Steven Moffat has been nominated in the Best Writer category at the BAFTA Craft Awards for his work on Doctor Who, it has been announced. The British Academy of Film and Television Arts will be hosting the ceremony on May 11th. The awards honour those who work behind-the-scenes in the television industry, and composer Murray Gold is also nominated for his work on Doctor Who.

Moffat's competition consists of Jimmy McGovern (for The Street), Tony Marchant (The Mark of Cain) and Heidi Thomas (Cranford). Doctor Who also receives nominations in the categories of Interactive Fiction Contribution, Sound (Fiction / Entertainment) and Visual Effects.

Doctor Who has received two nominations and Torchwood one nomination for the prestigious Hugo awards.

The Hugo Awards are given every year by members of Worldcon, the World Science Fiction Convention, and have been presented since 1953.

The full list of nominations in the Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form category are.

• Doctor Who - Human Nature/Family of Blood, written by Paul Cornell and directed by Charles Palmer


• Doctor Who - Blink, written by Steven Moffat and directed by Hettie Macdonald


• Torchwood - Captain Jack Harkness, written by Catherine Tregenna and directed by Ashley Way


• Battlestar Galactica - Razor, written by Michael Taylor and directed by Félix Enríquez Alcalá and Wayne Rose


• Star Trek New Voyages - World Enough and Time written by Michael Reaves & Marc Scott Zicree and directed by Marc Scott Zicree

This is the third year running that Steven Moffat has been nominated for the award, having won in 2006 for The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances and in 2007 for The Girl in the Fireplace. Paul Cornell was previously nominated in 2006 for Father's Day.

The Winners will be announced at Denvention 3 in Denver, Colorado in August.

Thanks to Jason Snell

The BBC has confirmed that Series Four of Doctor Who will launch on BBC One in the week beginning 5th April 2008.

The day and time slot for the programme are still to be confirmed but it will almost certainly be shown around 7pm on Saturday 5th April.

Episode One, Partners In Crime, reunites the Doctor with Donna Noble, played by Catherine Tate. It also stars Sarah Lancashire as Miss Foster.

Nominations for the Royal Television Society awards have been announced. Included in the list are:

Best Drama Series: Doctor Who
Best Actor: David Tennant (Recovery/Doctor Who)
Best Children's Drama: The Sarah Jane Adventures

The awards will be presented on Wednesday 19th March 2008. A full list of nominees is available on the RTS website.

The latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine confirms that Steve Pemberton, star of "The League of Gentlemen," will make an appearance in the forthcoming fourth series of Doctor Who. The Sun takes it further, reporting that "insiders said Steve will play a mysterious character called Lux who meets the Doctor during an expedition to uncover the secrets of an abandoned library." The Sun notes that the episode "also stars ER actress Alex Kingston and James Bond star Colin Salmon," confirming Pemberton will be in the same story. The new season of Doctor Who premieres this April.

A few Torchwood items and a number of slightly offbeat entries this time.

Torchwood

The Star-Ledger (New Jersey) reviews Torchwood's "Sleeper".

UK SF Book News has a feature on the Torchwood comic in Titan Magazine's Torchwood Magazine.

And the Daily Record briefly reviews John Barrowman's autobiography "Anything Goes".

Odd Who News

Philip Glenister tells the Western Mail that he watches The Sarah Jane Adventures, though he doesn't quite remember the program's name correctly:

Today, his favourite TV includes unexpected fare such as The Sarah Jane Mysteries -- but that’s because of his two young daughters by his actress wife Beth Goddard; the family lives in East Sheen, Surrey, where fame hasn’t gone to his head, and where he enjoys a "normal suburban existence".

"Yes, The Sarah Jane Mysteries, it’s one of those series you think might not work -- it's an off-shoot of Doctor Who -- but my girls adore it," he says. "The girls are just getting into Doctor Who now. We never let them watch it before, because we thought they’d wake up with nightmares."

Recent issues of two American magazines aimed at "fan culture" highlight Doctor Who and Torchwood actresses. Geek Monthly puts the return of Billie Piper to Doctor Who at #7 in its "Son of the BIG List: Our yearly roundup of Stuff That Rules", and has an interview with Eve Myles. And Wizard lists Freema Agyeman at #16 in its list of the "Sexiest Women of TV".

