Browsed by
Month: May 2016

Series 10 Filming July, Will Be Mostly One Parters

Series 10 Filming July, Will Be Mostly One Parters

DWM has stated that filming on Series 10 of Doctor Who will not begin until July.

Additionally Steven Moffat has revealed that, in contrast to last year, the 2017 run will mostly comprise single part stories.

Moffat says in the new issue: “We’re going back to more singles. Two-parters worked brilliantly last year, but somehow, with the new companion, you want the simpler version of the show. By last year, the Doctor and Clara had been there for so long, it was a complicated relationship by then, so we needed the bigger stories.

“Next year will have some two-parters, but it will be back to one-parters mostly.”

As for the amount of episodes Moffat himself is writing: “Four, and whatever else I have to do, as ever. I’m just getting down to the first episode. I’ll probably write the final three episodes, too.”

He adds: “We’ve got some very strong scripts in from other writers.”

Steven Moffat spills the beans on Pearl Mackie’s new companion Bill

Steven Moffat spills the beans on Pearl Mackie’s new companion Bill

STEVEN MOFFAT has revealed fresh details about the new Doctor Who companion Bill, played by rising star Pearl Mackie.

The 54-year-old showrunner confirmed that Bill was from “now” after rumours that she might be from the 1980s, due to her kitsch sartorial choices, admitting that Pearl “chose her outfit herself”.
“How we first encounter her, and how we first encounter the Doctor next year, is very unusual for us,” Steven said in an interview with Doctor Who Magazine.

He went on to say: “We’ll introduce her in the first episode of 2017, and she’ll run throughout that series.”
It was recently announced that Pearl would be taking on the role of the new companion.

She was introduced last month in an exhilarating video as Bill and the Doctor – portrayed by Peter Capaldi – tried to flee from a Dalek.
Following Pearl’s casting, Doctor Who casting director Andy Pryor told the Royal Television Society: “There was a chemistry that felt fresh and new and different to Peter’s relationship with Jenna.”

He added: “You could see Peter [Capaldi] fizzing with ideas in that audition reading and in the clip that was ultimately produced with the announcement.”Bill will be replacing Clara Oswald, played by Jenna Coleman, after she left the programme last year.
Also, speaking in the 500th issue of the magazine, Peter, 58, shared his most memorable episodes of Doctor Who during his tenure so far as the Time Lord.

The Thick of It actor, who has played the 12th incarnation of the Gallifreyan time traveller for two series, said that the spine-chilling Listen and the quirky Heaven Sent were his top two adventures.

Glasgow-born Peter said: “I loved Listen and Heaven Sent because I think I learned new aspects of the Doctor while shooting both of those.
“And the old Tardis in Hell Bent was pretty cool,” he added.

Listen from 2014 showed the Doctor as a child, while exploring where fear and night terrors came from. It was a frightening episode that left many unnerved, particularly one scene which featured a mysterious figure underneath a blanket.
Meanwhile, Heaven Sent – which was broadcast last year – was the first-ever episode to star only the Time Lord.

The story saw the Doctor trying to fight his way out of a water locked castle while he was being pursued by a sinister shrouded person.
Peter is currently filming the 10th series of the long-running science fiction favourite in Cardiff, which will mark Steven Moffat’s last as showrunner.

Broadchurch creator Chris Chibnall will be taking over the reins of the programme in 2018.

Doctor Who series 10 is set to air on BBC One in 2017.

Peter Capaldi reveals favourite Doctor Who adventures

Peter Capaldi reveals favourite Doctor Who adventures

The 58-year-old, who has played the Doctor for two series, made his comments in the 500th edition of Doctor Who magazine.

Peter Capaldi has revealed which adventures he enjoyed the most in his two series as Doctor Who.
“I loved Listen and Heaven Sent because I think I learned new aspects of the Doctor while shooting both of those,” he mused.

He added: “And the old Tardis in Hell Bent was pretty cool.”
His comments are made in the 500th edition of Doctor Who magazine, out now, which first went on sale in 1979 at a weekly cost of 12p.

Thirty-seven years into the future, the mag is now monthly and this special edition (which comes in a cardboard envelope) will set you back a tenner.

Which is a lot, whichever planet you happen to be from.

Capaldi begins work on the next season of the sci-fi favourite this month, with Pearl Mackie joining him as his new companion.

DOCTOR WHO MAGAZINE REACHES ISSUE 500

DOCTOR WHO MAGAZINE REACHES ISSUE 500

Doctor Who Magazine celebrates its 500th issue with two exclusive interviews with Doctor Who star Peter Capaldi, as well as a specially commissioned front cover where Peter recreates the first ever cover of the magazine.

The 500th issue features Peter adopting the same pose alongside a Dalek that Fourth Doctor Tom Baker did for the very first edition on 11 October 1979. Doctor Who Magazine Issue 500 hits newsstands on Thursday 26 May.

Commenting on the magazine’s success, Peter Capaldi says, “The magazine was enormously helpful to me. When I started playing the Doctor I was able to get piles of them and dive in. I went out and bought lots of Doctor Who Magazines, because I deliberately wanted to steep myself in Doctor Who and connect – reconnect – to it in a very kind of visceral way, to the affection and the heartbeat of it.’

