Ratings for the seventh episode of the first season of the new series, The Long Game, on US television on the Sci Fi Channel, are in. The numbers were slightly up from the previous week, averaging a 1.20 household rating with an average viewing audience of 1.4 million viewers, up one-tenth of a million from the previous week's low for "Dalek". Season-to-date, Sci Fi reports that Doctor Who is currently averaging a 1.35 household rating and an average audience of 1.6 million viewers for the season (noting also that the audience, according to their current mid-season demographics, is 64% male/36% female, with a median age of 47 years.)

A press release from the BBC Press Office announces that actorsBurn Gormanand Naoko Mori -- the latter of whom appeared in a role in last year's "Aliens of London" and here reprises the same role -- have been cast alongside John Barrowman and Eve Myles in the brand new BBC Three spinoff series Torchwood. "Burn Gorman has been cast to play Owen Harper, the raw but charming medic of the group. Burn's most recent acting credits include the hugely popular role of Guppy in the BBC ONE award-winning adaptation of Dickens' Bleak House, written by Andrew Davies. Lead writer and Executive producer, Russell T Davies says: 'Burn was just dazzling in last year's Bleak House, and attracted our attention immediately. We beat a path to his door. He's one of the UK's brightest new talents, and I can't believe how lucky we are to get him for Torchwood.' Naoko Mori will play Toshiko Sato – the member of the team who specialises in all things computer, surveillance and technical. She is best known for her role as Saffy's best friend Sarah (aka Titicaca), in the comedy series Absolutely Fabulous. Of Naoko, Russell T Davies says: 'We were lucky enough to work with Naoko in 2004, on the very first day's filming of the new Doctor Who, which introduced the character of Toshiko Sato in the episode Aliens of London. She was absolutely brilliant, and I knew then that I wanted to bring her back.' The British sci-fi crime thriller for adult audiences will follow the adventures of a team of renegade investigators, led by the enigmatic Captain Jack, played by John Barrowman. It will see the investigators use alien technology in a real world to solve crime; both alien and human. The 13-part drama series begins filming in Wales next month and will transmit on BBC THREE and BBC ONE." Also reported at the official Doctor Whowebsite.

Higher viewing figures frequently mean lower Audience Appreciation figures, and so it proves for Tooth and Claw. Saturday's episode has an AI of 83, a couple of points down on 'New Earth' and tied with last year's 'Father's Day' as the eighth-highest AI for the new series. It remains, of course, an excellent figure, since the overwhelming majority of television programmes score in the 60s or 70s.

Predictably, Sunday night's Coronation Street was watched by enough viewers (9.31m) to push 'Tooth and Claw' into ninth place in the week's top ten, making Doctor Who the week's third most watched television show, behind Coronation Street and EastEnders. Whether timeshift figures will be enough to push the episode any further up the chart remains to be seen...

Figures are also now available for BBC Three's Sunday repeat of the second episode, which was watched by an average of 542,200 viewers, a 3.3% audience share. The episode began with 191,000 viewers, doubled to 383,000 within ten minutes, and peaked at 781,000 at 7.55pm. This is an increase of 158,200 on the previous Sunday's repeat of 'New Earth', and is almost exactly the same as the figure for 'World War Three' (555,000) on the same Sunday last year. (Thanks to Steve Tribe and 'Shaun Lyon')

