After the announcement of David Tennant leaving, it was inevitable that the media would begin to speculate on who would assume the role of the Doctor in 2010. BBC Entertainment reporter Lizo Mzimba made a report on Tennant's departure which ran on BBC news programmes over the course of yesterday, citing Paterson Joseph(previously seen in the series as Rodrick in the Series One finale), David Morrissey (to be seen in the forthcoming Christmas special), and James Nesbitt as the leading choices.

Betting site William Hill have offered odds on a number of actors for the role (listed below); an article on their website has reported on how the odds on Welsh actor Rhys Ifans have been slashed following bets made in the Cardiff area! Says spokesman Rupert Adams: "So far we have not been able to find out where the rumours about Rhys are coming from but on paper we think he will make a good Doctor."

Today's Telegraph speculates on the top choices in more detail, also speculating onCatherine Tate - the possibility of a female Doctor once again suggested by Russell T Davies in an interview with Tate and Steven Moffat at the National Television Awards on Wednesday.

Another article appeared on BBC News's E24 entertainment programme last night, in which Lizo interviewed a few stars on their thoughts for who should be the next Doctor. Ricky Gervais put forward his usual collaborator Stephen Merchant for the role, Peter Purves and John Noakes suggestedthemselves(!), James Bond star Daniel Craig liked the idea of a woman, whilst singer Tom Jones agreed with the idea of fellow Welshman Rhys Ifans. As for David Tennant himself: "I’ve always been a big supporter of Wee Jimmy Krankie and I, you know, if it wasn’t me it was gonna be him, her, him. So the campaign starts here for me, to get wee Jimmy Krankie in the Tardis and big Ian Krankie as the companion. I think that works."

Other online media articles include: BBC News Northern Ireland, Londonderry Sentinel, Belfast Telegraph on James Nesbitt; Online Betting Guide; This is Swansea; BBC America; The Mirror; EW.Com Popwatch; LA Times.

Update: the Daily Mail places David Morrissey as favourite; BBC News adds Sean Pertwee and James McAvoyto the list; the Sun reports on reader ideas, including Harry Hill and Jonathan Rhys Meyers; and Russell Toveytells Digital Spy on his thoughts of being named as a possible Doctor.

David Tennant will be leaving Doctor Who at the conclusion of the 2009 specials currently in production, the actor announced live on stage this evening at the National Television Awards.

The Guardian newspaper this evening broke the story prematurely, reporting on their website (in a report subsequently pulled down) that Tennant is "vacating the TARDIS and leaving the BBC's Doctor Who series at the end of next year. Tennant's decision brings to an end his popular four-year tenure as the time lord." The article went on to say that the BBC had confirmed that the actor "would complete the filming of four special episodes to be screened this year and in early 2010, as well as 2009's Christmas special."

The BBC Doctor Who website has now posted the full news: "I've had the most brilliant, bewildering and life changing time working on Doctor Who. I have loved every day of it," the actor says. "It would be very easy to cling on to the TARDIS console forever and I fear that if I don't take a deep breath and make the decision to move on now, then I simply never will. ... I'm still the Doctor all next year but when the time finally comes I'll be honoured to hand on the best job in the world to the next lucky git - whoever that may be." Tennant added that he "always thought the time to leave would be in conjunction with Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner who have been such a huge part of it all for me. Steven Moffat is the most brilliant and exciting writer, the only possible successor to Russell and it was sorely tempting to be part of his amazing new plans for the show. I will be there, glued to my TV when his stories begin in 2010." He furthermore says that he feels "very privileged to have been part of this incredible phenomenon, and whilst I'm looking forward to new challenges I know I'll always be very proud to be the Tenth Doctor." Says Russell T Davies, "I've been lucky and honoured to work with David over the past few years - and it's not over yet, the Tenth Doctor still has five spectacular hours left! After which, I might drop an anvil on his head. Or maybe a piano. A radioactive piano. But we're planning the most enormous and spectacular ending, so keep watching!"

Says the BBC News site, Tennant is quoted as saying, "I love this part, and I love this show so much that if I don't take a deep breath and move on now I never will, and you'll be wheeling me out of the Tardis in my bath chair." Tennant also says, "I think it's better to go when there's a chance that people might miss you, rather than to hang around and outstay your welcome," he said.

Tennant will appear in this year's Christmas special, as well as four specials being produced for 2009 and 2010 airdates by executive producers Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner. Tennant confirmed to BBC News that the four specials for 2009/2010 will be "the four last stories that I do." New incoming executive producer Steven Moffat will then take over the series with new leads as the show returns for a normal, fifth series of episodes in 2010.

More details as they come in...

Posted By John Bowman

Elisabeth Sladen will be joined by fellowSarah Jane Adventures actors Daniel Anthony and Thomas Knight for a signing session in London - and 50 people could attend an exclusive story-telling session by Sladen herself.

The event at the Oxford Street branch of Borders has been organised to mark the return of the Doctor Who spin-off plus the launch of four SJA novels, the complete Series One DVD, and two new audio-exclusive stories. It will be taking place on November 15 between 1.30pm and 4pm. Borders states that people must have bought a copy of the SJA DVD set, an SJA book or an SJA CD to be in the queue.

The four books - Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane?, Day of the Clown, The Lost Boy, and The Last Sontaran - are being published on November 6, the Series One DVD set is released on November 10, while audio-exclusive stories The Time Capsule and Ghost House will be out on November 13 and available on CD or as a download.

