In an incredibly busy release schedule this year, Reeltime Pictures announce that 131st MYTH MAKERS featuring the man behind (well inside) the monsters in DOCTOR WHO is out on Monday.
In what will be Volume One of a two set MYTH MAKERS, JON DAVEY talks about working alongside both DAVID TENNANT and MATT SMITH. He also regails us with stories of fun and laughter as he appeared in monsters ranging from Cybermen to Hath!
A monsterous story you can’t possibly miss!
A life-size replica of Doctor Who’s Tardis has been sold for £3,200 at auction in Canterbury
A life-size replica of Doctor Who’s Tardis has been sold for £3,200 at auction in Canterbury.
The fictional time-travelling machine was recreated by lifelong fan of the series Jason Onion, who is also a friend of the family of the show’s co-creator, the late Anthony Coburn.
He has raised at least £4,000 for Children in Need taking the model to conventions around the country and intends to donate the proceeds of the sale to the charity.
Constructed of reclaimed oak and weighing one ton, the Tardis was built to mark the 50th anniversary celebrations of Doctor Who in Mr Onion’s home town of Herne Bay, where Mr Coburn lived.
It was his widow, the now-late Joan Coburn-Moon, who was the first guest to step inside the Tardis when it was unveiled at the Herne Bay bandstand in 2013.
The police box has been shown at various sci-fi festivals and events since – and signed by various actors, cast and celebrities – and was auctioned by Canterbury Auction Galleries yesterday (Wed), fetching the hefty sum.
Speaking ahead of the sale, auctioneer Tony Pratt said: “It’s quite a difficult thing to value but there is a worldwide following of Doctor Who.
“We have given it an auction estimate of between £3,000 and £5,000.”
Doctor Who and hours of BBC classics to stream for free on BBC iPlayer this Christmas!
The BBC is finally opening up its archive of TV treats this Christmas, making Doctor Who, Sherlock, Call the Midwife and classic David Attenborough series available to watch for free on BBC iPlayer.
From 16th December the BBC will make hours of box sets and classic Christmas episodes available to watch throughout the festive period, some of which are not available to watch anywhere else online.
To mark Peter Capaldi’s departure as the Doctor, iPlayer will stream every Doctor Who regeneration episode since 2005, including the Doctor Who 50th anniversary special.
Series three and four of Sherlock starring Benedict Cumberbatch along with 2016 New Year special The Abominable Bride will also be available to watch on iPlayer, as will award winning dramas Wolf Hall, Line of Duty, Happy Valley and festive favourite Call the Midwife.
David Attenborough’s original 2001 series The Blue Planet will stream on iPlayer along with Planet Earth, Planet Earth II and Frozen Planet.
Comedy favourites including Miranda, Gavin & Stacey, Fleabag and The Mighty Boosh will be available alongside family specials including Room on the Broom, The Gruffalo and Stick Man.
Five classic EastEnders Christmas specials, including the record breaking Den and Angie 1986 Christmas Day special, will be available to binge watch.
Dark Tom Hardy drama Taboo will return to BBC iPlayer, and all eight episodes of the brand new Bette Davis and Joan Crawford biopic Feud: Bette and Joan will be available to watch at once.
BBC director of content Charlotte Moore said it was “fantastic to give audiences a special gift on iPlayer to complement our schedules”, adding that the Christmas period was an ideal time to catch up with old favourites.
“Sit back and indulge as we curate some of the most loved shows you may have missed first time round or favourites you want to watch again,” she said.
The BBC closed its digital download service BBC Store earlier this year after admitting that it failed to attract customers in the face of on demand subscription services.
Since then the BBC has increasingly moved to make more of its content available to stream on demand, including creating a new ‘From the Archive’ section on BBC iPlayer.
Earlier this November, BBC director general Tony Hall also revealed the BBC was looking at ways of launching a paid subscription service for viewers to access its back catalogue.
However, all the programmes listed below will be available to watch on iPlayer for free for all BBC licence fee payers. The programmes will be available from 16th December 2017.
