The Doctor Who spin-off Class, created by Young Adult author Patrick Ness is returning in six new audio plays from Big Finish Productions.

The series, released in August 2018, will feature six new adventures from the world of Coal Hill Academy.

Class was created by the BBC to appeal to the young adult market and initially released in the UK on the BBC Three online platform. However the series struggled to make an impact and when it was later screened on BBC One, it failed to find an audience, getting viewing figures around a third of the timeslot average. After one season the series was cancelled by the BBC.

Big Finish is now reviving the series on audio with six new adventures made in arrangement with BBC Studios.

Set during the television series, the new version features the original cast. Greg Austin plays Charlie Smith, Fady Elsayed plays Ram Singh, Sophie Hopkins plays April MacLean, Vivian Oparah plays Tanya Adeola, Jordan Renzo plays Matteusz Andrzejewski and Katherine Kelly plays Miss Andrea Quill.



The series will also see Seventh Doctor companion Ace, played by Sophie Aldred, return to Coal Hill in an adventure following up her previous skirmish with the Daleks in the Doctor Who television episode, Remembrance of the Daleks.

Director and Producer Scott Handcock says Nicholas Briggs, executive producer says Class is available for pre-order now at £23 on CD or £18 on download from the Big Finish site and will remain at this price until general release when it will be available for £25 on CD or £20 on download.

The Big Finish audio drama Infamy of the Zaross is being released for the first time on vinyl record.

The product is part of an exclusive deal with High Street retailer HMV and will be available from 16th June. The story stars David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor and Billie Piper as Rose.

The strictly limited pressing of Infamy of the Zaross is on yellow 180GM heavyweight vinyl and limited to 750 units.

David Tennant’s Doctor, portrayed on screen from December 2005 until January 2010, returned in the 50th Anniversary special The Day of the Doctor, with Matt Smith and Sir John Hurt in 2013, and on audio for Big Finish with Catherine Tate in 2016.

Billie Piper portrayed the Doctor’s much-loved companion Rose in 2005 and 2006, returning for a number of stories in 2008. She also appeared as The Moment – which had taken Rose’s form – in The Day of the Doctor. This new story was Billie’s eagerly-awaited debut for Big Finish.

A spokesperson from HMV said Infamy of the Zaross guest stars Camille Coduri as Jackie Tyler who is Rose Tyler's mum. When Jackie takes a trip to visit her old friend Marge in Norwich, she finds her holiday immediately interrupted in the worst way possible - an alien invasion! The infamous Zaross have come to take over Earth. Or have they?

Writer John Dorney says Nicholas Briggs executive producer for Big Finish added Executive producer Jason Haigh-Ellery says: The Tenth Doctor Adventures Volume 2, was first released in November 2017 and includes Infamy of the Zaross and two further Tenth Doctor adventures.

Tom Baker has been talking exclusively to Doctor Who Magazine in advance of the Blu-Ray release of his first season as The Doctor

In the interview, the actor reflects on the role that changed his life. Also in this issue 826

• ROGER MURRAY-LEACH
An extensive interview with the production designer who achieved the impossible on Season 12 of Doctor Who.
• THE HOLMES MASTER PLAN
How Season 12 script editor Robert Holmes created a storytelling formula that continues to influence the modern series.
• KEVIN LINDSAY
The life and career of the Australian actor who played Styre in Season 12’s The Sontaran Experiment.
• BREWING UP
The untold story of how Doctor Who led a marketing campaign for tea bags in 1976.
• GEORGIA TENNANT
The actress talks about how her life has changed since she made her Doctor Who debut – and met her future husband – in 2008.
• JESSICA MARTIN
Jessica talks about illustrating her character Mags (from The Greatest Show in the Galaxy) for a new Seventh Doctor comic.
• NEW FACES
The second part of a series looking at how new Doctors have been introduced to the public.
• THE TIME TEAM
It’s hankies at the ready as the Time Team watch tearjerking episodes from 1982, 2006 and 2010.
• THE CLOCKWISE WAR
Part Three of a new comic strip adventure written by Scott Gray and illustrated by John Ross.

PLUS... The Blogs of Doom, previews, DVD and audio reviews, news, prize-winning competitions and much more.

Doctor Who Magazine 526 is on sale from Thursday 31 May, price £5.99.

