Doctor Who news latest

Simon Brew

Another actor courts the Doctor Who roles, and there are awards and knitting to talk about, too...

Published on May 14, 2008

We haven’t done one of these for a little while, so there’s a few Who stories that we need to catch up on.

Firstly, congratulations to Steven Moffat, who has picked up a BAFTA for last year’s outstanding television highlight, Blink. He beat the likes of Jimmy McGovern, Tony Marchant and Heidi Thomas to the award, and it’s great to see science fiction so richly rewarded by a generally mainstream awards body. We’d go and watch Blink again to celebrate, if it still didn’t scare us quite so much.

Meanwhile, Adrian Lester – he of Primary Colors and Hustle fame – has thrown his hat into the ring to be the first black Doctor Who. Lester admits to being a huge fan of the programme, but we’re guessing by the fact that he’s giving an interview about his desire for the role that his chances aren’t that great. We know, anyway, that David Tennant is at least attached to the Christmas special, although what happens for the further specials being broadcast next year is still unclear.

Next? The BBC has threatened a fan with copyright infringement: for giving away free knitting patterns! The patterns were of the Adipose and Ood characters, and while the BBC has no known plans to create knitting merchandise of its own, it’s nonetheless send the lawyers in. You can’t beat being nice to your fans, eh?

Finally, it looks like there might be a mid-season break coming up, as per last year. Thanks to the Eurovision Song Contest being broadcast on Saturday week, this weekend’s Who is likely to be the last for a fortnight. Nil points, BBC, nil points…