Category: Doctor Who

Who door not closed, says Tennant
Doctor Who actor David Tennant has not ruled out the possibility of returning to the hit BBC series after he leaves.
“Who knows what might happen in the future?” he told BBC Breakfast. “The door isn’t necessarily closed forever.”
The 37-year-old revealed last week he would be relinquishing the role after shooting four more specials in 2009.
But he did admit it was “one of those parts that sticks with you,” citing Peter Davison’s appearance last year in a Who short made for Children in Need.
The actor refused to be drawn, though, on who might become his eventual successor.
“It’s not down to me,” said the actor, currently appearing with the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon. “I’ve got nothing to do with it.”
‘Career suicide’
Bookmakers have made James Nesbitt one of the favourites to take over the coveted role.
The Cold Feet star has downplayed the speculation, however, saying he has no interest in becoming the 11th doctor.
Speaking to the BBC’s Lizo Mzimba in Marrakesh, Morocco, where he is currently filming new drama Occupation, the actor said it would be “career suicide” for him to follow in Tennant’s footsteps.
He did say, though, that Paterson Joseph – another actor who has been linked to the role – “would be great”.

Official: David Tennant Leaving DW After TV Specials
David Tennant will be leaving Doctor Who at the conclusion of the 2009 specials currently in production, the actor announced live on stage this evening at the National Television Awards.
The Guardian newspaper this evening broke the story prematurely, reporting on their website (in a report subsequently pulled down) that Tennant is “vacating the TARDIS and leaving the BBC’s Doctor Who series at the end of next year. Tennant’s decision brings to an end his popular four-year tenure as the time lord.” The article went on to say that the BBC had confirmed that the actor “would complete the filming of four special episodes to be screened this year and in early 2010, as well as 2009’s Christmas special.”
The BBC Doctor Who website has now posted the full news: “I’ve had the most brilliant, bewildering and life changing time working on Doctor Who. I have loved every day of it,” the actor says. “It would be very easy to cling on to the TARDIS console forever and I fear that if I don’t take a deep breath and make the decision to move on now, then I simply never will. … I’m still the Doctor all next year but when the time finally comes I’ll be honoured to hand on the best job in the world to the next lucky git – whoever that may be.”
Tennant added that he “always thought the time to leave would be in conjunction with Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner who have been such a huge part of it all for me. Steven Moffat is the most brilliant and exciting writer, the only possible successor to Russell and it was sorely tempting to be part of his amazing new plans for the show. I will be there, glued to my TV when his stories begin in 2010.” He furthermore says that he feels “very privileged to have been part of this incredible phenomenon, and whilst I’m looking forward to new challenges I know I’ll always be very proud to be the Tenth Doctor.” Says Russell T Davies, “I’ve been lucky and honoured to work with David over the past few years – and it’s not over yet, the Tenth Doctor still has five spectacular hours left! After which, I might drop an anvil on his head. Or maybe a piano. A radioactive piano. But we’re planning the most enormous and spectacular ending, so keep watching!”
Says the BBC News site, Tennant is quoted as saying, “I love this part, and I love this show so much that if I don’t take a deep breath and move on now I never will, and you’ll be wheeling me out of the Tardis in my bath chair.” Tennant also says, “I think it’s better to go when there’s a chance that people might miss you, rather than to hang around and outstay your welcome,” he said.
Tennant will appear in this year’s Christmas special, as well as four specials being produced for 2009 and 2010 airdates by executive producers Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner. Tennant confirmed to BBC News that the four specials for 2009/2010 will be “the four last stories that I do.” New incoming executive producer Steven Moffat will then take over the series with new leads as the show returns for a normal, fifth series of episodes in 2010.
More details as they come in…