Wales on Sunday quotes Coleen McLoughlin, the girlfriend of English football (soccer) player Wayne Rooney, as saying that she'd love to be the next Doctor Who companion.

And io9 pronounces that Kroll, the giant octopus from the 1978 Doctor Who story The Power of Kroll, is the tallest of all giant monsters, looking down on puny creatures like Godzilla and the monster from Cloverfield.

(Thanks to Larry Carter, and to "PolyG" and "Alia" of the Doctor Who Forum.)

Doctor Who

The South Wales Evening Post reports that Doctor Who is filming at a disused library in Swansea. This filming is for Steven Moffat's two-part story, which involves a mysterious abandoned library.

The estate of Terry Nation, the writer who created the Daleks, has vetoed a humorous clip featuring a Dalek from being included on the forthcoming "Five Doctors" DVD. The clip, from a 1983 edition of BBC Breakfast, featured a Dalek being interviewed by astrologer Russell Grant, to the amusement of Peter Davison and Patrick Troughton. However, the Nation estate has forbidden the use of the clip, fearing that it detracts from the Daleks' threatening image. The Sun and Metro both carry the story.

Torchwood

Burn Gorman talks to iF Magazine about his character Owen Harper. "I hope that in series two he's a changed man," says Gorman.

The Daily Mirror published a detailed preview of "To the Last Man" before it aired in the UK on Wednesday, and Digital Spy has a review.

Digital Spy also has an article about the Torchwood interactive adventure hosted on bbc.co.uk/torchwood.

The South Wales Echo has a story on Torchwood's ratings success.

People

The Arran Banner, the newspaper of the Scottish Isle of Arran, has found a 16-year-old David Tennant in its archives. Young Tennant was on Arran 20 years ago filming a short play for the children's series Dramarama. The article is accompanied by a small picture.

Christopher Eccleston was one of three judges for BBC Four's Pioneer World Cinema Award 2008. The award was given to the dark Spanish-language fantasy "Pan's Labyrinth"; Variety and Digital Spy have the story.

Another award panel, this one for the Red Planet Prize (awarded by Tony Jordan's Red Planet Pictures for new writing talent in the UK), was composed of Jordan, Doctor Who executive producer Julie Gardner, Doctor Who actor and writer Mark Gatiss and polymath Stephen Fry (who appeared in the Doctor Who webcast "Death Comes to Time" and was scheduled to write a script for Doctor Who Series Two before scheduling commitments forced him to withdraw). The Stage covers the award.

New Car Net recalls Third Doctor Jon Pertwee's road safety public service film with the unforgettable slogan "Splink". (If you don't know what "Splink" means, there's an old story with video on the BBC News site.)

The UK's Advertising Standards Authority has rejected two complaints about risqué advertisements for Billie Piper's ITV2 series "Secret Diary of a Call Girl". The ASA ruled that the poster, which featured Piper wearing a bra and panties, was "not dissimilar to that which children would be exposed to in other advertising, for example for lingerie and designer fragrances." The ruling can be read here; Brand Republic has a story (but requires free registration to read it).

The Daily Mail finds it newsworthy to have a photographer follow Billie Piper and her husband Laurence Fox while they're grocery shopping and walking the dog.

Digital Spy has a story culled from John Barrowman's recently published autobiography "Anything Goes", in which Barrowman compares working with Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant. In the book, Barrowman writes: "I found the set to be a lighter one with David than it had been with Christopher in the lead role. I think David is a happier person, whereas I found Chris to be a bit angsty." (Digital Spy miscorrects "angsty" to "angry".)

There are reviews of "Anything Goes" at Country Life magazine and the Daily Telegraph.

TV Guide has published the second half of its interview with James Marsters; there's less about his Torchwood role here, but Marsters speaks about other roles he's playing.

Leftist Internet magazine Spiked has cited Ofcom's investigation into complaints about Catherine Tate's Christmas special as an example of "institutionalized prudishness", and notes that the 28 people who complained about the special represent 0.0004375% of the program's audience.

And This Is Hampshire has an interview with comedian Toby Hadoke, creator of "Moths Ate My Doctor Who Scarf".

(Thanks to Andrew Brookes, Sean Elliott and Ben Rawson-Jones.)

