Doctor Who News, Articles, Cast and Crew Interviews

[Angela V]

The costume has grown on me a little.... Though the very first time I saw it I just could not resist the urge to say "nanu nanu" to the screen. Mork would have made a good companion.

My 13 year old daughter is going to squeal over the spenders. She has several sets herself.

[Alan]

My 13 year old daughter is going to squeal over the spenders. She has several sets herself.

That's wonderful to hear. I don't know if your daughter is a Doctor Who fan or not but hopefully Jodie's incarnation of the Doctor will get plenty of variations of her costume including plenty of different suspenders...or braces as we call them here in the UK...that will continue to make your daughter squeal.

[Alan]

January 9th, 2018
Doctor Who Brand and Licensing Update

http://merchandise.thedoctorwhosite....ensing-update/

Information and text from the January 2018 edition of toy world magazine

BBC Worldwide With over 55 years of history as the world’s longest running sci-fi television show, Doctor Who is a global franchise, watched in over 239 countries and with hundreds of millions of fans worldwide. At the heart of the franchise is the highly anticipated launch of Doctor Who Series 11.

The regeneration of the Doctor in the 2017 Christmas episode, as well as last year’s revelations about the new series, engaged with fans across the globe, as it was unveiled that Jodie Whittaker will play the first female Doctor in the show’s history. 2018 marks a true regeneration for the franchise, with a five year evergreen strategy built around a commitment to a solid content pipeline, delivered through platforms relevant to the BBC’s audiences.

The BBC will continue to work with world class partners, building an expansive digital and ancillary strategy and key annual marketing moments to create audience engagement. These strategies will grow youth audiences, engage families with young children, and deepen the property’s relationship with existing fans as the Doctor Who universe continues to expand. Doctor Who has a proven track-record in consumer products with over 4m Sonic Screwdrivers sold in the past decade, over 12m action figures sold since 2005, and over 18m DVDs sold globally.

As the Doctor embarks on a new era, the company states that current licensees are continuing to innovate and create future-facing products that will reflect the new series and reach wider audiences.

BBC Worldwide has cross-category ambition for the brand, driving category roll out across retail to expand the brand’s retail footprint. Nearly 70 longstanding, global licensees are working on Doctor Who, including Character Options as master toy licensee, Penguin Random House, Winning Moves, Eaglemoss, Kokomo and Brand Alliance.

The licensing team has also seen renewed interest in the brand from new partners across new categories, and in new retailers in new territories.

In addition there is an advert with the following information…

• New Doctor, Companions and Adventures
• More than 11 hours of new content in Autumn 2018
• New Evergreen Styleguide and Licensing programme

For licensing enquiries, contact [email protected]

[Alan]

Eighth Doctor Paul McGann returns for a new four-part Doctor Who saga
By Cameron McEwan on Tuesday 9 January 2018

http://www.doctorwho.tv/whats-new/ar...octor-who-saga



Big Finish have announced details of a new four-part audio series for the Eighth Doctor starting in Aprl 2018. Ravenous features Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor, with some familiar faces from the past, over the course of an impressive four box sets.



Pre-order Ravenous here.

The Doctor will cross multiple timelines, and meet old acquaintances and familiar foes in these adventures, including ally Sir Winston Churchill (with Ian McNiece reprising his role from the Eleventh Doctor era) and the return of a classic villain from 1988's The Happiness Patrol, the Kandyman (played by Nicholas Rowe, recently seen in The Crown with former Doctor Matt Smith).

Check out the trailer and details of Ravenous below.

Ravenous

“We are the forgotten women, Helen. Ignored. Put down. Never allowed to prove our worth. And yet together… together… we can be the most important people in history.”

Their Finest Hour by John Dorney
How to Make a Killing in Time Travel by John Dorney
World of Damnation by Matt Fitton
Sweet Salvation by Matt Fitton

Following the events of Doctor Who: Doom Coalition, Gallifrey, the universe and Time itself had been saved, but at great cost.

The Doctor lost one of his companions. Helen Sinclair (Hattie Morahan), an academic from 1960s England, was left trapped in time and space with the Eleven (Mark Bonnar), a mad, homicidal Time Lord retaining the personalities of his previous multiple regenerations. Now, the Eighth Doctor (Paul McGann), joined by Liv Chenka (Nicola Walker), must hunt through time and space to find their former companion.

The guest cast of Ravenous, pictured below.



