The British public loves to support Children In Need.
As a nation it has raised more than £1 billion for children and young people facing disadvantage across the country through BBC Children In Need.
A staple of this support has been through the purchasing of charity singles or other music to raise funds for those who need it most.
But now in 2019 we have a whole new charity album Got It Covered on the way, from some of the country’s biggest actors, including Oscar-winner Olivia Colman.
Mel Balac, executive producer and creative director at BBC Studios, told Press Association:
“Many of the actors have said trying to nail the role of recording artist has been their most challenging role yet.
“The personally curated playlist that is being created in aid of Pudsey will be big on musical surprises and laughs, while highlighting the fantastic charities and causes BBC Children In Need supports.”
Kate Phillips, controller of entertainment commissioning at the BBC, also told PA:
“I’m delighted and so impressed by the outstanding array of actors who have agreed to step out of their comfort zones and help raise money for BBC Children In Need.
“Every year we are truly inspired by the extraordinary support we receive from thousands of people and we know this year will be no exception.”
BBC Children In Need: Who sings on the new album?
There will actually be an entire album of celebrity covers for audiences to enjoy, entitled Got It Covered.
The celebrities will each pick a song to cover that is of significance to them.
Here is a list of celebrities who are taking part.
Olivia Colman
Jim Broadbent
Helena Bonham Carter
David Tennant
Jodie Whittaker
Luke Evans
Suranne Jones
Adrian Lester
Himesh Patel
Shaun Dooley
When is the BBC Children In Need album released?
The album Got It Covered will be available to buy later this year but does not currently have a release date.
You can pre-order your own copy of BBC Children in Need: Got it Coveredhere.
Will we see how the album was recorded?
Yes, accompanying the album’s release, there will be a 60-minute show on BBC One, ahead of the annual BBC Children In Need appeal programme, will follow the recording process at Abbey Road and Rak Studios.
The appeal programme does not currently have an air date.
BBC Children In Need returns to BBC One later this year.
DOCTOR WHO MAGAZINE CELEBRATES JON PERTWEE’S CENTENARY WITH 30 PAGES DEVOTED TO THE THIRD DOCTOR!
This issue includes:
The World Cup of the Third Doctor. How did your favourite story fare in our epic Twitter tournament?
Lost for more than 40 years – a candid interview with Jon Pertwee from the very first Doctor Who convention in 1977.
An exclusive interview with Jon’s son, actor Sean Pertwee.
A previously unpublished interview with Barry Letts, who produced most of the Third Doctor’s stories and co-wrote classics like The Dæmons and The Green Death.
An exclusive update on the production of Series 12 from showrunner Chris Chibnall.
Katy Manning, who played the Third Doctor’s companion Jo Grant, visits the Time Team.
The second part of an interview with costume designer Howard Burden, who created outfits for the Twelfth Doctor, Clara and Missy.
The Fact of Fiction explores the Twelfth Doctor story Time Heist.
DWM’s review of the Doctor Who: The Collection – Season 10 Blu-ray box set.
The Legacy of Time – DWM talks exclusively to the cast and crew behind one of the most ambitious Doctor Who adventures ever, which features no fewer than six Doctors.
Part One of Power of the Mobox, a new comic strip adventure featuring the Thirteenth Doctor and her friends.
The Blogs of Doom, audio reviews, news, prize-winning competitions and much, much more!
DWM 540 is on sale from Thursday 27 June, priced £5.99.
Doctor Who celebrates 20 years on audio at Big Finish with 20 hour livestream
To celebrate 20 years of Doctor Who on audio, BBC Studios and Big Finish Productions present a 20 hour weekend live-stream marathon of Doctor Who audio dramas on YouTube. And everyone’s invited to the party!
Over two days on the 20th and 21st July, the official home of Doctor Who on YouTube will broadcast more than 20 episodes of Big Finish audio adventures, featuring David Tennant, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker,Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann and David Bradley, among many others. Plus, there will be video appearances from plenty of the Doctor’s friends, past and present, to join in the festivities. As the stories are livestreamed on YouTube, fans will be able to join in the conversation via the live chat. Save the date, as you won’t want to miss a minute of this!
