Doctor Who News, Articles, Cast and Crew Interviews

[Alan]

Neil Patrick Harris Joins Doctor Who
Monday, 13 June 2022 - Reported by Marcus

https://www.doctorwhonews.net/2022/0...octor_who.html

The BBC has confirmed that American actor Neil Patrick Harris is to join the cast of Doctor Who.

The actor is currently filming scenes that will be shown as part of Doctor Who's 60th Anniversary year in 2023.

Russell T Davies, Showrunner said

It’s my huge honour to open our studio doors for the mighty Neil Patrick Harris… but who, why, what is he playing? You’ll just have to wait. But I promise you, the stuff we’re shooting now is off the scale. Doctor beware!

Harris first became known for playing the title character on the ABC series Doogie Howser, M.D. which aired from 1989 until 1993.

He later worked in Hollywood and Broadway winning a Tony Award and five Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his guest appearance on the musical series Glee
Last year he appeared in the first episode of Davies's Channel 4 drama about gay life in the 1980s It's a Sin.

[Alan]

Doctor Who Magazine: Issue 579
Thursday, 23 June 2022 - Reported by Marcus

https://www.doctorwhonews.net/2022/0...issue_579.html

The latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine tells the inside story of the return of David Tennant and Catherine Tate to Doctor Who

Highlights of the new issue include:

• An exclusive from Russell T Davies, Doctor Who’s incoming showrunner, on the return of David Tennant and Catherine Tate to the series.
• Newly released documents reveal the details behind the classification certificates of Doctor Who videos in the 1980s and 90s.
• Robert Sidaway, who played Avon in The Savages (1966) and Captain Jimmy Turner in The Invasion (1968), talks about his Doctor Who roles for the first time.
• The friends, colleagues and admirers of Verity Lambert pay tribute to Doctor Who’s first producer.
• Authors James Moran and Rona Munro discuss their forthcoming Target books, The Fires of Pompeii and The Eaters of Light.
• Writer Juno Dawson and producer Ella Watts on the making of the acclaimed podcast series Doctor Who: Redacted.
• Visual effects designer Paul Mann recalls the making of Timelash (1985) with the help of previously unseen photos from his collection.
• Chris Cassell and Justin T Lee explain how the special effects of Timelash have been newly enhanced for the Season 22 Blu-ray box set.
• Fear of the Future, a brand-new comic strip adventure for the Doctor, Yaz and Dan.
• The Fact of Fiction uncovers the hidden secrets of 1985’s Vengeance on Varos.
• Apocrypha revisits the seminal 1993 New Adventures novel Deceit.
• Previews, reviews, news, prize-winning competitions, Time and Space Visualiser, Sufficient Data and more.

Doctor Who Magazine Issue 579 is on sale now from panini.co.uk and WH Smith priced £6.99 (UK).
Also available as a digital edition from pocketmags.com priced £5.99.

[Alan]

David Warner 1941-2022
Monday, 25 July 2022 - Reported by Marcus

https://www.doctorwhonews.net/2022/0...1941_2022.html

The actor David Warner has died at the age of 80.

David Warner was well known for his many appearances in film and television during a career spanning 60 years.

He appeared in Doctor Who in 2013 playing Professor Grisenko alongside Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor in the story Cold War. In 2009 he lent his vocal talents to the series playing Lord Azlok in the animated Tenth Doctor story Dreamland, as well as playing many roles for Big Finish.

Warner also made many appearances in the Star Trek franchise appearing in the films Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, and the Star Trek: The Next Generation two-part Chain of Command episode.

David Warner was born in Manchester in the North West of England in July 1941. He trained as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.

His professional debut came in 1962 at the Royal Court Theatre playing Snout, in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. He joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1963 playing many roles including Hamlet.

His film debut was in 1963 playing Blifi in Tom Jones, while early television roles included playing alongside Bob Dylan in the play Madhouse on Castle Street. He became known for playing villains including in films such as The Thirty Nine Steps, Time After Time, Time Bandits, Tron and Hanna's War.

In 1976 he played opposite Gregory Peck in The Omen, where he played photographer Keith Jennings, one of a number of appearances in horror films.