"He has been rusting in his kennel for too long," says today's Times. "Now K9 is taking centre-stage with his own £3 million animated series and a range of high-tech toys." In a rather unsurprising development to anyone who has followed the trail of rumors - first reported on Outpost Gallifrey, in fact, nearly two years ago - K9 will feature in a new animated spinoff series worked on by one of his creators, Bob Baker, and made by Jetix Europe. "Doctor Who's faithful robotic assistant, who will be reunited with his master on Saturday in a special guest appearance on the revived BBC show, will become a star in his own right -- equipped with a lethal blaster -- in a computergenerated series made in partnership with the Walt Disney Corporation. K9 Adventures will be a 26-episode comedy-fantasy series set in outer space. The new-look K9 is a galactic crime-fighter -- far removed from the underpowered pup given to Tom Baker in 1977. Bob Baker, co-creator of the robot dog, promises to give his pet 'a sleek new look using state of the art CGI animation mixed with live action'. The new series is being made by Jetix Europe, owner of 14 children's television channels, which are screened to 43 million households across Europe and the Middle East. Disney is the majority shareholder in Jetix, which hopes to distribute K9 Adventures through mobile phones as well as its UK television channel. The series may also be sold to terrestrial commercial broadcasters. Contractual obligations mean that the Doctor is unable to join K9 on his space mission -- Doctor Who is owned by BBC Worldwide -- but K9 Adventures is the property of Bob Baker, whose writing credits include the Oscar-winning Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit and Paul Tams, a veteran Doctor Who designer. Baker said: 'It's thrilling to be able to offer younger Doctor Who fans the chance to get to know K9. I believe they will love the 21st century K9 as much as past generations did when he appeared in Doctor Who.' K9 partnered the Doctor from 1977 until 1981, and Saturday's special episode features a reunion between dog, master and Sarah Jane Smith, Tom Baker's assistant, again played by Elisabeth Sladen. They investigate sinister events at a modern day school run by Anthony Head of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame. An animated K9 allows his creators to rectify some original design flaws. When the metal mutt was first presented to Tom Baker's Doctor his motorised noise drowned out the actors. His painfully slow movement meant that the dog, with his catchphrase 'insufficient data', was often more hindrance than help."

Broadcast Online reports additional information not covered elsewhere, that Jetix Europe is developing the 30-minute comedy-fantasy series alongside London-based distribution outfit Park Entertainment, and their report also features the first indication of an official reaction by the BBC. "'We've completely revamped K-9,' said Simon Barnes, head of films sales at Park. 'Instead of being a clunky old model, he's now going to be CGI.' According to Barnes, Baker brought the project to Park Entertainment long before the latest series of Dr Who returned to the BBC. 'We saw it had merit and wanted to invest in it,' he said. 'We never knew quite how well the new Dr Who would do.' ... The original K-9 is set to appear in the BBC's new series of Dr Who later this month. However, the BBC can't launch its own spin-off series based on the character without Baker's permission. 'Dr Who is very important to us and we feel we have to manage the brand very carefully on behalf of our audiences,' said Michael Carrington, head of animation and programme acquisitions at BBC Children's. 'As the BBC is already committed to a number of spin-off projects, we concluded that a K9 series may simply be an extension too far.' Park has high hopes for the series, though, and Barnes has already begun discussions with other international broadcasters. 'Anybody who is interested in Dr Who at the moment is probably going to be beating a path to our door," he said. "Canada is a natural home and the same with Australia. You go anywhere English speaking, apart from the US, and they all know who Dr Who is and who K9 is.' The company is also looking at developing electronic toys, games and comic strips based on the character."

Park Entertainment's involvement hearkens back to an October 2004 news report on the Outpost Gallifrey news page, which notes that, at the time, Park had teamed with Baker and issued a press release at the MIPCOM sales event in France that year. "Baker, who also wrote Aardman's Wallace & Gromit toon," said the news story at that time, "is working with Park's CEO Jim Howell to pitch the show to UK and international networks. The story follows 'a junk space ship led by a cynical old captain and a virtual reality female computer... After finding K9 in an abandoned spacecraft, and picking up an orphaned boy from a passing planet, they become a dysfunctional space-age family.' The proposed series would mix live-action and CGI, with K9 - who is 'cuddly in a robotic kind of way' - now able to morph into new shapes via a special dog collar. Howell and Baker, now in his late-60s, have attracted interest from networks in Canada and Australia. For the UK, Howell said that 'the BBC has some kind of first-refusal' on the spin-off show. 'We're aiming at the Dr Who market,' said Howell, regarding the show's target demo. 'Kids and adults love K9... If you can win both demographics with one show, you're really on to a winner.'"