Big Finish Productions was first granted a licence to create Doctor Who adventures in audio format back in 1999. Its first production was Doctor Who: The Sirens of Time, starring Peter Davison, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy. The company has since expanded its ranges, producing and distributing over 300 hours of audio drama each year. To date, over 850 titles from Doctor Who and its various spin-offs have been released – and that number grows by the day, with more Doctor Who stories confirmed from Big Finish until at least 2025.
In honour of this incredible achievement, over 20 hours of Doctor Who audio drama will be live streamed on the BBC’s Doctor Who YouTube channel over the 20th and 21st July. Doctor Who fans will hear stories from their heroes, as well as never before heard snippets, interviews and guest cameos from some of their favourite stars, and much much more!
Nicholas Briggs, Creative Director and executive producer at Big Finish, said:
“Has it been 20 years already? But we’ve only just got started! Honestly, it has been an absolute delight to have worked alongside the Doctor these past two decades. I started my life as a fan, in the days before on demand and downloads, recording the soundtracks of Doctor Who episodes on audio tape. And now it’s my job to place every incarnation of the Time Lord (give or take) in peril in so many exciting audio adventures. I have to pinch myself. I’d like to thank everyone, from the cast in front of the mic, to the writers, directors, sound designers and more behind it, for making it such an amazing journey. Here’s to the future! (Or is it the past?)”
Jason Haigh-Ellery, Chairman and executive producer at Big Finish, added:
“In July 1999 we released The Sirens of Time. In July 2019 we’re releasing The Legacy of Time. Those two decades have been so fulfilling for us at Big Finish – a chance to work with so many great and talented actors, writers, production crews and all of our friends at the BBC. This is a celebration of it all, with lots of surprise returns and references. Think of it as one massive Doctor Who party – and everyone is invited…”
Doctor Who: The Legacy of Time will be available from www.bigfinish.com on download and also released in an eight-disc CD deluxe package set with a limited edition of just 4,000.
Set the date! July 20th is going to be a weekend to remember…
The Ninth Doctor and Rose come to audio and more in the latest Doctor Who releases from BBC Audio for Summer 2019
This summer sees the release of a range of brand new Doctor Who audiobooks, from the trip of a lifetime to the final segment of the Key to Time, here’s a look at what’s available to buy on CD and download from BBC Audio in Summer 2019:
Nicholas Briggs and Camille Coduri are the readers of these three original novels featuring the Ninth Doctor and Rose, as played on TV by Christopher Eccleston & Billie Piper
Join the Doctor and Rose on these journeys in Time and Space as they encounter faceless killers in 1920s London, get trapped in an alien prison camp, and discover something very sinister behind the latest video game craze.
The stories are The Clockwise Man by Justin Richards, The Monsters Inside by Stephen Cole, and *Winner Takes All *by Jacqueline Rayner. Based on the hit BBC TV series.
Nicholas Briggs has provided the voices of the Daleks, Cybermen, Ice Warriors and numerous other alien characters in the Doctor Who TV series. Camille Coduri played Jackie Tyler in several episodes of the series from 2005 onwards.
Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor Novels is available on Amazon and Audible now.
Anneke Wills reads this exciting novelisation of a classic TV adventure for the Second Doctor
In the summer of 1966, thousands of young people are taking their holidays with ChameleonTours — and not one of them is coming back.
When the TARDIS lands at Gatwick Airport the Doctor is drawn into a web of intrigue and deception. To add to his troubles, Polly mysteriously vanishes. Or does she? The girl at the Chameleon Toursdesk looks like Polly, and even sounds like her, but she claims she comes from Zurich. Who is she really? Who is behind these abductions, and for what sinister purpose? Soon the Doctor and Jamie must face a desperate group of faceless aliens — the deadly Chameleons…
Anneke Wills, who played the Doctor’s companion Polly in the BBC TV series, reads Terrance Dicks’s novelisation based on an original serial by Malcolm Hulke and David Ellis.
Doctor Who: The Faceless Ones is available on Amazon and Audible now.