And in what he calls is his last ever interview with the magazine, Tom Baker adds, “500 is a big milestone, and I’m sure you’re right to want to mark it BIG. Your magazine has been extremely good to me, and has helped to create a warm and faithful fanbase for the programme. I am still signing first editions. After all these years”.

Other highlights include an interview with Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat and a special treat for fans also in the form of an exclusive letter to DWM readers from Pearl Mackie, who will play new companion Bill.

Also featured in the magazine is an interview with the First Doctor William Hartnell, dating from 1965 and written by an eleven-year-old fan.

The first issue of Doctor Who Magazine was published on 11 October 1979. It began life as a weekly publication with a cover price of just 12p, created as the perfect accompaniment for fans of the BBC One primetime show. Featuring exclusive interviews with Doctors, companions and even some monsters, the magazine included comic strips, features, news and interviews. Among the buyers of Issue 1 were an eight-year-old David Tennant, 16-year-old Russell T Davies and 17-year-old Steven Moffat. All of them have been reading the magazine ever since.

The highly collectable 500th issue comes packaged in a striking card envelope and is a bumper 116 pages long, priced £9.99, including a bonus 116-page supplement, a poster, stickers and art card.

Russell T Davies to appear on tonight’s The One Show

Russell T Davies to appear on tonight’s The One Show

Russell T Davies to appear on tonight's The One Show

The former Doctor Who showrunner will be discussing his adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream – but talk may well turn to Who too…

Russell T Davies will be on The One Show sofa with Alex Jones and Gyles Brandreth tonight (Friday 27th May).
The man who brought Doctor Who back to TV screens in 2005 will be discussing his new adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which airs on Bank Holiday Monday – but talk is also likely to turn Whowards…
Davies told Radio Times just this week that his bold dramatisation of Shakespeare’s comedy was inspired to some extent by Doctor Who and it’s former star David Tennant.
“The ghost of Doctor Who was invoked deliberately,” said Davies. “When I brought the show back in 2005, I wanted to make it feel brand new, but I also wanted to stir that ancestral memory of something once loved. And I think a Midsummer Night’s Dream is the same. It wasn’t just my school putting on a production, it was 100,000 schools. This is the kids’ play!”
“When I embarked on this production, I scrolled down my phone to seek the advice of the greatest expert in Shakespeare I know, David Tennant. Sadly, he wasn’t free to appear in this production – he would have made a great Moth – but he suggested some brilliant jokes. When you see the gag with Bernard Cribbins and a handpump, that’s copyright DT.”
Elaine Page will also be among the guests on The One Show, alongside the winners of the 500 Words children’s writing competition, while music comes from 80s pop stars ABC.
The One Show is on BBC1 at 7pm

Burt Kwouk, Pink Panther star, dies aged 85

Burt Kwouk, Pink Panther star, dies aged 85

The Gallifreyan Newsroom is sad to hear that actor Burt Kwouk, who played Lin Futu in Peter Davison’s second story “Four To Doomsday” (1982) has passed away.

Burt Kwouk, who was best known for playing Inspector Clouseau’s manservant Cato in the Pink Panther films, has died aged 85.

He appeared in seven Pink Panther films opposite Peter Sellers as Clouseau’s servant who regularly attacked his employer to keep him alert.
He also starred in BBC sitcom Last of the Summer Wine from 2002 to 2010.

Born in Manchester but raised in Shanghai, the actor was awarded an OBE in the 2011 New Year Honour List.
A statement issued by his agent said: “Beloved actor Burt Kwouk has sadly passed peacefully away. The family will be having a private funeral but there will be a memorial at a later date.”

On the big screen Kwouk also appeared in three James Bond films including Goldfinger and You Only Live Twice.
Kwouk had a long TV career, appearing in numerous TV shows including The Avengers and Doctor Who. He also played Major Yamauchi in the 1980s wartime television drama Tenko.

He joined long-running sitcom Last of the Summer Wine as electrician Entwistle – a part that was written with him in mind.
The actor appeared in Harry Hill’s comedy series in the 1990s and also gained a cult following when he presented Channel 4’s interactive gambling show Banzai from 2001-2004.
Many fans have been paying tribute on social media and sharing their favourite clips of Kwouk as Cato.
Film director Duncan Jones tweeted: “Just heard the wonderful Burt Kwouk has passed away. Lovely man. Was willing to work with film students like myself.”
Al Murray also tweeted how he “was very lucky to have worked with Burt Kwouk on the Harry Hill show way back when”.

‘Allo ‘Allo! actress Vicky Michelle tweeted a picture of herself with Burt Kwouk and said she knew him well through their charity work with the Heritage Foundation.
“Fab actor, lovely fun and gentle man,” she said.
Kwouk started acting when he returned to England in 1954 after his family’s wealth was wiped out in the 1949 revolution.

His big break came 10 years later when director Blake Edwards offered him the part of Cato Fong, opposite Peter Sellers’s Inspector Clouseau.
His double act with Sellers was hugely popular with fans and he continued in the role of Cato after Sellers died in 1980, appearing opposite Roger Moore and Roberto Benigni when they took on the role of the bumbling French detective.