Check out all the best TV shows to watch on BBC iPlayer this Christmas
Dramas
Doctor Who (every regeneration episode since 2005)
Sherlock – Series 3, 4 and The Abominable Bride
Taboo
Line of Duty
Three Girls
Undercover
Happy Valley
Wolf Hall
Peaky Blinders
Feud
Clique
Thirteen
David Attenborough
Planet Earth I & II
Blue Planet I & II
Frozen Planet
Comedies
Fleabag (Full series box-set)
Inside Number 9 (Full series box-set)
Josh – Series 2 & 3
Murder in Successville – Series 3
People Just Do Nothing – Series 4
Gavin & Stacey – Series 1 and Christmas Special
Cuckoo – Series 1, 2 & 3 and Christmas Special
This Country – Series 1
Bad Education – Series 2 and Christmas Special
Him and Her – Series 3 and Christmas Special
Bluestone 42 – Series 1 and Christmas Special
Uncle – Series 3
The Mighty Boosh – Series 1
Family specials
Room on the Broom
The Gruffalo
The Gruffalo’s Child
Stick Man
Gangsta Granny
The Boy in the Dress
Billionaire Boy
Mr Stink
EastEnders Christmas specials
Den and Angie’s divorce papers – 1986
Tiffany’s death – 1998
Kat and Alfie’s wedding – 2003
Max and Stacey’s affair – 2007
Archie’s murder – 2009
Doctor Who Christmas special synopsis promises “enchanted glass people”
Back in September, a synopsis for the Doctor Who Christmas special surfaced via an online retailer offering pre-orders of the DVD.
It promised us “Two Doctors stranded in a forbidding snowscape, refusing to face regeneration” and warned that the Doctor “must face his past to decide his future”.
Well now the BBC has revealed the official synopsis and it’s very similar – except for one key difference…
What’s not mentioned in the DVD version is that the adventure will see the Doctor and co meeting “enchanted glass people, stealing their victims from frozen time”, which you have to say sounds like a pretty significant omission…
We’ve already seen one of these frozen moments in the trailer for the episode when Mark Gatiss’s character The Captain and fellow Doctor Who writer Toby Whithouse’s German soldier are shown trapped in a single moment on a First World War battlefield – and we know from a scene released during Children In Need that the Captain is among those “being pursued by an alien through frozen time”.
What we don’t know is who these mysterious “glass people” are – well, except for one of them…
Because we’ve also been told that a character known as the Glass Woman will be voiced by Nikki Amuka-Bird – and this is not her first foray into the Doctor Who universe.
Amuka-Bird was seen most recently in contemporary drama NW, but back in 2008 she had a role in a series-two Torchwood episode as an alien sleeper agent.
Always nice to see a familiar face return to Doctor Who – even if, in this case, she’s just a voice…
Here’s the full synopsis for Doctor Who: Twice Upon a Time…
“Two Doctors stranded in an Arctic snowscape, refusing to face regeneration. Enchanted glass people, stealing their victims from frozen time. And a World War One captain destined to die on the battlefield, but taken from the trenches to play his part in the Doctor’s story.
“An uplifting new tale about the power of hope in humanity’s darkest hours, Twice Upon A Time marks the end of an era. But as the Doctor must face his past to decide his future, his journey is only just beginning…”
Doctor Who series 9 finally lands on Netflix UK next week
It’s taken an awfully long time to get there, but Doctor Who series 9 is finally heading to Netflix UK in its entirety from December 5th 2017.
Thus far, eight series of the show have been available on the service. But under the season 9 tab, all that’s been offered has been the 2014 Christmas special, Last Christmas.
However, Netflix UK has now confirmed that the entirety of series 9 is being uploaded, just in time for some quality binge watching over Christmas. No date has been announced yet for when the tenth series will appear, but given that it’s only come out on DVD and Blu-ray a week or two back, don’t hold your breath just yet…
The Doctor, played by Peter Capaldi, is seen alongside his companion Bill and The First Doctor in the Christmas special
Doctor Who will return for it’s festive episode on the BBC, with other Christmas highlights including a French and Saunders reunion.
Comedy duo Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders are together again for the first time in 10 years, to mark their 30th anniversary.
Victoria Wood is being celebrated with Our Friend Victoria, which will show clips of the late comedian.
The two Mrs Brown’s Boys episodes, which will air over Christmas and New Year, come after recent revelations that three of its actors were allegedly involved in a tax avoidance scheme.
Leaked documents showed Patrick Houlihan and Martin and Fiona Delany transferred their fees to companies in Mauritius and sent money back as loans. The trio did not respond to the BBC’s request for comment when the story broke last month.
Our Friend Victoria will include anecdotes from Wood’s famous friends, including Dame Julie Walters, Anne Reid and Reece Shearsmith.
Shearsmith also returns with Steve Pemberton, Mike Gatiss and Jeremy Dyson for three new episodes of The League of Gentlemen on BBC Two.
Other highlights include:
Joanna Lumley and Jennifer Saunders learn about their favourite tipple in Absolutely Champers
Sports Personality of the Year
The Apprentice final
Michael McIntyre’s Big Christmas Show
Pointless Celebrities and Celebrity Mastermind
David Walliams’ Grandpa’s Great Escape
Mary Berry’s Christmas Party
Gospel Christmas on BBC Two
Mary Berry is being reunited with Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins for the first time since the trio left the Great British Bake Off.