A new 90-second trailer for Series Four will start showing at cinemas across the UK from February 1, it has been reported.

According to Digital Spy, it will run at Empire, Odeon and Cineworld venues.

Naomi Gibney, the head of marketing at BBC Vision, is quoted as saying: "This is a great opportunity for the BBC to reach new audiences with an exciting preview of the new series of Doctor Who."

Trailers for Voyage Of The Damned were shown at cinemas in December.

UPDATE: The BBC Press Office has now put online more details concerning the trailer. It says the deal is part of a BBC test with Carlton Screen Advertising to showcase BBC content. It covers 837 Odeon screens, 736 Cineworld screens and 142 Empire screens. The trailer will be shown before some of the most anticipated new releases, including Cloverfield, Juno, John Rambo and There Will Be Blood.

Doctor Who

Doctor Who had been nominated for the The South Bank Show Awards, but lost to Channel 4's Iraq War drama "The Mark of Cain". BBC News has the story.

The Doctor Who episode "Gridlock" has been nominated for the Epiphany Prize, an award given by the conservative Christian media organization Movieguide. The Epiphany Prizes "seek to create a deeper spiritual awareness in mankind and increase man's love and understanding of God" and are awarded to "popular, entertaining movies and television programs which are wholesome, uplifting, inspirational, redemptive, and moral." "Gridlock" is up against the TV movies "Lost Holiday: The Jim & Suzanne Shemwell Story", "Saving Sarah Cain" and "The Valley of Light", and an episode of the animated Christian children's series "Friends and Heroes". Variety has a story about the nomination.

The Aberdeen Press and Journal reports that Billie Piper has been welcomed into her husband Laurence Fox's family, according to his cousin Emilia Fox.

And Colin Baker is endorsing a new Department of Transport scheme for anyone over 60 or disabled to have free bus travel during off-peak hours, reports the Bucks Free Press.

Torchwood

BostonNOW reviews the Torchwood first season DVD (calling the series "thoroughly entertaining").

The Daily Record has more excerpts from John Barrowman's autobiography, "Anything Goes", including Barrowman discussing his casting as Jack Harkness.

Doctor Who and Torchwood writer Helen Raynor speaks to the South Wales Echo about her work on the series. She tells the newspaper, "Sometimes I can get a bit precious about my work but that's healthy, the minute you get complacent about your work you're dead in the water."

The Herald has a rather tongue-in-cheek preview of "To the Last Man", which will air in the UK on Wednesday and in the US on February 9.

And last, Guardian Unlimited discusses the Torchwood alternate reality game, which is available (to UK users only) here.

(Thanks to "Caffeinejunkie", "PolyG" and "admiratio" of the Doctor Who Forum.)

Doktor Wer?

The Sun reports that BBC Worldwide has sold the first two series of Doctor Who to Germany's ProSieben. The voices of the Ninth Doctor and Rose will be dubbed into German by Frank Roth and Maren Rainer, respectively.

The Sarah Jane Adventures

Despite Elisabeth Sladen's statement to SFX that a second series of The Sarah Jane Adventures has been commissioned, Digital Spy quotes a BBC source saying that no decision has yet been made.

Meanwhile, SFX has updated their report, suggesting that the "24 episodes" may represent two series being filmed back-to-back.

Torchwood

There are still more reviews of "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" from the American press: the Chicago Sun-Times (which calls Torchwood "pretty, witty and gay"), The Sun-Ledger (New Jersey), the Orlando Sentinel, Sci Fi Weekly and About.com all have largely positive reviews. (Earlier season reviews from the Associated Press and Newsday are also being reprinted in newspapers across the US.)

Eve Myles told Sci Fi Wire that the second series of Torchwood contains both action and romance. And Sci Fi Weekly has a John Barrowman interview, portions of which have already appeared in Sci Fi Wire.

Naoko Mori tells the Daily Record (Glasgow) what she loves and hates, and tells The Independent (London) about her week in media.

Finally, the Daily Record also has excerpts from John Barrowman's autobiography "Anything Goes".

(Thanks to "Lianne" of the Doctor Who Forum.)

Doctor Who

Nearly all the Doctor Who press coverage from the last couple of days is related to the classic series. It's like we've gone back in time to 2003.

