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No sooner had the Doctor said a tear-stained farewell to Rose Tyler, then he found himself face-to-face with a woman dressed in a fluffy white Wedding frock. Who is she? Who is she supposed to be marrying? And how did she get on board the TARDIS?
These questions will all be answered in this year's Doctor Who Christmas Special, The Runaway Bride. The Bride herself - whose name is Donna, by the way - will be played by award-winning comedienne Catherine Tate, the star of her own BBC Two sketch show.
"I'm honoured and delighted to be joining David Tennant aboard the TARDIS," Catherine said. "I was holding out for summer season at Wigan rep but as a summer job this'll do."
Russell T Davies added: "After two years of travelling with Rose, the TARDIS is in for a bumpy ride with Donna on board."
Filming on The Runaway Bride is already underway, with work on the third series beginning later this month
It's the end of an epic journey as two mighty armies wage war across the Earth, with the human race caught in the middle. But as an unstoppable terror emerges from beneath Torchwood, the Doctor faces an even greater dilemma – does saving the world mean the death of Rose Tyler?
The final episode of the inconsistent second series proves to be every much as exciting and fun as the first part "Army Of Ghosts" suggested it would be. After a slight reprise of events in the prologue, the action continues from where part 1 left off, with a Dalek foursome protecting "The Genesis Ark" in the basement of Torchwood Tower, while 5 million Cybermen dominate the planet outside...
"Doomsday" is certainly all pay-off to "Army Of Ghosts", with the emphasis firmly shifted in the direction of visual thrills and fraught adventure. The story works much better as a continuation of the mid-season "Rise Of The Cybermen"/"Age Of Steel" two-parter, particularly when the alternate universe Pete Tyler appears and rekindles his relationship with Jackie.
Of course, the inner child in all of us will undoubtedly get a kick from seeing the Cybermen versus the Daleks, and the resultant battle between the cyborgs is a lot of fun, if occasionally undermined by banter (the Daleks develop have a wicked sense of humour it seems, and Mickey likens the enemies sparring to "Stephen Hawking versus the talking clock"!)
David Tennant does fine work here, furthering my belief that he's at the mercy of the writing. Unlike Christopher Ecclestone, he can't elevate crap writing as well, but here he's given a script that plays to his strengths: he's passionate, believable, able to balance the humour with drama, and in the climactic sequence The Doctor seems more frail and human than we've ever seen him in the series. Marvellous.
Likewise, Billie Piper does a great job with all her emotional scenes. Rose as a character had certainly reached the end of the road, with the writers unable to stretch her beyond the archetypal teen began the show as. It was excellent to see the Tyler family unit given a wonderful resolution, and Piper's beach-set farewell with The Doctor marks a highpoint for the show, and eclipsed all the visual fireworks thrown at the screen.
Yes, the visuals were excellent, particularly the Cybermen versus Dalek battles. The sequences with flying Daleks remain obvious composites, but are still effective in a few wider shots and never seriously detracted from the enjoyment of scenes. Doctor Who should certainly be applauded for delivering epic sequences on a relatively small budget.
Elsewhere, the supporting cast are slightly on the periphery throughout, although Shaun Dingwall continues his excellent work as Pete Tyler and has a great scene with Camille Codouri's Jackie.
Overall, this was an impressive finale that made last year's "The Parting Of The Ways" look small in comparison. What really made the episode work was the excellent writing for the sensitive scenes between the main characters, particularly The Doctor and Rose. Writer Russell T. Davies is often slated by fans for his trashy episodes ("New Earth"), silly excesses ("Aliens Of London") or plain stupidity ("Love & Monsters"), but he's undoubtedly the best writer for the dynamic between The Doctor and Rose.
Special thanks www.aintitcool.com
Freema Agyeman appeared in last Saturday's episode in another role
Newcomer Freema Agyeman is to take over from Billie Piper in the third series of Doctor Who, it has been revealed.
Agyeman, 27, will play Martha Jones in the next run of the drama, due to start filming in Cardiff this summer.
Regular viewers saw her in last week's episode where she played Adeola, a minor character who suffered at the hands of the Cybermen.
The current series of Doctor Who finishes on BBC One this Saturday and sees Piper leaving the show.
"When I first saw Freema Agyeman she had come in to audition for the part of Adeola in series two," said executive producer and writer Russell T Davies.
I've been keeping this secret from my friends for months
Freema Agyeman
"Watching her during filming confirmed what an exciting new talent she was, so under cover of darkness we called her back in to audition with David [Tennant] for the role of the new companion."It was an immediate and sensational combination."