Big Christmas Thank You will see them visit a community centre in South Wales to bring festive cheer.
League of Gentlemen returns for Christmas specials
Strictly Christmas line-up announced
Contestants return for Festive Bake Off
Berry will make a special Christmas dinner for residents while Mel and Sue help give the centre a makeover.
Doctor Who: Christmas 2017
Doctor Who fans will see Peter Capaldi take on his final battle before he regenerates into the 13th Doctor – played by Jodie Whittaker – in the show’s Christmas special.
Dramas include the crime thriller McMafia starring James Norton, and adaptations of Little Women, starring Dame Angela Lansbury, Sir Michael Gambon and Emily Watson, and Jessie Burton’s The Miniaturist.
Despite the fact they’re celebrating 30 years together, the French and Saunders special is called 300 Years of French & Saunders.
It promises new material as well as never-before-seen footage from their back catalogue. Lulu is going to be among the special guests.
The usual specials from programmes like Call the Midwife, Still Open All Hours, Not Going Out, Top of the Pops and Strictly Come Dancing will also be on offer.
From the stage, Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella and A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong will both feature along with Puccini’s opera La Boheme.
Fantom Films have released a brand new commentary for Robert Holme’s Victorian romp The Talons of Weng-Chiang featuring Christopher Benjamin and Trevor Baxter.
Adventures in Space brings together a variety of space bound Hartnell episodes featuring commentaries on The Savages, The Keys of Marinus and The Space Museum.
Special Edition Bundle also available – covers autographed by the cast and bonus discs with exclusive material!
Fantom films welcome Nicholas Pegg to the Who Talk range to moderate this special 40th anniversary commentary for The Talons of Weng-Chiang. The final serial of the Hinchcliffe era, this story is a masterclass in horror and atmosphere from the pen of Doctor Who’s most revered writer, Robert Holmes. It also features the legendary Jago and Litefoot, as played by Christopher Benjamin and the late Trevor Baxter.
“Trevor and Christopher had a magical chemistry together, both on screen and off,” say producer Paul WT Ballard. “We were so sad to hear the news of Trevor’s passing, as he was always the perfect gentleman and a delight to work with. This release, however, serves as fitting tribute, and we’ve kept in a lovely little extra after the credits finish rolling, which raises a smile.”
Also featuring on the commentary are producer Philip Hinchcliffe, designer Roger Murray-Leach and costume designer John Bloomfield.
“Listening to these three gentleman discuss how they brought the serial to screen was absolutely fascinating,” enthuses Paul. “And we also get to hear some definitive thoughts on *that* rat…!”
The TARDIS allowed for adventures in time and space, so following on from last month’s Adventures In Time comes Adventures In Space! Featuring a selection of episodes set in deepest, darkest space, this release also features the first commentary track for a “recon” episode.
“Obviously as it stands right now, The Savages is missing in its entirety,” explains Paul. “So we used a telesnap reconstruction for the actors to watch, which worked really well, and so this won’t be the last time we explore this avenue with the range.”
Adventures In Space features contributions from Maureen O’Brien, Richard Martin, Michael E.Briant, Kay Patrick, Peter Thomas, Jeremy Bulloch, Peter Craze, Martin Cort, Peter Stenson, Roy Spencer and Clive Doig.
“The fun with going back over some of these stories is bring in more of the guest cast to get their memories on the stories,” says Paul. “Which means we can bring you The Keys of Marinus with added Voord and The Space Museum with extra Xeron!”
The Talons of Weng-Chiang and Adventures In Space are available now as individual CDs and Downloads priced £10.99 or as a special edition bundle with extra material and covers signed by the cast!
Peter Capaldi cried when announcing his Doctor Who exit
Back in January when Peter Capaldi announced he was leaving Doctor Who, there was shock, consternation and even a few tears among the sci-fi series’ fans, with many devastated to see their favourite Doctor vworping off into the sunset.
And now it’s emerged that Capaldi himself was just as emotional when first revealing the news, with the Scottish actor apparently fighting back tears as he appeared on Jo Whiley’s Radio 2 show to make the announcement all those months ago.
“That was one of the funniest, most extraordinary moments I’ve ever had on air I think,” Whiley, who is presenting a special behind-the-scenes broadcast about Capaldi’s final episode next month, told RadioTimes.com.
“The fact that he chose to come on our show – and I remember saying to my producer, ‘Peter just wants to come on the show and talk about Doctor Who? That’s great, but any idea why? Bit random, but brilliant. I love him, and I love Doctor Who, it’s fantastic!’
“And then he came and sat there and kept saying all the time ‘When am I finished? When do you want me to leave?’ Obviously he was just trying to work out when within the hour he should drop the bombshell.