Issue 32 of the fan production Whotopia is now available from Jigsaw Publications

This issue looks at the world of Doctor Who in print

• DOUGLAS ADAMS AND DOCTOR WHO
Adams’ stories come to life as novelisations, Jessica Chaleff shares her thoughts.
• INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR NICK MELLISH
Bob Furnell speaks with Whotopia’s longest-running columnist, and his plans for the ‘Target Trawl’ book.
• WHO YOU BUILD Dave Etches explores more full-scale Doctor Who model making
• COLUMN: MASTER WHO PART 5: PRINTS OF DARKNESS
Dan Tessier explores the Master as depicted in print.
• REVIEW: THE DOCTOR FALLS
Jon Arnold reviews the Series Ten finale.
• REVIEW x 2: TWICE UPON A TIME
Matthew Kresal and James P Quick take turns to steer us through Peter Capaldi’s festive farewell.
• COLUMN: WHOLIFE: COOKING IN THE TARDIS
Grant Bull raises a glass to one of the more unusul Doctor Who books.s
• REVIEWED: TWELFTH DOCTOR NOVELS
Dan Tessier tests the waters with three new Twelfth Doctor adventures.
• REVIEW: THIS TOWN WILL NEVER LET GO
Matthew Kresal gives us the lowdown on Lawrence Miles’ Faction Paradox novel.
• INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR ROBERT MAMMONE
Bob Furnell sits done with writer, editor and all-round creative engine Rob Mammone to discover the secrets of writing.
• REVIEW: SCRIPT DOCTOR
Jez Strickley takes a second look at the Sylvester McCoy era through the eyes of its script editor, Andrew Cartmel.
• TARGET NOVELIZATIONS AND ME
Jessica Chaleff ponders the world of collecting Doctor Who books.
• COLUMN: THE AUDIO ARCHIVES: ISH
Andrew Screen reviews the Sixth Doctor story Ish.’
• MEMORIES OF AMNESIA: THE EIGHTH DOCTOR ADVENTURES
A reflection on the Eighth Doctor book range by Dan Tessier.
• INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR RICK CROSS
How does a writer get plugged into the professional circuit? Whotopia regular Matthew Kresal speaks to Candy Jar Books author Rick Cross.
• LOOKING AT COVERS
Hamish Crawford takes a tour of the series’ bookcover artworks.
• COLUMN: THE BLACK ARCHIVES INVESTIGATED
Andrew Screen continues his look at the Black Archives collection.
• REVIEW: CLASS NOVELS
Nick Mellish critically examines the latest run of series-extending novels, this time derived from the Doctor Who spin-off Class.
• COLUMN: THE CURATE'S EGG: PETER HAINING
Richard Michaels shines a glowing light of approval on one of the series’s most prolific historians.
• BOOKMARKS IN TIME
Two nostalgic book slices by David P. May.
• RETROPLAY: THE GUNFIGHTERS
A recently uncovered review of The Gunfighters (1966) written by the late Gary Phillips.

Issue 32 is available to download for free in PDF format from the Whotopia site and/or to purchase in print via this link.

Social video service Twitch has today announced that over 500 classic episodes of Doctor Who will air worldwide from May 29 to July 23

Twitch is joining forces with BBC Studios for the first-ever digital broadcasting event of the Classic Doctor Who era. Over 500 episodes from 26 seasons dating from the show’s inception in 1963 until the 1980s will air worldwide over a seven-week period. Starting May 29, fans can tune in each week Monday to Friday at 11 am PDT to catch episodes on Twitch.tv/TwitchPresents.

Nick Coulter, Director of Digital Sales and Business Development at BBC Studios says: Doctor Who is the latest in over a dozen TV shows that have aired on Twitch. Viewers who Subscribe to the TwitchPresents channel will gain access to 14 exclusive emotes themed after each of the first seven doctors.

For Doctor Who fans in the US, UK, and Canada, Twitch is hosting a giveaway each week of the event, including a grand prize trip to London Comic Con in Fall 2018.

As part of the event, leading UK digital content creators The Yogscast are producing a series of shows that will introduce each Doctor. With a cast of Doctor Who screenwriters, experts, fans, and even a former companion, the Yogscast's Turps and resident Doctor Who expert and High Roller's player Matt Toffollo will be discussing why modern audiences should be watching Doctor Who. Each 20-minute episode will provide a brief summary of the stories that are about to be shown, including the actors, monsters, famous phrases or production gaffes to look out for. With first-hand knowledge from former companion Katy Manning (who played Jo Grant the Third Doctor Companion) and writers Bob Baker and Paul Cornell, the shows will give insight into the series alongside the humor and irreverence viewers expect from the Yogscast.

Jane Weedon, Director of Business Development at Twitch said For more information on the Doctor Who episodes that will air on Twitch, visit the Twitch blog.

Doctor Who on Twitch

Graham Strong, the man responsible for the survival of many high-quality audio recordings of missing Doctor Who episodes, has died at the age of 69.

