Jon Pertwee was the first honorary president of the Doctor Who Appreciation Society, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. In honour of the man who played the third Doctor, the Society is raising funds for a new Heritage Plaque, which is aimed to be installed at the New Wimbledon Theatre (the theatre played host to the premiere of the stage play The Ultimate Adventure in 1989).

As part of the fund-raising, DWAS are selling badges based on the TARDIS roundels, which can be purchased in sets of seven via their website.

The actor will also be celebrated at a special one-day event held by DWAS, Polarity Day, which will take place in London on the 23rd October.


In 2014 the Society unveiled a plaque in memory of Doctor Who's first producer, Verity Lambert at the then Riverside Studios in London. Pertwee himself was also remembered in 2002 when plaques commemorating the first three Doctors were unveiled at the former BBC Television Centre.

Fantom Publishing have comissioned four new editions of Who Talk, the series of independent commentaries for Doctor Who episodes.

The company has previously released commenteries for the recovered second Doctor stories The Enemy of the World and The Web Of Fear, as well as the third Doctor story The Dæmons and several ophaned First Doctor episodes

The first of the new commisions is the Seventh Doctor Story Remembrance of the Daleks.

Producer Paul W T Ballard explained the choice Joining moderator Toby Hadoke for this release is Pamela Salem (Rachel), Simon Williams (Gilmore), Karen Gledhill (Allison), Andrew Cartmel (Script Editor), and Andrew Morgan (Director).

Remembrance of the Daleks opened Doctor Who's 25th-anniversary series in 1988. The release consists of six new commentaries, including alternative tracks for episodes one and three. Both the CD and download editions are now available priced £10.99 and £9.99 respectively, ahead of the trade release next month.


Please note: these commentaries contain no BBC copyrighted elements and do not feature audio from the episodes themselves - these are designed to be played alongside the official DVD releases.

This Wednesday, Aug 31 sees the release of Eleventh Doctor #2.12 written by Rob Williams and illustrated by Warren Pleece

The actor Michael Leader has died after a short illness.

He was best-known for his 31-year stint as Eastenders extra Michael the Milkman, appearing in the first episode. He was a stalwart as a background artist on scifi shows, including Red Dwarf, Blakes 7 and '80s Doctor Who (The Leisure Hive/The Visitation/The Kings Demons/Mawdryn Undead).

He was best known among Star Wars fans as the stormtrooper who knocked his head while boarding the Deathstar in A New Hope (1977), although this particular acclamation was contested by a fellow extra. He spoke at many signings and scifi conventions around the world, and in particular, his fond memories of working with Peter Davison (the Fifth Doctor) were both heartfelt and amusing, as were Davison's anecdotes of him.

Born in 1938, he was the son of well-known bandleader Harry Leader. He would later play the resident bandleader throughout the run of '80s comedy "Hi de Hi". His other diverse background comedy roles included Keeping Up Appearances and Yes, Minister.

A founder member of The Laurel and Hardy Appreciation Society, his long-standing friendships across the entertainment industry included the likes of Rolling Stones founder member and hellraiser Brian Jones, Doris Day and Dame Barbara Windsor. It was Windsor who insisted that he played a small part in her exit storyline in Eastenders, when he he chauffeured her around the Square in his milk float and was given some dialogue with her to mark the importance of their friendship, and his contribution to propping up the Queen Vic bar.

Leader had a reputation across Showbiz as a true professional and a friend of rising talent, with the tributes on Eastenders' Facebook page and on Twitter, including from Bonnie Langford (Mel), a testament to the support and encouragement he gave to younger members of the cast.

The Leader, as we called him, will be sorely missed at the 'Club for Acts and Actors' in London's Covent Garden, a popular haven for many Doctor Who actors and fans. Married three times, he is survived by a daughter and many pals who will remember his humour, his remarkably funny anecdotes and his unstinting friendship

Doctor Who: Heaven Sent, has lost out in the 2016 Hugo Awards where the award for Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form) went to the final episode of Marvel Television's Jessica Jones.

Heaven Sent, shown last year, was written by Steven Moffat and directed by Rachel Talalay , starred Peter Capaldi in an highly acclaimed, almost single handed, performance.

Six Doctor Who episodes have previously won a Hugo Award, The Empty Child / The Doctor Dances, The Girl in the Fireplace, Blink, The Waters of Mars, The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang and The Doctor's Wife. Last year the episode Listen was also nominated and lost out in the final voting.

On Twitter Heaven Sent Director Rachel Talalay thanked the fans for their support for the episode.

The actor Michael Napier-Brown has died at the age of 79.

Michael Napier-Brown appeared in the 1969 story The War Games, playing Arturo Villar, a soldier plucked from the Mexican Civil War who helped the second Doctor in his battle against the War Lords.