Ravenous 1 will be available from April 2018 – pre-order here.
Check out the Big FInish site for bundle deals.

[Alan]

Doctor Who Magazine 521
Tuesday, 09 January, 2018 - Reported by Chuck Foster

http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2018/01...118183008.html

The next issue of Doctor Who Magazine is out this Thursday, and features Jodie Whittaker in her first cover since becoming the new Doctor on screen! Talking about the choice of clothing for the character, the actress said:

There is no other job in the world like this. The very first meeting (with costume designer Ray Holman) was all very secret and incognito. As we were talking I was completely distracted by the colour of the wallpaper behind us. I told Roy I absolutely loved that colour, and that’s the colour of the trousers.

The issue also sees new lead writer Chris Chibnall looking forward to a new era:

What’s evident is Doctor Who’s extraordinary ability to embrace change while remaining exactly the same show that people love.

Other highlights include:

• RACHEL TALALAY: The director of Twice Upon a Time on the filming of Peter Capaldi and Jodie Whittaker’s regeneration scene.
• TWICE UPON A TIME: Exclusive set report and unseen images from the 2017 Christmas Special.
• WHO IS JOHN SMITH? The fan turned visual effects pro who worked on the Twelfth Doctor’s final adventures.
• DUDLEY SIMPSON: Tributes to the composer who wrote some of Doctor Who’s best-loved scores.
• TARDIS BUILDING: A first-hand account of how the 1960s TARDIS prop was recreated for Twice Upon a Time.
• MEET THE DR MEN: Writer and illustrator Adam Hargreaves explains how his Mr Men entered the world of Doctor Who.
• THE FACE OF EVIL: The Fact of Fiction explores the 1977 story that introduced the Fourth Doctor’s companion Leela.
• THE PHANTOM PIPER: Part Three of The Phantom Piper, a new comic strip adventure featuring the Twelfth Doctor and Bill.

PLUS... The Blogs of Doom, previews, reviews, news, the DWM Christmas Quiz answers and prize-winning competitions!

[Alan]

New Doctor Who photos offer fresh glimpse at Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor costume
New pictures have emerged of the eagerly-anticipated new Time Lord - and she's looking a little different this time – UPDATED



Thursday, 11th January 2018 at 10:30 am

Full article here: http://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/20...ostume-photos/

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Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor Who earring might be hiding some secrets
A new picture of the Thirteenth Doctor gives us a better look at her new accessory




By Huw Fullerton
Thursday, 11th January 2018 at 12:02 pm

Full article here: http://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/20...rings-costume/

[Alan]

Chris Chibnall reveals Steven Moffat’s warning when he was first offered the Doctor Who job
As opening gambits go, it’s a good one...

http://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/20...octor-who-job/

By Huw Fullerton
Friday, 12th January 2018 at 2:36 pm

It’s fair to say that this autumn’s series of Doctor Who is one of the most eagerly-anticipated in years, with fans desperate to learn everything they can about new Thirteenth Doctor Jodie Whittaker and her first adventures in the Tardis.

However, it turns out that finding out things about the new series might be especially difficult in 2018 – because new showrunner Chris Chibnall has revealed he’s working hard to keep Doctor Who production even more under wraps now that he’s taken over.

• Everything we know about Jodie Whittaker in Doctor Who
• New Doctor Who photos offer fresh glimpse at Jodie Whittaker’s costume
• Jodie Whittaker reveals why she kept her own accent for Doctor Who

“The Thirteenth Doctor is here, and we can tell you everything,” Chibnall wrote in Doctor Who Magazine’s regular Production Notes column, previously penned by showrunner predecessors Steven Moffat and Russell T Davies. “Although, of course, we’d rather not – for now.

“We’d rather keep things for when we can show you, rather than tell you. So if we don’t announce much, or give interviews for a while, it’s because we’re currently focusing all our attention on making the show, not talking about it.”

Still, Chibnall didn’t hold all his cards to his chest, revealing exactly what Steven Moffat said to get him to take over the top job as well as his own trepidation and excitement at working on the new series.

“Let me think of something I can tell you,” Chibnall said. “How about the words Steven Moffat used, when he broached the question of whether I’d want to take over the greatest show on television?

“He said: ‘I’m sorry, but I’m about to derail your life.’ As opening gambits go, it’s a good one. And. As it turns out, true.

“Now, you’re probably either excited or worried about the future – maybe both,” he went on.

“‘If it’s any consolation, that combination of excitement and concern is also the natural state of making the show: excited about what you’re planning, concerned how you’ll achieve it.”