Joseph To Be First Black Doctor?
David Tennant hasn’t yet abandoned his starring role in the BBC SF series Doctor Who, but rumors have already begun circulating that Paterson Joseph–who guest-starred in the first season–may be the leading candidate to replace Tennant as the 11th Doctor. Joseph would be the first black actor to assay the iconic role.
Joseph’s agent reportedy denied the Doctor Who rumor when approached about it last week. When SCI FI Wire contacted Joseph directly, his initial response was a text message that said, “I am on a list of God knows how many others, but flattered to be considered.”
That was followed by an e-mail a day later, saying, “The news on Who was news to me as of last Wednesday, when my agent said they’d had lots of journos asking if the rumors were true. That’s all I know, and I’m very pleased to even be thought of in this way. It’s a blast!”
The rumor, which should be taken with a grain of salt, was first reported by British journalist Richard Johnston last week in his online column “Lying in the Gutters.”
Joseph played Roderick in the Doctor Who two-part episode “Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways.”
Joseph’s recent TV appearances include the U.K. series Peep Show, Green Wing and Hyperdrive, but he is probably best known to genre fans for his scene-stealing performance as the Marquis de Carabas in writer Neil Gaiman’s short-lived 1996 BBC series Neverwhere.
Perhaps more germane to this particular story is the actor’s work in last year’s Jekyll miniseries, which was created by Steven Moffat, who will be taking over as the new Doctor Who show runner in the upcoming fifth season in 2010. Did that role give Joseph the inside track? Only time will tell.
While many Doctor Who purists are already resisting the notion of a black actor taking on the role, the biggest obstacle could actually be Joseph’s role as Greg Preston in the BBC’s upcoming revival of the 1970s post-apocalyptic drama Survivors. According to the show’s producer Adrian Hodges (Primeval), “He’s a lovely actor, and he has immense likeability on screen. To me, he has hero written and integrity written all over him, and he’s a great actor. We’re very pleased with him, and we won’t kill him off any time soon, I promise you that!”
The fourth season of Doctor Who will be released in the United States on Nov. 18. The series is currently on hiatus in the United Kingdom but will continue with a series of one-off specials, after which a new production team will take over with season five in 2010.

Prince Charles says no thanks to Doctor Who appearance
Prince Charles has turned down an offer to star in the hit BBC series Doctor Who, triggering an angry response from the show’s executive producer.
Russell T. Davies, speaking at the Cheltenham Literature Festival on Sunday night, called the Prince of Wales “a miserable swine” for declining the invitation.
However, the Prince’s Clarence House office said the Prince never had a chance to view the invite himself.
“We did receive a request from Doctor Who ‘s producers,” said a spokeswoman. “It was not turned down by Prince Charles but by a Clarence House official. We receive hundreds of requests and he doesn’t see them all.”
The official did provide another opening for Davies: “It’s not uncommon for people to resubmit requests with different criteria and if it was resubmitted we would look at it again.”
The Prince is a self-confessed fan of the show and has appeared on other TV series. In 2000, he made a guest appearance in a live episode of Coronation Street to mark the program’s 40th anniversary.
He also read his own story, The Old Man of Lochnagar, on the children’s show Jackanory.
Davies, who was head writer on the show for four years, announced he was stepping down as Doctor Who’s executive producer earlier this year.
“There’s nothing I regret,” he told an audience of 2,000 fans at the festival. “The show has stayed successful and popular and good, so I’m really proud of it.”
Davies was at the event to promote his book about his time on the show.
A fifth season of Doctor Who is not due until 2010 but there are three one-off specials featuring the time-travelling adventurer due out in 2009.

Tennant Set For “Doctor Who” Movie?
David Tennant is in negotiations for a new film version of “Doctor Who” says The Telegraph.
The actor, currently only contracted for five more episodes, has reportedly agreed to reprise his role as the tenth Doctor in a full fifth season in 2010 if the big screen role can be added to a new deal.
“For ages, BBC Worldwide held the rights and were planning to make a movie, but it got held up and former BBC1 boss Lorraine Heggessey decided to bring back the TV series in 2005. But everyone is keen now and the fans are clamouring. Part of David’s conundrum is that he wants to do films, so this looks like it would solve both issues” says a source.
BBC managers are seeking funding for the film and outgoing producer Russell T. Davies revealed he would like Catherine Zeta Jones to play the Doctor’s companion in a film version.
Incoming producer Steven Moffat is also keen on the idea, saying last month that “It would be good to see it in the cinema so long as it’s fantastic.”
Two previous film versions of the series have been made. Peter Cushing took the lead role in 1965, and Paul McGann starred as the Time Lord in 1996.

Series Four begins 5th April
The BBC has confirmed that Series Four of Doctor Who will launch on BBC One in the week beginning 5th April 2008.
The day and time slot for the programme are still to be confirmed but it will almost certainly be shown around 7pm on Saturday 5th April.
Episode One, Partners In Crime, reunites the Doctor with Donna Noble, played by Catherine Tate. It also stars Sarah Lancashire as Miss Foster.

