26 October 2005 :: Christmas spoilers

In addition to the articles listed below Media Guardian's gossip column features some interesting news from last night's National Television Awards.

Hidden below is the most interesting section for us, but it does reveal some new details about The Christmas Invasion, so if you don't want the surprise spoilt ignore the hidden spoiler below!

With thanks to ?hil.

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26 October 2005 :: Who cleans up awards!

Doctor Who swept the board in the National Television Awards last night (broadcast tonight on ITV1). The programme was nominated in three categories; Best Drama, Best Actor (Christopher Eccleston) and Best Actress (Billie Piper) and won them all.

In response The Sun, The Mirror and the Daily Star 'red top' tabloids have dedicated part of their front pages to the show (see cover left, click for all 3 larger covers) and most other papers carry stories of one kind or another - details and links to online versions of these are below.

UK Newspapers - Wednesday 26th October

Also see online articles below.

• The Mirror - Front page: "Brillie" with a picture of Billie Piper. 3am girls photo spread, featuring Billie Piper, again.
• The Sun - "Whodunnit!" screams their front page, with a picture of Billie Piper at the Awards. The double page article on pages 4 and 5 "Hip-hop Who-ray - TV gongs for Dr and Daleks" says that "Who's hat-trick marked a great night for the BBC".
• The Daily Star - again gives Doctor Who's wins a front page mention.
• The Express - has the story on pages 2 and 3.
• The Mail - runs a shorter story on the awards win.
• The Independent - runs a text-only story.
• The Metro - Billie Piper is pictured on the cover of this free newspaper.

Online articles and stories - Wednesday 26th October

• » BBC News: "Doctor Who takes three TV awards" [view]
• » The Guardian: "Doctor Who cleans up at TV Awards" [view]
• » The Independent: "Dr Who sweeps the board at National Television Awards" [view]
• » The Sun: "Hip hip Who-ray for Dr" [view]
• » The Mirror: "two articles:
  "3AM AT THE NATIONAL TV AWARDS: BLING IT ON" [view]
  "3AM AT THE NATIONAL TV AWARDS: DAVID DAVIS AND DAVID CAMERON" [view]
• » The Scotsman: "Dr Who sweeps the board at TV awards" [view]
• » GM.TV: "Doctor Who cleans up at the National TV Awards and Jamie Oliver scoops two" [view]
• » The Daily Record: "LADIES GLAM ALL OVER AT THE NATIONAL TELEVISION AWARDS" [view]

With thanks to ?hil.

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25 October 2005 :: Press Update

The tabloids appear to have cottoned on to the fact that Germany has now bought the first and second seasons of the new series - rather bad cliche alert!

(See cover left, click for larger version.)

If you spot anything else please e-mail us.

Tuesday 25 October

• The Sun - the TV Biz column reports on the sale of series 1 and 2 to the German TV market, featuring a picture of a new series Dalek and several bad taste German puns.
• The Daily Star - not to be outdone, today's Star forgets about the bad news in the world to splash on the fact that Doctor Who has been sold to Germany. The mock horror article features a picture of Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper in traditional German costume.

With thanks to ?hil.

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24 October 2005 :: Press Update

Some small articles in today and a couple to report in The Guardian over the weekend.

If you spot anything else please e-mail us.

Monday 24 October

• The Mirror - reports that Charlotte Church is being lined-up to play the devil in Torchwood. It seems to recycle a similar story printed in The Star last week, so it might not be strictly accurate (ahem!).
• The Daily Star - features a picture of David Tennant in the new Harry Potter film, linking this to his role as the Doctor.

Saturday 22 October

• The Guardian - Saturday's "The Guide" supplement included an internet review article covering the ever popular Outpost Gallifrey site as well as a small feature on what fans do to get their favourite TV series back. The was published to co-incide with the UK launch of Family Guy, and made reference to the infamous 'Doctor In Distress' single produced as a protest/publicity song when the classic series was 'rested' between March 1984 and August 1986 (more details of this hiatus are here and here).

