News

Spoilers! Here are our ultra-nerdy viewing notes and geeky spots from Doctor Who series 9's The Witch's Familiar...

The Witch’s Familiar may have been less frantic than The Magician’s Apprentice, but it contained just as many back-references and kisses to the past - in addition to the ones documented in last week’s article. So here are all the geeky things we were able to notice in this week’s episode…

As ever, let us know in the comments if we missed any. The article starts once you scroll past Daphne The Spoiler Squirrel...

Callbacks of the Daleks

This isn’t the first time the Doctor has wielded a Dalek gunstick. Having narrated every Dalek story to date for Davros in 1975’s Genesis Of The Daleks, the fourth Doctor then destroys the recording using a Dalek gun. Dalek gunsticks were also wielded by the Dalek-humans in David Tennant Story Evolution Of The Daleks.

Bernard Cribbins! Matt Lucas! Maxine Peake! The BBC has announced an impressive cast for Russell T Davies’ Midsummer Night’s Dream…

Russell T Davies is returning to the BBC’s Doctor Who base in Cardiff. But he’ll be dabbling in Shakespeare, not spaceships. The cast for his new version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream has been announced.

For Who fans, the most exciting news is a reunion between Russell T Davies and Bernard Cribbins, who will play Tom Snout, an amateur performer who memorably portrays a wall in a play within the play. Let's hope Cribbins isn't bricking it, eh?

Elsewhere in the cast, you’ve got Maxine Peake as Titania, Matt Lucas as Bottom, and John Hannah as Theseus. Eleanor Matsuura of Spooks will play Hippolyta and Hiran Abeysekera (seen in Lion In The Tent) will portray Puck.

Cucumber alum Fisayo Akinade has been cast as Flute,...

To end a week celebrating New Who's 10th birthday, here's a bumper list of Doctor Who titbits from Russell T Davies' The Writer's Tale...

We’ve touched on why The Writer’s Tale, the 2008 (expanded in 2010) compendium of correspondence between Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies and journalist Benjamin Cook, deserves a space on your bookshelf here.

In short, The Writer’s Tale is both a screenwriting masterclass and an unparalleled look behind the scenes of new Doctor Who. As well as following the production triumphs and emergencies as the show lurches “from one crisis to another”, it lets you witness story ideas being created in the wild. See pivotal Doctor Who moments tottering unsurely out of Davies’ mind like new-born giraffes and watch them transform into sleek, galloping beasts of majesty! Think of it like a classy David Attenborough doc on storytelling, with bonus David Tennant photos and chat about Tony from Skins.

Digital Spy presents Doctor Who Week - seven days of special features celebrating the return of the world's favourite sci-fi series, and the arrival of a brand new Doctor on August 23.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Dr. Who."

Dr Who. Daleks - Invasion Earth: 2150 Ad (1966)

As far as odd surnames go, 'Who' has to be up there. But that's just one of many examples where the treatment of the subject matter differs between the two 1960s Doctor Who movie spinoffs and their original TV counterparts. Made to capitalise on the rampant 'Dalekmania' and starring Peter Cushing as the time traveller, a contemporary re-viewing provides a fascinating trip back to a comparatively innocent era where the draw of seeing "motorised dustbins" from Skaro in widescreen Technicolor was a big selling point.

William Hartnell's grouchy alien and his maladjusted granddaughter Susan from the BBC series have been replaced by...

Digital Spy presents Doctor Who Week - seven days of special features celebrating the return of the world's favourite sci-fi series, and the arrival of a brand new Doctor on August 23.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Dr. Who."

Dr Who. Daleks - Invasion Earth: 2150 Ad (1966)

As far as odd surnames go, 'Who' has to be up there. But that's just one of many examples where the treatment of the subject matter differs between the two 1960s Doctor Who movie spinoffs and their original TV counterparts. Made to capitalise on the rampant 'Dalekmania' and starring Peter Cushing as the time traveller, a contemporary re-viewing provides a fascinating trip back to a comparatively innocent era where the draw of seeing "motorised dustbins" from Skaro in widescreen Technicolor was a big selling point.