John Leeson reads this exciting novelisation of a TV adventure for the Fourth Doctor, Romana and K9
Some time ago the White Guardian, one of the most powerful beings in the Cosmos, set the Doctor an urgent task to find and reassemble the six segments of the Key to Time.
Having successfully retrieved five of the segments, the Doctor and Romana arrive on the planet Atrios in the middle of an atomic war. There they must search for the last, most vital piece of the Key.
However, sinister dangers await them in this final stage of their quest. The actions of the Marshal of Atrios, operating under a mysterious influence, look certain to bring about armageddon for them all.
John Leeson, the Voice of K9 in the TV series, reads Terrance Dicks’s novelisation of the 1978 TV serial by Bob Baker and Dave Martin.
Doctor Who: The Armageddon Factor is available on Amazon and Audible now.
Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen star in this classic audio adventure from 1976
The TARDIS’s arrival, on a lonely stretch of beach at night, is closely followed by a slithering sound and a chilling roar. It marks the beginning of a terrifying adventure on present day Earth for the Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith.
The deadly Pescatons have arrived! Refugees from their own dying planet, these towering amphibians are led by the mighty Zor, whom the Doctor has encountered before. Soon the creatures have invaded London, wreaking death and destruction. The Doctor and Sarah must draw upon all their reserves of courage and ingenuity.
In a bonus interview, Elisabeth Sladen chats with Mark Ayres and Michael Stevens about her life and career as Sarah Jane, one of the Doctor’s most popular companions of all time.
Doctor Who: The Pescatons is available on Amazon and Audible now.
Two joyous archive celebrations of Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary presented by Russell Tovey and Graham Norton
November 2013 marked 50 years since Doctor Who first arrived on BBC television, and Radio 2 marked the occasion with two very special programmes.
Who Is The Doctor?
Russell Tovey takes an epic journey through five decades of Doctor Who history and charts the fortunes of the series, from its origins in the 1960s and growing popularity in the 1970s, through the onset of stormy waters in the 1980s, to its triumphant rebirth and second golden age in the 21st Century. Among those telling the story are Russell T Davies, Steven Moffat, Barry Letts, Philip Hinchcliffe, Jenna Coleman, Louise Jameson, Matt Smith, David Tennant, Christopher Eccleston, Sylvester McCoy, Nicholas Briggs, Mark Ayres, Ben Foster, Mark Gatiss, Waris Hussein and Terrance Dicks alongside numerous other Doctor Who creators and contributors.
Graham Norton
In a special edition of his Saturday morning Radio 2 show, broadcast live from the 50th Anniversary Celebration in London, Graham presides over lively and humorous conversation with guests including Colin Baker, Tom Baker, Jenna Coleman, Peter Davison, Carole Ann Ford, Louise Jameson, Katy Manning, Kate O’Mara, Sylvester McCoy, Steven Moffat, William Russell and Matt Smith. Maria McErlane celebrates ten very special Days of the Doctor, and Graham casts an eye over some of the costumes that have featured in the series.
Join Russell, Graham and a galaxy of stars for the festivities as they mark half a century of Doctor Who. Programmes produced by Malcolm Prince for BBC Radio 2.
Please note that some edits have been made for this commercial release.
Doctor Who at the BBC: Happy Anniversary is available on Amazon and Audible now.
David Troughton reads this exciting novelisation of a classic TV adventure for the Second Doctor, as played by Patrick Troughton
In the year 2030, when the world is hit by a series of terrible natural disasters, only one man seems to know what action to take.
Salamander’s success in handling these monumental problems has brought him enormous power. But what more lies behind his public persona? From the moment the Doctor, Jamie and Victoria land on an Australian beach, they are caught up in a struggle for world domination — a struggle in which the Doctor’s startling resemblance to Salamander plays a vital role.
David Troughton, who has played several roles in the TV series, reads Ian Marter’s novelisation of the 1967 TV serial by David Whitaker.
Doctor Who: The Enemy of the World is available on Amazon and Audible now.