Chibnall finished by paying tribute to Doctor Who’s legacy of change, casting Whittaker’s status as the first female incarnation of the Doctor just one more step in that grand legacy.

“What’s evident is Doctor Who’s extraordinary ability to embrace change while remaining exactly the same show that people love,” he said.

“Doctor Who wrote change into its format from the start, going from location to location and story to story. Then it wrote change into the DNA of its lead character!

“It’s always looking forward, asking ‘What’s next?’ That’s the job, for me, for the writers, for the production team, for Jodie and all our new cast.

“That’s our challenge, and we’re loving it. It is so much fun,” he concluded.

We can hardly wait to see that fun explode on screen – even if we have to hold off a little longer than usual before we find out what’s happening.

Doctor Who returns to BBC1 this autumn, while the latest issue of Doctor Who magazine is on sale now

[Alan]

Steven Moffat On Matt Smith's Era, Writing The 50th Anniversary & MORE! - Doctor Who: The Fan Show
Doctor Who
Published on 17 Jan 2018

Christel Dee talks to Steven Moffat about becoming showrunner, the Eleventh Doctor's era and writing the 50th anniversary The Day of the Doctor in the second instalment of this three-part interview.

Subscribe for more exclusive videos: http://bit.ly/SubscribeToDoctorWho

WATCH MORE DOCTOR WHO:
The Thirteenth Doctor: http://bit.ly/TheThirteenthDoctor
The Twelfth Doctor: http://bit.ly/TheTwelfthDoctor
The Aftershow: http://bit.ly/DWTheAftershowS10

STEVEN MOFFAT'S FINAL INTERVIEW - PART TWO
This is the second instalment of a three part interview looking back at Steven Moffat's time on Doctor Who. Steven has been writing for Doctor Who since 2004 (The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances, The Girl In The Fireplace, Blink, Silence In The Library/The Forest of the Dead) and between 2010 and 2017 he was the show runner responsible for the Eleventh and Twelfth Doctor (Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi) eras of the show, as well as penning the 50th anniversary special The Day of the Doctor, introducing John Hurt as the War Doctor.

CREDITS:
Produced by Chris Allen Presented and edited by Christel Dee
Shot by George Shankster
Doctor Who: The Fan Show theme is composed and performed by Blair Mowat.

MORE ABOUT DOCTOR WHO:
Welcome to the home of Doctor Who on YouTube! Travel in the TARDIS with clips dating back to the Doctor's first incarnation in 1963, all the way through dozens of regenerations, from the latest clips of the Peter Capaldi era to the announcement of Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor. Including behind-the-scenes footage, exclusive videos and our very own show Doctor Who: The Fan Show - this is the place to find all the best official clips from all 54 years of Doctor Who history. Subscribe for more: http://bit.ly/SubscribeToDoctorWho

[Alan]

David Fisher 1929-2018
Thursday, 11 January, 2018 - Reported by Marcus

http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2018/01...1929-2018.html

The writer David Fisher has died at the age of 88.

David Fisher wrote four Doctor Who stories, all starring the Fourth Doctor Tom Baker.

His first contribution to the series came in 1978 when he wrote two stories in the Key to Time season. The first, The Stones of Blood, was a Hammeresque story featuring blood eating rocks. It won praise for its depiction of strong female characters including Professor Rumford played by Beatrix Lehmann.

He wrote the following story The Androids of Tara, a story inspired by the Anthony Hope novel The Prisoner of Zenda.

In 1979 he returned to the series with the story The Creature from the Pit. He was also working on a story for this series called A Gamble with Time, but for personal reasons had to relinquish the story and hand it on to Script editor Douglas Adams to finish what became the widely acclaimed story City of Death.

His final contribution was for the season eighteen opener The Leisure Hive.

David Fisher's other work for television has included writing for Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense, Hammer House of Horror, The Mackinnons, General Hospital, Crown Court, Sutherland's Law, The Lotus Eaters, Crime of Passion, The Troubleshooters, Dixon of Dock Green, This Man Craig and Orlando.

David Fisher was born 13th April 1929. He died on the 10th January 2018.

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Peter Wyngarde 1927-2018
Thursday, 18 January, 2018 - Reported by Marcus

http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2018/01...1927-2018.html

The actor Peter Wyngarde has died at the age of 90.