The competition to attend the story-telling session is for UK residents only and open to youngsters up to and including the age of 16. Winners must be accompanied by a responsible adult. The closing date is November 11. Click here for details on how to enter and full terms and conditions. The story-telling session takes place on the same day as the signing, and the winners will also get to be first in the queue for autographs.

Doctor Who has just won the Most Popular Drama award, and David Tennant has received the Outstanding Drama Performance award, at theNational Television Awards this evening the UK.

According to the official Doctor Who website, Catherine Tate (who collected the Drama series award alongside Executive Producer Russell T Davies) said "I know it's won the award for the last three years, but I was sweating that we wouldn't the year I joined!" Meanwhile, Tennant accepted his award in a live video feed from Stratford, where he his currently performing with the RSC.

Tennant also chose the moment, while accepting his award, to announce that he would be leaving Doctor Who at the conclusion of the four specials for 2009/2010 now in production (see separate story).

The website of the Doctor Who Restoration Team has published information on the forthcoming DVD release of the 1989 Doctor Who serial "Battlefield". The four-part adventure, which opened the final season of classic Doctor Who, stars Sylvester McCoy as the Seventh Doctor and Sophie Aldred as his companion Ace. It is due to be released on Region 2 DVD in the UK on December the 29th.

This is the first ever commercial release of the transmitted version of the story, the VHS release having included various extended and deleted scenes edited back into the action. For this DVD release, the transmission version is presented on one disc, with a movie-format extended edition with new CGI special effects included on a second disc.

Other extras include a commentary track with Aldred, Nicholas Courtney, Angela Bruce, writer Ben Aaronovitchand script editor Andrew Cartmel; documentaries on the making of the story, BBC trailers from the time and various other features.

The latest issues of Enlightenment, the fanzine of the Doctor Who Information Network, features reviews of every story in Series Four. Also included are an assessment of Steven Moffat's arrival as executive producer and the backlash yet-to-come, a tribute to Russell T Davies' tenure, an assessment of Donna Noble, a fan's report from the underbelly of the CBC and more. Available now from DWIN.

The Sarah Jane Adventures has been nominated for Best Drama in the 2008 BAFTA Children's Awards representing the best in children's production in film, television and online.

The series is up against The Revenge Files of Alistair Fury, Smallhill and Young Dracula. CBBChas also been nominated for Channel of the year. Children aged 7-14 are eligable to vote and can vote online at the BAFTA website.

The winner will be announced at the EA British Academy Children's Awards on Sunday 30 November 2008 at the London Hilton on Park Lane.

Freelance author Nick Griffiths has released a follow-up to his first Doctor Who-themed book Dalek I Loved You.

Who Goes There is a travel book of sorts that take the reader to the strange and off-the-beaten-path locations used in the television series.

Mr Griffiths got the idea for the book after watching old Doctor Who stories starring Tom Baker and Jon Pertwee and noticing the strange qualities of some of the locations.

"There was an old railway station in an episode I was watching and I suddenly thought 'I'd really like to go there, that looks really strange and unusual'," he said.

"I had a quite a lot of fun trying to find the place anyway and when I got there it was fantastic being able to stand in the spot where the Doctor had stood."

As the idea grew, Griffiths settled on a list of Doctor Who stories that he wanted to investigate. Beginning in London, he then spent four weeks on the road, not only visiting locations around England and Wales, but researching the particular history of each place, unearthing stories as strange and original as the episodes in which they appeared.

"As well as the places themselves being the most fabulous, evocative areas, getting to them took us through some of the most beautiful countryside."

In Wales Mr Griffiths visited Southerndown beach in the Vale of Glamorgan, Howells department store and Queens Arcade in Cardiff, Fields House and St Woolas Cemetery in Newport for the book.

Southerndown appeared in the 2006 episode Doomsday and the 2008 show Journey's End where it doubled for Bad Wolf Bay in Norway. The beach and the geology of the cliffs captivated Mr Griffiths.

"I did love Southerndown. The strata are incredible," he said.

"There was no one else there when we visited and as we wandered around you got totally taken in by it all.

"Doctor Who had been filmed there only about six months previously so there was a real "sense of Who" there."

While this book has a Doctor Who theme to it, it isn't intended to be read only by Doctor Who fans. "What I would love is for people to get in their cars and go out and visit these places," Griffiths said.

There is also a companion website that offers photographs from the trip, a Google map of the locations and details of the nearest pub. In this innovative way, readers are invited to follow in his footsteps.

Who Goes There is published by Legend Press and is available on Amazon and other online services.

The BBC Press Office has announced that the first two minutes of the forthcoming Doctor Who Christmas special, "The Next Doctor", will be broadcast as an exclusive preview for the episode as part of this year's Children in Need charity telethon.

Children in Need, the telethon in aid of which is shown on BBC One every November, is this year to be broadcast on Friday 14 November from 7pm. Doctor Who has featured in the programme in various capacities before, including special mini-episodes made specifically for the telethon in 2005 and 2007. Earlier this month it had been rumoured in the media that a special production featuring all seven surviving actors to have played the Doctor might have been in preparation for the evening, but this has proved groundless.

The full episode of "The Next Doctor" is expected to be broadcast by BBC One in the UK on Christmas Day

Russell T Davies and Benjamin Cook have given a wide-ranging interview to Simon Mayo of BBC Radio 5 Live, as part of the promotion for their book, "The Writer's Tale".

The interview is available as a podcast for the next few days.