The Doctor Who Appreciation Society have released a new annual available to download for free:

 

BBC Studios have announced that the next instalment in their collection of remastered Blu-ray Doctor Who boxed sets will see the Doctor on trial as Colin Baker's last season is released on 23rd September 2019.


The six disc Blu-ray collection includes all four of the stories comprising this season, features previously available on the original DVD releases, plus a range of new material:

• Extended edits - of all fourteen episodes
• Terror of the Vervoids - four-part standalone edition with updated effects
• Immersive 5.1 surround sound and isolated scores - on all 14 broadcast episodes*
• Behind the Sofa - new episodes with Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant, Bonnie Langford, Mark Strickson, Frazer Hines and Matthew Waterhouse
• The Writers’ Room - Eric Saward, Philip Martin, Christopher H Bidmead & Waly K Daly discuss the ‘Lost’ Season 23
• The Doctor Who Cookbook Revisited - brave cast members tackle their original recipes from the 1980s official cookbook
• The Doctor’s Table - join Colin Baker and friends for dinner
• In Conversation - Matthew Sweet chats to companion Bonnie Langford
• Plus: unseen studio footage, rare archive treats, convention footage, Blu-ray trailer, HD photo galleries, scripts, costume designs & more in the PDF Archive.

The collection is available for pre-order in the United Kingdom from our Amazon Shop.

Comic Relief is offering the first opportunity ever created to enjoy a Full English Breakfast in the company of Seven Doctors.

The Wolseley on Piccadilly will be hosting this landmark meal where, for the first time in the show's 54 year history, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, David Tennant, Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi will meet to break bread and talk Tardis.

Here, inside its hallowed hall, the meal of meals will take place. An epic event, a world first, and a legendary opportunity to witness history in the making. To win the chance to join them on this remarkable morning, you need to enter the prize draw. Five pounds enters your name into the pot for a chance to join the seven Doctors for what is being described as the most historic breakfast in the history of television.

The meet and greet will take place between September 2017 and May 2018. Comic Relief will give you as much noticed as possible once the date is confirmed.

This prize has been kindly donated by the actors and The Wolseley.

To enter follow the link

This summer saw the release of a new film starring Colin Baker as The Narrator.

A Dozen Summers is a comedy, from writer/director Kenton Hall. A story about what it’s really like to be 12 in the 21st century.

The film was released in the summer and Doctor Who News, in association with Kenton Hall, has two copies to give away.

All you need to do is answer the following question Please send your answers along with your name, address and where you heard about the competition (news site, news app, another website, etc.) to comp-summers@doctorwhonews.net with the subject "A Dozen Summers".

The competition is open worldwide, the DVD is a Region Free, PAL copy.

Closing date 9th October 2016. Only one entry per household will be accepted.

The Worzel Book

A new book about the making of Jon Pertwee's Worzel Gummidge series, has just been released.

The Worzel Book is written by Stuart Manning. It is the story of what Pertwee did after Doctor Who, told through memories from his family and work colleagues, including Bernard Cribbins, Geoffrey Bayldon and Sean Pertwee. The book features more than 40 interviews with cast and crew from the show, over 400 photographs and has a foreword by Mark Gatiss. The Worzel Book can be ordered directly from the publisher, Miwk Publishing at a discount price for a limited time.

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Is There Life Outside the Box?: An Actor Despairs

Peter Davison's autobiography will be published in the UK on 6th October 2016

The book is now titled Is There Life Outside the Box?: An Actor Despairs and looks at the life and career of the fifth Doctor. It will be published by John Blake Publishing Ltd. The working title for the book was The Fifth(ish) Doctor. The book is available for pre-order on Amazon

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A Dozen Summers

A new family comedy featuring Colin Baker gets its release later this month.

A Dozen Summers is narrated by the Sixth Doctor and will have its official DVD release in the UK on August 15th.

The DVD will include a special behind-the-scenes featurette entitled In the Studio with Colin Baker. The DVD is available for pre-order on Amazon

Colin Baker becomes the 'current' Doctor again on British airwaves today as BBC Radio 4 Extra begin a new run of Big Finish adventures on the radio, Saturdays at 6:00pm (repeated midnight). The Crimes of Thomas Brewster kicks off the run, broadcast in two parts over the next couple of weeks. The story also features Maggie Stables as the sixth Doctor's long-time audio companion Evelyn and guest stars David Troughton as Raymond Gallagher.

This weekend also sees a repeat of the 50th Anniversary programme Who Made Who, which was presented by Tracy Ann Oberman and featured a variety of interviews and special documentaries, plus the mockumentary from 2004, Whatever Happened to Susan Foreman?, which starred Jane Asher as the titular character whose life is examined some years after being left on Earth... The three hour programme follows on after Doctor Who at 7:00pm (and is also on at 9:00am this morning).


