The BBC have announced that the next star of Doctor Who is to be revealed this coming Sunday evening in a special programme to be broadcast live on BBC One at 7:00pm, and simulcast by BBC America.

Update Friday Canadian channel SPACE have confirmed they will also broadcast the live show.
Update Saturday ABC Australia have also confirmed they will broadcast the live show.

Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor is to be presented by Zoe Ball, and is expected to feature previous Doctors, companions, special guests and 'celebrity' fans, leading up to the reveal of who has won the coveted role. Charlotte Moore, the Controller of BBC One, said:
In order to keep the half-hour show and the announcement under wraps, the BBC promoted it last week as an entertainment pilot that would pay tribute to 50 years of Doctor Who. For television schedules they instead listed a repeat of Celebrity Mastermind in the timeslot - a similar tactic was employed back in 2009 with Matt Smith's announcement, when the scheduled The Ten Doctors turned out to be a smokescreen for The Eleventh Doctor. BBC America, meanwhile, have had a repeat of The Eleventh Hour scheduled for Sunday afternoon.

Smith will also feature in Sunday's broadcast, lending advice on what it takes to play the Doctor; the show will also include interviews with Jenna Coleman and executive producer Steven Moffat, who said:

The casting process itself has been a well-kept secret, with plenty of speculation as to who will take on the role. Ben Stephenson, the Controller of BBC Drama Commissioning, commented:
As reported on Wednesday, established names such Peter Capaldi, Ben Daniels, Chris Addison, Rory Kinnear and David Harewood have all been popular choices with the betting public - though it is just as likely that a previously unconsidered name will be revealed come Sunday evening, as with Smith in 2009.

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall are to pay an official visit to the Doctor Who studios in Cardiff next month to mark the show's 50th anniversary.

It will form part of the royal couple's annual Wales Week, in which they tour the country to publicise its positive aspects.

Their diary shows that on Wednesday 3rd July they will be meeting cast and crew members of Doctor Who during a set visit to the Roath Lock studios.

A spokesman for Clarence House, which is their official residence in London, said: While they are at Roath Lock the couple will meet Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman, and will encounter some of the Doctor's enemies as well. It is not known as yet which production team members will be presented to Charles and Camilla.

This won't be the first official brush with the world of Doctor Who for the Duchess of Cornwall. While opening the West Wilts Show in Trowbridge in July 2009 she encountered a Dalek and TARDIS at a display dedicated to the programme.

Earlier this month, Coleman was presented to the Queen when the monarch officially opened the rebuilt Broadcasting House in London.

Jenna-Louise Coleman was one of the people honoured to speak to the Queen during a visit by the Monarch to the BBC's new Broadcasting House, which she officially opened today. After passing by the resident Dalek, the Queen was then introduced to the actress - next to the TARDIS!

Coleman later spoke to BBC News about her experience:
And did she ask who the next Doctor might be?
The full interview with BBC News can be watched in the United Kingdom via their website.

Doctor Who has been presented with a Peabody Award, one of the highest honours in American media.

The George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished achievement and meritorious service by broadcasters, cable and webcasters, producing organizations, and individuals. Selection is made by the Peabody Board, a 16-member panel of distinguished academics, television critics, industry practitioners and experts in culture and the arts.

The citation reads:

The award was accepted by Steven Moffat, Jenna-Louise Coleman, and Matt Smith at a ceremony in New York last night.

The longlist for this year's TV Choice Awards has been announced, with Doctor Who nominated for Best Drama Series.

It is up against 22 other shows in the category, which this year has been changed from Best Family Drama, in which the show has previously featured and won.

In addition, Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman are up for, respectively, Best Actor and Best Actress, with Smith facing challenges from - among others - David Tennant (for Broadchurch), John Simm (for The Village), Derek Jacobi (for Last Tango In Halifax), and Daniel Mays (for Mrs Biggs), while Coleman must fend off the likes of Eve Myles (Frankie), Jessica Raine (Call The Midwife), Anne Reid (Last Tango In Halifax), Lesley Sharp (Scott & Bailey), Ruth Jones (Stella), Anna Maxwell Martin (The Bletchley Circle), Olivia Colman (Broadchurch), and Suranne Jones (Scott & Bailey) as the 25 contenders in her category are whittled down.