Other roles included parts in The Ballad of Cable Hogue, Straw Dogs, Cross of Iron, Holocaust, A Christmas Carol, Portrait in Evil, Titanic, and Mary Poppins Returns.

David Warner died on Sunday at Denville Hall, a care home for people in the entertainment industry.
His family confirmed his death in a statement.

Over the past 18 months, he approached his diagnosis with characteristic grace and dignity,
He will be missed hugely by us, his family, and friends, and remembered as a kind-hearted, generous, and compassionate man, partner, and father, whose legacy of extraordinary work has touched the lives of so many over the years.

Warner is survived by his partner Lisa Bowerman, his son Luke and daughter-in-law Sarah.

[Alan]

Bernard Cribbins 1928-2022
Thursday, 28 July 2022 - Reported by Marcus

https://www.doctorwhonews.net/2022/0...1928_2022.html

The actor Bernard Cribbins, one of the most beloved actors of his generation, has died at the age of 93.
Bernard Cribbins played Wilfred Mott, the grandfather of Donna Noble, in the fourth series of Doctor Who. He appeared in the 1966 Movie version of Doctor Who, Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. playing Tom Campbell

Former Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies, who cast Cribbins in the series, led the tributes to the actor.

He knew everyone! He’d talk about the Beatles and David Niven, and how he once sat on the stairs at a party impersonating bird calls with T H White. Then he’d add, I said to Ashley Banjo last week…
He loved being in Doctor Who. He said, ‘Children are calling me grandad in the street!’ His first day was on location with Kylie Minogue, but all eyes, even Kylie’s, were on Bernard. He’d turned up with a suitcase full of props, just in case, including a rubber chicken.

And what an actor. Oh, really though, what a wonderful actor. We once took him to the TV Choice Awards and sent him up on his own to collect the award, and the entire room stood up and cheered him. That’s a lovely memory.

He’d phone up and say, ‘I’ve got an idea! What if I attack a Dalek with a paintball gun?!’ Okay, Bernard, in it went!

He loved Gill with all his heart; he mentioned her in every conversation we ever had. A love story for the ages. I’m so lucky to have known him.

Thanks for everything, my old soldier.

A legend has left the world.

Bernard Cribbins began his professional career at the age of 14 as a student at the Oldham Repertory Theatre, remaining there for eight years with a break to do his National service in the Parachute Regiment! From Oldham, he went onto work in rep at Manchester, Liverpool and Hornchurch.

His first West End appearance was in 1956 at the Arts Theatre playing the two Gromios in A Comedy of Errors; this was followed by leading roles in the West End.

He co-starred in the revue And Another Thing at the Fortune Theatre His recording of a song from the show entitled Folksong reached Number One.

This chart success prompted the release of two more comic songs Hole in the Ground and Right Said Fred, both of which reached the Top Ten. Cribbins was incredibly proud that the former was chosen by Noël Coward as one of his Desert Island Discs

His long Television career began in 1956 in The Black Tulip followed by playing Thomas Traddles in David Copperfield.

Very quickly Cribbins became known for comic character acting with appearances in three Carry-On films.
His most famous movie role is often considered to be that of Albert Perks in the 1970 version of The Railway Children.

Regular appearances on the BBC series Jackanory endeared Cribbins to a whole generation of children, who had the delight of Cribbins reading out such stories as The Wind in the Willows, The Hobbit and The Emperor's New Clothes. He appeared in 114 episodes of the series, more than any other presenter.

His bond with children was cemented by his voice work on the animated series The Wombles, where his gentle storytelling enchanted generations of all ages.

Cribbins would often appear as a guest artist in well-known series, Appearances in The Avengers and Coronation Street were followed by a show-stealing appearance in Fawlty Towers.

His first link with Doctor Who came in 1966. He was cast as Tom Campbell in the big screen version of The Dalek Invasion of Earth. He was playing the role played by William Russell in the TV series, alongside Peter Cushing as Doctor Who. It was a masterful performance full of comedy and pathos.

It would be nearly 40 years before he made his debut on the television version of Doctor Who. He was cast as Wilf in the 2007 Christmas special Voyage of the Damned. It was a small role and expected to be a one-off. However, the character was so successful he was brought back in the 2008 series and given a back story as Donna Noble's Grandfather. He appeared in six episodes in the series cementing his place in Doctor Who history. His role in the Tenth Doctor's swan song The End of Time was vital, providing the reason for the Doctor's regeneration.