With thanks to ?hil.

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18 October 2005 :: More Torchwood!

More from the press today on Torchwood (as in the rest of them are catching up with the Independent's story from yesterday!). See a listing of articles below, many of which appear in both print and online.

In addition a couple of interesting comments were made today by John Barrowman on ITV show Loose Women. Barrowman suggested that Torchwood whilst being commissioned and getting it's first airing on BBC THREE may well eventually be shown on BBC One (like Casanova before it). He also suggested that there will be no immediate explantion of how Captain Jack arrived in modern day Cardiff, where the series is set, after his being abruptly left in the far future by The Doctor and Rose at the end of "Parting of the Ways" (Doctor Who season 1, episode 13).

UK Newspapers - Wednesday 19th October

Also see online newspaper articles below.

• The Daily Star - today includes a story on Torchwood, accompanied by a picture of a Dalek (not that it's been suggested that Daleks will be in the series!), which is titled: "Steamy: Even Daleks might hit trouble with the new hero"

Online articles and stories - Tuesday 18th October

• » Telegraph: "Dr Who goes in search of sex in Cardiff" [view]
• » The Sun: "Dr Who writer's spin-off" [view]
• » The Mirror: "DR WHO IS GOING X-RATED" [view]
• » The Daily Record: "OFF THE RECORD" [view]
• » Western Mail (Wales): "Davies to pen Dr Who spin-off" [view]
• » Belfast Telegraph (Norehrn Ireland): "BBC to screen 'Dr Who for adults' as new spin-off show" [view]
• » The Register: "BBC launches Doctor Who spin-off" [view]
• » Yahoo: "Dr Who writer plans sci-fi thriller" [view]
• » Digital Spy: "Captain Jack for 'Doctor Who' spinoff" [view]
• » Sky Showbiz: "Who's Sexy?" [view]

With thanks to ?hil.

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17 October 2005 :: Torchwood

News broke in the early hours of Monday morning (it always seems to break in the early hours of the morning!) that Doctor Who will be joined by a companion/spin off series in 2006 called Torchwood.

The reports, now confirmed on the BBC website and in a BBC press release, were first published by The Independent Newspaper (see link below) in a large main article and in a related media interview with Controller of BBC 3 Stuart Murphy who described described Torchwood as "a massive coup" for the station.

According to the press release the 13 part series will be written by Russell T Davies, who also writes and Executive Produces Doctor Who, and will star John Barrowman as Jack Harkness (Captain Jack) a character first introduced in The Empty Child (Season 1, episode 9). It will air on BBC THREE in Summer 2006 (after the close of Doctor Who Season 2). Davies describes Torchwood as "a British sci-fi paranoid thriller, a cop show with a sense of humour,"

"It's dark, wild and sexy, it's the X Files meets This Life. It's a stand-alone series for adult audiences which will have its own unique identity.

The press release offers further details oin the series:

"Set in modern-day Cardiff, Torchwood stars John Barrowman as Captain Jack from Doctor Who; it's in the Christmas special and second series of Doctor Who that the story of Torchwood - a renegade group of investigators - is seeded.

"However, no stories will cross over between Torchwood and Doctor Who.

"The drama series is produced by BBC Wales and will be transmitted later next year.

"The renegades investigate human and alien crime, as well as alien technology that has fallen to Earth," says Murphy.

"Torchwood is sinister and psychological - Russell was really keen to play with your head - as well as being very British and modern and real."

The release also notes that:

"Filming on the 13 self-contained episodes will begin early next year in Cardiff; other writers so far confirmed include Chris Chibnall and PJ Hammond. The executive producers are Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner, Head of Drama in BBC Wales."

We note that Torchwood writer PJ Hammond was the creative force behind another highly regarded British Science Fiction/Telefantasy series, Sapphire and Steel (ITV, 1979 to 1982).

The full text of the BBC Press Release can be seen here

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17 October 2005 :: Press roundup

Here's a roundup for today in the UK press and media, there's one story Torchwood.

