sylvester McCoy will be in a production of "Arsenic & Old Lace," which premieres at the Churchill Theatre in Bromley on February 21 2005 before touring throughout the country. You can check out various links for the theatres it's premiering at here, here and here. (Thanks to Angus Kidman)

Today's icLiverpool has a brief story about next Sunday's Evening with Colin Baker at the Alexander's Jazz Theatre in Chester, sponsored by Enigma Events.

Meanwhile, Sylvester McCoy is starring as Mr Bennett in "Pride and Prejudice" at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford, Surrey UK from the 14th - 18th September, alongside Rula Lenska ("Resurrection of the Daleks"); more details available at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre website.

Sylvester McCoy will star as Abanazar in this year's Christmas pantomime, Aladdin at Guildford's Yvonne Arnaud Theatre. McCoy co-stars with screen legend Britt Ekland, who plays the Genie of the Lamp, as well as Issy Van Randwyck, Paul Hendy and Royce Mills. Tickets are available from the Yvonne Arnaud box office on 01483 440000. (Thanks to Paul Engelberg)

According to an article in the June 26 The Times, Sylvester McCoy, with the help of Camden council, forced a pub to exterminate part of its beer garden. "McCoy... complained to council planning officials," says the article, "after drunken customers in the garden of The Hill, in Chalk Farm, North London, indulged in Dalek-like behaviour, jeering and abusing him as he visited friends nearby. The Scottish born actor, who lives nearby in Hampstead, wrote to the council saying he had been visiting a house next to the pub for 30 years but over the past year the foul-mouthed behaviour of some customers had made it unbearable. 'It's embarrassing coming in, as the clientele shout and jeer as you come up the stairs to the house,' Mr McCoy wrote. After receiving the complaint Camden's development control sub-committee agreed to issue an enforcement order against Geronimo Inns, the pub's owners, on the ground that a previous owner had made alterations to the pub and its garden without being given planning permission. Councillors have given The Hill six months to remove raised decking in the garden which allows drinkers to sit within inches of neighbours' windows. Other changes to the Grade II listed building will also have to be removed. Camden Council ruled that the alterations had damaged the design of the historic pub and said that changes to the garden had intensified its use and had caused a loss of privacy to neighbours." (Thanks to Paul Engelberg)

According to today's Daily Record, Sylvester McCoy, our beloved seventh Doctor, has "threatened to chain himself to the BBC's gates in London to make them broadcast Still Game nationally." He's referring to the Scottish TV comedy series that isn't networked across the UK, created by Ford Kiernan and Greg Hemphill. Says the Scotsman McCoy, "'I find it completely incomprehensible why this series has not been shown down here. It is very well written and visually very funny. I can't understand it. There's no excuse. The BBC are desperately looking for good stuff and there is not one ounce of doubt that this is brilliant comedy." Read the full article by clicking here. (Thanks to Paul Engelberg)

Someone's in the kitchen! Nicola Bryant and Sylvester McCoy will be appearing together on June 4 at 9pm on ITV's popular reality series "Hell's Kitchen," the celebrity cooking challenge, as celebrity diners at the restaurant where contestants are competing to win. And speaking of Nicola Bryant, check out her new official website. (Thanks to Gary Finney)

Sylvester McCoy and Bonnie Langford reunite again... this time on stage. Both will be featured players in "Dick Whittington"; Bonnie's featured as the title character, Sylv as King Rat. The play will be on for three weeks starting December 12 at the Yvonne Arnaud theatre in Guildford.