Coming in July and August 2019:
Doctor Who: Terminus (Fifth Doctor Novelisation), written by Stephen Gallagher writing as John Lydecker
Doctor Who: Resurrection of the Daleks (Fifth Doctor Novelisation), written by Eric Saward
Doctor Who: The Lost TV Episodes Collection Two (First Doctor TV Soundtracks), written by Terry Nation; Dennis Spooner; John Lucarotti; Gerry Davis; Ian Stuart Black
Doctor Who: The Seeds of Doom (Fourth Doctor Novelisation), written by Philip Hinchcliffe
All titles are available from Amazon and Audible in June and July. Check back here soon for an in-depth look at August and September’s releases.
Tom Baker and Adric reunite for new Doctor Who audio adventures
Brace yourselves, Doctor Who fans: Tom Baker’s Time Lord and companion Adric are set to reunite in a new series of audio adventures.
For the first time since 1981, the fourth incarnation of The Doctor and the boy genius played by Matthew Waterhouse will join forces for more stories set in parallel universe E-Space.
As part of the ninth series of Big Finish’s Fourth Doctor Adventures, the audio play producer will release two volumes of stories featuring the characters.
Set just before Tom Baker’s Doctor’s last televised adventure – between State of Decay and Warrior’s Gate – the audio stories are set to depict the start of the relationship between the Fourth Doctor and Adric, the self-assured 15-year-old and mathematical mastermind.
Originally from Alzarius, a planet existing in the parallel universe of E-Space (as opposed to our universe’s N-Space), Adric first became a companion of The Doctor in 1980’s State of Decay after sneaking aboard the Tardis.
Adric and The Doctor won’t be alone, however. The two will be joined by Time-Lady Romanadvoratrelundar II (Romana to us humans), played by Lalla Ward, while John Leeson will reprise his voice role as robo-canine companion K9.
While both K-9 and Romana have previously appeared in Big Finish adventures with the Fourth Doctor, the new stories will mark the first time Tom Baker and Matthew Waterhouse feature together in an audio drama.
“I’ve always found that when recording a Doctor Who on audio, it felt like coming home,” Waterhouse said about returning to work with Baker. “I absolutely loved it, and this [new series] is another development of that. I love the idea of E-Space with the Fourth Doctor, Romana, Adric and K9 travelling together.”
Explaining what listeners can expect from the new stories, producer David Richardson said: “We’re returning to another much-loved era in Series 9, as the E-Space trilogy gets a massive extension on audio and we explore strange and wonderful worlds in another universe with the genius team of the Doctor, Romana, Adric and K-9.
“It’s been such fun recreating the tone and high-concept style of that era, as the travellers begin the search for a CVE (Charged Vacuum Emboitment) which can take them (or at least most of them) home.”
Volume one of series nine of The Fourth Doctor Adventures, set for release in January 2020, will feature two stories:
Purgatory 12 by Marc Platt
Chase the Night by Jonathan Morris
And volume two, set for release in February 2020, will feature these adventures:
The Planet of Witches by Alan Barnes
The Quest of the Engineer by Andrew SmithRemove term: series nine of The Fourth Doctor Adventures serieRemove term: series nine of The Fourth Doctor Adventures series nine of The Fourth Doctor Adventures nine of The Fourth Doctor Adventure
Big Finish has also confirmed series 10 of The Fourth Doctor Adventures will be released in January and February 2021.
Each volume is available as a 4-disc CD box set for £25 or on download at £20 from www.bigfinish.com. Or you can get both sets together in a pre-order bundle for £45 on CD or £40 on download. Each of these stories are also available at an individual download price of £12.99.
Doctor Who’s classic series is now streaming for free – but only in the US!
Good news for fans of classic Doctor Who, episodes of the iconic science-fiction show ranging from William Hartnell’s debut to Sylvester McCoy’s last episode are streaming for absolutely free.
But… in the United States only.
Streaming service Pluto TV has a deal with the BBC to air over 200 episodes of the series for American fans, without you having to pay a penny.
Pluto TV works differently to other streaming services, functioning more like actual TV channels. That means it has scheduled content and ads, and you have to tune in at the specified time to see the episode you want. How retro!
The service has dedicated channels for different providers, genres and shows, with Classic Doctor Who having a channel all to itself.