UK Newspapers - Monday 17th October

Details of today's newspaper articles below:

• The Independent - includes a large page lead article detailing the new 'spin-off' series Torchwood, starring John Barrowman (more above), titled: "BBC to screen 'Dr Who for adults' as new spin-off show". Also includes an interview with BBC THREE controller Stuart Murphy in the Media section in which he talks about Torchwood and Doctor Who.

Online articles and stories:

• » The Independent: "BBC to screen 'Dr Who for adults' as new spin-off show" (online version of article detailed above) [view]
• » BBC Press Release: "Captain Jack to get his own series in new Russell T Davies drama for BBC THREE" [view]
• » BBC News Online: "Doctor Who spin-off made in Wales" [view]
• » BBC Doctor Who Website: "Torchwood on BBC Three" [view]

With thanks to ?hil.

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17 October 2005 :: Back again

Further to our note below we're now back and will be progressing with more regular updates on the new series and perhaps even some cuttings (fingers crossed!).

First of all some exciting news of a new companion series for Doctor Who, titled Torchwood, more details above.

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05 September 2005 :: Note

Apologies for the recent lack of updates here but things have been relatively quiet on the press front so very little has been missed. Our webmaster has been away for two weeks and is currently dealing with some serious family illness so please bear with us whilst things (hopefully) settle down.

Rest assured we will resume normal service as soon as possible.

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10 August 2005 :: Press roundup

Here's a roundup of what's appeared over the last few days in the UK press and media.

UK Newspapers - Wednesday 10th August

• The Daily Star - today includes a full page full-page Santa 'expose' from the Doctor Who set so avoid if you don't want to see/read spoilers!

UK Newspapers - Friday 5th August

• The Sun - included a picture story in the TV Biz page which included a shot of Billie Piper carrying a large rucksack (backpack) and David Tennant wearing the Eccleston leather jacket and costume.

UK Magazines

• Now (cover dated 10th August 2005) - includes an interview with David Tennant, more information on david-tennant.com.

With thanks to ?hil.

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03 August 2005 :: Press roundup

We seem to be experiencing another lull in press reporting with nothing yesterday and the merest trickle today but just you wait until location shoots start in Wales, it'll be rather busy we reckon!

UK Newspapers - Wednesday 3rd August

• The Sun - publishes a Doctor Who related letter in today's edition
• The Mirror - publishes an article on page 3 about Billie Piper not attending the film premiere of Spirit Trap (this is very tenuously linked to the series but we thought we'd mention it just on case you fancy a copy for completeness sake - not sure if we'll get one or not).

With thanks to ?hil.

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01 August 2005 :: Set reports and photos

A few recent set reports and photos have been appearing on the internet over the last few days. In contrast to last year the number of agency/paperazzi photos far outweighs the numbers taken by fans but this is perhaps a reflection of the fact filming started in London rather than Cardiff/Wales. Last year there were far fewer images coming from the London shoots than those in Wales so expect more rather than less over the coming weeks.

However, a couple of fan sites have posted some photos:

Shaun over at Outpost Gallifrey has posted a number of images on the news page (originally posted on the OG forum) which are well worth a look at, see them here.

Our friends at Unit News have an impressive collection of images taken specially for the site, these include unique images of Peter Davison (Fifth Doctor) visting the set and meeting David Tennant to wish him luck.

Just to quash any rumours before they start, this was a private visit and Peter went along with his family to take photographs and see what was goung on - he's not set to appear in the next season. The Unit News pages also include an exclusive set report as well as other valuable information - click here for more.

The nice people at David-tennant.com have also posted a selection of small photos of David and Billie Piper together on set, see them here.

As mentioned above, a number of agencies have posted images from the London shoot, the best are to be found at:

Fotobanka ISIFA Image Service - a number of images from the London shoot but all heavily watermarked.

World Entertainment News Network (WENN) Photo Library - the small images are again watermarked.

Other collections from WENN are here, here and here - this time the small preview images aren't watermarked.