Cribbins worked well into his 90's including many appearances in the CBeebies series Old Jack’s Boat.

Cribbins was married to Gillian McBarnet in 1955 until her death last October. In 2011 he received the OBE for services to drama.

Bernard Cribbins's death was announced by his agent this morning.

[planet_tv]

Matt Smith Praises Ncuti Gatwa as New ‘Doctor Who’: ‘The Most Sensational Bit of Casting’

[planet_tv]

‘Doctor Who Am I’ Documentary About BBC Time Lord Snapped Up by Kaleidoscope Film Distribution (EXCLUSIVE)

[planet_tv]

Ncuti Gatwa to Start Filming First ‘Doctor Who’ Season This November (Exclusive)

[Alan]

Doctor Who: The Collection - Season 2
Tuesday, 16 August 2022 - Reported by Marcus

https://www.doctorwhonews.net/2022/0..._season_2.html

BBC Studios have revealed that the next Blu-ray Doctor Who: The Collection will feature Season 2, the second season starring William Hartnell as the First Doctor.

Debuting later this year this collection is the biggest release yet and features a limited edition nine-disc box.

Doctor Who – The Collection: Season 2

PLANET OF GIANTS
THE DALEK INVASION OF EARTH
THE RESCUE
THE ROMANS
THE WEB PLANET
THE CRUSADE
THE SPACE MUSEUM
THE CHASE
THE TIME MEDDLER

Across a season of 37 episodes originally shown in 1964 and 1965,, the Doctor is joined by companions Susan (Carole Ann Ford), Ian (William Russell), Barbara (Jacqueline Hill), Vicki (Maureen O’Brien) and Steven (Peter Purves).

Together they face off against the dreaded Daleks, the marauding Mechonoids, the ant-like Zarbi and the meddling Monk, while visiting fantastic alien worlds and turbulent times in the Earth’s history.

The missing two episodes of The Crusade have been reconstructed using off-air photographs and the original broadcast soundtrack, while the remaining episodes have been newly remastered from the best available sources.

This nine-disc box set also includes hours of special features previously released on DVD including Documentaries, Featurettes, Audio Commentaries, Overseas Soundtracks and more.

THREE BRAND NEW DOCUMENTARIES
Including an overview of Season 2, Flight Through Eternity
a look at 1960s collectibles in Doctor Who and The Collectors,
and a deep dive into the life and career of story editor David Whitaker in Looking For David.

IN CONVERSATION
Two exclusive insightful feature-length interviews, with William Russell and Maureen O’Brien.

BEHIND THE SOFA
Six new episodes with companions Maureen O’Brien, Peter Purves, Carole Ann Ford,Janet Fielding (Tegan), Wendy Padbury (Zoe), Sarah Sutton (Nyssa),Bonnie Langford (Melanie) and Sophie Aldred (Ace).

EXCLUSIVE AUDIO COMMENTARY
Learn about the recovery of The Lion, a missing episode that was returned in 1999, with three of the heroes responsible for its return.

CONVENTION FOOTAGE
A rare chance to hear from actors Jacqueline Hill and Adrienne Hill (Katarina) alongside Michael Craze (Ben) and Carole Ann Ford.

EXCLUSIVE ENHANCED SOUNDTRACK
Watch The Dalek Invasion of Earth with an optional enhanced soundtrack.

HD PHOTO GALLERIES
Including many previously unseen images.

INFO TEXT
Behind-the-scenes information and trivia on every episode.

PDF ARCHIVE
Including scripts, exclusive unseen BBC production files and other rarities

The Boxset is available for pre-order on Amazon

The Storyteller | The Collection: Season 2 Announcement Trailer | Doctor Who

[cosmichobo]

It's great to see a 1st Doctor season getting the Collection treatment.

Shame they couldn't fork out for the 2 missing episodes to be cartooned... should have happened historically, not sure why it wasn't, as it met their "max of 2" criteria... I appreciate the math is no doubt very different now it's a whole season in a box for only twice the cost of a traditional DVD release... (well, 2.5x)

Season 3 is going to be a huge "problem" with so much destroyed material... so little represented.