Pluto TV, owned by media giant Viacom, has over 12 million active users in the US, which is very big. It’s available on a variety of devices, including Apple TV, PlayStation 4, Chromecast and Smart TVs (sometimes under the name WatchFree).
In the UK, it’s only really available on Roku and NOW TV devices at the moment, and doesn’t contain the Classic Who channel. It DOES have an entire channel just showing Yu-Gi-Oh! though, so that’s something.
Hopefully the UK launch of BritBox will allow fans to stream Classic Who, otherwise there always the excellently produced DVDs and Blu-rays.
Doctor Who: Tales from the TARDIS comic issue #2.5 is on sale now!
In this issue, the Thirteenth Doctor uses her wits to stop the TARDIS being stolen. Plus, the Twelfth Doctor tries to protect the Ice Warriors and Vikings from an old foe! Finally, the Tenth Doctor follows a hunch when the TARDIS shows unsettling symptoms!
Check out the details and the amazing cover art below:
Thirteenth Doctor book released in December ahead of Series 12 in 2020
To celebrate the return of Doctor Who in early 2020, BBC Books will publish a unique collection of name-dropping historical adventures inspired by Jodie Whittaker’s first series as the Doctor.
Doctor Who: Star Tales will be released on December 5, 2019. This could mean that Doctor Who Series 12 will premiere soon after the release of the book, hopefully in January of 2020.
The official description of the book is as follows:
‘Even though they’re gone from the world, they’re never gone from me.’
The Doctor is many things – curious, funny, brave, protective of her friends… and a shameless namedropper. While she and her companions battled aliens and travelled across the universe, the Doctor hinted at a host of previous, untold adventures with the great and the good: we discovered she got her sunglasses from Pythagoras (or was it Audrey Hepburn?); lent a mobile phone to Elvis; had an encounter with Amelia Earhart where she discovered that a pencil-thin spider web can stop a plane; had a ‘wet weekend’ with Harry Houdini, learning how to escape from chains underwater; and more.
In this collection of new stories, Star Tales takes you on a rip-roaring ride through history, from 500BC to the swinging 60s, going deeper into the Doctor’s notorious name-dropping and revealing the truth behind these anecdotes.
The book will feature six new stories, detailing the Doctor’s untold adventures with famous figures in history – Audrey Hepburn, Elvis Presley, Harry Houdini, Amelia Earhart, Albert Einstein and Pythagoras, written by Steve Cole, Jenny T Colgan, Jo Cotterill, Paul Magrs, Trevor Baxendale and Mike Tucker.
Doctor Who: Star Tales is available to pre-order via Amazon UK.
World War II Anniversary Launches New Lethbridge-Stewart Series
Candy Jar Books is proud to announce its seventh series of Lethbridge-Stewart novels, launching in September 2019 on the 80th Anniversary of World War II!
The seventh series of books includes a five-book sequence called Bloodlines by Gareth Madgwick, Sharon Bidwell, Andy Frankham-Allen, Chris Lynch and Baz Greenland, and a sixth tangentially connected title by Robert Mammone.
The Bloodlines sequence launches with Home Fires Burn by Gareth Madgwick, which sees the return of real-life World War II hero, Eileen Younghusband. Set during the Second World War, the novel reunites Eileen and Professor Edward Travers. They are joined in this adventure by Matthew Lethbridge-Stewart, the Brigadier’s uncle, who first appeared in the Lineage anthology.
Home Fires Burn is released to tie-in with the 80th Anniversary of World War II. Shaun Russell, Head of Publishing at Candy Jar Books, explains a little of Eileen’s role in the war:
“With eightieth anniversary of the start of the war, we felt that we really wanted to acknowledge the contribution the greatest generation made to all our lives. In 1941 Eileen signed the official secrets act, and wasn’t able to talk about her work in the top secret Filter Room. In 2017 she was featured in The Flaming Soldier and we’ve had so many requests to bring her back. So, here she is launching the new series of books, and this time round her contribution to this story will have major affect on Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart’s life.”