Voting in this qualifying round of the 17th awards is open online until midnight on Friday 14th June. A shortlist - again open to public vote - will then be revealed on Tuesday 2nd July with voting open for about a week, said a spokeswoman for TV Choice, and the winners will be named at a ceremony hosted by Ben Miller at The Dorchester in London on Monday 9th September.

The show or its actors have won a TV Choice award every year since 2005 except in 2009, including Christopher Eccleston (2005) and David Tennant (2006-2008) for Best Actor and Billie Piper (2006) for Best Actress.

The video tribute to Doctor Who shown at last Sunday's TV BAFTA ceremony to mark the programme's 50th anniversary has been made available online.

The dazzling montage, which lasts 2 min 16 sec, features clips and dialogue from a multitude of adventures, and is followed by a scene inside the TARDIS where the Doctor, as played by Matt Smith, discovers a BAFTA award mask, which he likens to an Axon. He is corrected by Clara - Jenna-Louise Coleman - who takes the mask to present at the ceremony, which was hosted by Graham Norton.


Overseas readers may find the above will not play, in which case they should try this version:



The BBC Four adaptation of Room At The Top, in which Coleman starred, won the mini-series BAFTA. Other winners with Doctor Who connections were: Olivia Colman - supporting actress and female performance in a comedy programme; Sheridan Smith (companion Lucie Miller to the Eighth Doctor in the Big Finish audio dramas) - leading actress; Last Tango In Halifax, starring Derek Jacobi, Anne Reid, Sarah Lancashire, and Sacha Dhawan - drama series; Twenty Twelve, starring Hugh Bonneville, Jessica Hynes, and Olivia Colman - situation comedy; and Game of Thrones, starring Iain Glen, Harry Lloyd, and Liam Cunningham - audience award.

Next week's edition of the Radio Times (18-24 May 2013) sees Jenna-Louise Coleman grace the front cover. with the actress being featured as part of the publicity for the series finale, The Name of the Doctor.

Talking about being the public spotlight, she said:
Commenting on advice from her co-star, Matt Smith:



The full interview can be read in the new edition, out today.

Hot on the heels of the one earlier in the evening, a new publicity photo for the 50th Anniversary Special's read-through has been released, this time featuring Matt Smith and David Tennant, plus Jenna-Louise Coleman and guest star Joanna Page:

A roundup of recent media "clippings" for Doctor Who in the run-up to the series return tomorrow.

Matt Smith (The Doctor):

On his new co-star: "You’ll see on screen she’s absolutely brilliant and it’s been a joy. I’m really proud of the work we’ve done and I think it’s exciting for the character, he’s got a new lease of life somehow. Jenna’s inventive, she works tirelessly hard. I like her, which is good because you’ve got to get on. And I’m really proud of what she’s achieved and I’m pleased that it’s gone so well for her because I think she’s brilliant in it." [Yorkshire Evening Post, 27 Mar 2013]

On how they get along: "Really well. We’re good friends, actually, which is nice. It would be really rubbish if we weren’t! I guess you guys are the critics of this, but I think she has started really well. She’s immediately likeable and popular, which is a stroke of fortune. It was always going to be difficult coming in after Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill [who played Amy and Rory] because they became really loved and admired. I think she’s made it her own and she’s been inventive and brave. It’s not an easy show to waltz into. It moves at such a pace. And there’s such a fervent following and people have such clear opinions on it." [TV Choice, 30 Mar 2013]