The Derby Evening Telegraph has a short interview with Colin Baker, who speaks about working with his ex-wife Liza Goddard in "She Stoops to Conquer" and his visit to the filming of "Voyage of the Damned".

In the West End, Peter Davison will leave the role of King Arthur in Spamalot on March 1; his replacement in the role will be Alan Dale, who also has a guest role in an upcoming episode of Torchwood. The Official London Theatre Guide and Playbill have details.

An actual police box has been installed at the Kent Police Museum in Chatham. The Crawley Observer has the Press Association story and BBC News has video. NB: The police box, which is on loan to the museum from its home in Glasgow, will not be on public display until Sunday, February 10, when the museum reopens.

TVShowsOnDVD.com reports that BBC Video is reducing the price of two dozen classic Doctor Who DVDs in North America.

The only press items at all related to the new series are reviews of the recent adaptation of Mansfield Park starring Billie Piper, which will air in the US on PBS stations on Sunday, January 27 as part of the Masterpiece Classic series (formerly Masterpiece Theatre). The Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle and Deseret Morning News (Salt Lake City) review the production.

Torchwood

TV Guide and the Radio Times both have interviews with James Marsters about his role in Torchwood. TV Guide also recommends the show to US viewers weathering the writers' strike.

There are more reviews of "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" from the Boston Herald, The Star-Ledger (New Jersey), the South Bend Tribune (Indiana), The Deadbolt and iF Magazine.

IGN, the Courier-Post (Cherry Hill, New Jersey) and The Globe and Mail (Toronto) have more reviews of the Torchwood First Season DVD box set; the Globe and Mail's review is on the same page as a review of the Criterion DVD release of This Sporting Life, the film which drew William Hartnell to the attention of Verity Lambert.

(Thanks to "Austin39" of the Doctor Who Forum.)

The BBC Press Office has announced that Alex Kingston and Colin Salmon will appear as guest stars in writer Steven Moffat's two-part story for the fourth series of Doctor Who, which is currently filming.

Kingston, who will play a character named in the press release as River Song, is best known for her regular role in the American television drama series ER. In the UK, she starred in the one-off dramas Moll Flanders and Boudecia for the ITV network. Salmon has been seen in a variety of roles in British film and television, including as the supporting character Charles Robinson in the James Bond films Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough and Die Another Day. His character in Doctor Who has not yet been named.

BBC News and The Sun have stories about the casting announcement.

Doctor Who

On Monday, The Times published a cartoon by Morten Morland portraying Hillary Clinton as a Dalek, with Bill Clinton pushing her up a flight of stairs as she tells him, "Expiate!" It's odd that cartoonists still assume that Daleks have trouble with stairs, nearly 20 years after they were first shown levitating up them.

Sir Michael Lyons, chairman of the BBC Trust, visited Cardiff on Tuesday to celebrate the success of Doctor Who and Torchwood, and to promise continued investment in BBC Wales programming. BBC News has the story.

Readers of the Guardian's Organ Grinder blog have voted Doctor Who as their favorite TV show of 2007. This is the third year in a row Doctor Who has won the Organ Grinder poll.

Scottish novelist and comedian A. L. Kennedy, whose novel Day won the prestigious Costa Book of the Year award on Tuesday, told The Scotsman that she'd love to write a Doctor Who episode: "She's entirely serious about this, having been a fan of the series ever since she was four. 'I write asking them every six months, and I get increasingly high-ranking reject letters, each time explaining there's nothing they can do, and it's all down to [series writer] Russell T Davies.' "

The Daily Star's story about guest appearances in Series Four has been picked up by several sources, including The Press and Journal of Aberdeen and the Evening Post of Nottingham.

The Paisley Daily Express has a story about David Tennant's work as a celebrity patron for the Scottish-based Association for International Cancer Research.

And Australia's New Idea magazine claims that Kylie Minogue is "putting the final touches on a deal" to return to Doctor Who as a series regular.

Torchwood

The TV Today blog at The Stage previews Wednesday's new episode of Torchwood, "Sleeper", saying that the series as a whole is "massively improved" and that "Sleeper is "sensitively, quietly told" but [feels] "the need to throw blood around with gay abandon."