Kwouk said he never expected the part to continue for such a long time, starring in his first Pink Panther film in 1974 and the last in 1992.
“They were always a lot of fun because after a while I got to know Cato quite well and I liked Cato because he never argued with me and he never borrowed money from me. I liked playing Cato quite a lot,” he told the BBC in 2011.
Talking about his career after being awarded an OBE for services to drama, the actor said working on the James Bond movies was a special experience.

“Bond movies are always great fun because everything about them is big, expansive, huge – the sets are big, the amounts of money that is spent is huge as well, and the whole thing has a big atmosphere about it. And actors like doing that kind of thing.”

But if he had to pick a favourite role, the star said it would be the first time he “had a featured role in a good movie”.
“You always remember your first of anything – your first house, your first car, your first child, your first woman – you always remember those things and this was a picture made in 1958.
“It was The Inn of the Sixth Happiness which starred a great lady called Ingrid Bergman, I remember that very fondly.”

He is survived by his wife Caroline Tebbs, who he married in 1961 and a son.

Hollyoaks and Harry Potter actress Anna Shaffer lands a role in Doctor Who spinoff Class

Hollyoaks and Harry Potter actress Anna Shaffer lands a role in Doctor Who spinoff Class

Anna Shaffer as Ruby Button in Hollyoaks

Anna Shaffer, known for her roles in Hollyoaks and Harry Potter, has landed a role in new Doctor Who spinoff show Class.

According to the actress’s United Agents page, she will play a character called Rachel, although further details have yet to be revealed.
You might know Anna from her role as Ruby Button on Hollyoaks between 2011 and 2014.

She also played Romilda Vane in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, as well as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows parts 1 and 2.

Anna will join Greg Austin and Happy Valley star Katherine Kelly on Class – but will Peter Capaldi be joining them?

From Patrick Ness, Class will debut on BBC Three later this year, before a terrestrial airing on BBC One.

It also stars Mr Selfridge actor Greg Austin, newcomers Sophie Hopkins and Vivian Oparah, and The Aliens’ Fady Elsayed.
Steven Moffat has described the show as “dark and sexy” and compared it to a British Buffy the Vampire Slayer, with school kids battling supernatural forces.

ANDREW HAYDEN-SMITH MYTH MAKERS 125

ANDREW HAYDEN-SMITH MYTH MAKERS 125

Here’s the inlay for ANDREW HAYDEN-SMITH’s MYTH MAKERS, to be released on 1st June 2016.

This will be the first edition hosted by one a new team of presenters (still including the inestimable NICHOLAS BRIGGS).

For this MYTH MAKERS it will be actor and presenter (and DOCTOR WHO fan!) MARTIN PARSONS.

Doctor Who former Senior Camera Operator Alec Wheal passes away

Doctor Who former Senior Camera Operator Alec Wheal passes away

It is with great sadness that we report the recent passing of former Senior Camera Operator, Alec Wheal. Alec worked on the majority of Doctor Who stories between Destiny of the Daleks and the Greatest Show in the Galaxy. He was regarded by many as an unsung hero of the show and he remained a fan of Doctor Who until the end.

Alec was a highly skilled camera operator who adapted to the ever changing needs of the TV studio environment and was much loved by the Doctors and companions who worked with him.

Fifth Doctor, Peter Davison said “As the senior Cameraman, Alec Wheal was the rock of the studio recordings of Doctor Who, both during my time, and throughout the seventies and eighties. We developed an understanding, so that in those moments of panic as the clock ticked round to ten pm the end result was always as good as it was”.

John Barrowman visited Ianto’s shrine in Cardiff and had a very spooky encounter

John Barrowman visited Ianto’s shrine in Cardiff and had a very spooky encounter

John Barrowman visited Ianto's shrine in Cardiff and had a very spooky encounter

Almost seven years after the death of Ianto in Torchwood, his ‘shrine’ in Cardiff is still as strong as ever.

Torchwood fans from all over the world come to post messages on the entrance to the Hub in Cardiff Bay in tribute to the beloved character – so it was only right that Captain Jack’s John Barrowman visited the hallowed spot during his recent visit Cardiff.

“I decided to come down to the shrine, Ianto’s shrine, to see how everything is and to see what all the excitement is about, wondering if the spirit of Ianto still exists,” Barrowman said as he stood in front of the wall of messages.

Except, this pilgrimage proved particularly ‘haunting’ – because, as you may or may not be aware, Captain Jack has reunited with the dearly departed Ianto for more Torchwood episodes.
Barrowman and actor Gareth David-Lloyd have been in the studio together recording special audio dramas with producers Big Finish.
And when Barrowman filmed himself in front of Ianto’s shrine, who mysteriously popped up behind him? You guessed it.

Barrowman and David-Lloyd also took a nostalgic trip through Cardiff, reminiscing about “many a long night” spent filming there – and making dirty jokes.

Fans’ dedication to the place and the show is incredible, with trinkets, photos and cards covering a wall next to the water in Cardiff Bay.