“And then he just kind of casually let it into the conversation. I remember just trying to compute – ‘did you just say what I think you just said? Are you actually leaving?’
“And his eyes were just brimming with tears, and it was obviously a hugely big deal for him. A very emotional experience to tell everyone that this was it, that this was his time to move on. And I felt really privileged that he decided to do it on the show.”
Capaldi’s tribute to Doctor Who on Whiley’s show was clearly heartfelt: “One of the greatest privileges of being Doctor Who is to see the world at its best,” he told Whiley.
“From our brilliant crew and creative team working for the best broadcaster on the planet, to the viewers and fans whose endless creativity, generosity and inclusiveness points to a brighter future ahead. I can’t thank everyone enough. It’s been cosmic.”
And as the big moment of his exit approached, you might have expected Capaldi to get all the more upset – but when Whiley caught up with him again on the final filming days of upcoming Christmas special Twice Upon a Time (when his Doctor will regenerate into Jodie Whittaker’s incarnation) she instead found him in a MUCH more chipper mood.
Peter Capaldi and Jo Whiley on the set of Doctor Who (BBC, HF)
“I think he’s past that now,” Whiley told us.
“I got the impression that dropping the bombshell and telling everyone that he’s leaving was the difficult bit, the really really difficult bit. And actually acting it out, he was being the actor, and he wanted to do it to the very best of his abilities.
“I think it was kind of the relief of announcing he was moving on – and it was all about giving the viewers the best that he could, just making the best exit, and making that show just right for the viewers.”
Though of course, Whiley admitted she might not have seen Capaldi during his most emotional moments.
“Maybe at the very end of the day after we’d left, I’m sure when they finally went to say goodbye to each other it was emotional,” she suggested.
“But [when we were there] it was more about doing the job very well, doing Doctor Who justice.”
From what we’ve seen so far, it seems like they’re doing a pretty good job – and we’re well prepared for our very own crying fits this 25th December.
Available now from BBC Books is a lavish, richly illustrated ‘biography’ of the Doctor’s deadliest foes, this is the ultimate celebration of all things Dalek.
And we have a look inside the book for you to enjoy below.
Dalek is the never-before-told history of the Doctor’s most dangerous enemies, the famous ‘Outer Space Robot People’ of the planet Skaro – from their genesis in the thousand-year conflict between Thals and Kaleds, to their survival of the Time War and (as foreseen by the Time Lords) their conquest of the universe.
Along the way, the authors also reveal all-new stories about these legendary creatures – terrifying near-mythical adventures, startling visual recreations of never-before-seen conflicts, and more. Each of them helps shed new light on what has become the most feared alien race in the universe.
With full-colour illustrations, concept art, cutaways, diagrams, comic strips and more, Dalek is a dramatic retelling of the ascent of the ‘supreme race’, and the story of the mysteries that lurk in unexplored corners of the universe. It is the ultimate celebration of all things Dalek.
Dalek also includes behind the scene information from Nicholas Briggs and David Howe, as well as brand new stories and comic strips from the authors, alongside such Doctor Who legends as Terrance Dicks, Eric Saward, Paul Magrs, Mike Tucker and Mark Wright.
Dalek is available now!
Matt Smith wants to return to Doctor Who and team up with Jodie Whittaker “in a few years”
If the upcoming departure of Twelfth Doctor Peter Capaldi is teaching us anything, it’s that it doesn’t really matter who’s actually piloting the Tardis in the TV series at any one time – once you’ve played the Doctor, you’re the Doctor for life, and so Capaldi’s incarnation will never truly leave us.
And of course, that’s ALSO true for every Doctor that came before him – which makes us all the more excited to hear that Capaldi’s predecessor Matt Smith is considering returning to the series in “a few years” in the new era of Jodie Whittaker’s upcoming Thirteenth Doctor. Truly, Doctors never die – they just retire for a bit.
“Why not? I’d come back,” Smith told MTV. “Yeah, if the timing was right.
“I think we’ve gotta give a few years to Miss Whittaker to get the Tardis under her belt, as it were, and then yeah – one day.”
He added: “Look, I’ll be back one day – when I’m old and grey. Which isn’t far off…”
In the meantime, though, Smith said he had just one piece of advice for Whittaker, which he’d actually passed down to Capaldi already – though we’re not sure if it’s a tip that new series boss Chris Chibnall would entirely appreciate.
“Yeah, I will tell Jodie what I told Peter – listen to no-one,” Smith said. “Listen to no-one!”
Hopefully Doctor 13 can remember that wise counsel in the time until their Doctors can meet again. Anyone booked a venue for the 60th anniversary in 2023 yet?