The Western Mail lists Eve Myles in the "Championship" category of their "Fantasy Fame League" of Welsh celebrity -- the same level as Catherine Zeta-Jones and Charlotte Church. Gareth David-Lloyd is in "League One", the next level down.

TV Guide, The Boston Globe, The Star of Toronto, The Province of Vancouver, iF Magazine, MSN TV and Monsters and Critics all review the Torchwood Season 1 DVD set, which was released in North America on Tuesday.

The Boston Phoenix and the City Weekly of Salt Lake City preview "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" for their readers (Torchwood's second season debuts on BBC America on Saturday, January 26). Many news sources, including the San Francisco Chronicle, the Arizona Republic and the CBC carry an Associated Press article about the season. And the Star-Telegram (Fort Worth, Texas) recommends Torchwood to viewers hungry for heroic characters during the writers' strike.

(Thanks to "PolyG", "Darnall42", "Xtatoo", "outforawalk", "aaaa" and "admiratio" of the Doctor Who Forum.)

The script for the 2007 Doctor Who episode "Blink" by Steven Moffat has been placed on the preliminary ballot for the Nebula Awards. The Nebula Awards are awarded yearly by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) for the best science fiction written in the previous two years, using a system of "rolling eligibility". Moffat was nominated last year for his script for "The Girl in the Fireplace", but lost to the Hayao Miyazaki animated film "Howl's Moving Castle".

This year, the other entries for Best Script are the screenplays for the films "Children of Men", "The Prestige", "Pan's Labrynth" and "V for Vendetta"; an episode of the television anthology "Masters of Science Fiction" written by Harlan Ellison; and an episode of the fan-produced Internet series "Star Trek: The New Voyages".

CLARIFICATION: "Blink" is on the preliminary ballot, which is the first part of a two-stage voting process. The final ballot will be released in March.

(Thanks to Alex Frazer-Harrison.)

The Daily Star is reporting casting and plot information for Series Four which, if true, could be considered a spoiler. Some details are listed below, and more can be seen by following the link above. (Please note that the Daily Star's website has content which may not be suitable for all ages.)

(Thanks to Joey Donovan.)

People

Hello! magazine's readers have voted David Tennant the third most attractive man, after Sean Bean and Hugh Laurie.

Catherine Tate spoke to the Toronto Star about her comedy series and her return to Doctor Who as Donna Noble. "What's great about doing Doctor Who is that it has a narrative, so it means that I can approach it more as a straight acting role," says Tate. "It's just nicer to have a story arc that lasts longer than, like, four minutes."

Contactmusic.com quotes Russell T. Davies as saying that being gay helped give him "an edge" over other aspiring writers.

Eighth Doctor Paul McGann was one of the celebrities on hand for the official opening of Liverpool's year as the European Capital of Culture, reports the Liverpool Echo.

And Johnny Depp has denied rumors that he was seeking a role on Doctor Who, reports Teletext. (The story is no longer available on Teletext's website.)

Torchwood

Several news sources have published reviews of Torchwood's second series debut, "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang". These include The Times ("good, salacious knockabout fun"), The Times again ("funny, fast and daring"), The Daily Telegraph ("leaden gags" and "a fantastically ungripping plot") and The Guardian ("parts of it were very, very funny").

American media are also covering the series ("Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" will debut on BBC America on Saturday, January 26); the Los Angeles Times calls the series "grown-up, dark, energetic and sometimes hard to keep track of." The Orlando Sentinel (Florida), The Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky), the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (Wisconsin), the Akron Beacon-Journal (Ohio), the Erie News-Times (Pennsylvania) and the Fresno Bee (California) all report on the second series debut and/or Tuesday's DVD release of the first series.

The Huddersfield Examiner has an interview with John Barrowman.

The South Wales Echo has excerpts from an interview Eve Myles gave to Iconz magazine, in which she speaks of her love for Cardiff.

James Marsters' girlfriend enjoyed watching him kiss John Barrowman, according to The Sun and contactmusic.com.

Miscellany

An article in The Sunday Times about the state of children's television in Britain quotes Russell T. Davies and notes that while television labelled as being for children is suffering, "family" programming like Doctor Who is thriving. Another column points to the success of Doctor Who as a model for adapting classic adventure novels to the screen.