William Hartnell's grouchy alien and his maladjusted granddaughter Susan from the BBC series have been replaced by...

Feature Glen Chapman James Stansfield 26 Feb 2014 - 07:00

From Adventure Time to Old Jack's Boat, James and Glen talk us through ten modern kids' TV shows that geek parents can enjoy too...

“Urgh, I’m so hungover. I’m going to sit in my pants and watch movies all day”

So invariably goes at least one entry on my Twitter feed every Saturday or Sunday morning. Yes, lying about all day watching TV is great but nine times out of ten when someone writes something like this, I can guarantee that they don’t have kids. For those of us with small children, the television we regularly watch throughout the day comes from a vastly different landscape. To the childless, names such as Makka Pakka, Tree Fu Tom and Yo Jo Jo may mean very little. To some us though they’ve become household names, as our lives are filled...

Ben Daniels (House of Cards, The Paradise) was briefly the bookies' favourite to become the new star of Doctor Who and has now revealed to Digital Spy that he was indeed in the running before the role went to a certain Peter Capaldi...

> Ben Daniels on Doctor Who: 'I was approached to be the 12th Doctor'

Of course, Daniels isn't the first actor to come close but fall just short of Doctor Who stardom - here's five more stars who we very nearly saw at the Tardis controls...

Hugh Grant

When Russell T Davies was looking for a big name to help relaunch Doctor Who in 2005, he first turned to Grant, the king of '90s Brit rom-coms. While "highly flattered", Grant turned down the role of the ninth Doctor - eventually taken by Christopher Eccleston - for fear that the revived sci-fi drama would turn out to be a flop.

Ben Daniels (House of Cards, The Paradise) was briefly the bookies' favourite to become the new star of Doctor Who and has now revealed to Digital Spy that he was indeed in the running before the role went to a certain Peter Capaldi...

> Ben Daniels on Doctor Who: 'I was approached to be the 12th Doctor'

Of course, Daniels isn't the first actor to come close but fall just short of Doctor Who stardom - here's five more stars who we very nearly saw at the Tardis controls...

Hugh Grant

When Russell T Davies was looking for a big name to help relaunch Doctor Who in 2005, he first turned to Grant, the king of '90s Brit rom-coms. While "highly flattered", Grant turned down the role of the ninth Doctor - eventually taken by Christopher Eccleston - for fear that the revived sci-fi drama would turn out to be a flop.

Matt Smith is ready to put down his fez, step out of the Tardis and say one last goodbye to elongated River Song storylines. Yes, the 11th Doctor's final hour is nearly upon us.

This evevning the BBC will reveal the identity of the 12th Doctor Live on BBC One in a last minute surprise show, hosted by '90s kids TV favourite Zoe Ball.

Stick with Digital Spy as we live blog all the action from 7pm and bring you updates on all the Who news as it happens.

19:36So what do you make of that? Peter Capaldi has been confirmed as Doctor number 12. Are you pleased? Delighted? Ecstatic? I'm somewhere close to the latter.

19:35And that's all, folks. Just enough time for a bit of ticker tape and glitter to end the show, and that's our lot.

19:34Peter Capaldi delivers a stirring speech about the...

Peter Davison and Bernard Cribbins are among the special guests who will appear on Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor tonight (August 4).

The identity of the 12th Doctor will be revealed on the show, with host Zoe Ball interviewing the new Time Lord.

Davison and Cribbins - who played the Fifth Doctor and Wilfred Mott respectively - will be joined in the studio by Outnumbered's Daniel Roche, Rufus Hound and Liza Tarbuck.

Head writer Steven Moffat and current Doctor Matt Smith will also be on hand to speak to Ball about the show's newest star.

There will be special video messages from former Doctor Colin Baker, writer Mark Gatiss and Radio 1's Jo Whiley.

Bruno Tonioli, Katy Manning, Anneke Wills, Janet Fielding and Bonnie Langford have also pre-recorded special messages.