‘Torchwood’ to return for new season
LOS ANGELES – Attention, fans of quick-witted, Brit-flavoured science fiction television: Capt. Jack is back.
“He’s still the same Jack but he’s a little more lighthearted,” says John Barrowman, who plays cheeky charmer Capt. Jack Harkness on “Torchwood,” the BBC’s flirty, fast-paced series co-produced with the CBC, where it airs in Canada.
“He’s resolved a lot of his issues,” Barrowman says of his time-travelling, alien-hunting hero who wears Second World War-era togs and cannot die. “He’s got a new sparkle in his eye.”
Introduced in 2005 on the BBC series “Dr. Who,” Jack is coy about his shadowy past as a Time Agent – akin to an intergalactic CIA operative – turned fast-talking con artist.
In the second season of “Torchwood,” Jack returns to the clandestine Torchwood agency in Cardiff, Wales, where he watches over an alien-spewing rift in space and time beneath the city streets.
Together with his hip, young Torchwood team, Jack battles his old pal, the time-travelling psychopath Capt. John Hart (James Marsters of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”).
As always, Torchwood operates outside the law and the British government. It stands tall against all manner of monsters, including a recurring cast of nasty, sewer-dwelling weevils.
But Jack and crew still find time for office romance and ill-fated, inter-species love affairs – of the same-and opposite-sex sorts.
“Omnisexual is the science-fiction word we like to use,” says Barrowman, who sounds very American, both on-and off-camera. Born in Scotland, he grew up in Illinois.
“In the sci-fi setting we can talk about things that you probably couldn’t talk about on a regular nighttime drama,” the 40-year-old Barrowman says.
“I think audiences just get Jack because he’s honest,” he says. “To finally see a character who doesn’t care who he flirts with, I think is a bit refreshing.”
The ace Torchwood team also includes steely Dr. Owen Harper (Burn Gorman), techno-savvy Toshiko Sato (Naoko Mori), office administrator Ianto Jones (Gareth David-Lloyd) and compassionate former cop Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles), who is typically the conscience of the group.
All of Jack’s cohorts are just as hormonal as he is.
“Yes, it is a science-fiction soap opera,” says Myles, who is Welsh.
Last season Gwen hopped into Owen’s bed despite her devotion to her clueless live-in lover, Rhys (Kai Owen).
“It was completely out of character for Gwen,” Myles says. “But that’s what good drama is all about. You don’t want to spoon-feed a sci-fi audience. You want to challenge them. So none of these characters are safe.”
In the future, Gwen “does the best she can” with monogamy, Myles says. “But it’s a case of anything is possible with the Torchwood bunch.”
That includes Gorman’s bad-boy Owen, who mutinied on the job last season and killed Capt. Jack, albeit briefly.
“There’s no question that Owen can go into morally grey areas,” says Gorman, who was born in Los Angeles and considers himself a character actor.
“‘Torchwood’ is a very modern, Earth-based sci-fi show,” he says. “Owen is very free and open with his sexuality.”
“In season two Owen actually questions that kind of life,” Gorman says. “There’s an episode that explains why we all joined Torchwood. It explains, shall we say, Owen’s emotional limits.
“But season two is also very much about the Torchwood team working cohesively,” he says.
To executive producer Julie Gardner, “Torchwood” – an anagram for “Doctor Who” – is “warm science fiction.”
“It’s the type of science fiction that has a proper kind of human grounding,” Gardner says.
“You will see relationships develop between two males,” Barrowman says. “You will see them show affection for each other. You will see two women show affection for each other.”
Before moving to England in 1989, Barrowman starred on the Fox series “Central Park West” and NBC’s “Titans.”
In Britain, his career soared with “Dr. Who” and “Torchwood,” plus turns in West End musicals. He also is a judge on the musical-theatre contest series, “Any Dream Will Do.”
“The thing about working in television in the U.K., it’s about being me,” says Barrowman, who is openly gay and in a longtime partnership with architect Scott Gill.
“I’ve been pretty much open and out since I started working over here,” Barrowman says. “It’s a great reflection on the TV industry here.”
Barrowman reflects further in his autobiography, “Anything Goes,” due for release this month in Britain and later in the U.S.
Meanwhile, “Torchwood” has been a blast for Barrowman and his co-stars.
“It’s one of the best playpens ever,” Barrowman says. “I get to go to work and play with gadgets and drive really big, fast cars. I get to shoot aliens and fly spaceships.
“And I get to kiss everybody.”