Indeed, Doctor Who is such a success that BBC bosses are looking to apply its lessons beyond the realm of drama. In an interview with The Guardian BBC director general Mark Thompson used Doctor Who as an example of the sort of "creative energy" which the BBC should use in political coverage. Covering Thompson's remark, the Belfast Telegraph suggested that BBC reporters covering Northern Ireland might already feel like time travelers.

Young Doctor Who fans in the Midlands can participate in a craft competition at the Stourport Library in Stourport-on-Severn, Worcestershire. There are three age groups for the competition: ages 5 to 7, 8 to 10 and 11 to 13. Entrants can color a Doctor Who picture (available at the library) or make a Doctor Who-themed model. The Kidderminster Shuttle has details of the competition.

The West Sussex Gazette has a feature article about classic Doctor Who filming in West Sussex.

The Doctor Who Up Close exhibition in Cardiff will be adding costumes from "Voyage of the Damned" to its collection, reports the Western Mail.

A columnist in The Scotsman notes that "apart from reality shows and similar swill, Doctor Who is the only programme that brings the nation together simultaneously: ironic, given that the Doctor is a Time Lord."

Technology website The Register describes a small flying robot being developed by the US military as a "proto-Dalek".

Doctor Who news shows up everywhere these days. Materials Handling World has a short article about the forklift featured in "Voyage of the Damned". No matter what your field is, there's nothing like a Doctor Who story to spice up your trade news, eh?

And the South Wales Echo has a story about a dad who built his kids a five-foot TARDIS replica to keep their toys in. Bless.

People

The Sun reports that David Jason has been approached for a Doctor Who role, but was unable to accept because of his contract with ITV.

The Daily Star writes that David Tennant has been "unsettled" by the attentions of an overeager fan; the story is also reported by MSN and Digital Spy.

The Daily Telegraph cites Billie Piper as the prime example of "thoroughly nice people" in an article on being nice and its drawbacks.

Merchandise

The Doctor Who Annual was the top-selling annual this Christmas, reports The Bookseller. This is the second year in a row that the BBC Books annual has beaten the traditional winner, the Beano Annual.

Also, The Sun has a story about the new line of Doctor Who models from Airfix.

Torchwood

The Daily Telegraph has a behind-the-scenes look at Torchwood's second series. The article quotes Russell T. Davies saying that the first series was too angst-ridden: "I think that was us in the office, being in such a rush to make it that we were projecting our worries onto the screen," Davies says. The article also quotes Freema Agyeman, speaking about how the move to Torchwood fits with the character development of Martha Jones.

SFX continues its "Torchwood week" with interviews with writer/producer Chris Chibnall, producer Richard Stokes and Gwen Cooper herself, Eve Myles.

It looks as if this second series of Torchwood may be the last for Chris Chibnall. Digital Spy reports that Chibnall will produce the forthcoming Law & Order: London for Kudos and ITV.

And finally, from the Western Mail, the sales negotiator for a Welsh house-builder refers to a Cardiff apartment complex as being "right next to the Torchwood tower". Is the Rift blurring the borders between fiction and reality?

Thanks to "PolyG" of the Doctor Who Forum.

Doctor Who has another award triumph to add to its collection.

DigiGuide users named the series Best Sci-Fi in the DigiGuide TV and Radio Awards 2007, with the show taking nearly half of the votes cast in the category.

Battlestar Galactica came second, Torchwood was third, Stargate Atlantis fourth, The 4400 fifth and Journeyman sixth.

DigiGuide is an interactive TV and radio guide, and this was the first year the awards, also referred to as the Digis, were run.

It is not known how many users took part in the poll.

Doctor Who has been nominated for three Visual Effects Society (VES) awards. "Voyage of the Damned" was nominated for Visual Effects in a Broadcast Miniseries, Movie or Special and "Last of the Time Lords" for Visual Effects in a Broadcast Series and Animated Character in a Live Action Broadcast Program or Commercial. Variety has the full list of nominees.

In other awards news, Doctor Who lost the People's Choice Award for Favorite Sci-Fi Show to Stargate Atlantis.

