Come down this weekend to the award winning Doctor Who Experience in Cardiff Bay (or keep an eye on their posts) to see Mike Tucker from The Model Unit unveil Morbius and the Mandrel, the latest monsters in the Restoration project!

#homeofwho #doctorwho

The actor Michael Leader has died after a short illness.

He was best-known for his 31-year stint as Eastenders extra Michael the Milkman, appearing in the first episode. He was a stalwart as a background artist on scifi shows, including Red Dwarf, Blakes 7 and ’80s Doctor Who (The Leisure Hive/The Visitation/The Kings Demons/Mawdryn Undead).

He was best known among Star Wars fans as the stormtrooper who knocked his head while boarding the Deathstar in A New Hope (1977), although this particular acclamation was contested by a fellow extra. He spoke at many signings and scifi conventions around the world, and in particular, his fond memories of working with Peter Davison (the Fifth Doctor) were both heartfelt and amusing, as were Davison’s anecdotes of him.

Born in 1938, he was the son of well-known bandleader Harry Leader. He would later play the resident bandleader throughout the run of ’80s comedy “Hi de Hi”. His other diverse background comedy roles included Keeping Up Appearances and Yes, Minister.

A founder member of The Laurel and Hardy Appreciation Society, his long-standing friendships across the entertainment industry included the likes of Rolling Stones founder member and hellraiser Brian Jones,Doris Day and Dame Barbara Windsor. It was Windsor who insisted that he played a small part in her exit storyline in Eastenders, when he he chauffeured her around the Square in his milk float and was given some dialogue with her to mark the importance of their friendship, and his contribution to propping up the Queen Vic bar.

Danny Dyer has led a stream of tributes after one of his EastEnders co-stars died after 31 years on the BBC soap.  Michael Leader was a familiar face on the soap, having been there since it began in 1985, and played Walford’s milkman.

He passed away on Monday, the BBC confirmed, and his co-stars have rushed to pay tribute to the much-loved actor.  The BBC’s EastEnders team said in a statement: “We were terribly saddened to hear that our dear friend and colleague Michael Leader passed away on Monday.

“Michael has been on the show since the very first episode and will be sorely missed by the EastEnders family, past and present.  “Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are extended to his nearest and dearest.”

Meanwhile Danny, who plays Mick Carter in the soap, wrote on Twitter: “R.I.P Michael my old son. R.I.P.” with a series of heart emojis.  Bonnie Langford, who played Carmel Kazemi, added: “Our lovely Michael. A true gentleman & ‘old pro’. I’ll miss you xx.”

And Sean Slater actor Robert Kazinsky wrote: “Sorry to see you go Michael, you were always a class act.”  Meanwhile, Johnny Carter actor Ted Reilly wrote: “Michael Leader was a man who made @bbceastenders more than a T.V. show. RIP to an Albert Square legend.”

Co-star Danielle Harold added: “R.I.P Michael Such a lovely man and a true gentlemen.”  and former Doctor Who alumni Bonnie Langford took to Twitter and left a heard felt message.

Our lovely Michael. A true gentleman & 'old pro'. I'll miss you xx https://t.co/WwPBWogz8i

— Bonnie Langford (@bonnie_langford) August 24, 2016

Leader had a reputation across Showbiz as a true professional and a friend of rising talent, with the tributes on Eastenders’ Facebook page and on Twitter, including from Bonnie Langford (Mel), a testament to the support and encouragement he gave to younger members of the cast.

The Leader, as we called him, will be sorely missed at the ‘Club for Acts and Actors’ in London’s Covent Garden, a popular haven for many Doctor Who actors and fans. Married three times, he is survived by a daughter and many pals who will remember his humour, his remarkably funny anecdotes and his unstinting friendship

Rumour has it that Doctor Who series 10 may be returning to a location from Steven Moffat’s first episode as showrunner…

We’re only a few weeks away from the debut of Doctor Who spin-off Class, but as of yet we’re still relatively in the dark about what to expect. While some details and casting news were released earlier in the year we’ve still seen no trailer or official pictures for the sci-fi series, and even the basic premise of what exactly these students of Coal Hill School are up to in the series (and how the Doctor fits into it) have largely eluded us.

At least, until now – because this week the basic premise of Class has finally been revealed, and it turns out it’s rather familiar to fans of Doctor Who spin-offs.

“Coal Hill has existed in Doctor Who since literally episode one,” series creator Patrick Ness told Empire magazine. “The Doctor’s granddaughter went there. So we thought, ‘All that time activity at the school, has that caused any problems? What do you know, it has!”