On riding a bike around London: "It was very exciting. I am innately very clumsy, and my mother has always forbidden me from getting a motorbike. I’ve driven mopeds before, abroad and stuff, without her knowing – well, now she knows. But that’s like a big old Harley looking bike, and I wouldn’t know where to begin… It was amazing filming those scenes. It was on a rig, and we got to sort of travel round London. Car rigs are different because you’re in a car, but being on a bike it’s like you’re on a sort of fairground ride. It was a really crisp, sunny day and we kept going around Waterloo Bridge and Westminster Bridge and Waterloo Bridge and Westminster Bridge and it was just one of those days where you think ‘This is a very privileged place to be for a day at work." [SFX, 25 Mar 2013]

On the 50th Anniversary script: It sort of does what it says on the tin. You won't be disappointed. It's my cryptic way of going ... no, the thing is, much as we'd love to tell you everything, I read it and I clapped at the end. I think it's hilarious and I think it's epic and I think it's vast. I'm telling you nothing more. But you will not be disappointed. I think it's going to be the biggest, the best, the most inventive, the most exciting year for the show. And I think this script, it delivers on all those points that you want it to for where the show is at this time. It's brilliant. It somehow manages to pay homage to everything and look forward. And I think that's the mark, the genius of it." [This is Local London, 25 Mar 2013]

Matt also spoke to BBC News about the 'vast and epic' series. [BBC News (video), 18 Mar 2013]

Jenna-Louise Coleman (Clara):

On the re-appearance of Clara: "You'll see an essence in the same way there was an essence of Oswin in Christmas Clara, there was a similar essence running through them, a similar spirit. We'll see that again with this Clara." RedEye Chicago, 27 Mar 2013]

Her take on The Bells of Saint John: "I saw it at the London screening that we did last week. It just looks brilliant because it’s such a ... from shooting the show there’s so much that happens afterwards from the CGI and the music and to make the episodes kind of as epic as they are so it’s gonna be great for me to sit there as a viewer and watch them as well. I was able to just enjoy all of the pieces of like the jigsaw coming together, and also you just realize how clever Steven Moffat is and the setup of the story that we have going through, arcing through the series, of the mystery of Clara Oswald and the Doctor trying to figure out who she is. It’s set up so brilliantly from everything that we’ve done so far through Steven. So, it’s exciting." [Access Hollywood, 26 Mar 2013]

On how the relationship between the Doctor and Clara develops: "I'm sure audiences will be looking out for it, and they have an advantage, over the two characters even, because they have experienced the Christmas special, but this series is a whole new beginning again. That sounds like such an unsatisfying answer, but one of the things that is explored in this series is that there is nothing the Doctor dislikes more than something he can't solve, something he can't explain, and that's exactly what Clara is. He can't figure her out. They are drawn together, and really like each other, but there's always this underlying feeling of them both trying to figure each other out. It's not plain sailing between them both." [New Zealand Herald, 28 Mar 2013]

On how her family keeps her grounded: "My brother is a joiner, like my dad, and they came to the Doctor Who set to see me at work. He’d never been much impressed by my acting stuff before but he watched filming and said: 'You’ve got the coolest job in the world – fighting the Cybermen.' I think he’s right." [Metro, 28 Mar 2013]

On her gran's plans for Matt Smith during filming for the 50th Anniversary: "I think she's gonna come on set when we're filming the 50th, which she's very excited about. She's gonna be patting Matt a lot. Matt's her favourite Doctor." [Access Hollywood via STV, 27 Mar 2013]

Steven Moffat (lead writer):

On the role of the companion: "We never see how the Doctor began his journey. We'll probably never see how he ends it. We'll probably never know why he embarked on it, but we know all those companions, who they were before they met the Doctor, why they ran away with him, and where they ended up. Those stories are complete. The Doctor is the enigma that enters their lives and changes them. The story is always about the person who changes the most." [Examiner, 27 Mar 2013]