I hope they do something better for Marco Polo when it gets released than the 30min recon that was included on (? Aztecs dvd?).

[cosmichobo]

And we're all hanging out now waiting for news on the official date of Jodie's last story, and the title...

[Alan]

The Power of the Doctor - finale date confirmed
Saturday, 8 October 2022 - Reported by Chuck Foster

https://www.doctorwhonews.net/2022/1...confirmed.html

The BBC has confirmed that Doctor Who’s feature length centenary special - The Power of the Doctor– will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Sunday 23rd October. This episode is the last of three specials that aired this year, and will mark Jodie Whittaker’s final adventure as the Thirteenth Doctor.

Action-adventure in space and time for all the family, starring Jodie Whittaker, Mandip Gill, John Bishop, Sophie Aldred, Janet Fielding and Sacha Dhawan. In this feature-length Special to mark her last adventure, Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor must fight for her very existence, against her deadliest enemies: the Daleks, the Cybermen and her arch-nemesis, the Master.

Who is attacking a speeding bullet train on the edges of a distant galaxy? Why are seismologists going missing from 21st century Earth? Who is defacing some of history’s most iconic paintings? Why is a Dalek trying to make contact with the Doctor? And just what hold does the mesmeric Rasputin have over Tsar Nicholas in 1916 Russia?

The Doctor faces multiple threats…and a battle to the death.

The Power of the Doctor trailer on YouTube

Images from the episode:

[cosmichobo]

It's like... Dan is there... and then just - no where...

[Alan]

Thirteenth Doctor’s Final Battles Get Special Blu-ray Release
Monday, 10 October 2022 - Reported by Marcus

https://www.doctorwhonews.net/2022/1...ial_blu_r.html

The Thirteen Doctor’s final battles to be marked with a special home entertainment releases

Jodie Whittaker’s final three episodes as The Doctor will be available for fans to add to their collections this November.

Fans have two options to commemorate the Thirteenth Doctor’s final battles. A standalone release of the regeneration episode, The Power of the Doctor will be available on DVD and Blu-ray, or alternatively a limited-edition Blu-ray Steelbook made up of the three Series 13 specials, Eve of the Daleks, Legend of the Sea Devils and The Power of the Doctor.

The Power of the Doctor (DVD & Blu-ray), to be transmitted later this month, sees the Thirteenth Doctor take on her deadliest enemies in her final battle. The DVD and Blu-ray includes bonus materials:

• The Power of the Doctor – Behind the Scenes
• A farewell to Jodie Whittaker and Mandip Gill
• Audio commentary

Doctor Who The Series 13 Specials (Blu-ray Steelbook) consists of the three specials that have aired on TV in 2022. The Steelbook includes bespoke never seen before artwork of the Thirteenth Doctor’s final adventures.
Bonus Material includes:

• The Dalek Execution
• The Sea Devils Return
• Becoming Pirates
• The Power of the Doctor – Behind the Scenes
• A farewell to Jodie Whittaker and Mandip Gill
• Audio commentaries of all three episodes

Both releases will be available for fans to buy from 14th November and is available for pre order on Amazon

[Alan]

Doctor Who Magazine: Issue 583
Wednesday, 12 October 2022 - Reported by Marcus

https://www.doctorwhonews.net/2022/1...issue_583.html

Issue 583 of Doctor Who Magazine contains an exclusive preview of the final story for the thirteenth Doctor, The Power of the Doctor.

Highlights of the new issue include:

• Jodie Whittaker (the Doctor), Mandip Gill (Yaz), John Bishop (Dan) and writer Chris Chibnall talk exclusively to DWM about The Power of the Doctor in the 19-page preview.
• Chris Chibnall signs off as showrunner in his final Production Notes.
• More from Chris, as he braves questions randomly selected from the TARDIS tin.
• A full preview and contents list of the forthcoming Blu-ray box set Doctor Who: The Collection – Season 2.
• A previously unpublished interview with the late Colin Lavers reveals the stories behind the costumes he designed for 1983’s The King’s Demons and The Five Doctors.
• The sets of 1965’s Galaxy 4 are recreated, providing new insights into this mostly missing story.
• The Fact of Fiction travels deep inside the most incredible machine in the universe as it looks back at 2013’s Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS.
• The final part of The Everlasting Summer, a new comic-strip adventure for the Doctor, Yaz and Dan.
• Previews, reviews, news, prize-winning competitions, Time and Space Visualiser, Sufficient Data and more.

