We are saddened to report the death of the writer Mervyn Haisman.

An actor in his early career, Mervyn Haisman turned his hand to writing, forming a partnership with Henry Lincoln where together they penned three Doctor Who stories for the Patrick Troughton era of the series. The Abominable Snowmen saw the first appearance from the slopes of the Himalayas of the Yeti - robotic servants of the Great Intelligence. The strength of this first story subsequently led to the sequel The Web of Fear, which also saw creation of one of the most enduring guest characters in the series, Alistair Gordon Lethbridge Stewart (The Brigadier). Their third outing The Dominators introduced the Quarks, but artistic disagreements with the production team ended further contributions to Doctor Who. However, their association with the show was to be marked once again with a credit on The Sarah Jane Adventures story Enemy of the Bane for Sir Alistair.

Haisman went on to script-edit a number of television series, notably Sutherland's Law (alongside future Doctor Who producer Graham Williams), Jubilee, and some seventeen episodes of The Onedin Line. He also wrote a number of episodes for the popular 1980s drama Howards' Way.

Press details are now available for the final three stories in the current series of The Sarah Jane Adventures

4: The Empty Planet
Monday 1 and Tuesday 2 November, CBBC

5: Lost In Time
Monday 8 and Tuesday 9 November, CBBC

6: Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith
Monday 15 and Tuesday 16 November, CBBC

The 1996 TV Movie will finally get its North American release on February 8, 2011.

In August we reported that, for the first time, the rights to release the story outside the UK had been obtained by 2|entertain. The feature length episode is the only televised adventure of the Eighth Doctor played by Paul McGann.

The story was released in the UK as part of the Revisitions box set. In North America it will be released as a single story on two discs, containing the same extras as the UK version.

It has also been confirmed that the Third Doctor story, The Mutants, will be released in North America on the same day, February 8, shortly after it's released in the UK.

Both North American covers can be seen at TV Shows on DVD.

In what is rapidly becoming a tradition, the BBC's charity appeal show Children in Need will once again include a clip from the forthcoming Doctor Who Christmas Special.

Slotted amongst the various activities listed in the latest press release is:No other information is available at present, but in previous years this has been a teaser scene from early in the episode to whet our appetites for the main event on Christmas Day.

This year's Children in Need evening is on Friday 19th November, 7:00pm on BBC One and the new BBC One HD.

We have been informed that, due to unforeseen circumstances, the free download of False Gods reported earlier this week - planned for this coming Saturday’s edition of The Telegraph - has been postponed. The article on Big Finish, however, will still be included in the paper and on the Telegraph’s website.

On Saturday 30th Big Finish will be launching a November Sale on its site, with 10 acclaimed Doctor Who titles available at a discounted price. These include Spare Parts and Jubiliee, alongside some recent offerings Forty Five and The Bride of Peladon.

It was back to Cardiff today, with filming taking place in two locations during the course of the day.

The daytime hours were spent at the Coal Exchange near Cardiff Bay - a frequent interior location for the series, used most recently for the forthcoming 2010 Christmas Special!

The evening saw activity switch to Cardiff city centre, focussing around the streets just south of the New Theatre, Crockherbtown Lane and Park Place - another venue that has cropped up in past adventures. The following photos capture the transformation from Cardiff to the currently filming story's required setting!

Russell T Davies has been talking to SFX Magazine about the infamous line in the latest episode of The Sarah Jane Adventures which has provoked much debate on the internet.


The Magazine is also appealing for questions for fourth Doctor Tom Baker who will be the subject of their regular “Fannish Inquisition” pieces.

Doctor Who is one of the programmes up for nomination in the annual People's Choice Awards.

The programme is one of twelve listed in the Favourite SciFi/Fantasy Show category. Voting can be done on the website. The programmes will be short-listed on November 9th with the top rated show going forward to the final.

Meanwhile Matt Smith will be a guest on CBS's The Late Show with Craig Ferguson on 16th November. Fans in Los Angeles can apply for tickets to the 3.30pm recording from the show's website. Smith will be joined on the show by Jeff Goldblum.

The Daily Telegraph will be making the Big Finish Doctor Who audio adventure False Gods available free for download for readers on Saturday 30th October.


The download accompanies an article on the new Doctor Who audio stories from the company that will feature in both the newspaper and on the Telegraph website. Readers will also be able to buy ten of the most popular Doctor Who stories at a substantial discount.



Update: the download has been postponed, see the latest update for more details.

The Sarah Jane Adventures has been nominated for an award in the BAFTA Children's Awards. The series is listed as one of ten shows in the Television Category, facing opposition from other popular children's programmes like Horrible Histories, Deadly 60, Tracy Beaker Returns and The Wizards of Waverley Place.

Votes can be entered on The BAFTA Kid's Vote 2010 until 26th November, and the ceremony takes place a couple of days later at the London Hilton, hosted by children's (and Totally Doctor Who) presenter Barney Harwood.

For more details on the Award ceremony, visit the BAFTA website.