Author, Gareth Madgwick says:
“I’ve really enjoyed writing this book. The Second World War is an era that has always fascinated me, including the bravery and steadfastness of those like Eileen Le Croissette (later Candy Jar author Eileen Younghusband). Setting it in the beautiful Peak District and also the nearby Sheffield steelworks gave me an opportunity to look into areas of the war effort that aren’t always explored elsewhere, and the sacrifices made.”
The second book in the sequence is The Shadow Man, written by popular author Sharon Bidwell. Her second novel for the series. In The Shadow Man we unveil the Bloodlines connection a little bit more, and focus in on Anne Travers and Bill Bishop as they head to France to celebrate their wedding anniversary.
Sharon Bidwell says:
“When asked to write a novel focusing on Anne and Bill, I welcomed the chance to explore their relationship a little more than the series has hereto allowed for. What better way to add to this universe, than working with a quintessential strong female, one known for speaking her mind, for her intelligence, for her independence, as well as being a mother, and a woman in love?”
The third book in the sequence is An Ordinary Man by Andy Frankham-Allen. In this book, the Bloodlines sequence starts to come together as we explore an alternative timeline in which Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart never went into military service.
Andy Frankham-Allen says:
“This was originally planned as the opening book in the sequence, but we reshuffled to tie in the Eileen book with the World War II anniversary. As a result, this is a wonderful mid-season (as it were) cliffhanger book, that brings to the fore the hints of the mystery littered throughout the previous two titles. It’ll end on quite the cliffhanger, setting the stage for the next two titles due out early 2020.”
Details on the final two titles in the Bloodlines sequence and the sixth title in the batch will be announced later in the year.
Blurbs:
Home Fires Burn: The War is in full swing for Professor Travers, Section Officer Le Croissette and the Fourth Operational Corps. But beneath the farms and factories of the Home Front, another conflict threatens to erupt.
The Shadow Man: A private laboratory. A secret experiment. A lethal mistake. Anne and Bill are about to stumble into one man’s obsession, causing someone to pay a deadly price.
An Ordinary Man: Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart lives a simple but fulfilling life as a teacher in Liskeard Grammar School. Owain Vine, former student of Mr Lethbridge-Stewart, also lives an ordinary life. An only child, he is happily settled in his home village of Bledoe. But then strange things begin to happen in February 1969. He starts hearing voices, getting visions of a London covered in web! What connects these visions to his old school teacher? And just who is the strange old woman seen in Bledoe, who claims to know everything about Owain and Mr Lethbridge-Stewart?
Bloodlines is available as either a three-book or a six-book bundle. Please visit http://www.candy-jar.co.uk/books/homefiresburn.html to order.
If you purchase Home Fires Burn you are entitled to 10% off the following Eileen Younghusband titles: One Woman’s War, Men I Have Known & Eileen’s War (proof of purchase required.)
NB: IF YOU HAVE A SUBSCRIPTION, THE SERIES SEVEN IS COVERED BY THIS.
The Doctor Who Companion – The Twelfth Doctor: Volume One
Doctor Who Magazine continues its in-depth chronicle of the show’s production with a 100-page volume dedicated to the first four episodes of Series 8 starring Peter Capaldi as the Doctor and Jenna Coleman as Clara Oswald: Deep Breath, Into the Dalek, Robot of Sherwood and Listen.
Andrew Pixley’s unparalleled behind-the-scenes coverage – originally presented in the partwork Doctor Who The Complete History and now revised and reproduced in magazine format for the first time – examines every aspect of the stories’ development, from scripting through to transmission and beyond. Richly illustrated with rare images, this is the essential guide to the series that took Doctor Who in a remarkable new direction…
Available from WH Smith from Thursday 13 June 2019 priced £7.99 and from store.panini.co.uk and digitally from pocketmags.com priced £6.99
Please note that this publication is not available as part of a subscription to Doctor Who Magazine.
Doctor Who Magazine continues its in-depth chronicle of the show’s production with a 100-page volume dedicated to the first four episodes of Series 8 starring Peter Capaldi as the Doctor and Jenna Coleman as Clara Oswald: Deep Breath, Into the Dalek, Robot of Sherwood and Listen.