Record-breaking ratings for “Voyage”
Unofficial figures show that the 2007 Christmas special Voyage of the Damned was watched by 12.2 million viewers, a 50% share of the total television audience. This is the highest rating the show has achieved since its return in 2005.
The programme was the second most watched of the day, being beaten by the edition of EastEnders immediately following Doctor Who.
The audience peaked in the last fifteen minutes of the show with a massive 13.8 million watching, nearly 55% of the audience. The five minute breakdown shows that over 15 million watched the last five minutes of the programme.
The day was a triumph for the BBC, with BBC One taking nine of the top ten places. Against the Doctor, Emmerdale on ITV1 could only manage 5.8 million, with the Evening News only getting 3.8 million.
The previous highest rated episode of the new series was Rose, which got 10.8 million viewers. If confirmed these figures will make Voyage of the Damned the highest rated episode of Doctor Who in over 28 years. It has the largest audience since the 1979 Tom Baker story City of Death, which had the advantage of being broadcast when ITV was on strike and BBC1 was one of only two channels broadcasting.
In the Children’s Charts, Doctor Who was top of the list with 2.2 million under 16’s watching, an incredible 65.3% share of the audience.
Final figures, including data for those who recorded the programme and watched it later, will be released by BARB in two weeks time.
Several news sources are running stories on the BBC’s Christmas Day dominance, including Doctor Who’s large viewing figure. These include The Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Sun, BBC News, The Daily Mail, Digital Spy and Reuters.

Billie Piper to return to Dr Who
Actress Billie Piper is to return to Doctor Who, the BBC has confirmed.
She will star in three episodes of the sci-fi drama, reprising her role as the Doctor’s companion, Rose Tyler.
Rose’s return will mean the Doctor has three assistants in next year’s series – Donna, played by Catherine Tate, and Freema Agyeman as Martha.
The new series begins in March and will run for 13 episodes. There will be three special editions in 2009 before the show takes a break until 2010.
Piper left Doctor Who last year, when Rose was transported into a parallel universe.
The character had been a hit and Piper won a number of awards for her performances. She was named most popular actress at the National Television Awards in 2005 and 2006.
A separate show based on Rose had been planned by writer and series producer Russell T Davies, but was scrapped when Davies decided the programme was “a spin-off too far”.
Filming is currently under way in Cardiff for the new series of Doctor Who, which sees the Doctor meeting an old group of enemies – the Sontarans – 35 years after first encountering them.
Before that, the programme will return to television screens at Christmas with a special episode set on the Titanic, which will co-star singer and actress Kylie Minogue.

Voyage Of The Damned
The BBC Press Office has released information about the Doctor Who Christmas Special 2007:
Kylie Minogue steps back in time this festive season, as she joins Time Lord David Tennant for a spectacular Doctor Who Christmas Special set on board The Titanic.
At the end of the last series, viewers witnessed the The Titanic crash through the Tardis walls in spectacular style, and the action continues from that moment.
Kylie, who plays Astrid, a waitress on The Titanic, says: “It is an incredible thrill to be joining David and the entire Dr Who production for this year’s Christmas special. Dr Who enjoys a unique history and it is going to be very exciting to be a part of that.”
Two of Britain’s best-loved sitcom actors, Geoffrey Palmer and Clive Swift, also feature in this Christmas episode.
Palmer, perhaps most famous for his roles in the long-running BBC series Butterflies and As Time Goes By, plays the role of Captain of The Titanic.
Kylie Minogue stars as Astrid, alongside David Tennant as The Doctor.
Voyage Of The Damned also features Gray O’Brien, who recently appeared in the Oscar-winning film The Queen; Debbie Chazen, star of the BBC comedy series The Smoking Room; Olivier Award-winner Clive Rowe; Russell Tovey, from the smash-hit film The History Boys; Jimmy Vee, who previously appeared in Doctor Who as the Moxx of Balhoon; and George Costigan, who starred in The Long Firm and the acclaimed film Rita, Sue And Bob Too.
Voyage of the Damned can be seen on BBC1 this Christmas.