As it turns out, according to the preview article (which also reveals Class’ airdate as sometime in October), Coal Hill has been damaged through all the time travel that’s occurred there over the years of Doctor Who, causing tears in space-time that allow aliens and other creatures to come to Earth from all over the galaxy. Or in the words of the article – “the boundaries of space-time have been stretched to breaking point, allowing all manner of creatures through.”

Hmm…now where have we heard that before?

Yep, that’s right – Class follows more or less the same premise as Torchwood, which saw a team based near a “rift” in space and time that allowed aliens and various other enemies from throughout time and space to pop up in Cardiff. It also bears resemblance to a storyline from Doctor Who series five where time was “cracked” allowing some creatures to similarly escape to other times and places, so it’s definitely working on its Whoniverse pedigree.

And considering that this is a series that’s supposed to deal with adult themes and air on BBC3, it begins to look more and more like this is a show that Torchwood fans will love – even though it probably doesn’t spell great things for anyone who wants the John Barrowman series back on air (after all, why would they need two shows with such a similar set-up?).

Still, with all that said we’re sure that beyond the basic plot structure there’s a lot that will differentiate Class from Torchwood, with Patrick Ness insisting that this is a very different sort of sci-fi adventure.

“We’re not telling stories of the ‘chosen ones’,” he said.

“It’s happenstance that puts these people [at the centre of things]. What if your timing is just weird and things happen to you? How do you deal with it? I’m interested in real consequences. The Doctor is always exciting, but he never [stays]. He goes off on the next adventure. What happens to real people?”

Hopefully, it won’t be too long before we find out.

Class will air on BBC3 online this October.

Who is the Doctor Who companion in this year’s Christmas special?

Doctor Who is currently filming its long-awaited tenth series to air next spring, but we won’t have to wait quite that long to see another adventure for the Time Lord, thanks to the upcoming Christmas special.

But while the festive episode airs moths before the new series, we actually know a lot less about what we’ll be seeing in it – and our first question has to be, who exactly will be accompanying Peter Capaldi as companion on his Yuletide adventure?

Will it be someone we’ve seen before, a one-off newcomer or a character set to be very important for future episodes of the series? We have a few candidates, all with good claims to the gig…

Both Peter Capaldi and showrunner Steven Moffat have said that Pearl Mackie’s new full-time companion Bill won’t be making her debut until the first episode of series ten, with the Christmas special having a guest companion instead. And that immediately makes us suspicious…

It wouldn’t be the first time Moffat and co have misled us about this sort of thing – recently departed companion Jenna Coleman popped up in 2012 episode Asylum of the Daleks, months before her debut was expected, in a move that was kept secret from viewers – so who’s to say they couldn’t pull the same trick with Mackie?

Add to that the fact that the actress was seen filming scenes featuring fake snow and winter clothes in June (see video), and and early appearance for Bill looks increasingly likely…

Both Peter Capaldi and showrunner Steven Moffat have said that Pearl Mackie’s new full-time companion Bill won’t be making her debut until the first episode of series ten, with the Christmas special having a guest companion instead. And that immediately makes us suspicious…

It wouldn’t be the first time Moffat and co have misled us about this sort of thing – recently departed companion Jenna Coleman popped up in 2012 episode Asylum of the Daleks, months before her debut was expected, in a move that was kept secret from viewers – so who’s to say they couldn’t pull the same trick with Mackie?

Add to that the fact that the actress was seen filming scenes featuring fake snow and winter clothes in June (see video), and and early appearance for Bill looks increasingly likely…

There have been rumours rattling around for a while that Barrowman’s immortal former companion Captain Jack Harkness could be making a return to the series, mainly based on the amount of time that Barrowman has been spending in Cardiff (where Doctor Who is filmed) while working on audio and comic-book spin-offs for his 2006-2010 Who spin-off Torchwood.

Barrowman has since denied the claims, but we wouldn’t rule him out just yet – such denials have been false before (see Moffat, above), and it would make sense for the departing head writer to return to one of his original Doctor Who creations (he wrote Jack’s first appearance in 2005) before he leaves the series, just as he did with Alex Kingston’s River Song in the last special.

Yes, she may be very busy at the moment playing Queen Victoria on ITV, but it’s possible Jenna Coleman has already found the time to film a return for Clara Oswald…

A couple of months ago Peter Capaldi let slip that he’d “just shot something that Clara was still there in,” leading many fans to conclude that Coleman could have filmed a brief cameo for the new series.

Of course it’s possible that his words were misinterpreted (in context, it seems like he may have been talking about whether the Doctor could remember Clara), but such a return wouldn’t be without precedent. Former companions Billie Piper, Freema Agyeman and Catherine Tate returned several times after their official exits, and even if Coleman only filmed a brief scene she’d be following in the footsteps of Karen Gillan, who had a short cameo as Amy Pond for Matt Smith’s final episode (2013 Christmas special The Time of the Doctor).