Steven Moffat said: "The decision is made and the time has come to reveal who's taking over the Tardis.

Actor, comedian, musician and all-round legend Bernard Cribbins OBE has the unique distinction of being the only actor to have faced Doctor Who's most enduring villains the Daleks on the big and small screen...

His first brush with the fearsome pepper-pots - 1966 film Daleks - Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D. - is available to enjoy on DVD and Blu-ray from today (May 27), alongside its predecessor, 1965's Dr Who and the Daleks.

To mark the release, Digital Spy spoke with Cribbins about his movie co-star Peter Cushing, Aussie Daleks and his return to the show alongside David Tennant's Time Lord...

How did you first get involved with the world of Doctor Who in Daleks - Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D.?

"I honestly can't remember! The connection, as far as I recall, was probably Peter Cushing himself - he'd done one Dalek film with Roy Castle and I'd worked with Peter on another film,...

Actor, comedian, musician and all-round legend Bernard Cribbins OBE has the unique distinction of being the only actor to have faced Doctor Who's most enduring villains the Daleks on the big and small screen...

His first brush with the fearsome pepper-pots - 1966 film Daleks - Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D. - is available to enjoy on DVD and Blu-ray from today (May 27), alongside its predecessor, 1965's Dr Who and the Daleks.

To mark the release, Digital Spy spoke with Cribbins about his movie co-star Peter Cushing, Aussie Daleks and his return to the show alongside David Tennant's Time Lord...

How did you first get involved with the world of Doctor Who in Daleks - Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D.?

"I honestly can't remember! The connection, as far as I recall, was probably Peter Cushing himself - he'd done one Dalek film with Roy Castle and I'd worked with Peter on another film,...

Christian Cawley is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

The legend that is known to the world as Bernard Cribbins (still not a “sir”) but recognised by Doctor Who fans as the wonderful Wilf Mott has been called upon...

The post Cribbins Reveals He’s Not Involved in 50th appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

News Cameron K McEwan 22 May 2013 - 06:06

Bernard Cribbins tells us he's definitely not in the Doctor Who 50th anniversay special. But he did ring up to find out...

Bernard Cribbins, who played loveable Wilfred Mott in Doctor Who alongside David Tennant's Tenth Doctor, has been chatting to us about his Dalek movie (out on Blu-ray later this month) and the television show itself.

In particular, we talked about the possibility of a return for Wilf in the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special but it seems he is another actor we can tick off as 'not involved'.

When asked if he is starring in the special, Bernard replied: "No, I'm not. I rang Cardiff [where the Doctor Who production unit is based] a little while ago and said, 'Am I going to be involved?' and they said, 'Well no. We're shooting at the moment and maybe something later on but at the moment, no.'" Cribbins added,...

Bernard Cribbins has criticised the current state of children's television in the UK. The veteran actor - who previously starred in a number of classic kids' TV shows including The Wombles and Jackanory - said that shows today are too "fast and noisy". He also said that current shows drop intelligent storytelling for the "gratuitous" use of CGI graphics. The 84-year-old told BBC News: "You can't help but notice how children's TV has changed." Cribbins will return to children's TV in CBeebies show Old Jack's Boat, which begins today (January 21). He said: "It's all very fast and noisy now I think. You think of the gentleness of Jackanory, somebody would walk onto the set, sit down and say 'hello I'm going to tell you about Ratty and Mole and the Wind in the Willows' (more)...

Earlier this year, Freema Agyeman landed a plum role in the upcoming CW series The Carrie Diaries.  Now, she returns to her BBC roots in the CBeebies series Old Jack's Boat. The BBC announced this week that Agyeman will co-star as Shelley, with series lead Bernard Cribbins, in the children's show which features a retired fisherman, Old Jack (Cribbins), who lives in a little village on the North Yorkshire Coast, Staithes, as he regales tall stories from inside his old fishing boat. The series is a mix of live action and animation which allows Old Jack to wander along the seabed, visit tropical islands and fly high in the air on balloons always accompanied by his faithful...

Bernard Cribbins has collected an OBE for his services to drama and his successful career. The 82-year-old Wombles actor received his honour at a ceremony at Windsor Castle on Thursday. Cribbins revealed that he enjoyed "a nice little chat" with Princess Anne about providing boats for disabled people, which is an aim that both feel passionate about. He said: "It was lovely; we had a wee chat, we were rambling on, and then she said, 'We mustn't gossip' and sort of looked at her watch and that was it." He added to The Mirror (more)...

Veteran actor Bernard Cribbins has been honoured with an Order of the British Empire (OBE) medal.

The beloved TV and radio favourite was recognised for his services to drama and presented with the prestigious award by Princess Anne, Princess Royal on Thursday, during a ceremony at Windsor Castle in England.

Cribbins, who has enjoyed a career spanning over five decades, has appeared in British TV hits Doctor Who, Fawlty Towers and Coronation Street and he also narrated popular children's TV show The Wombles in the 1970s.

Cribbins also featured in a number of cult Carry On movies.

Now 82, he told reporters gathered at the castle he has no plans to retire: "I love it, I can't stop, why should I? I'm still able to read and write."...

David Tennant is Santa Claus. And Noddy Holder. And Cliff Richard.

Well he might as well have been back in the Crimbo week of December 2009 when it seemed that you couldn't get away from the bloke. Particularly in the week leading up to the much-anticipated Christmas/New Year special, there he was – on various breakfast and mid-morning TV programmes; on Children's BBC; heck, he was even on the novelty BBC idents, bellowing orders at time-travelling reindeer. You could hear the cries of “Squee!” in the air from London to Boston.

Still, the Tennant fangirls had to make the most of their beloved hero, since he was about to become the latest casualty in the mammoth two-part adventure The End Of Time. Yes, it's time to play the Regeneration Game again as Doctor Ten finds that the Pork Chops Carmen prophecy is about to come devastatingly true.

The End Of Time...

The critics can advise you on what's good and what's bad in all aspects of life – whether it's TV, music, films or food – but at the end of the day, it's the public view that counts. A TV critic can pick apart a really bad programme until the cows come home, but if the public likes it, who cares? How else could you explain the long-running My Family – Aka, the most depressing, mean-spirited excuse for a comedy in the history of telly – a programme that seems to be derided by every critic under the sun, and yet seems to have lasted for decades. See? If the public likes something, then a critic's job sometimes feels a bit pointless.

Still, as I weep into my computer keyboard, at least I can console myself with the fact that My Family's limping to its well deserved end this year. As for Doctor Who,...

Attention Shortarses everywhere. You have nothing to fear. Apparently the average height for a bloke in the UK is around 5'9”, although for some odd reason everyone seems to be taller than that even. And yet – despite the fact that media she-hacks still suggest that height is one of the most important prerequisites of a man – shortarses still seem to be doing spectacularly well. Pompous U2 oaf, Bono. Snarling tycoon monster Baron Von Sugar. Simon Cowell henchmen Ant And Dec – even Cowell himself doesn't seem to be the tallest guy on the planet.

So since this particular writer stands as tall as he can at 5'8”, this is pleasing news. Actually I've never had a problem with height – or relative lack of it. Unlike the poor old Sontarans, a race who always seem to have some massive inferiority complex. Look at them strutting around, looking like baked potatoes with eyes...

So how does it feel to look back on the legacy of The Railway Children after 40 years?

People have taken it on as a film they wanted to show their children. You have new generation of young who look at it. And you wonder "why does this still relate?" but I suppose it just does. I think Lionel made something that was so completley honest in the way. He did it so that you're not stuck with values of the seventies- he's trying to get across the Edwardian time setting, and you're left with the story and he does it really beautifully. He really understands every element of film making-really: great sound; really great music by Johnny Douglas; brillant photography. He chose people around him that he really cared about, like Bernard Cribbins who he just admired as an actor and had worked with before. The whole setup was just like a family.

So how does it feel to look back on the legacy of The Railway Children after 40 years?

People have taken it on as a film they wanted to show their children. You have new generation of young who look at it. And you wonder "why does this still relate?" but I suppose it just does. I think Lionel made something that was so completley honest in the way. He did it so that you're not stuck with values of the seventies- he's trying to get across the Edwardian time setting, and you're left with the story and he does it really beautifully. He really understands every element of film making-really: great sound; really great music by Johnny Douglas; brillant photography. He chose people around him that he really cared about, like Bernard Cribbins who he just admired as an actor and had worked with before. The whole setup was just like a family.

It was a little film that became an instant classic. As The Railway Children celebrates its 40th birthday, Patrick Barkham catches up with the original cast

The Railway Children will always be remembered for that scene at Oakworth station, the one where Roberta's father emerges through the steam of a departing train. "Daddy, my Daddy!" Plenty of people will admit to weeping when the young Jenny Agutter is reunited with her father. But watching it now, 40 years after it was first released, I find myself welling up long before then: at the birdsong, the music, the Yorkshire countryside, the lost Edwardian world.

Why does it make me cry? "Because you're an old sentimentalist," says Bernard Cribbins, who played Perks, the station porter, and is now an astonishingly frisky 81. "Which would apply to most of the audience who watch The Railway Children." Does Agutter cry? "No, she's hard as nails," says Cribbins.

Doctor Who has once again been successful at the National Television Awards (NTAs), held at the O2 Arena in London this evening and broadcast live on ITV1 in the UK. This was the 15th running of the ceremony, at which television programmes and personalities are given awards voted on by the British public.

The programme has now won the Drama category at every Nta ceremony since 2005, although the awards were not held in 2009. This year it won the audience vote ahead of BBC One stablemate Casualty, Channel 4's Shameless and ITV1's The Bill. The award, presented by England football captain John Terry, was collected by David Tennant, Bernard Cribbins, June Whitfield and Elisabeth Sladen, with Cribbins delivering the acceptance speech. He thanked and praised Tennant and the production team, which he named as the best he has ever worked with in British television.

David Tennant later took the award for Drama Performance,...

Time itself has caught up with the Doctor. The latest Doctor Who Christmas special, Doctor Who: The End of Time (Part One), found the Doctor attempting to fight his fated death... or at least the prophesied end of this incarnation of the solitary Time Lord. But it's not just the prophecy of the end of the Doctor's song ("he will knock four times") that provides the focus of this, the penultimate Doctor Who episode starring David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor. It was an installment that featured the return of several familiar faces, including John Simm's The Master (reborn in a matter of speaking), Bernard Cribbins' Wilfred, and Catherine Tate's Donna Noble. Along with the alien Ood, who telepathically tap into a global nightmare pattern involving the Master and alert the Doctor to impending doom in the form of the titular end of time. Written by...

Veteran entertainer Bernard Cribbins reprises his role as Wilfred Mott in David Tennant's upcoming final Doctor Who episodes.

Cribbins, who turns 81 on December 29, can be seen in two-parter The End Of Time on Christmas Day and New Year's Day on BBC1.

Here's what he had to say:

How Does It Feel To Play The Doctor's Latest Glamorous Assistant?

I think I was far too good-looking for it - and too tall and all those things. But it was great fun, and I was delighted when I was told I would be the companion for these last few episodes. Terrific.

It's The End Of An Era For The Current Doctor Who. How Much Can You Reveal About The Christmas Two-parter?

I honestly, and I mean this sincerely, can't reveal anything because I didn't have the pages. They didn't give me the last three or four pages, because they knew I'm...

The flurry of Doctor Who news stories in the run-up to The End of Time has begun. But first, North American viewers will be able to enjoy The Waters of Mars tomorrow on BBC America and Canada's Space channel. In North American media, Canadian entertainment website dose.ca has an interview with Russell T Davies, and The Philadelphia Daily News, The Vancouver Sun and McClatchy News all have interviews with David Tennant.

Tennant is busy in the Us filming the pilot for Rex Is Not Your Lawyer, and the Los Angeles Times reports that NBC may pick the series up as early as this spring. For those of you who can't get enough pictures of David Tennant wearing puffy winter coats, there are plenty from Rex filming here. In other Tennant news, the Sunday Mercury has an article titled "7 Things You Didn't Know About Dr Who David Tennant" (though readers...

Bernard Cribbins plays Donna Noble's grandfather, Wilf, on Doctor Who and here he is discussing a little bit about those final episodes we're all eagerly awaiting on Xmas and New Years.

There's a brief clip from the episode at the top of the interview -- so if you don't want to be spoiled, don't watch -- that's pretty fun to behold. 

 

There's also an interesting it of triva that Cribbins' drops in the interview. Turns out that he was in the 1966 Daleks' Invasion Earth: 2150Ad film, starring Peter Cushing as the Doctor.  

I've never seen that film, but I've always wondered if it's as bad as people say. I managed to find a fan trailer of that film, so I've added that below.

Doctor Who Magazine 416 is the biggest-ever edition and, less than a month before he leaves the role, is a David Tennant special. Tennant gives an in-depth interview about his last days as the Tenth Doctor, the forthcoming Christmas Special, The End of Time, and the reasons why he’s decided to leave his dream job.

"When the Doctor decides he’s the ‘Time Lord Victorious’, we’re making him quite unsympathetic", considers David. "Well, it’s making him more Time Lord, actually, when you consider how they turned out. When we see the Doctor behaving arrogantly, selfishly or uncontrollably, it’s then that he appears more fallible, and therefore more human?

The Time Lords were pretty fallible too. It’s hubris. It’s Greek. It needed that scale to tell the final story. It’s a tale of the gods, really but gods who are fallible and, I suppose, human.

Doctor Who legend Bernard Cribbins appeared on daily harridan TV fest Loose Women today - accompanied by a new clip from The End of Time, Part One. Refusing to giveaway any clues, claiming that the final three pages of the script were removed from all copies (except presumably David Tennant's) and recalling a moment on the Tardis set in which he observed that he'd last stood in the Doctor's time machine 43 years earlier, Cribbins was as usual on fine form... (Via Life, Doctor Who...

The great Bernard Cribbins seems to have been in the press all week, and his presence as a Doctor Who co-star at Christmas looks set to extend his presence even further. Today it was The Times turn to feature Cribbins who was interviewed by his friend Ken Russell. While he's still refusing to give anything about The End of Time away and discussing "Right Said Fred" and The Wombles there's still plenty of interest, not least in his thoughts on his BAFTA award on Sunday and his...

Well it's quite a week for Bernard Cribbins - the great man is set to receive a special Children's BAFTA award this weekend in recognition of his long body of work that includes Doctor Who, The Railway Children and Jackanory. Of the award, Cribbins said: "It is truly an honour to receive this award from the British Academy. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with and for children throughout my career and am privileged to have been involved with some amazing projects." The...

Bernard Cribbins is to receive a Special Award at this year’s British Academy Children’s Awards, which will take place next Sunday at the London Hilton.

Cribbins, who plays Wilfred Mott in Doctor Who, is receiving the award for his outstanding creative contribution to the industry. The citation says "His name is synonymous with quality, traditional entertainment for children in a career spanning six decades and covering film, television and other entertainment mediums."

BAFTA Chief Executive, Amanda Berry, said:

"Bernard Cribbins has made an amazing contribution to children’s entertainment throughout his outstanding career and is still entertaining children today, now playing Wilfred Mott in ‘Doctor Who’. He is a worthy recipient of this year’s Special Award; in fact he deserved it a long time ago! We are absolutely delighted he has accepted."

On television Bernard Cribbins has appeared in many classic programmes including over 100 apperances on Jackanory...

Doctor Who actor and TV legend Bernard Cribbins has declared that children’s television is being undermined by CGI - and he may have a point. Focussing on the mass of CGI produced animations rather than occasional special effects in Doctor Who, Cribbins - who is a former Jackanory storyteller and narrator of the stop-motion Wombles films - believes storytelling is a dying art, smothered by a reliance on computer generated imagary. "Now, everything is about CGI...