The Xposure Photo Agency - a nice collection of images here, you have to be registered to view larger versions of the images but they will be watermarked.

We'll keep you informed if any more become available and may very well be visiting the set ourselves once filming is closer to home.

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01 August 2005 :: Press roundup

One article to report so far today and nothing over the weekend.

UK Newspapers - Monday 1st August

• The Daily Star - Billie Piper is on the cover (main picture) and there's a full page article on page 5. The story is about the toy Rose figure that will be out later this year and how the people who make it had a lot of fun taking her measurements and making the doll. The article is illustrated with a number of photos of Piper and Noel Clarke (Mickey) messing around whilst filming the series, and also includes a picture of David Tennant wearing a t-shirt with, appropriately, "Trust me I'm a Doctor" on the front.
• The Express - includes a small feature suggesting that the success of Doctor Who has been because of Billie Piper. It also quotes an SFX magazine readers poll that puts Doctor Who at number one in a list of the best British fantasy TV shows.
• The Mirror - also mentions the SFX magazine readers poll of the best British fantasy TV shows and prints a letter praising David Tennant's new costume and wondering if it was inspired by the Mods.
• The Sun - mentions the SFX magazine poll.
• The Scotsman - mentions the SFX magazine poll.

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17 June 2005 :: Friday press roundup

A number of articles today but rest assured we've avoided spoilers below although we warn you which newspapers carry them.

Friday 17th June

• There are seriously serious (that serious) picture spoilers in The Mirror, The Sun and The Daily Star which also includes a spoilerish cartoon - SPOILERS
• The Metro - includes a text only spoilerish story which mentions the third series, and then goes on to reveal some lines of script from "Parting of the Ways" - SPOILERS
• The Daily Mail - includes a small story warning Daleks to beware: The Doctor has a third series. It's spoiler free and comes the page before a lengthy article about the license fee set to double (before panicking remember this is the paper that announced Bill Nighy was the Ninth Doctor so accuracy isn't their middle name!) - NO SPOILERS

With thanks to ?hil.

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16 June 2005 :: Wednesday/Thursday press roundup

Things are starting to get busy now as we approach the final episode of the season. The BBC and others warned that those avoiding spoilers would be best to keep away from the press and the internet from Wednesday this week onward and they were right if today's press is anything to go by.

We've marked the details below of articles and features that include spoilers but none of the details below contain anything you need to be worried about - it's more a guide today to what newspapers you should avoid if you want to avoid the spoilers.

From this point up to the episode itself we'll avoid posting anything that might spoil your enjoyment so rest assured we're being careful here.

In the meantime we've added details for Wednesday below and hope to post details for the rest of this past week later.

Thursday 16th June

• The Sun - Picture spoilers late in the front half of the newspaper. Ally Ross makes mention of the last Celeb Wrestling in his column, mentioning that everyone was watching Doctor Who instead of that - SPOILERS
• The Daily Star - picture and story spoilers on page four - SPOILERS
• The Times - picture spoilers about p13. The accompanying article starts off fine and then rapidly turns into major spoiler material.
  The start of the Times article covers how focus group research said that Doctor Who would be a flop. Children said it was an adults show, adults said it was long dead. And Thunderbirds: The Movie was cited as what it would be like. This is actually very interesting and shows the leap of faith that the BBC had to make to make the programme again. And it also proves that using focus groups is no way to come up with great TV (or political parties but that's another story...)
  The second column of the feature onwards is spoiler-laden from the first sentence so best avoided if you want to stay spoiler free - SPOILERS
• The Express - A small news story about how Doctor Who is impossible - NO SPOILERS
• The Mirror - Photo spoilers, but the accompanying text is okay(ish). About p25 - SPOILERS
• The Guardian - large spoiler picture - SPOILERS

Wednesday 15 June

UK National Newspapers

• The Guardian and The Times - both have small stories on the return of the Wookey Hole Dalek
• The Mirror - features a two-page interview with Anneke Wills, better known as Polly, assistant to William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton
• The Daily Star - features a small news story on page 3, revealing the news that the new Doctor will fight Santa in the Christmas special
• The Metro - reports that the Dalek that was kidnapped from Wookey Hole has been found safe and well

UK Local Newspapers

• Bristol Evening Post and Western Daily Press - both carried reports on the return of the stolen Dalek to Wookey Hole Caves (which incidentally is holding a Doctor Who weekend on the 18th & 19th - our webmaster will be there!)

