The Doctor From Gallifrey 

Jessica Raine, star on BBC1 drama Call the Midwife and guest star of an upcoming episode of Doctor Who has been discussing what it was like to work on Who when interviewed by the Radio Times.

She said: "[It is] very different from Midwife. On Doctor Who it was all mind machines and strobe lighting.

"But it was a magical experience and something I was very happy to do. It's a very different character and genre - you have to throw yourself into it and take it very seriously.

"I hadn't realised what an institution Doctor Who is. I got offered the part and didn't think that much about it. Then you go on set and you see this blue police telephone box, and suddenly the weight of what you're doing hits home."

She also had lovely things to say about our current Doctor, Matt Smith, saying he brings a "darker edge" to the show and that "he's a brilliant actor. He has a very long career ahead of him".

The interview also confirmed that Neil Cross' episode will indeed be titled Phantom of the Hex as had previously been rumoured.

[Source: Digital Spy]

The first episode of Doctor Who series 7, "Asylum of the Daleks" will air in the UK on 1st September at 7.20PM on BBC1! It will air at 9PM on BBC America in the US and Space in Canada!

There's been lots of rumour and discussion about the airdate of "Asylum of the Daleks" over the last few days. BBC America have suggested that they will be airing the episode on Saturday 8th September. There's been no offcial announcement from BBC in the UK yet but there's a slot in the schedule waiting to be announced and this week's Radio Times has gone a bit Who mad with it's "Next Issue" section.

Everything is indicating a 1st September airdate in the UK but we're still waiting for the offcial announcement to be certain.

Another video from San Diego Comic Con now which sees John Barrowman interview Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill. This one is a quick watch, it's only 5 minutes long!

 

News from the main panel is still to come!

San Diego Comic Con is happening this weekend and the Doctor Who gang are there doing lots of things. Yesterday they did a panel which was filmed by Doctor Who Media which you can watch below. Topics included a potential multi-Doctor story, Matt Smith's fave Doctor and Karen Gillan's dalek impression. There's also a sing-song of Bohemian Rhapsody (at 38 minutes in, worth watching even if you don't want to watch the whole thing!). 

 

The main Doctor Who panel is coming soon so expect new news and footage from that by tomorrow at the latest!

Sherlock star Lara Pulver, who played Irene Adler in the detective drama, spoke about the rumours that she might become a female Doctor in an interview with the Evening Standard.

“Steven [Moffat] and I have both said we thoroughly enjoyed working together, and then there was me being in Wales so the media put two and two together.”

When asked whether she was interesting in doing it she said: “Yes and no. Not if it meant the end of the Doctor Who franchise because the fans aren’t keen on it.”

The interview also included conversation on that scene in Sherlock. 

[Source: Evening Standard]

On the Site now: Behind the Scenes Pictures from the filming of series 6.

Coming Soon: Later today we will have the prequel to Let's Kill Hitler and probaly some exciting news from today's press release!

- SFX asked Arthur Darvill (Rory) if he would be returning for series 7. He said: “I will be coming back at some point… There is an involvement in some way.” This does sort of suggest that he is not returning full time but I guess we can't really assume anything!

-Well known actor Phil Daniels has recorded a voice for the next Doctor Who Adventure Game, "The Gunpowder Plot". He said:  'It was great to do! You get to go through the gunpowder plot in various ways...'  'It's really interesting... It'll be fantastic!'

- Matt Smith has been spied filming for upcoming BBC drama "Bert and Ernie". He is playing Bert Bushnell, one half of the rowing team that won the gold medal in the 1948 Olympics in London for the double scull.

- Black Dog Murals has released 4 new Doctor Who wallpaper murals. The price is £25 per square metre and you can get more details here.

- Let's Kill Hitler will air in Australia on ABC1 on Saturday 3 September 2011 at 7:30pm.

- Today on TARDIS Log: We discuss the episode 5 of Torchwood: Miracle Day "The Categories of Life", last night's episode if you are in the UK. Read it here.

- The BBC have responded to a small number of complaints about there being too much gay content in Torchwood. They said:

"We have strict Editorial Guidelines which govern the content of our programmes, and Torchwood is no exception.

These clearly state: "In all BBC output the portrayal of sex, or the exploration of sexual issues, should be editorially justified and treated with appropriate sensitivity. In post-watershed content, we must be able to justify the frank and realistic portrayal of sex and the exploration of themes and issues which some people might find offensive."

Captain Jack Harkness is an established character in the series. The audience over the previous series of Torchwood have known him to be promiscuous and bi-sexual so we felt the content was justified in terms of the context and characters and would be within the expectations of regular viewers. We aim to depict relationships whether heterosexual or homosexual in an honest and realistic way. These scenes are not meant to cause offence."

The BBC cut a scene from episode 3 showing Jack and a barman have sex so imagine the complaints if that had been shown!

- Doctor Who is yet to appear in the schedules for the 27th August in the UK. BBC America has confirmed it will air in the US on that date but it is notably absent from the BBC One highlight of week 35. However, it is worth noting that Torchwood did not orginally appear when the schedules were first published and appeared a few days later, so don't panic!

- The Mail on Sunday published a fairly in-depth interview with Matt Smith yesterday. It included him saying "Amy Pond is a sexy character by her very nature. No one is quite like Amy. I think Doctor Who should be dark. I think it should be scary". You can read the full interview here.

-Moffat has teased us a little more about the 2011 Christmas Special:   “It will be as Christmassy as Hell. I might be cleverly redeploying a known Christmas story again, sort of… but probably not the one you think, It will be massively Christmassy and moving and sentimental and sweet. It’ll be set partly on Earth, but not completely. And it might have a period setting…”

- And Moffat tweeted on Friday evening:  "Today I'm watching rushes of A Scandal In Belgravia and the finished Let's Kill Hitler. And I'm very happy." Sounds like good news.

- The Fourth Doctor has appeared in Futurama! Watch the clip here.

- Showrunner Steven Moffat has talked about the show's 50th anniversary. “I’ve got various plans, but all I can say emphatically is it will be huge,” Steven Moffat tells TVLine.

“It won’t be just one thing…. We’ll be doing lots of stuff,” is all Moffat would concede. “The plans are quite extensive, and changing all the time. Oh my God, we will hit that year very, very hard indeed.”

And what did he say when he was asked if other Doctor's would return? “Possibly…. It’s so far in the future, it’s only a set of notions,”.

- BBC books have unveiled some new titles that will be released on the 13th October. The first is an updated version of the Doctor Who Encyclopedia. It covers every episode from 2005 onwards, including the Eleventh Doctor's first two series. The second is The Brilliant Book 2012, the official guide to series 6. There is more info and images here.

- Torchwood: Miracle Day will now air in New Zealand at some point in the future as it has been aquired by Prime.