Freema Agyeman and Harriet Walter will not be returning for the recently announced seventh season of ITV1′s drama series Law & Order: UK.

Both actresses have been with the series since it launched in 2009, with Agyeman playing junior Crown Prosecutor Alesha Phillips and Walter playing Detective Inspector Natalie Chandler. It is understood that the reason for the departure of both Agyeman and Walter was due to a clash between the production schedule for Law & Order: UK and prior professional commitments of both actresses. I understand that on Freema Agyeman’s part that professional commitment was to The CW’s upcoming Sex and the City prequel series The Carrie Diaries which is slated for a mid-season launch in the United States.

Given the loss of both actresses, Kudos have begun the process of casting a new young, prosecutor and Detective Chief Inspector for the show’s eight episode seventh season, which is due to enter production in November. All other remaining cast members, including Bradley Walsh, Paul Nicholls, Dominic Rowan and Peter Davison will return for the new season, which is due to air on ITV1 in 2013.

Source

David Tennant is to host a new Channel 4 comedy panel show.

The former Doctor Who star will present Comedy World Cup, the channel’s controller Jay Hunt announced at this year’s Edinburgh International Television Festival.

The seven-part series will follow teams of comedians as they use their stand-up routines to avoid being ejected from the competition.

Tennant’s other forthcoming projects include ITV crime drama Broadchurch and BBC Two’s political mini-series The Politician’s Husband.

The Scottish actor is also rumoured to be making a return to Doctor Who for the show’s 50th anniversary in 2013.

“I’m sure there are lots of plans being discussed,” he hinted earlier this month. “I am not confirming nor denying anything.”

Source

BBC Three controller Zai Bennett has spoken about his decision to axe Doctor Who Confidental at this year’s Edinburgh International Television Festival.

Bennett blamed the behind-the-scenes show’s cancellation on BBC cuts, suggesting that it had come to the end of its natural run.

“Doctor Who Confidential had run for six series,” he argued. “It was a show about a show. There wasn’t much more to say about how they make Doctor Who.”

He added: “We are pulling back from pre-watershed TV because of BBC cuts – I’ve got to make every pound count.”

Bennett explained that his focus as head of BBC Three is on “unique programs”.

“I don’t want to make loads of extension shows, a la ITV2,” he said.

Since assuming the role of controller, Bennett has axed a number of BBC Three series, including The Fades, White Van Man, Ideal and Mongrels.

Source

I for one still do not agree with the cancellation of DWC, what do you guys think?

Doctor Who fans will want to bookmark the show’s official website before next week, when a mini-series about companions Amy and Rory Pond will begin airing online ahead of the sci-fi drama’s return to BBC1.

Pond Life, which stars Matt Smith as the Doctor alongside Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill as the Ponds, is a five part mini-adventure which will be stripped daily across the week on the BBC’s Doctor Who page from noon on Monday, before being made available on TV in its entirety via the BBC’s red button service on Saturday 1 September.

Written by Doctor Who and Torchwood screenwriter Chris Chibnall, the show will explore the impact of the Doctor dropping in and out of the Pond’s lives

Chibnall said: ‘Pond Life provides us with a lovely opportunity to catch-up with Amy and Rory since we saw them at the end of the last series.

“It opens with the Ponds at home and gives us an insight in to just what happens when the Doctor drops in and out of their lives. Travelling with the Doctor is one of the greatest things you can do, but it’s fun to spend a few moments looking at the chaos he can also bring.’

The show’s executive producer Caroline Skinner said: “Chris has written a beautiful, heartfelt and wickedly funny piece about the adventures the Ponds have been having with the Doctor since we last saw them on-screen.

“It’s not long till the series itself will be back with a vengeance – but in the meantime, Pond Life is a truly heart-warming piece about our best-loved companions and their madcap relationship with their raggedy Doctor.”

It was announced earlier today that Doctor Who will return to BBC1 at 7:20pm on Saturday 1 September.

Source

I’ve added a few hundred pictures of some of the cast in other roles to the gallery, some of them were in the old gallery but a fair few are new and listed below. There are more on the way but I figured I’d post about these before the list gets any longer. Enjoy!

Just wanted to post a quick note in regards to the gallery and its rebuilding since I haven’t really said anything about it on here though have been making somewhat regular updates on Twitter as to the progress.