Peter Wyngarde was best known for playing Jason King, the bestselling novelist turned sleuth who appeared in the British television series Department S and Jason King, inspiring the Mike Myers character Austin Powers. He appeared in the 1984 Doctor Who story Planet of Fire playing Timanov the devout religious leader of the planet Sarn.

Peter Wyngarde's origins are shrouded in mystery with the actor himself giving different accounts of his parents and birthplace. He is believed to have been born in France in the late 1920's, with 1927 being the most authoritative date. He grew up in the far east and during World War II was interned in the Lunghua internment camp in Shanghai, set up by the Japanese for European and American citizens living in the city.

After the war, he sailed to the United Kingdom on the Cunard White Star Line vessel the Arawa, arriving in Southampton at the age of 18.

After briefly studying law he joined an advertising agency and in 1946 won his first professional role in the theatre. One of his earliest roles was a production of Noël Coward's Present Laughter at the Theatre Royal, Birmingham.

His first television appearance was a bit part in the 1949 production of Dick Barton Strikes Back. He soon graduated to leading roles playing John the Baptist in the 1956 version of Jesus of Nazareth and Sydney Carton in A Tale of Two Cities.

In 1959 he played Lt Jan Wicziewsky in South one of the earliest gay-themed British TV dramas. the play came just two years after the Wolfenden Report, when homosexuality was still very much a taboo subject, making Wyngarde’s impassioned performance all the more extraordinary.

In 1969 Wyngarde won the role that would make him a household name in the espionage series Department S. He played the suave womaniser Jason King, a character so popular that he was spun off into his own action espionage series Jason King, which ran for one season of 26 fifty-minute episodes. The series enjoyed global success with Wyngarde briefly becoming an international celebrity.

During the seventies, he has a succession of smaller roles on television. in 1973 he played the King of Siam in a revival of the musical The King and I at London's Adelphi Theatre. In 1980 he appeared as the masked character Klytus in the film Flash Gordon.

In 1984 he made his appearance in Doctor Who playing Timanov. He wanted to play the part in heavy disguise but was persuaded by producer John Nathan Turner to show his face.

Wyngarde virtually retired from acting after a throat infection forced his withdrawal from a stage production of The Cabinet of Dr Caligari. His public appearances were mainly restricted to Memorabilia events.

Peter Wyngarde died at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London on 15 January 2018.

[Alan]

Does this new piece of information mean an extra episode of Doctor Who this year?
An Eleventh Hour? Jodie Whittaker’s first series might have more to show than we first thought…

http://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/20...ode-series-11/

By Huw Fullerton
Friday, 19th January 2018 at 4:39 pm

When Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor Who companions were announced to the world last year, new showrunner Chris Chibnall also dropped another tantalising piece of information – the official structure of the new series.

Season 11 of Doctor Who will consist of one 60-minute opener followed by nine 50-minute episodes, making a total of ten parts.

Although that makes each instalment at least five minutes longer than in previous runs some fans, used to 12-13 entries in recent years, grumbled at the reduction in episodes.

But perhaps things aren’t as bad as they at first seemed. Because some new information has emerged suggesting that there might actually be more Doctor Who this year than we were expecting.

In an official advert inside industry publication Toy World Magazine, BBC Worldwide has placed a full-page tease (on page 69) for future Doctor Who tie-in merchandise that promises “More than 11 hours of new content in Autumn 2018,” far more than we were expecting.

• Douglas Adams and his mad year of Doctor Who
• Steven Moffat reveals his plans for Doctor Who had David Tennant stayed
• Doctor Who and Department S actor Peter Wyngarde dies aged 90

Even allowing for the fact that the series 11 premiere will run for a full hour, the amount of time allocated for the new episodes is only eight and a half hours, so where are the other two and a half or so coming from? The BBC are remaining typically tight-lipped – but there are a number of possible answers.

For example, it could be the case that this extra time includes a Christmas special, the likes of which Doctor Who has aired yearly since the series returned to TV in 2005. Now, there had been some speculation that there would be no festive episode this year due to it not having been mentioned in the series announcement, but for production reasons Who-letide adventures are sometimes included as part of the series order for the following year, which could explain its absence from discussion thus far.

So maybe an hour-long Christmas special is coming after all. Then again, that still wouldn’t account for all the extra time, and its arguable whether an air date of 25th December would count as coming in “Autumn 2018”.

So what else could account for the extra time? Certainly, some of it could come from an extended series finale, which isn’t a rule (and wasn’t suggested in the initial announcement) but has become fairly common in recent years. Alternatively, the number of episodes or their length could have changed somehow, which is technically possible but seems extremely improbable.