Davison's daughter for companion role?
As previously reported on this page, Georgia Moffett, daughter of Fifth Doctor Peter Davison, will be appearing in an episode of Doctor Who this year. However, several media sources (including Digital Spy and the Nottingham Evening Post) are reporting that Moffett is being considered for a regular role as the Doctor's companion in the 2010 series. The same reports say that Felicity Jones, who will appear in the forthcoming Agatha Christie episode, is also in the running for the role of the next companion. The story appears to derive from a comment by Phil Collinson in the most recent issue of Doctor Who Magazine.

Tennant promotes cancer research
David Tennant has become a patron of the Association for International Cancer Research (AICR), and will film a video for the Scotland-based charity. Fife Today, Digital Spy and the AICR website have more information.

John Barrowman talks to everyone

Torchwood star John Barrowman's autobiography, Anything Goes, ghostwritten by his sister Carole, will be published on January 24. The Times has a joint interview with the siblings. The Stage also interviews Barrowman, who makes a passing comment about gay actors who remain in the closet; this comment is picked up by other sources, including The Guardian, Digital Spy and Pink News. Some of these sources slightly misrepresented Barrowman's comment, and The Stage has posted a clarification. Scotland on Sunday has an extensive talk with Barrowman, which includes comments about how the actor would like to have children with his partner Scott Gill. These remarks have been picked up by Digital Spy, Actress Archives, Now Magazine and Showbiz Spy. Some of these sources also note Barrowman's on-screen kiss with James Marsters in the first episode of Torchwood's second series; The Sun has pictures of the kiss. And Off the Telly has yet another Barrowman interview.

Other Torchwood news
Digital Spy interviews Eve Myles, who says that in the upcoming series her character Gwen Cooper will be monogamous with her boyfriend Rhys. The Sun and Digital Spy pick up comments from Rhys actor Kai Owen, originally reported in the South Wales Echo.

SFX has Q&As; with the Torchwood cast and crew on their website all this week; interviews with Kai Owen and Gareth David-Lloyd are already up, and talks with writer Chris Chibnall, producer Richard Stokes and Eve Myles will follow later in the week.

Tate complaints continue
The BBC has defended Catherine Tate's Christmas special against complaints about its content, reports the Guardian. The Daily Star, The Press Association, The Sun, the Bedford Times & Citizen, Nottingham's Evening Post and the Biggleswade Chronicle note that a Conservative Member of Parliament has added her voice to the complaints about the special. Some viewers objected to foul language used by Tate's character Nan in the special; others complained about the portrayal of a Northern Irish family in one sketch. (The latter charge is refuted by a columnist for the Belfast Telegraph.) Tate will return to Doctor Who as Donna Noble in the 2008 series.

Miscellany
The Evening Standard has a story about David Tennant's upcoming role as Hamlet for the Royal Shakespeare Company.

The Guardian profiles Billie Piper, and Wales on Sunday and The Press and Journal (Aberdeen) pick up a months-old quotation in which the actress said she had forgotten how to play Rose Tyler. Meanwhile, the coverage of her wedding to Laurence Fox has reached China Daily, and the Daily Mail and Evening Standard say that Fox's uncle Lawrence Fox chose not to attend the ceremony, because his young children were not invited.

Montreal-based filmmaker Kara Blake has made a documentary on Delia Derbyshire, who realized the original version of the Doctor Who theme music and other avant-garde sound as part of the BBC Radiophonic Workship; the Montreal Mirror discusses Blake's Derbyshire project, titled "The Delian Mode".

Mark Johnson, creative director of digital agency Sequence, will speak at a digital media forum in Swansea about the games and other web content Sequence has created for the BBC's Doctor Who website. The Western Mail and Swansea's Evening Post write that Johnson will speak at amperSAND at the National Waterfront Museum on Wednesday, January 16.

The Manchester Evening News notes the closing of the "Doctor Who Up-Close" exhibit, which brought over 225,000 visitors to Manchester's Museum of Science and Industry.

A replica Dalek has been donated to the Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital, reports BBC News.

Political commentator Andrew Sullivan is one among many bloggers who are linking to a page which asks whether the Doctor is a revolutionary or a "tool of The Man", and when in the series' long history each descriptor might fit him.

And finally, a columnist for Singapore-based Asia-Pacific Broadcasting discusses watching William Hartnell episodes on a friend's mobile phone in Kuala Lumpur.

Thanks to Ian Berriman and Sean Palmerston, and "PolyG" and "aaaa" of the Doctor Who Forum.