You’ve probably noticed that despite all the work that’s been done rebuilding the gallery (currently we’re only about 3,000 pictures away from our old count!), I haven’t been posting gallery updates in the way that I used to, with preview images and links to the albums. This is because I have been updating the gallery so often, with so many different images, that it would be impossible to document them all on here and still keep up the current pace of updating/rebuilding. I am pleased to say, however, that this will be changing in the near future.

While some gallery updates will still go unnoticed here on the main site, you can plan on updates being posted for all Doctor Who series 7 pictures as well as those of the cast from public appearances, photoshoots and their other projects that I know were not added to the old gallery. Some of them, however, may be posted in batches rather than one at a time to keep the site from being overwhelmed with gallery updates.

So if you haven’t visited the gallery lately, take a look around, you may be surprised by some of the pictures that you find!

Doctor Who exec Steven Moffat has admitted that he struggled with Amy and Rory’s final moments.

Moffat told Digital Spy that he “completely” rewrote the pair’s last scenes in upcoming episode, ‘The Angels Take Manhattan’.

“I completely changed the ending as I was writing it, thinking ‘No, I’ve got it wrong… I’m on the wrong emphasis’ – but it’s a good one and it’s properly emotional,” he promised.

Of the final script, Who star Matt Smith said: “I was very moved, very moved indeed, because not only is it two characters that I love, it’s two actors that I love working with. To see them go – and I think go so beautifully… it’s moving.”

Karen Gillan – who plays Amy – added: “I instantly phoned Matt [when I read the episode] and I was crying and laughing hysterically… because it’s so good!”

“It was like getting the last chapter of the best book you’ve ever read and being really surprised by the ending… and really satisfied,” explained Rory actor Arthur Darvill. “It was pretty emotional.

“It’s Doctor Who – I’m so proud of being part of such a big show. The show is bigger than all of us and it will outlive all of us… I’m really proud to have been a part of it.”

Jenna-Louise Coleman will come on board as the Doctor’s new companion in the 2012 Doctor Who Christmas special.

“It’s one of those things, especially in Who – things change, people regenerate, companions come and go,” said Smith. “And we welcome Jenna-Louise Coleman – who’s doing fabulously well.”

Moffat agreed: “She brings a kind of speed, a wit, a sort of unimpressed-ness which has the Doctor dancing a little harder than he’s used to.”

Source

Matt Smith won’t join twitter – because he doesn’t like it.

The ‘Doctor Who’ star is always urged by fans to join the micro-blogging site – on which his co-stars Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill are members – but after trying it out he has decided he doesn’t want to tweet his thoughts and actions.

He said: ‘I joined for a day, when I was in Comic-Con (in San Diego), and it’s just not my cup of tea. I spend enough time on my phone and I figure who cares what I’m doing? You’ve got Moff (Steven Moffat) and Karen and Arthur on there. There’s a big ‘Who’ contingent, maybe I’ll sort of dip in and out. I just don’t see it happening any time soon.’

As well as his avoidance of twitter, the 29-year-old actor – who portrays the titular Time Lord on the BBC show – stays off the internet on the advice of showrunner Steven Moffat.

When Matt took over the iconic role from David Tennant in 2010 the head writer told him to avoid the many ‘Doctor Who’ websites and online forums but he has taken his words of wisdom to the extreme.

He added: ‘I don’t go on the web, that was the first thing Steven said to me, ‘Whatever you do, never, ever go on the internet. So I don’t.

‘Although vanity did get the better of me once and I did watch us singing ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ at Comic-Con, because that was fun.’

Matt returns to TV screens as the Doctor in just a few weeks in new episode ‘Asylum of the Daleks’.

Source

Captain Jack is coming to The CW!

John Barrowman is joining the network’s new fall action-drama Arrow.

The Doctor Who and Torchwood star has signed for a recurring role in Arrow’s debut season. Producers are not saying much about his character, only revealing that he will play a “well-dressed man” who is “as mysterious as he is wealthy … he is an acquaintance of the Queen family and a prominent figure in Starling City.”

Hmmm … one suspects the character is from the Green Arrow comic mythology. Philanthropist Stanley Dover Sr., perhaps? Unless they’re doing a new twist on Brick or the Green Lantern…

Barrowman is a choice that’s sure to rally fans of his Torchwood work. The actor was also cast in Shonda Rhimes’ recent ABC pilot effort Gilded Lilys.

Arrow recently drew raves during a pilot screening at Comic-Con. The show debuts Wednesday, Oct. 10 on The CW.

Source

Two Doctor Who/Torchwood stars will now be appearing on the CW! Freema in The Carrie Diaries and John in Arrow, very exciting!