Barb have released their TV Player Report for the four weeks covering the release of episodes one and two of Class. The report, which is still in the beta stage, aims to give an estimation of the numbers of people who watch a given programme via a TV Player such as iPlayer. Class is only available in the UK on BBC Three, which is only available online.

The series has failed make the list of Top 50 on-demand programmes for the four weeks ending 13th November 2016, meaning that less than 185,000 viewers have accessed the first two episodes. The highest rated programme on BBC Three for the period, and the only one to make the top 50, was Sex, Drugs & Murder: Life in the Red Light Zone, which had 247,000 watching. The biggest online programme was Planet Earth II: Islands, which had 576,000 viewers.

It is expected that Class will be screened on one of the broadcast channels at some point, which will bring it to a much larger audience.

The final episode of the series will be released next Saturday.

He became a national icon thanks to his portrayal of the heartless, manipulative and bombastic spin-doctor, Malcolm Tucker.

But Peter Capaldi’s most recent role has seen his star rise to a global level, playing the enigmatic Time Lord, Doctor Who, whom he has brought a new maturity to.

And while some have railed against this more adult interpretation of the charismatic hero, the actor, 58, argues that it has helped to capture the imagination of the show’s wide-ranging audience.

Speaking to The Radio Times, the Scottish star explained that rather than being something off-the-wall, an older Doctor is nothing that’s ground-breaking.

Asked how it felt to be an ‘old’ Who after a series of young ones (David Tennant and Matt Smith) Peter responded that The Doctor he grew up with was ‘not a young man’.

Reflecting on previous actors who have taken on the good Doctor’s mantle, the Thick Of It star said: ‘The Doctors I grew up with were not young.

‘To me, Doctor Who was not a young man. Ironically, I’m older than any of those, except for William Hartnell [the first Doctor].’

Addressing the assertion that the twelfth reincarnation, which he plays, often panders more to adult fans, he said:

‘The thing about Doctor Who is the constitution of the audience. It covers a huge age range, so you have to entertain little kids and you have to entertain hipsters and students, and middle-aged men who should know better.’

Peter expanded on the them, and said that while there is most definitely an adult theme running through Doctor Who, there is always something for children.

‘Sometimes there is a kind of metaphysical and intellectual aspect to it, which is more to the fore than other times. But generally we just blow up monsters.

‘There are some moments when you feel, that’s a little bit silly, or that’s a bit mawkish or whatever, but then you realise, that’s for children. You would be a fool not to play to them, because it’s their show.’

Peter is the 12th actor to take on the mantle of the last of the Time Lords, and has played the role since 2013.

Fans can read the rest of the interview in this week’s Radio Times, on sale from Tuesday November 22nd 2016

 

23 November 1963. It’s a date forever etched into the memories of Doctor Who aficionados. That Saturday teatime – 5:15pm to be precise – BBC1 aired the first ever episode of a show which was to become a global phenomenon that is still going over half a century later.

Of course, Radio Times was there from the start, as proved by the original listing (below) and preview (above), which introduces readers to the “mysterious exile from another world and a distant future” and his “adventures in space and time”.

 

The latest edition of the Radio Times, out today, features an interview with Peter Capaldi in the lead up to this year’s Christmas Special, The Return of Doctor Mysterio.

The interview covers a variety of his views, including on being an older Doctor and how he sees the character. Commenting about how some feel that the show has now become too complicated for younger viewers, he said:

The thing about Doctor Who is the constitution of the audience. It covers a huge age range, so you have to entertain little kids and you have to entertain hipsters and students, and middle-aged men who should know better. So sometimes there is a kind of metaphysical and intellectual aspect to it, which is more to the fore than other times. But generally we just blow up monsters.

There are some moments when you feel, that’s a little bit silly, or that’s a bit mawkish or whatever, but then you realise, that’s for children. You would be a fool not to play to them, because it’s their show.

The magazine also features a competition to win the piece of artwork below, taken from their Capaldi photoshoot; readers will need to answer four questions, with the first appearing in this week’s and the rest over the next threw consecutive issues.

A Belfast screenwriter has used his creative talent – and his autistic son’s love of Dr Who – to help raise funds for a children’s charity.

Declan May, who is also an author, has conceived, edited and contributed to the popular book Seasons Of War – The War Doctor Anthology (Dr Who), to raise money for Caudwell Children, the national charity that provides practical and emotional support to disabled children and their families.

Declan’s nine-year-old son Zachary has autism and his condition has left him with limited communication skills and heightened sensitivity to light and sound. If his condition is not managed he can become very anxious and upset.

In order to calm and relax his son, Declan applied to Caudwell Children, for a light sensory pack.

The specialist equipment, which includes a bubble tube, acrylic mirrors, an LED light source and fibre optic lighting, immediately reduced Zachary’s frustrations.

His parents, Declan and Rachel, also noticed that Zachary appeared more communicative while watching popular BBC1 sci-fi series Dr Who .

Declan explained: “The light sensory pack has improved my son’s well-being immeasurably. It’s reduced his stress and developed his senses and it distracts him from sensory discomfort.

“Unfortunately, the equipment doesn’t come cheap and the total cost was over £1,300, so I was incredibly grateful when Caudwell Children offered to provide fundraising support to cover 80% of the cost of the kit.”

In addition, the charity also provided £2,000 to fund ABA Therapy for Zachary. The teaching, linguistic, social and self-help skills programme has been instrumental in helping Zachary to interact with others.