UK Weekly Newspapers

• The Baptist Times - features a column by Richard Staples in which he talks about how the Church could learn from Doctor Who, commenting that his whole family sits down to watch the new series

With thanks to ?hil.

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15 June 2005 :: Season 3 Confirmed and Billie staying!

News has just come in from the BAFTA press screening of "The Parting of the Ways", the final episode of the 2005 season that Jane Tranter, BBC Controller of Drama Commissioning, has confirmed a third season of Doctor Who for 2007 as well as a Christmas special for 2006 in addition to this years special.

It was also confirmed that Billie Piper will appear in the entire second series.

According to our sources the screening was followed by stunned silence and then the audience erupted into applause for what was described as a "simply amazing, quite incredible" final episode. The packed screening was attended by many members of the cast and production team including actors John Barrowman, Camille Coduri and Noel Clarke and executive Producer and writer Russell T Davies and was followed by a question and answer session.

Amongst the audience members asking questions was Waris Hussein the director of the first ever episode of Doctor Who, "An Unearthly Child", who was himself applauded by attendees. Special mention was also made of Sydney Newman, the BBC head of Drama in 1963 who helped to create the original series as well as other notable 60s series like The Avengers.

With thanks to Jason Stevens

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09 June 2005 :: Wednesday/Thursday press roundup

A flurry of press today:

UK Newspapers - Thursday 9th June

• The Daily Star - features a small news story about Bad Wolf being revealed on Saturday. The paper also features a paparatzi picture of Billie Piper with her new boyfriend. There is also a feature on declining viewing figures, including a look at why ITV is axing its latest reality TV shows (sadly, not Celebrity Love Island). In its editorial column, The Star blames the BBC for launching highbrow stations like BBC3. BBC4 is obviously eltist then!
• The Mirror - also features the snatched picture of Billie Piper with her boyfriend.
• The Guardian - in an article titled "The very best of Holmes", David McKie makes glowing mention of Doctor Who, although the article is mainly concerned with commenting on the repeats on ITV3 of the excellent Sherlock Holmes series made by Granada between 1984 and 1994 with Jeremy Brett in the starring role (if only ITV were capable of making something of this quality nowadays!). This article is available online here.
• The Christian Herald - features news of a new service for ministers, vicars etc. www.audiopot.org is an on-line library for creative Christian audio, and features include 'Dr. Who on the travails of time travel and the folly of humans' (40 secs) and 'a thought from a Dalek having a 'touchy feely' moment'. Of possible interest is 'A job for Gareth' which features Darth Vader on a visit to the local job centre. If you visit to the audiopot site, please be aware that this is a site aimed at Church leaders, and the content will be Christian.

UK Newspapers - Wednesday 8th June

• Reading Evening Post - featured a picture of a children's fancy dress parade which was won by a Dalek, and a news story that a Dalek had been stolen from Wokey Hole.

UK Magazines

• Broadcast - this week publishes an article, titled "A monster achievement", by Emily Bell the editor-in-chief of Guardian Unlimited. In it she lauds the BBC's "remarkable resurrection" of Doctor and comments that it "has given us some of the best domestic television of the past decade". Subscribers can view the full articles online at www.broadcastnow.co.uk otherwise you'll have to buy the print edition which is available in larger newsagents.
• Toxic (a comic/magazine for boys) - features a picture of a Dalek on its front page (hidden by the free gift!) and a half-page feature looking at volume 2 of the new series DVD releases.

With thanks to ?hil.

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