Both The Crimes of Thomas Brewster and Who Made Who should be available to listen to over the next 29 days via the BBC iPlayer.

DALEK WEEK

The Experience will also be holding a Dalek Day later in the month:

More details about the Dalek Day/Week will be available shortly.

Colin Baker is to star in a new horror/comedy feature film by Amber Pictures. Baker's character is described as "an ancient Demon intent on bringing about the apocalypse". The film also stars Suzanne Shaw and Chris R. Wright, with more cast members being announced over the coming months. The film is expected to be released in Autumn/Winter 2016.



Updates on production of the film can be found on the Neighbours From Hell Twitter and Facebook pages.

A roundup of recent news relating to Doctor Who cast and crew:

• Matt Smith has begun filming for a new drama for Netflix, The Crown, due to be broadcast in 2016. The ten-part series, based on the play The Audience, will follow the relationship between Queen Elizabeth (Claire Foy) and the prime ministers who have served during her monarchy, with Smith portraying her husband, Prince Philip. [Northampton Herald and Post, 11 Aug]
  
  
• David Tennant will be portraying the character of 'baddy' Zebediah Killgrave in the television adaptation of the Marvel comic Jessica Jones. Jeff Loeb, Marvel's Head of Television, said: "In the same kind of way Vincent D’Onofrio owned his half of Daredevil, you’ll see David Tennant own his half of Jessica Jones… What you get out of Jessica is a sort of hold-your-breath tension as to what’s going to happen. When you see the dynamic between Krysten Ritter and David Tennant… that question of ‘What’s going to happen next?’ and ‘What could happen next?’ and how that’s driven by character is something that is so important to not just the scripts but also the way the show is shot, and the way that everyone reacts, and the way those two react with each other." [Science Fiction, 14 Aug]
  
  
• 
  Photo: Manchester Evening News
  Christopher Eccleston led this year's tribute in Manchester to mark the anniversary of the Peterloo Massacre, where 15 protesters were killed when troops charged a political meeting there in 1819. The actor read from a speech delivered by Henry ‘Orator’ Hunt from the day. [Manchester Evening News, 16 Aug]
  
  
• Colin Baker will be on hand to officially unveil a display of copies of the Doctor Who scripts by the show's first writer Anthony Coburn at Spoon Web (The DVD Shop) in Whitstable, Kent on Sunday 23rd August. The event also coincides with a Kickstarter campaign aimed to provide funding for the ongoing maintenance, improvement and promotion of the police box replica for Herne Bay TARDIS for Children in Need. [Facebook]
  
  
• Tom Baker may be about to take on a role in the Star Wars franchise. A guest at the recent Day of the Doctors convention, he is reported as saying: "I'm going to be in this new Star Wars thing, you know? I'm going down to record some voices for this new character they've created for me, very soon" [various, including Sci-Fi Fantasy Network, Inquistr, 15 Aug]
  
  
• Frazer Hines has been appearing in Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, which this week reaches the Leeds Grand Theatre. Talking about portraying his character, Rogers, he said: "I suppose it’s my experience of being in the show business for over forty years that many could assume that Rogers, being just a butler, could be played just as a butler. But I worked out that he was in the First World War, in the army, so he has this straight-backed walk and respects the general in the play and respects the copper. So I’ve brought those little nuances into the character."
  
  He also mentioned that the most common question he gets asked is what was it like to work with second Doctor Patrick Troughton: "A lovely man. Some of the happiest years of my show business career were working with Patrick Troughton in Doctor Who. But they all ask me that and I wish I had a pound for every time I’m asked that question. He was a lovely, lovely man and we had great fun working together. If I had an idea he wouldn’t say, “I’m the Doctor, you just shut up and be the assistant.” He’d turn and say, “Frazer, what a marvellous idea. Let’s do it.” I’d worked with him before in 1964, before Doctor Who had started and I was the star of that show, Smuggler’s Bay, and he was playing the part of an old smuggler. But a year or so later he was the star of Doctor Who and I was just joining in as Jamie for four episodes so the role was reversed. It was great, we just gelled straight away." [(Entertainment Focus, 14 Aug]
  
  
• Speaking of And Then There Were None, a new BBC One production of the play has been announced, whose cast will feature Burn Gorman as William Blore and Anna Maxwell Martin as Ethel Rogers. [BBC Media Centre, 10 Jul]
  
  
• Jenna Coleman has revealed one of the tricks of the trade employed during filming scenes with her co-star Peter Capaldi: I have to stand on an apple box when we’re filming - it’s called ‘Jenna’s Box’ and it gets brought out when I need to fit into a particular shot." [Express, 15 Aug]
  
  
• Sir John Hurt can be heard as the lead role in Jeffrey Bernard Is Unwell, broadcast this weekend on BBC Radio 4; the play is described as "A dying Soho, seen through the eyes of the notorious columnist of The Spectator - plain-speaking drinker, gambler, wit and raconteur." It also features Nichola McAuliffe and Jeff Rawle. [BBC Radio 4, 15 Aug]
  