Graham Strong was a 14-year-old schoolboy when Doctor Who began in 1963. A keen electronics student, his hobby included building valve and transistor radios, as well as repairing televisions for neighbours. He was the proud owner of a second-hand Reel to reel tape machine and decided to use this to preserve the audio of this exciting new serial.

Following The Daleks' Master Plan, episode 7, Strong, used his electronics knowledge to wire the audio output from the television into the Tape recorder. A highly dangerous procedure that breaks every rule of electrical safety but one that resulted in recordings that were crystal clear.

Strong was one of a small number of early fans who recorded audio from the now missing stories. However, he is believed to be the only one to record directly from the Television, resulting in the superior quality of his recordings.

In 1994 an accidental meeting with a Doctor Who fan who had contacts in the BBC brought his collection to the attention of the corporation. By this time the master tapes of most early episodes had been junked and the episodes were either missing or only existed as film prints. After reassurance that his tapes would be carefully cared for, Strong handed over recordings containing over 100 Doctor Who episodes.

Strong's recordings have been used for the animated releases of missing episodes such as Power of the Daleks. His recordings are so clear that they often exceed the quality available on the surviving film prints of the episodes, and as a result, a number of DVD's of early episodes contain audio taken from Strong's recordings rather than the film print.

NERVA is a special event organised by the Ark in Space Facebook group celebrating the visual effects and other designers who brought Doctor Who to our screens.

Current guests include visual effects designer Colin Mapson (e.g. The Green Death), sculptor and prop maker Stephen Mansfield (e.g. Battlefield), K9 assistant operator Steve Cambden (e.g. Full Circle), documentary director Kevin Jon Davies (e.g. Thirty Years in the TARDIS), and researchers Richard Bignell (Nothing At The End Of The Lane), Jon Green and Gavin Rymell (Dalek 6388).

Alongside the event, a special poster has been commissioned from artist Ian Wells, inspired by the work of Frank Bellamy. There are three versions of the poster available that can be purchased separately to the event itself: the image with event information as displayed, one with the addition of Ian's autograph, and a third version with the text replaced with a personalised message from the artist. Full details can be found via the organisers' website.

All proceeds from the event and posters will be donated to the Thames Valley Air Ambulance.

The event itself is limited to members of the Facebook group, who can register their interest via the relevant thread, and to followers of the @ClassicDrWho Twitter account, who can tweet or send a direct message instead. You can find out mote about the event via the group or the organisers' event page.

BBC Worldwide has confirmedthat the Blu-Ray release of Doctor Who: The Collection – Season 12, has been delayed by one week.

The collection of stories featuring Tom Baker in his first season as the Doctor, will now be released on Monday 18th June 2018

Full release details

Canadian fans will be able to join the US in seeing the "director's cut" of Genesis of the Daleks in Cineplex cinemas on the 14th June.


For full details on where the story can be seen see the Cineplex website.

This weekend Big Finish are offering 50% off many titles featuring the Eighth Doctor played by Paul McGann, from the beginning of his travels with Charlotte Pollard back in 2001 to the epic four-part saga, Doom Coalition.

Until 23:59 UK Time on the 17th of May 2018, you can save 50% on the Eighth Doctor Adventures releases, Eighth Doctor stories in the Doctor Who Main Range and the award-winning Dark Eyes and Doom Coalition box sets.

The Eighth Doctor Adventures, which were first broadcast on BBC Radio 7 on New Year’s Eve 2006, are a great jumping on point for new listeners as Paul McGann’s Eighth Doctor starts another phase of his adventures with a brand new companion played by Sheridan Smith, Lucie Miller.

Starting after the Eighth Doctor Main Range tales, it's a brand new set of adventures with several returning villains and all-star casts. These adventures start with an Eighth Doctor encounter with the Daleks in Blood of the Daleks, which stars Hayley Atwell and Anita Dobson in a truly terrifying introduction into the world of the Eighth Doctor.

Doctor Who: Dark Eyes (Winner, Best Online Drama, BBC Drama Awards 2014) was written and directed by Nicholas Briggs. And after the apocalyptic events of Doctor Who: Dark Eyes, the Eighth Doctor and Liv Chenka (played by Nicola Walker) continue their adventures in space and time in Doctor Who: Doom Coalition. Also in this offer are bundles on the Eighth Doctor’s adventures in the Doctor Who Main Range, with companions Charlotte Pollard, C'Rizz played by Conrad Westmaas and Mary Shelley, the gothic author, played by Julie Cox.

To redeem the offer, enter code EIGHT50 at the checkout on the Big Finish website.

This offer expires at 23:59 UK Time on the 17th of May 2018.