So while Coleman almost certainly won’t be back for a full adventure in this year’s Christmas special – it’s possible Clara could still have some kind of presence in what might end up being a “companion-lite” episode.

Of course, if Clara was to make a brief return, the doorway would be very much open for a comeback from her immortal space-travelling partner Ashildr/Me, last seen flying off with Ms Oswald in a diner-shaped TARDIS.

Actress Maisie Williams has previously said she won’t be joining Doctor Who as a regular companion, but she never said she couldn’t come back for the odd visit – and considering how much history Me has lived through there are certainly plenty of chances for the two ancient travellers to cross paths again.

Another character with some story left to tell is Michelle Gomez’s evil Time Lord Missy, who was last seen cornered by some Daleks and apparently about to come up with a “very clever idea” to save her own skin.

Recently RadioTimes.com got the chance to speak to Gomez, who dodged questions about her return but said she was keen to see exactly what that idea was – so if Steven Moffat is looking to tie up loose ends before he leaves, a festive plot from Missy and the Daleks could be just what the Doctor ordered.

And just imagine a Missy-focused festive special. It could only be brilliant.

In some ways, this is probably the most likely outcome – some new, unknown character (probably played by a well-known British character actor) popping up in the Doctor’s Christmas adventure to help him out for 60 minutes and then never appear again, in the vein of Michael Gambon, Claire Skinner, David Morrissey or Kylie Minogue in earlier specials.

Then again, it does seem a little odd that no details of exactly who this actor might be have started to come out yet, especially considering that we’re already starting to get information about guest stars we won’t be seeing until 2017 – so maybe there’s another answer altogether…

Hear us out on this one. While it’d be a bit of a departure for a Doctor Who Christmas special to go companion-free, the series has occasionally indulged in “companion-lite” episodes that let the Doctor adventure mostly alone, such as 2008’s Midnight, 2010’s The Lodger and 2011’s Closing Time. And of course, the penultimate episode of series nine was one-hander Heaven Sent, in which Peter Capaldi more or less went without a supporting cast at all, and yet is one of the most acclaimed of the modern era.

Maybe this Christmas could be the time to let the Doctor fly solo – and maybe the lack of information about the episode’s sidekick is down to the fact that there’s simply nothing to know…

Doctor Who will return to BBC1 this Christmas

BBC Three’s new Doctor Who spin-off will apparently begin in October.

Set in contemporary London at Coal Hill Academy, Class began filming in Cardiff in April and “will shine a light on a whole new corner of the Whoniverse.”

The cast of the eight-part YA series is led Greg Austin, Fady Elsayed, Sophie Hopkins and Vivian Oparah as four Sixth Formers, with Katherine Kelly (Coronation Street) playing the role of a teacher and “powerful new presence” the school.

A preview in the new issue of Empire reveals that Class is set to debut on BBC Three in October, although the exact date is TBC.

The magazine describes the show as “a sort of time travelled-tinged Buffy the Vampire Slayer with more aliens and fewer hellbeasts.”

Class will air in the US on BBC America later this year and will also air on BBC One in the UK following its online debut.

Are you looking forward to Class? Let us know below…

Doctor Who writer Steven Moffat has revealed which episode he thinks is the “median average” of his era.

Moffat will step down as Doctor Who showrunner at the end of 2017 after eight years in the role, with Broadchurch creator Chris Chibnall taking over for 2018’s season.

Asked by Doctor Who Magazine in Issue 502 (out now) which story would be his era’s “most reliably average episode” – the median if he were to rank every episode that he has overseen, from his favourite to his least favourite – Moffat answered: “Well, I’ll have to choose one that I wrote, otherwise I’m going to upset somebody … I went back and watched it again, and I thought ‘no, actually, it is quite good,’ but it is resolutely sort of middle, I think, and that’s ‘The Bells of St John’.”

‘The Bells of St John’ aired in March 2013 and launched the second half of Matt Smith’s final season, introducing Jenna Coleman as Clara following two previous appearances as what were later revealed to be splinters of her character scattered through time.

Moffat explained: “It’s got a fairly inventive monster. It’s got some great action scenes, like the bit on the plane. There’s the pretty good scene where the Doctor is underneath Clara’s window. Some good gags. Lovely music. But I don’t think that episode will change anybody’s life.”

He added: “It’s a very well-carpentered bit of telly, and it’s – that underrated thing – a very good first episode. Sort of. First episodes are rarely winners, but they are very difficult to do.”

Moffat recently described making Season 7 as “a tough, time time” and “a bit miserable,” saying: “I didn’t enjoy my third year as much.”

The new season of Doctor Who began filming in Cardiff in June and will air on BBC One in spring 2017.

What did you think of ‘The Bells of St John’? Let us know below…