PLUS!

• Doctor Who: A BBC Production, a 28-page supplement tracing the behind-the-scenes history of the show and highlighting the BBC executives who have steered its course.
• A diorama of the First Doctor’s TARDIS control room.
• A huge double-sided poster with images from The Power of the Doctor.
• A download code for a complete, 60-minute Doctor Who audio drama.

Doctor Who Magazine Issue 583 is on sale Thursday 20 October from panini.co.uk and WH Smith priced £10.99 (UK). Also available as a digital edition from pocketmags.com priced £9.99.

[Alan]

100 Years of the BBC
Tuesday, 18 October 2022 - Reported by Nick Salmond

https://www.doctorwhonews.net/2022/1...f_the_bbc.html

Today marks the 100th anniversary of the creation of the BBC.

The British Broadcasting Company came into existence on 18th October 1922, a private company owned by the leading electronics companies of the day, with a remit to provide radio broadcasts that could be heard on wireless sets manufactured by its owners.

Its first office was at Magnet House near Covent Garden in London. On its creation, it took over control of the already up-and-running Radio 2LO, owned by Marconi, one of the BBC's investors.

Over the next five years, new Radio stations were launched in the major cities of the UK and the BBC soon became part of national life.

On 1st January 1927, the BBC was reborn as a Corporation under a Royal Charter and the British Broadcasting Company became the British Broadcasting Corporation led by its first Director General, Sir John Reith.

Experimental television broadcasts were started in 1929, using a 30-line system developed by John Logie Baird, using Radio frequencies after normal programmes had closed down for the night. A regular Television service started from Alexandra Palace in November 1936, the world's first High Definition Television service.

The outbreak of World War II in 1939 saw Television broadcasts suspended, but Radio continued with the BBC, through its home and overseas services, becoming a vital part of the information war. Winston Churchill delivered 33 major wartime speeches by radio and in 1940, French general Charles de Gaulle, in exile in London as the leader of the Free French, made a speech, urging the French people not to capitulate to the Nazis.

Television resumed in 1946, with the BBC having a monopoly of the airwaves until the arrival of ITV in 1955. Almost everything broadcast was live, including drama, with very limited ability to record items in advance.

When Doctor Who was first broadcast, on 23rd November 1963, there were still only two television channels available in the UK. A third arrived in 1964 with the launch of BBC Two. Recording was still very elementary, and editing was costly and avoided whenever possible. Early Doctor Who's were recorded 'as live' onto 2 inch magnetic tape. Many of these early recordings were later wiped for reuse, meaning 97 episodes are missing from the archives.

Colour television arrived towards the end of the 1960s. Doctor Who was made in colour from the start of its seventh season which saw the arrival of the third Doctor.

Doctor Who would be an important part of the BBC One schedule throughout the 1970s and 1980s. The suspension of the series in 1989 was met by many protests from fans around the world.

A TV Movie was made in America in 1996 but was not deemed successful enough to merit a new series.

It was in 2003 that Doctor Who News reported that the BBC would be bringing back the series, under the artistic direction of Russell T Davies. The return in 2005 was spectacularly successful with the series an important part of the BBC schedules ever since. The TV landscape in 2022 is a world away from that when the series launched in 1963 with hundreds of TV stations competing for viewers with hugely well-resourced streaming services.

Doctor Who has been part of the BBC's identity for over half of the BBC's existence and still remains a vital part of the BBC's output.

A special 90-minute episode, The Power of the Doctor, will screen next Sunday, part of the events to mark the 100th anniversary. The story will feature the swan song of the first female Doctor, Jodie Whittaker.

The episode will mark the end of the Chibnall era of the Doctor's adventures and mark the return of Russell T Davies to the helm. It is clear that Doctor Who will be part of the BBC's ethos for many years to come.

We have adventures for the Tenth Doctor in the pipeline and the series has a brand new Doctor to look forward to. Ncuti Gatwa will be leading the TARDIS team into the BBC's second Century.