News just in from lizo mzimba at the BBC reporting that last night’s Doctor Who Arachnids in the UK had overnight audience of 6.43m. Slightly up on last wk’s Rosa, an indication overnight audience may have levelled out at around 6.4m – a pretty strong rating. Although consolidated with tablet/computer viewing etc are best indicators.
https://twitter.com/lizo_mzimba/status/1056844168889286656
Derrick Sherwin (born 16 April 1936) was a retired English television producer, writer, story editor and actor. After beginning his career in the theatre, Sherwin became an actor in television before moving into writing. He became the story editor on Doctor Who and, as the producer of the series in 1969, he oversaw the transition from black and white to colour by producing Patrick Troughton’s final story and Jon Pertwee’s first. He also co-produced Paul Temple for the BBC.
Sherwin began his career in the theatre and worked as a junior set designer, scenic artist, scene shifter, stage manager and lighting designer. He also spent two years of National Service in the Royal Air Force. Following this, Sherwin established himself as an actor in theatre, films and television. While still working as an actor, Sherwin also began work as a freelance writer, contributing scripts to series such as Crossroads and Z-Cars.
In 1967, Sherwin was offered a story-editing role on Doctor Who by BBC Head of Serials Shaun Sutton. He was story editor/script editor on the stories from The Web of Fear to The Mind Robber, on the latter tale writing the first episode. He also wrote the script for The Invasion, which introduced the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce (UNIT), having adapted the original storyline supplied by Kit Pedler.
In 1968-1969, Sherwin began to take a greater role in the producing side of Doctor Who, and after the serial The Mind Robber, he became the unofficial Assistant Producer for the next 3 serials, with Terrance Dicks succeeding him as script editor. On The Space Pirates, Sherwin briefly resumed his old role as script editor, while Dicks was busy writing the epic 10-part season finale The War Games, with Malcolm Hulke. Dicks has credited Sherwin with the creation of the Time Lords, who were introduced in The War Games, scripted by Dicks and Malcolm Hulke.
Sherwin succeeded Peter Bryant as producer of the programme in 1969, producing the serials The War Games and Spearhead from Space. Sherwin was also involved with Bryant in the casting of Jon Pertwee in the lead role on the programme. He also made a small on-screen appearance as a car park attendant in Spearhead from Space – he had formerly been an actor and was still a member of the actors’ union, and dismissed the actor originally cast in the part for not being able to perform the role adequately.
Sherwin was responsible for the idea of exiling the Doctor to Earth (which happens at the end of The Second Doctor’s last serial, The War Games), a decision he took in an attempt to improve falling viewing figures, reinvent the programme and bring more reality to Doctor Who by basing it more on Nigel Kneale’s Quatermass serials from the 1950s. For this purpose, Sherwin created the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce (UNIT) in The Invasion as an organisation that the Doctor could become allied to on Earth during his exile. UNIT became a prominent feature of Doctor Who throughout The Third Doctor’s era, when Doctor Who was produced by Sherwin’s successor, Barry Letts. Sherwin left Doctor Who after Jon Pertwee’s debut serial, Spearhead from Space.
Sherwin has contributed to several documentaries for the Doctor Who DVD range, as well as providing commentaries for the two stories he produced and surviving episodes of The Web of Fear and The Wheel in Space for the Lost in Time collection.
After Doctor Who, Sherwin once again worked alongside Peter Bryant, after Bryant successfully persuaded Sherwin to join him on the production of Paul Temple (1969-1971). Sherwin later produced The Man Outside (1972), Ski-Boy (1973), and The Perils of Pendragon (1974).
Derrick Sherwin died 29th October 2018
It’s Halloween week on Strictly Come Dancing tonight (October 27), and that means a whole lot of interesting costumes from the dancers – and the judges.
One particularly impressive dress-up came from documentary filmmaker Stacey Dooley, who gave us what judge Darcey Bussell described as being a “unique change of roles” as she channelled her inner 13th Doctor, Jodie Whittaker.
Stacey thrilled Doctor Who fans as she took on the role, performing a Tango with partner Kevin Clifton.
The star appeared as the first female incarnation of the Doctor, while Kevin was all painted up in silver as a Cyberman.
It’s safe to say that the couple impressed, with the Stacey’s portrayal of the Doctor striking such a chord that some even called for her to take on the role of the Time Lord next.