  Speaking of his recent diagnosis of having pancreatic cancer, the actor observed: I can’t say I worry about mortality, but it’s impossible to get to my age and not have a little contemplation of it. We’re all just passing time, and occupy our chair very briefly. But my treatment is going terrifically well, so I’m optimistic." [Radio Times, 15 Aug]
  
  
• Talking about his role in new film Pleasure Island, Samuel Anderson said: "I've played a lot of love interests - those kind of romantic roles, 'sweet boy' kind of thing - so it was brilliant to come in and just play an idiot. From when I read the script, I was hooked. Just the way Mike (Doxford, writer/director) had laid his characters out. You could feel it - each character was grounded and had a bit of weight to them. It was like, 'If I don't get the part, I can't wait to see the film'." [Digital Spy, 15 Aug]
  
  
• On a possible return to Doctor Who, Anderson commented: "Maybe in an alternate universe? I wouldn't mind approaching him in a different way. Or maybe just come back as Orson Pink because then it changes the dynamic between him and the Doctor. If it's Orson Pink I think the relationship would be totally different because instead of a soldier – which is the kind of person the Doctor can't bear – you've got another scientist who could be quite interesting with their relationship. And then instead of it being a love interest with Clara and Danny, it would be a family affair with grandmother and grandson but at the same age." [Radio Times, 13 Aug]
  
  
• Amidst speculation that he may be a future successor to Steven Moffat as the lead writer on Doctor Who, Toby Whithouse responded: "No-one at the BBC has ever had this conversation with me! No-one has asked me, no-one has approached me about if Steven leaves, when Steven leaves. These are conversations that happen purely among fans, not on any official level."
  
  On writing for the show in general: "There’s a reason I go back to Doctor Who every year, and that’s because I absolutely love working on it! There is something so magical, so ludicrous about that show! ... The appeal never fades: I’m 45 now, and writing: ‘Interior: TARDIS’ at the top of a scene is still really, really exciting. You also get to tell these extraordinary stories that you couldn’t write for any other show." [The London Economic, 11th Aug]
  
  
• Many media publications focussed on the casting of Bethany Black as being the first transgender actress to appear in the show. The comedian herself reflected on filming for the new series: "It is genuinely the greatest job I could ever have imagined getting. Everything about it is magical. I'm enjoying every day of filming and cherishing it, because you never know if you'll ever get to do anything like this again. I only hope that I do the role and the show justice, and that you all enjoy it. For me it's the gig of a lifetime." [Facebook]
  
  
• A new series of Who Do You Think You Are? has started on BBC One, which this year will also include the exploration of the family history for Sir Derek Jacobi, Anne Reid and writer Mark Gatiss.
  
  
• Arthur Darvill will be playing Rip Hunter in DC's Legends Of Tomorrow, with the character described as "a time-traveler tasked with assembling a group of villains and heroes together after he sees a future that could destroy everything. This unlikely squad must now stop these devastating future events from happening, but it won’t be easy." [Hollywire, 12 Aug]
  
  
• Darvill can also be seen in the forthcoming fictional account of Lenny Henry's early life, Danny And The Human Zoo, which also features Richard Wilson and Mark Benton.
  
  
• Colin Morgan will star in a new drama for BBC One, The Living And The Dead. [BBC Media Centre, 10th Aug]
  
  
• A number of names previously associated with Doctor Who have been making appearances at Roath Lock Studios of late and getting their photos taken alongside the TARDIS's current 'owner' Peter Capaldi, including Waris Hussein, Georgia Moffett, David Tennant and Russell T Davies.
  
  

  Earlier this week we were delighted that the legendary Waris Hussein - http://t.co/KxpbDk7SP7 - visited the TARDIS! pic.twitter.com/DqlCDwh4O1

  — Doctor Who Official (@bbcdoctorwho) August 14, 2015

  
  

Sixth Doctor Colin Baker is set to return to his roots in Manchester to star in a new sci fi thriller being filmed in the city, following the successful funding of the project on Indiegogo

Baker is due to play a virologist in Last Man on Earth - a 20-min pre-apocalypse short film.

Speaking about the project Baker said Joining Baker and the filmmakers on set are several Doctor Who fans who helped fund the film via crowd funding. As part of several perks on offer they will be sharing a scene with Colin Baker in the film.

Director Darren Langlands said The aim was to raise £10,000 for the project. To date over £10,300 has been raised, with the campaign closing on Friday. As well as the chance to appear in the film, a range of perks are available as an incentive to contribute including autographed scripts and t-shirts and a private message from Colin Baker. Each perk also includes a donation to cancer research charities.

For more information visit the film's Facebook site.