More likely, the 11-plus hours includes the likes of tie-in online videos, be they short “prequel” scenes setting the tone of the episode, spin-off sketches like the Pond Life miniseries that accompanied the 2012 series (and, perhaps not entirely coincidentally, was written by Chibnall) or perhaps even behind-the-scenes offerings in the vein of Doctor Who Confidential and Doctor Who Extra.

If we had 15-minute behind-the-scenes videos for every single episode that would provide more than the missing two and a half hours. It could even be that tie-in YouTube series like the Doctor Who Fan Show (which interviews cast members and writers after the episodes) count towards this runtime, all adding up to the series length we were expecting but with a few online accoutrements.

Of course, until more announcements are made we can’t know for sure one way or the other – but in our heart of hearts, we know we’re all secretly hoping there’s a secret extra episode hidden in there somewhere. After all, only Doctor Who could have a series that’s secretly bigger on the inside…

Doctor Who returns to BBC1 this Autumn

[DigiFluid]

At a guess, I suspect that means 10 regular episodes plus a Christmas special.

[Coco Pops]

Why did the TARDIS just throw the Doctor out like that?

Has the old girl had enough of being trashed by the Doctor during a regeneration? If I were the TARDIS I'be be pretty peed off.

[Alan]

Doctor Who fans can win tickets to watch the new series premiere and meet Jodie Whittaker

They just have to answer one simple question…

http://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/20...die-whittaker/




ByHuw Fullerton
Thursday, 25th January 2018 at 12:23 pm

Fancy meeting Thirteenth Doctor Jodie Whittaker and watching her very first episode at a special preview screening later this year?

Then you’d best get ready to enter a new BBC Radio 1 competition that ends tomorrow and offers two VIP tickets to the series 11 premiere (and the aforementioned time with Whittaker) as the next prize.

Called Jan Slam, the competition is part of Nick Grimshaw’s Breakfast Show and requires fans to answer a simple multiple choice question – in this case, about the Doctor’s signature device – before texting the right answer to a set phone number before tomorrow morning (Friday 26^th January). You can enter the competition here.

Having entered, they’ll then have to listen to tomorrow’s Breakfast Show from 8am, when Grimshaw will reveal a code word that will have to be spoken by the winner when the BBC call them up.

Still, despite all the rigmarole it’s definitely a prize worth winning, and we’re betting BBC Radio 1 will be getting a LOT of texts today even though we still don’t know exactly when Doctor Who will be back on TV. Keep your diaries clear, fans!

Doctor Who returns to BBC1 this autumn

[BruTak]

For those of us in the UK able to receive STV2, they're showing "Doctor Who and the Daleks" tomorrow morning at 10:05am.

[Alan]

Jeremy Wilkin 1930-2017
Monday, 29 January, 2018 - Reported by Marcus

http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2018/01...1930-2017.html

The actor Jeremy Wilkin has died at the age of 87.

Jeremy Wilkin played Professor Kellman in the 1975 Doctor Who television story Revenge of the Cybermen.

He was best known for his extensive work with Gerry Anderson, providing the voice for many characters, including Virgil Tracy in Thunderbirds, Captain Ochre and Captain Black in Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, and many characters in the series Joe 90 and The Secret Service.

He was a recurring cast member for the live-action series UFO playing Skydiver Navigator Lt. Gordon Maxwell.

Jeremy Wilkin was born in Byfleet, Surrey and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

He lived in Canada for many years establishing a career as a television actor appearing in series such as Encounter, Cannonball, and Folio.

He returned to the UK in the mid-sixties appearing the ITV fantasy series Undermind as Drew Heriot, a personnel manager inadvertently drawn into a sinister plot to control human minds and sow discord in society.

After coming to the attention of producer Gerry Anderson he was engaged to take over the role of Virgil Tracy for the second series of Thunderbirds following the departure of the character's original voice actor, David Holliday. It was the start of a long relationship with the studios.

As well as his appearance in Doctor Who he had a memorable appearance in the first episode of Blake’s 7 playing Dev Tarrant, the man who betrayed Blake.

In the 1980's he appeared as Nat Kinsley in the BBC series County Hall as well as roles in Reilly: Ace of Spies, the Secret Army spin-off Kessler and in the Yorkshire TV series Number 10.

Jeremy Wilkin died on 19th December 2017.