Napier-Brown had a long career in British Television and Theatre. His first credited role was in a 1963 episode of the crime series Maigret. He played Miller in several episodes of the 1970 adaptation of Ivanhoe. Other roles include parts in Secret Army, The Dick Emery Show, Terry and June, 1990 and Casanova.

He was a long standing stalwart of the Nottingham Theatre scene and was the last artistic director of Northampton's Royal Theatre. He is credited with discovering Gian Sammarco, the actor who played Adrian in The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, and who later played Whizzkid in The Greatest Show in the Galaxy.

His daughter Kate broke the news of his death with a statement on her Facebook page:

To mark the Seventh Doctor, Sylvester McCoy's 73rd birthday today, Lovarzi are offering fans 15% off their whole collection of Doctor Who products.

Lovarzi supply officially licenced clothing based on Doctor Who, including Fourth Doctor Scarves, fifth Doctor sweaters and Seventh Doctor Jumpers.

The offer is live from Saturday morning and ends on Sunday midnight UK time. Fans just need to use code WHO15 during checkout to get the discount.

The BBC has announced that the stars of Doctor Who will be attending this year's Comic Con in New York.

Both Peter Capaldi and new companion Pearl Mackie, will be at the event as well as show-runner Steven Moffat and executive producer Brian Minchin. They will be joined by the cast of Class, the new Doctor Who spin-off due to be released this Autumn. The Class panel includes stars Greg Austin, Fady Elsayed, Sophie Hopkins and Vivian Oparah, as well as writer, creator and executive producer Patrick Ness.

Current Doctor Peter Capaldi will be making his New York Comic Con debut alongside the first ever appearance at a convention by new co-star Pearl Mackie, who plays Bill, the Doctor’s companion.

Previous Doctor Matt Smith and companion Karen Gillan will also be attanding the event, which takes palce at the Javits Center in New York, between October 6 - 9.

Candy Jar Books have announced the release of the second volume of The HAVOC Files, collecting the short stories released during the first half in 2016 originally released as digital downloads.

The collection included the following titles: In His Kiss by Sue Hampton, The Lock-In by Sarah Groenewegen BEM, The Black Eggs of Khufu by Tom Dexter, The Band of Evil by Roger J Simmonds & Shaun Russell, and The Playing Dead by Adrian Sherlock. As with the previous volume, The HAVOC Files 2 also includes new stories exclusive to the book, Ashes of the Inferno by Andy Frankham-Allen, and House of Giants by Rick Cross.

As the new titles might suggest, the stories are related to two of the Doctor's television adventures. Writer Andy Frankham-Allen says of his book:
The second brand new story picks up on a thread referenced in the most recent Lethbridge-Stewart novel, The Grandfather Infestation by John Peel, dealing with aftermath of the Doctor Who serial, Planet of Giants: Writer Rick Cross says:
Candy Jar’s Head of Publishing, Shaun Russell, comments on the newcomer to the range:
That novel will be Times Squared, written before House of Giants. Cross says:

Two additional extras in the book include the original prologue from John Peel’s The Grandfather Infestation - which reveals why the Ymir brought their Grandfathers to Earth in the first place - and the unpublished interludes from The Showstoppers by Jonathan Cooper. Range editor Andy Frankham-Allen says:

As with the first volume, The HAVOC Files 2 will only be available as a strictly limited edition print run, and is can be pre-ordered directly from the Candy Jar Bookstore.

The next series of Lethbridge-Stewart begins in October with the release of Times Squared by Rick Cross, followed by Blood of Atlantis by Simon A Forward and Mind of Stone by Iain McLaughlin.


The whole collection is dedicated to the memory of Rhys Rubery, friend of the range editor and Doctor Who fan, a sixteen-year-old who lost his life in a tragic accident in July 2016. You can find out more about Rhys, and how to support the RR81 Legacy by going to this website.

The BBC has announced that David Suchet will appear in the next series of Doctor Who.

Suchet will play the role of The Landlord in series 10, currently being recorded in Cardiff. He will appear in an episode written by Mike Bartlett, best known for writing Doctor Foster for BBC One in 2015

David Suchet is best known for playing Agatha Christie's Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot, in the ITV drama series. He played Augustus Melmotte in the 2001 British serial The Way We Live Now, a role which won him the Broadcasting Press Guild and Royal Television Society best actor awards.

In 2003 he played Cardinal Wolsey in the two-part ITV drama Henry VIII and in 2006, he played the role of the fallen press baron Robert Maxwell in Maxwell.

David Suchet has had an extensive theatre career and has recently been starring as Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest at the Vaudeville Theatre in London.