Previous roles
Agyeman has previously been seen as Lola Wise in the soap Crossroads, and has had small parts in Casualty and The Bill. The London-born actress was one of several names rumoured for the Doctor Who role, including singer Rachel Stevens and former Eastenders star Michelle Ryan.
Billie Piper has been the Doctor's assistant for two series
"It still hasn't quite sunk in, I'm sure it will slam home first day on set when I'm stood gazing at David Tennant."
Although she has now officially joined the cast, producers say Agyeman will not be featured in this year's Christmas edition of Doctor Who. "We've got another surprise in store for that," said Davies.
Exit
Piper, the Doctor's current companion, revealed she was leaving the programme last month. The BBC had refused to comment on reports that her character, Rose Tyler, dies in the final episode of the series. However, last week's episode opened with a voice-over from the character saying: "This is the story of how I died."
Piper, 23, is currently filming a BBC adaptation of Philip Pullman's Victorian thriller The Ruby in the Smoke.
"Billie rightly built up an amazing fan base and she will be missed," said Agyeman, "but I hope the fans are willing to go on new adventures with me."
www.bbc.co.uk
Award-winning Piper to depart at the end of series two.
Billie Piper is leave Doctor Who in the nail-biting series two finale.
Over the past two years, Billie has taken the character of Rose Tyler on an adventure of a lifetime, travelling across the galaxy with the Doctor. "Rose and I have gone on the most incredible journey with Russell T Davies and the cast and crew of Doctor Who over the past two years," said Billie."It has been an amazing adventure, and I can confirm it comes to an end, for now at least, as series two climaxes. "I am truly indebted to Russell for giving me the chance to play Rose Tyler, and to all the Doctor Who fans old and new who have been so supportive of me in this amazing role. Thank you so much."
Russell T Davies, writer and Executive Producer adds: "It has been a wonderful experience working with Billie – we will miss her – and wish her all the success in the world for her future. "However, the Doctor Who team have had a whole year to plan this final scene and have created a stunning exit for Rose Tyler.
"The Doctor lives a dangerous life and when Rose joined him on his adventures she was aware of this. With a series climax called Doomsday on its way, I can't guarantee who will survive and who won't, but I can assure you the TARDIS is going on its scariest journey yet!"
Since taking on the role of Rose Tyler, Billie has received both critical and popular acclaim. She was awarded The National Television Award for Most Popular Actress 2005 and The South Bank Show's Breakthrough Award for Rising British Talent.
Billie is currently filming the BBC's adaptation of multi award-winning writer Philip Pullman's The Ruby In The Smoke in which she plays the title role, Sally Lockhart.
Filming on the second novel The Shadow In The North will commence later this summer.
Doctor Who series three also starts filming again later this summer and will return with a Christmas special in 2006 and another series of 13 episodes for 2007.
(Thanks to bbc.co.uk/drwho.co.uk)
Spanning the two new series of Dr Who these highly detailed mini busts capture accurate character likenesses, featuring your favorite and most memorable characters from the time lords epic adventures.
Comming Soon!
Ratings for Love & Monsters, the eleventh episode of the new season, are in: according to the overnight viewing figures, 6.22 million people tuned in to see the episode, with a total audience share of 38.3%. The episode was Saturday's #1 most watched program in the UK in terms of number of viewers, though the episode was second on the list in total audience share (World Cup Match of the Day Live, which aired much earlier in the day, had a 38.9% share but only 3.1 million viewers at that time.) As usual, individual ratings on the five-minute period charts show the episode peaked at 7.15 million viewers in the final five minutes of the episode. The episode was also #12 on the list of most watched programmes for the week, after episodes of "Coronation Street," "EastEnders" and several instances of World Cup programming (including, so far, the week's top rated England v. Trinidad & Tobago match on Thursday.) More details later. (Thanks to 'Marcus' and Andy Parish) (thanks to Outpost Galifrey www.gallifreyone.com)
Three wins for Doctor Who at the BAFTA TV Awards
At last night's BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) TV Awards, Doctor Who and scooped three prizes - more than any other programme.
Doctor Who walked away with the Audience Award for Best Programme of 2005 (which was voted for by the public), as well as the prize for Best Drama Series. Furthermore, Russell T Davies also collected the a Dennis Potter Award for outstanding writing for television.
Another familiar face took home a prize too: although neither Billie Piper nor Christopher Eccleston were nominated in the main acting categories, last year's guest star Anna Maxwell Martin (Suki from The Long Game) won the Best Actress award for her role in Bleak House.
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