This morning saw the Olympic Torch Relay commence on Day Eight of its travels around the United Kingdom, kicking off from outside the Norwegian Church at Cardiff Bay – with a familiar face to take on the mantle of bearer! Matt Smith was up bright and early to play his part in the celebratory journey, and spoke on BBC Breakfastabout how he felt on his latest role and the crowd that gathered to cheer him on:

It’s one of those once-in-a-lifetime things, and for me personally to have the privilege of carrying it … it’s one of those rare opportunities that has nothing to do with me and everything to do with the fact that I play the Doctor.

(additional photos thanks to James Hemery, Alun Vega)

When asked about his predecessor’s carrying the torch before (the Tenth Doctor in Fear Her), Matt commented “I’m pleased I got my turn!”

Last week saw the final scenes recorded on location for the characters Amy and Rory, aka Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill – the latter who comes ‘full circle’ as the location at St. Cadoc’s Hospital in Caerleon was where he filmed his first day on location back in 2009!

There last scenes to be filmed come from the penultimate episode for the Ponds, the fourth of the next series. Their departure on screen will be in the following episode, the fifth, which was recorded last month. After the final shots were completed Karen Gillan tweeted “And that’s a wrap! Bye bye from the ponds. We love you.”

The final scenes were observed by several of the production team past and present, including lead writer Steven Moffat, and former executive producers Piers Wenger and Beth Willis, with a party taking place afterwards to celebrate.

Another ‘closure’ took place on Friday, with the final day’s production at Upper Boat. The studios, located in Pontypridd just outside Cardiff, have been home to Doctor Who since the third series and have also been the base for Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures. The complex was the first BBC studio centre totally dedicated to drama, and was set up in the wake of the success of Doctor Who following the series revival in 2005. Production will now continue in full at the new purpose-built studios at Roath Lock in Cardiff Bay.

Photos: BBC Doctor Who / Facebook, 11th May 2012

With Karen and Arthur’s final scenes recorded, the “handover” to new girl Jenna-Louise Colemanwill begin filming shortly, though as with previous introductions her first story to be recorded may not be her first story on screen!

The Collectable Art Company has announced the release of the second in their range of Limited Edition Fine Art prints of the original Doctor Who costume designs.

The officially licensed print features the 1987 costume designed by Ken Trew for the Seventh Doctor. As with the first release of the Sixth Doctor’s costume in February, the print comes with a Certificate of Authenticity and the print will be signed by both the designer and the wearer himself, Sylvester McCoy.

The print also comes with a 28 page booklet containing an introduction by McCoy, an in-depth interview with Trew describing the production process, plus never before seen preliminary designs and detailed photographs of the original costume.

Grahame Flynn, Managing Director of The Collectable Art Company said:

The prints are reproduced using a museum quality process utilising colourfast inks and acid free paper. These prints are of the highest quality and I’m sure that they will be treasured by the most discerning of collectors.

We are delighted to be working with Ken Trew and Sylvester McCoy on this project.

The prints are available for pre-order now and will be dispatched shortly after Sylvester McCoy returns to the United Kingdom after filming The Hobbitin New Zealand.

The print is limited to 750 worldwide, and is available for pre-order from the company’s website.

The first design print released, for the Sixth Doctor’s costume as designed by Pat Godfrey, is still available to order. Grahame Flynn updated us on distribution, saying:

Colin also posed in costume with the design of his coat, as seen here.

Details for the fifth Doctor Who Companion volume covering the adventures of the Eleventh Doctor have been released by Doctor Who Magazine. This edition features the final episodes of the 2011 series and the Christmas Special, The God Complex to The Doctor, The Widow and The Wardrobe, plus The Doctor Who Experience and Crash of the Elysium.

The magazine is published today, 19th April 2012.

The Doctor Who Companion
The Eleventh Doctor
Volume FiveYour complete guide to the award-winning BBC One series!
Written and researched by Andrew Pixley.

The 2011 season of Doctor Who began in the most dramatic way possible – by killing off the Doctor in the first episode! Unaware of his ultimate fate, the Doctor (Matt Smith) was reunited with his friends, newlyweds Amy (Karen Gillan) and Rory Pond (Arthur Darvill) and together they embarked on an incredible series of adventures in time and space. Their journey took them from a mysterious space prison to an alternative Earth where past, present and future were one, and saw encounters with River Song, Madame Kovarian, the Cybermen, the Silence, Winston Churchill… and even a Minotaur!