Declan was so determined to thank Caudwell Children for their support that he decided to put pen to paper in order to raise funds for the charity. So he called in several favours from friends who had worked on Zachary’s favourite TV show.

He said: “Apart from the ABA sessions, one of the triggers in improving my son’s communication skills was Dr Who!

“Zachary began watching it when Matt Smith became the Doctor, and he really enjoyed it. He began talking to me and his mum, Rachel, about it.

“As a result of my job I know quite a few of the writers and authors who have worked on the programme and official book series. It suddenly occurred to me that I could use my contacts to Caudwell Children’s advantage.

“Rather than creating something from nothing I thought I could enlist my friends to create a Doctor Who anthology.”

In July 2014 Declan began the task of putting together a team of more than 30 writers to contribute to the anthology of short stories and in January 2015 an eBook was released to much acclaim.

Declan then took a further 18 months to get the book published in a limited edition paperback version.

“We’ve sold them around the world, Japan, South Korea, Australia and the US, we’ve had orders from all over the place,” said Declan.

“The BBC , and Stephen Moffat, the lead writer and producer of Doctor Who, have been brilliant in letting us use characters and imagery from the show.

“Obviously, this is on the clear understanding that nobody, other than the charity, benefits financially from the book and that it can’t be mistaken for official product.”

With the initial limited edition print run selling out within weeks, Declan is now looking to boost the charity’s coffers further by announcing that a further limited edition, with new content, will be released on January 1, 2017.

“We have some big writers including official Doctor Who novelist’s George Mann, Jenny Colgan and Lance Parkin, alongside the likes of Andrew Smith and Matt Fitton, scriptwriters for the Doctor Who audio dramas,” said Declan.

“But don’t expect to meet the usual Doctor within the pages of this book. The stories are set during the Time War and the War Doctor is the antithesis of his other incarnations. That’s what makes it so interesting.”

Seasons Of War – The War Doctor Anthology (Dr Who) is published by Chinbeard Books and can be pre-ordered for £15.99 at www.chinbeardbooks.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miZVEkic89I

Enjoy the preview of the 2016 Doctor Who Christmas Special: “The Return of Doctor Mysterio”, which was exclusively shown as part of the BBC Children In Need Appeal on BBC1, Friday 18th November 2016 at 20.12.

Finally, a proper trailer for the Doctor Who Christmas special! Not a sneak peek behind the scenes, or a talking heads featurette (as interesting as those are) but an actual, real trailer with almost three minutes of footage, revealing brains in jars, a high-security research facility and some rather intriguing new morsels of information…

1. It looks like we’ve been introduced to the new not-quite-companion

We were told back in September that there would be “no interim companion” for the Doctor ahead of Pearl Mackie’s debut as Bill next year, and that Matt Lucas’s Nardole – the colonist from Mendorax Dellora, who we first met in the previous Christmas special – would be filling the “companion space” again, along with appearances from Justin Chatwin’s mysterious superhero character.

And yet, we also felt that Doctor Who wouldn’t be quite Doctor Who without a more down to earth sidekick thrown into the mix – and after glimpsing her in an earlier trailer it looks like we’ve just been formally introduced.

Lucy Fletcher (played by English actor Charity Wakefield) is a reporter from New York newspaper the Daily Chronicle – a Lois Lane to Chatwin’s Superman? – who immediately looks as if she’ll be a great foil to the Doctor and Nardole.

2. The superhero has a name

When Justin Chatwin’s unnamed superhero was first introduced, one theory was that there was a sinister capital ‘I’ hiding behind the ‘G’ on his chest and that we might be dealing with the Doctor’s old enemy the Great Intelligence. That could still be the case, of course, but for now we know this masked vigilante as The Ghost, and have discovered that his powers include flight, super-strength, invulnerability and a rather dry wit.

See this exchange for details of the latter:

European villain: “Those windows are built to withstand a blast equivalent to four nuclear explosions.”

The Ghost: “Sorry about that, would you like me to call a glazier?”

Or this one:

The Ghost: “Please understand it is against my personal code to cause lasting harm to anyone. However, light to moderate injury is fine.”

Liking him already.

3. The Twelfth Doctor has (another) new alias

In series nine he referred to himself as Doctor Disco, and we suspect he might also be the Doctor Mysterio of the Christmas special’s title (after all, that’s what Doctor Who is known as in Mexico). But in the trailer he comes up with a dubious new name, introducing himself to Lucy as “agent Dan Dangerous from Scotland Yard, Scotland” (or “the Doctor for short”). Incidentally, try watching that exchange while imagining Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor playing it. Just goes to show, those regenerations don’t completely change the Time Lord inside.

4. And he eats sushi – on the job

The Fourth Doctor loved Jelly Babies and when the Eleventh Doctor need post-regeneration energy he opted for fish fingers and custard but actually we don’t see the Time Lord doing anything so mundane as eating very often – especially not while he’s working.

So it was interesting to see Peter Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor nonchalantly stuffing himself with sushi – chopsticks and all – at the same time as running down a corridor. Excellent multi-tasking. But could lead to indigestion.

5. Nardole’s not as dumb as he looks

In last year’s Christmas Special The Husbands of River Song, Matt Lucas’s Nardole came across as a doltish manchild but this time around he seems to have brains, along with an entertainingly deadpan delivery, and he sets the Doctor straight when he incorrectly claims the organisation they’re investigating is based only in capital cities. “You don’t need to point out the mistakes, that’s not what you’re for,” hisses the Doctor, but actually it could be rather entertaining if he was.

The Doctor Who Christmas special is on BBC1 on Christmas Day