Amazing #Strictly performance from @StaceyDooley & @keviclifton there. Stacey to be the next Doctor! #doctorwho
—
Confused Spoons
Stacey Dooley to be the next Doctor Who? #Strictly @StaceyDooley
— J! (@jonnyboytweeter) October 27, 2018
The duo ended up with three nines from Darcey, Shirley Ballas and Bruno Tonioli plus an eight from Craig Revel Horwood (which is pretty impressive from Mr Meany), though many were convinced they should’ve gotten a few 10s.
https://twitter.com/NJSeago/status/1056251601072087040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1056251601072087040&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalspy.com%2Ftv%2Fstrictly-come-dancing%2Fnews%2Fa869413%2Fstacey-dooley-doctor-who-strictly-come-dancing-jodie-whittaker%2F
https://twitter.com/LeanneMclough/status/1056253747758854147?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1056253747758854147&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalspy.com%2Ftv%2Fstrictly-come-dancing%2Fnews%2Fa869413%2Fstacey-dooley-doctor-who-strictly-come-dancing-jodie-whittaker%2F
It was so great it was out of this space-time continuum. Stacey Dooley should have got four tens. #StrictlySpoiler
— Sean The Mondasian Psychic (@WhoPotterVian) October 27, 2018
Bruno said of the performance: “You seem to regenerate like the Doctor and come back better than ever, splendidly styled, dynamic partnering, proper Tango, impressive”.
Darcey added: “The Doctor is in control, unique change of roles, loved it”.
Speaking about the dance during an appearance on It Takes Two earlier this week, Stacey expressed her excitement over taking on the gender-swap role.
“She’s fierce. She’s her own independent woman. She’s got it going on! We’re trying to incorporate that. It’s exciting,” she said.
Strictly Come Dancing airs on BBC One on Saturdays and Sundays.
This weekend, attendees of London Comic Con will be able to visit the first ever official Doctor Who stand from BBC Studios.
The stand will feature a number of exclusive opportunities including the TARDIS prop used during filming of Series 11, a preview of the first-ever official Doctor Who escape game and a bunch of exclusive merchandise!
Here’s a bit more detail of what’s on offer…
Visitors to London Comic Con will be able to admire the Thirteenth Doctor’s TARDIS featured in the actual show. Take a selfie and pose like the Doctor and friends with the actual prop used by Jodie Whittaker!
Doctor Who fans will be able to test themselves against the clock with a world-first taster experience of the new Doctor Who-themed escape game, Worlds Collide. The ‘Worlds Collide Escape Cube’ is designed as a fun prequel to the escape room game launching later this year.
Fans can also enter an Escape Hunt competition to become one of the first in the UK to experience the full game with up to five other friends at their nearest venue. To enter, fans must simply like a picture of the ‘Worlds Collide Escape Cube’ taster experience at Comic Con on Escape Hunt UK’s Facebook page (T&Cs apply).
Be the first to buy the new “Dr Thirteenth” book from the world of Roger Hargreaves, creators of Mr Men & Little Miss, and “The Secret in Vault 13” from renowned children’s author David Solomons.
Get an exclusive t-shirt when you buy a copy of the new “The Women Who Lived” book from Penguin Random House.
Be the first in the world to see the new Thirteenth Doctor Barbie up close!
MCM London Comic Con is hosted at ExCeL London at the Royal Victoria Dock between 26th and 28th October.
The Doctor, Yaz, Graham and Ryan find their way back to Yorkshire, only to find something is stirring amidst the eight-legged arachnid population of Sheffield.
Don’t miss the next episode this Sunday at 7pm on BBC One.
Over the last few days, Reeltime has recorded two new MYTH MAKERS titles. Both hosted by SOPHIE ALDRED.
PAUL McGANN’s interview was shot on location at Island Con 2018 on the Isle of Wight (with SYLVESTER McCOY in attendance) and BONNIE LANGFORD’s interview was recorded at The Waldorf Hotel in London just before BONNIE was on stage at The Theatre Royal in 42ND STREET.
Release dates to be confirmed!
The second series of Tales from the TARDIS has landed with the Thirteenth Doctor.
Check out the details and the amazing cover art and preview spreads below.
Jump in to the next phase of Doctor Who adventures with exciting, brand new time-travelling tales!
Start with ‘The Road To…’ , a mini-series that brings the world of the Thirteenth Doctor to comics for the first time! Plus, in ‘The Many Lives’, experience the Doctor’s journey through every incarnation, from the very First Doctor all the way to the Thirteenth, in a story that reveals just how each regeneration adds to the exhilarating enigma that is Doctor Who.
Featuring a myriad of legendary writers and artists coming together to create an unparalleled Whoniverse, The Doctor, and the Tardis, will never be the same again.
Plus there’s a chance to win two limited-edition Thirteen Doctor 6.5” TITANS vinyl collectibles from Titan Merchandise!
• FREE Doctor Who Top Trumps Collector’s Tin, worth £9.99
• SAVE 15% off the cover price
• HASSLE-FREE delivery to your door
• CAPTIVATING stories
This issue goes on sale 25th October!