Now, DWM takes you behind the scenes of these astonishing episodes with an in-depth episode guide – including original storylines, deleted scenes, media appearances, ratings information and hundreds of facts about the day-to-day life of the making of Doctor Who – all illustrated with gorgeous, never-before-seen photographs.

This collectors’ edition examines The God Complex, Closing Time, The Wedding of River Song and The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe, as well as the interactive attractions, The Doctor Who Experience and Crash of the Elysium.

This is your essential guide to the worlds of Doctor Who.
Get ready to discover a wealth of information – and remember, silence will fall…

Episode One of the new production of Power of the Daleks has now been released online. Created by the team behind the stage versions of Evil of the Daleks and The Dalek Masterplan, the production has been made with support from TNT Films with music by composer Martin Johnson, and featuring Nick Scovell once again assuming the role of The Doctor.

You can find out more about the project from the Power of the Daleks Facebook Page and discussions on their Facebook Group.

A convention, Power: Reimagined, will be taking place in September to celebrate the production, with special guests including star of the original television production Anneke Wills. Proceeds from the event will be donated to Cancer Research UK and Children in Need.

Chris Albrecht, CEO of Starz, has re-iterated to Multichannel News that the potential future of Torchwood on the channel rests with its creator, Russell T Davies:

In terms of the show’s principal players, Russell T Davies himself is currently writing new CBBC series Wizards vs Aliens, John Barrowman has a leading role in the pilot for a potential new series Gilded Lilys, Eve Myles is currently appearing in the stage play All New People, Kai Owen has just finished performing in As You Like It, and Mekhi Phifer had also recently finished a stage stint in Stick Fly.

Wizards vs Aliens:

As mentioned above, Russell T Davies’s new series is Wizards vs Aliens, which is about to go into production. Speaking to Cultbox, script editor Derek Ritchiedescribed the style of the show:

The full interview can be read on the Cultbox website.

BBC America have released the first official publicity photograph of the new Doctor Who co-star Jenna-Louise Coleman, here pictured in front of the TARDIS:

The BBC have announced that the new co-star to appear alongside Matt Smith in Doctor Who is to be Jenna-Louise Coleman, who joins the show in the sixth episode this year, due to be shown at Christmas.

The actress was announced via the BBC’s Doctor Who feed on Twitter, which also included some quotes. Jenna-Louise said: “I want to get started already. I’m a huge fan of the show.« Matt Smith did my audition with me. It was fun and I felt like we were in it together.«“; and on her favourite companion, “Between Billie Piper and Karen Gillan”. Lead writer Steven Moffat said: “We saw a lot of brilliant actresses. But Jenna was the only person going faster than Matt – he had to keep up!«“

Expanding on this in the press release, he said:

It’s not often the Doctor meets someone who can talk even faster than he does, but it’s about to happen. Jenna is going to lead him his merriest dance yet. And that’s all you’re getting for now. Who she’s playing, how the Doctor meets her, and even where he finds her, are all part of one of the biggest mysteries the Time Lord ever encounters. Even by the Doctor’s standards, this isn’t your usual boy meets girl.

The twenty-five-year-old actress played Jasmine Thomas in the long running soap Emmerdale between 2005 and 2009, and has also appeared in series five of the BBC’s award-winning Waterloo Road as Lindsay Jones, and will be seen on television this coming Sunday in the ITV mini-series Titanic as Annie Desmond. Her debut in film came with the role of Connie in Captain America: The First Avenger, and she has also lent her voice to the English version of the game Xenoblade Chronicles.

It was also confirmed that Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill will depart in episode five, with Steven Moffat saying: “Amy and Rory will leave in a final encounter with the Weeping Angels. Not everyone gets out alive and I mean it this time”«“.

After the six episodes this year, a further eight will be broadcast next year, though no other details of the 50th Anniversary have been revealed as yet. Danny Cohen, Controller, BBC One, added:

The BBC have confirmed previous indications that the Doctor Who Experience – which closed last month in London – will be based at its new Cardiff Bay home for at least five years.

The commitment was disclosed within a BBC Careers advert for a new Commercial Manager, whose main responsibilities will be for the Cardiff incarnation when it opens in the summer.

The closing date for the role is 19th March.

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