On Jenna-Louise Coleman: "Well, she’s terrific! The most obvious answer is that she’s a terribly good actress. I know that’s a dull thing to say, but it’s the truth. You can be as beautiful and charming as you’d like, but if you’re not terrific at acting, it will mean nothing on the screen. She’s a terrific actress. She looks great. She has great comic timing. She looks like she belongs, somehow, next to Matt Smith. When the two stand together, they look like an instant team. They have enough in common, and yet have enough sharp contrasts, that it’s an instant poster when you stand them together." [Collider, 27 Mar 2013]

Other Media Items:

Entertainment Weekly has been published with two different covers as it celebrates the return of Doctor Who this weekend. The magazine's cover story looks at how the show will celebrate its 50th Anniversary, and includes a touching tribute to the Time Lord from director Peter Jackson, who still has his eye on the Doctor: "They don’t even have to pay me! But I have got my eye on one of those nice new gold-colored Daleks. They must have a spare one (hint, hint)." [Entertainment Weekly, 21 Mar 2013]

Two associated videos have also been released, with the first featuring Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman discussing fans, whilst the second features Matt, Jenna and costume designer Howard Burden discussing the Doctor's new look. Burden commented: "When I first came into the series [on Asylum of the Daleks], we had an established look for the Doctor. As subsequent episodes came in, I was told that we could actually change the look. It was quite an intense process to actually make sure everyone was happy." [Entertainment Weekly, 22 Mar 2013]

Amongst its pages was a comment from Steven Moffat in which he said that statistically he was nearer the end than the beginning of his time on the show: "I just take it a year at a time. I think the feeling of it being done for you is quite unambiguous when it suddenly arrives.".

One name that cropped up as a potential replacement for Moffat earlier this month was that of Being Human showrunner Toby Whithouse: "I have heard the rumours. I've been hearing them for years now. In terms of my future on Doctor Who, this kind of speculation only takes place in the heads of the fans. No-one from the BBC has said anything to me. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't intrigued by the idea, but also it would be terrifying. It's definitely something I'd be really tempted by but I'm genuinely not in any hurry to do it." [SFX via Metro, 11 Mar 2013]

The Sun reported that they believed Matt Smith would be leaving the show at Christmas, with their 'sources' suggesting the BBC already had someone in mind to replace him. However, the BBC have stated: "Sorry folks but even we don’t know what's going to happen at Christmas. It's not been written yet! But Matt loves the show and is to start filming the unmissable 50th anniversary, and the new series starting on Easter Saturday." [The Sun, 22 Mar 2013]

The report came after Matt's appearance on The Jonathan Ross Show, where he said: "Doctor Who is one of of those jobs that you have to take year by year, it's ten months a year, it's all-consuming, so I don’t think you can plan five or six years ahead, or even two years ahead. It's a year by year thing, and at the moment it’s 2013 and we’ll see what 2014 holds."

The BBC statement didn't stop the Sun from polling readers for who they'd like to see next as the Doctor, with their results citing Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch as the favourite; the runners up were previous Doctor David Tennant, and comedy actor James Corden (who played Craig in the series). [The Sun, 24 Mar 2013]

Other Magazine Covers:

Some other covers prominently featuring the series return:

A number of clips from the BBC and BBC America have been released to promote Saturday's The Bells of Saint John, joining those that have already been released earlier this week:

Interviews:

ITV's entertainment correspondent Richard Arnold spoke to Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman on this morning's Daybreak, chatting about the return of the series, the character relationships, and what might happen in the 50th Anniversary:
The interviews can be watched in the UK via the ITV Player until the 3rd April (last segment of the show).


Matt Smith was interviewed at London's Apple Store about the series return; this is available to listen to for free via iTunes. Jenna-Louise Coleman made an appearance on the Craig Ferguson show on the 18th March (search YouTube), and has recorded three segments with Access Hollywood on getting ready for the 50th Anniversary. flirting and kissing with the Doctor, and working with Matt Smith. An interview with Steven Moffat was conducted by Ed Stradling for the Gallifrey One convention in February, in which he talks(ish) about the eight episodes coming up, the 50th Anniversary and An Adventure in Space and Time.