John Barrowman seems to be hopeful that Chris Chibnall, Doctor Who‘s new showrunner, could be the man to help him bring back the show’s spinoff series Torchwood. He wants to set up a chat.
Long before he was Doctor Who boss, Chibnall was a writer and co-producer on Torchwood. He also contributed scripts for David Tennant and Matt Smith’s Doctors in the main show. And now that he’s the man in charge of Who, Barrowman is keen to set a meeting.
Barrowman revealed this to the Radio Times in a new interview, saying:
“Without going into too much detail, I actually a while back contacted Chris. He was the Torchwood showrunner for a while. I was doing meetings with different production companies all around the US including the CW, and the one things out of everyone’s mouth was ‘How would we get a hold of Torchwood? To do it?’
“And I thought ‘That’s an interesting question,’ and a lot of people were asking that. ‘How can we get a hold of that brand to do it, to start making it again?’
“So I then started putting the feelers out and contacting people. And I actually wrote to Chris and I said to him, ‘Would he be interested in being a part of something like that? Or something like that, I can’t remember how the email went.’”
When this conversation was being had, Chibnall was still in the process of making his deal with the BBC to take over as Doctor Who showrunner. Here’s how Barrowman remembers his response to the Torchwood email:
“He e-mailed me back, and he said ‘As you probably know, I’m in the middle of something very big at the moment, and I can’t discuss anything else.’
“But he said ‘Let’s talk when things calm down a bit.’ And that was just at the beginning of his negotiations for Doctor Who.”
It sounds like Barrowman is still waiting for that talk to happen. To be fair, from Chibnall’s point of view, things may not have calmed down just yet. But Barrowman seems hopeful that Chibnall is the right guy to talk to:
“Who knows? If anyone can do it, it’s Chris. Chris is the one who can make the decision, because it’s always the decision of the showrunner of Doctor Who.
“I was told that that’s the person who can decide about bringing back Torchwood. Or Captain Jack to Doctor Who.”
It seems like Barrowman is the one pushing for conversations to happen, but all the decisions would need to be made by Chibnall and the BBC.
You can’t fault Barrowman’s commitment to the Torchwood brand, though. As well as trying to get talks started for a TV return, he also writes Torchwood novels and appears in Big Finish’s audio productions.
As we hear more about Barrowman’s bids to bring back Torchwood, we’ll be sure to let you know.
The only social platform Jodie Whittaker is known to use is WhatsApp, a secure service for communication between friends, family and colleagues.
That doesn’t mean that Jodie Whittaker will never see fan’s comments about her on social media.
When Jodie Whittaker stopped by the headquarters for Space TV of Canada, they showed her a few social media posts from her fans.
Whittaker read a comment by fan who gushed about hearing her voice for the very first time in the first Doctor Who Series 11 trailer, agreed with one fan about humorous Bradley Walsh, and reacted warmly to a compliment by Colin Baker.
Watch Jodie Whittaker explain the meaning behind “Let’s get a shift on!,” speak on her character’s “childish wonder,” and read a very moving fan comment.
https://youtu.be/1qo44wbpvNQ
Stacey Dooley will take a spin in the TARDIS in a gender-swapped tribute to Doctor Who for Strictly Come Dancing‘s Halloween show.
It definitely looked as if some kind of homage to the sci-fi show was in the works when the BBC confirmed that Stacey and professional partner Kevin Clifton would get into the spooky spirit this Saturday (October 27) by dancing a tango to the iconic Doctor Who theme.
Stacey and Kevin spilled even more details on It Takes Two on Wednesday (October 24), telling Zoe Ball that their routine will indeed pay homage to Jodie Whittaker’s groundbreaking debut in Doctor Who.
“This Saturday, Zoe, I’m gonna be Doctor Who,” she beamed. “It’s nice as as well because we’re playing with the routine a little bit because we’re looking at the fact that she’s the first female Doctor.
“She’s fierce. She’s her own independent woman. She’s got it going on! We’re trying to incorporate that. It’s exciting.”
Kevin jumped in to elaborate: “It’s a bit of role reversal. Because [Jodie] is the first female to play what has been a male role for so many years, we’re actually playing with that within our tango. Stacey is going to be dancing the typical male role and I’ll be dancing the female.
While we’re sure many fans would love to see the duo fully carry through the gender-swapped theme by having Kevin playing Rose, Clara or even Yaz, but the couple revealed that the dance pro will instead be one of The Doctor’s most notorious foes… a Cyberman!
Saturday is still a few days away, so have a look back at one of the show’s previous tributes to Doctor Who below, featuring Jay McGuiness and Aliona Vilani:
Strictly Come Dancing airs on Saturdays and Sundays on BBC One. Doctor Who continues on Sunday on BBC One, too.