Tom Baker had a few words in Radio Times for new Doc Christopher Eccleston, according to a report at BBC News. "I'm afraid I've never heard of him," Baker told the Radio Times, "though I hope he has great success." The report goes on to say that Baker, who will appear in Monarch of the Glen, says he still gets stopped in the street by fans wanting to talk about Doctor Who. (Thanks to Steve Tribe)

From a press release from the West Yorkshire Playhouse about the new drama "Electricity" starring new Doctor Christopher Eccleston: "The Tardis will have to wait! Last week was a busy one for Christopher Eccleston, as well as opening Electricity in the Courtyard and being announced as the Doctor Who to take the Tardis into the 21st century, he was also nominated for a Best Actor BAFTA award. The nomination was for his role in ITV's The Second Coming by Russell T Davies who will also be writing the new Doctor Who series. Despite all the excitement of the past week, Christopher only has one thing on his mind at the moment, 'IÆm very excited to be playing Doctor Who. However, at the moment the most important thing to me is Electricity the fantastic new play by Murray Gold that IÆm rehearsing at the West Yorkshire Playhouse, a place that I love and one that I hope to work at many times in the future. ItÆs an ensemble piece and a comedy and IÆm playing a role unlike anything IÆve ever done before.' Electricity with Christopher Eccleston, Sophie Ward, Andrew Scarborough, Patrick Brennan and Oliver Wood is one of seven world premieres to be staged at the Playhouse as part of the Spring/Summer season. To book your tickets call the Box Office on 0113 213 7700 or book online." A side note: an article in today's Mirror called "Sorry, Dr Who Did You Say?" by Fiona Cummins mentions Eccleston and the infamy of recent weeks, or lack thereof. "He may be the new Dr Who," says the article, "but Christopher Eccleston was Mr Nobody when he tried to waltz into a nightclub. The 40-year-old was stopped by bouncers who failed to recognise him as the star who's just landed a pounds 1million deal to play the ninth TV doctor. An onlooker at the Wardrobe club in Leeds said: 'He was with friends and tried to walk straight in but the bouncers weren't having any of it. They didn't have a clue who he was and stopped him straight away. He wasn't acting like a prima donna. He just seemed embarrassed.' Eccleston, who had been starring in a play in Leeds, was eventually let in after the club's management intervened." (Thanks to Ian Wheeler, Paul Engelberg)

Updated March 24, 1600 GMT.  Outpost Gallifrey's comprehensive list of press coverage and press links for the Christopher Eccleston casting has been updated and is here below (with thanks to Steve Tribe, Andrew Harvey, Jon Preddle, Roger Anderson, Chuck Foster, Robert Byrne, Paul Engelberg, Kenny Davidson, Scott Woodard and DWAS):

BBC Drama Faces: an in-depth look at Christopher Eccleston, including his work, some personal background and other facts.

scifi.com (Sci Fi Wire) Portsmouth Today Cinescape News Wales Globe and Mail (Canada) CBC (Canada) Empire Online BBC Radio 1 Telegraph Sunday Buffalo News (USA) The Scotsman (original report) BBC Entertainment News BBC News Melbourne Herald Sun ITV Ireland Online Manchester Online Daily Record The Times Belfast Telegraph Breaking News (Ireland) UTV Internet Yahoo! CultTV New York Times BBC Press Office (release) nzoom RTE Interactive HELLO! Magazine Online Ireland ABC Australia feMail

Winston Salem Journal New Zealand Herald Daily Record Stuff New Zealand Borsa Italia Express India The Scotsman (March 20 update) The Mirror Sky News The Sun BBCi (official Doctor Who site) Reuters The Guardian Telegraph.co.uk with details     on the last-minute casting Teletext Slashdot Ananova Ananova (3/22) Sydney Morning Herald New Zealand Herald Daily Record (new banner) Teletext (fan reaction) morons.org Oman Observer FilmForce Digital Spy Khaleej Times MyTelus

I've never heard of him, Tom Baker told the Sunday Mail, "but I wish him well." According to the report in the Mail, Baker admitted "I thought I was the only Dr Who but there again I never watched it, even when I was in it." You can read the article by clicking here.

Christopher Eccleston yesterday told ICWales, "Dr Who? And Russell T Davies! Tell me which way to Cardiff because I can't wait." It's the first direct quote from Eccleston, cast as the new Doctor in the forthcoming series. Producer Julie Gardner said, "Chris is so professional and hard-working and he's a very writer- friendly actor. ... We are very lucky to have such a great actor working with us." And Russell T. Davies has noted, "This man can give the Doctor a wisdom, wit and emotional range as far-reaching as the doctor's travels in time and space. It's going to be a magnificent, epic, entertaining journey, and I can't wait to start!" You can read the full article, featuring more quotes from Davies and Gardner, by clicking here. (Thanks to Paul Hayes, John Campbell Rees, Steve Tribe)

BBC News has posted a clip of its announcement yesterday of Christopher Eccleston's casting. You can view it by clicking here (note: you need RealPlayer installed to view). (Thanks to Gavin Winters)

We've been told that the final casting deal for Eccleston was signed just yesterday (Friday), with enough time to get details, and quotes from Davies and the BBC, to the media for a Saturday announcement (you'll notice that the initial reports in the electronic edition of the Saturday morning papers came at just after midnight UK time!)

Press clippings are now available at the wonderful Cuttings Archive website; scroll down to updates on that site for a full list and links to many articles from yesterday and today's papers.

Strange reports coming in from Australia, where the Adelaide Sunday Mail picked up on the erroneous report in the UK paper of the same title, naming Bill Nighy as the Doctor! Meanwhile, the story has made international headlines in North America too, being picked up on CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corp.) overnight news broadcasts.

For our readers who aren't familiar, here is a biography of Christopher Eccleston, the new Doctor, as submitted by Paul Hayes (who wrote this particular entry for Wikipedia):

Christopher Eccleston (born 1964 in Salford, Lancashire, UK) is a British stage, telvision and film actor, best known for his roles in several high profile 'prestige' films and television series. He first came to public attention as Derek Bentley in the 1991 film Let Him Have It, based on true events, but it was a regular role in the TV series Cracker - culminating in his character's dramatic death in the second series - that made him a recognisable figure in the UK.

He appeared in the low-budget Danny Boyle film Shallow Grave in 1994, in which he co-starred with another up-and-coming young British actor by the name of Ewan McGregor. The same year, he won the part of Nicky Hutchinson in the epic BBC drama serial Our Friends in the North, and it was the transmission of this production on BBC TWO in 1996 that perhaps really made him into a household name in the UK.

His film career has since taken off with a variety of high-profile but never quite - except in one or two cases - really mainstream roles, including parts in Elizabeth (1998), Gone in Sixty Seconds (2000), The Others (2001), 24-Hour Party People (2002) and another Danny Boyle film, the horror movie 28 Days Later.

Despite his successful film career, he has continued to appear in a variety of meaty television roles, racking up credits in some of the most challenging and thought-provoking British television dramas of recent years. These have included Clocking Off (2000) and Flesh and Blood (2002) for the BBC and Hillsborough (1997), a modern version of Othello (2002) and the religious telefantasy epic The Second Coming (2003) for ITV. He also finds time for the occasional light-hearted role, however, as his guest appearances in episodes of the comedy drama Linda Green (2001) and macabre sketch show The League of Gentlemen (2002) have shown.

Christopher Eccleston, star of The Second Coming and Cracker who has been rumored for the past several days in numerous fan circles, has been cast as the Doctor in the new Doctor Who TV series. The following is the announcement from PA News: