Downton Abbey toff Hugh Bonneville swaps the period drama for a role in Doctor Who

Hugh, 47 - who plays the Earl of Grantham in the ITV1 drama - appears as a pirate captain in the new run of the BBC1 hit this spring.
Hugh said: "When I was a boy, the music and Jon Pertwee's doctor had me peeking out from behind the sofa every Saturday.
"I am thrilled to be appearing in the new series.
"Although the pirate's demons are different to those of the young lad who watched through his fingers, they are no less terrifying - this new adventure is not for the faint-hearted."
The second series of Downton Abbey starts later this year.

Abc1 australia plan to air doctor who 2011 after uk aires

ABC in Australia have confirmed they plan to screen the 2011 series of Doctor Who shortly after the series is screened in the UK.

The plan was confirmed by Brendan Dahill, Network Programmer for ABC1, in an interview with TV Tonight.
I can’t tell you the date yet because the BBC haven’t told me what date they’re transmitting yet but we’re going close to UK TX again. Australians are great downloaders and they don’t want to wait until Easter to see a Christmas episode, so if we can get it out straight away we will.

The Christmas Special was shown in Australia on Boxing Day evening, less than 24 hours after it made its début on BBC One in the UK.

BBC America has also indicated it will screen the 2011 series within hours of its UK broadcast.

Torchwood crew are jet lagged

Given that most of the cast and key crewmembers are jetlagged, it seemed appropriate that their first day of filming should be at an airport. Scenes featuring John Barrowman, Eve Myles, Dichen Lachman, and Tom Price were filmed today at the British Airways maintenance facility at Cardiff airport. Despite the secure location, a few snippets slipped out, the least surprising being: it was cold out there on the tarmac.

They had an early start, with Dichen up at 3:30am. At that point, none of us knew where they'd turn up. Clues emerged: sightings of "BM" unit signs near the airport, and then a tip-off from the flying club next door.

A tantalising photo of the action was snapped by a bystander. Tom Price treated us to a pic of himself as Andy Davidson, revealing the day's most exciting news: PC Andy is now Sergeant Andy.

It seems today's scenes are from episode 2, directed by Billy Gierhart.

John Barrowman, playing Captain Jack on Welsh soil for the fist time in 2 years, seemed delighted that fans had turned out for the filming, despite the inaccessible location.

Let's hope that the next few days bring them back into Cardiff. I'm with Jack on this: "The 21st century's when it all changes, and I hate the commute."

Doctor who round up

Items of clothing worn by Tenth Doctor David Tennant when he worked for the Royal Shakespeare Company, are among more than 10,000 costumes and accessories that go on sale next month at the company's rehearsal rooms in Stratford-Upon-Avon. The sale, on 12th February, includes over 1,000 pairs of shoes, 500 shirts, 300 hats, Egyptian head-dresses, a variety of military uniforms, cloaks and clerical outfits. It includes numerous items worn by Tennant, including his understudy costume from the 2008 production of Love's Labour's Lost, a green brocade doublet with bronze ornate buttons, breeches, leather boots and socks and his backstage slippers. Tennant himself was a guest at the 2011 British Comedy Awards which took place at London's O2 Centre on Saturday evening, where he presented the People's Choice Award to comedienne Miranda Hart.

Sixth Doctor Colin Baker, has revealed on his blog that he is currently filming an episode of the BBC daytime drama Doctors. Baker has appeared in the series three times before, in 2001, 2006 and 2009. His theatre tour playing Inspector Morse in House of Ghosts has now finished, although Baker notes there are plans to try to get a tour list together either in the Autumn of 2011 or Spring of 2012.

Fourth Doctor Tom Baker, who celebrated his 77th birthday last week, has said on his Forum that he has decided on two projects for Big Finish Productions. Baker indicated in the past that he is keen to work with Big Finish. He has completed two stories for BBC Audio, Hornets' Nest and Demon Quest.

Idw bring back doctor comic

IDW Publishing have announced their range of Doctor Who Comics will follow the Eleventh Doctor's travels from January 2011. These all-new, full colour adventures will also feature his companions Amy and Rory.

Issue One finds the trio battling holographic spam and 'friending' requests on a planet that is hours from destruction by an alien race. It is penned by writer Tony Lee, no newcomer to the Doctor's world having written many of the Tenth Doctor adventures for IDW. Story art is provided by Andrew Currie, and cover art by another long-term contributor Tommy Lee Edwards. There will also be two incentive covers, one by Eisner Award winner Mark Buckingham, and the other by Kelley Yates - the latter featuring a gatefold cover opening out to reveal the TARDIS.

Future issues will see plots involving Jack the Ripper, penalty shoot-outs against Vikings and Cybernetic Space Pirate Dinosaurs, plus the return of a classic villain - says Tony Lee:
I could tell you who they are, but I'd have to kill you. Let's just say we've been given special dispensation to use them, and we have a killer story - in all senses of the word!