Of course, there is no word as to whether or not how much of the original proposal noted here will be part of the final product. However, today, Jetix Europe also issued a press release that mentions Park's involvement, quoting Baker as saying, "I am absolutely delighted to be giving K9 a new lease of life and a new look for his own series," noting that kids today would love him as much as past generations. Howell is also still involved according to the Jetix press release, stating that "we feel that K-9 holds a very special place in the hearts of all Doctor Who fans and we are thrilled to be working with Bob, Paul and everyone at Jetix on the development and production of the series," giving the impression that the October 2004 story notes are likely the direction the series will take.

The image was featured in the Times, and according to Jetix is the final version used in the show. Also reported at BBC News and CBBC News and in the Belfast Telegraph, C21 Media, Euronext, the Daily Record, the The Independent. (Thanks to Steve Tribe, Kenny McGuinness, Paul Engelberg, Andrew Norris)

Tom Baker will no longer be the voice of BT's talking message service at the end of April, according to news reports. "The BT service which allows mobile phone users to have messages sent to landline telephones read out in the classic TV icon's voice will switch to two new voices," says the UK Press Association news feed. "The feature was introduced at the end of January allowing people to send their friends and family messages in the instantly recognisable actor's dulcet tones. But his voice is to be axed to allow the introduction of both male and female voices. The new voices will start being used from April 28 and will be rolled out nationally from May 1. Wendy McMillan, BT general manager, Consumer, said: 'Tom Baker has been a huge success and a great way to introduce a new audience to BT Text. 'As the technology develops we want to give people the option to have their texts delivered to landlines in a gender that is the same as their own or one they think will be more effective depending on the message they're sending. But if people haven't yet had their fill of Tom Baker they've still got more than a week to enjoy pretending to be The Doctor.' Research carried out by BT suggests male voices are appropriate for sending different messages to female voices. Seven out of ten people think male voices are better for telling jokes and were considered more powerful and better for disciplining children. Female voices were described as more comforting, truthful and persuasive than male voices." The story has also been reported today atYahoo News, The Guardian, The Sun, The Mirror, Manchester Evening News, The Scotsman.

Elisabeth Sladen appeared as the last feature of today's 'Blue Peter', joined by K9 and emerging from the TARDIS - which of course materialised in studio - carrying Socks the 'Blue Peter' cat! After the clips of 'School Reunion' from the 3-minute BBCi trailer were shown, Sladen talked to presenter Gethin - who apparently appears in the series himself as a Cyberman - about how she'd been reassured about re-appearing in the series after meeting with the people behind the new version and realising that they were on the same wavelength as her about where Sarah would be now. Sladen also talked about Sarah's past exploits with the Third and Fourth Doctors, and how she was left behind by the Fourth and perhaps always hoped he'd come back for her, but never did. As Sladen talked, clips were shown from 'The Time Warrior', 'Genesis of the Daleks' and 'The Hand of Fear'. Various clips of K9 in action were also shown when he was introduced, and the clip of K9 saying he was a present from the Doctor from 'K9 and Company' was used as Gethin explained how the Doctor had given the dog to Sarah as a present.

Sladen discussed how she thinks David Tennant has the qualities that make a good Doctor 'in spades' - the 'Girl in the Fireplace' clips from the BBCi trailer were shown as she talked about him. She alao said that Rose and Sarah do not initially get on as they are very proprietorial about the Doctor, both thinking he belongs to them, although Sladen noted that he doesn't really belong to either of them because he is an alien. Throughout, K9 chipped in with various comments, voiced as always by John Leeson. Towards the end of the feature he met the two 'Blue Peter' dogs - not getting attacked by either of them as he was by the incumbent dog on the show many years ago! - and when questioned by Gethin about his defensive capabilities, responded that he could not reveal them all and viewers would have to see for themselves on Saturday.

Gethin then introduced a competition for viewers to win one of fifty copies of the 'Genesis of the Daleks' DVD, signed by Sladen, before K9 reminded viewers to watch 'at 7.15' on Saturday (an error, as the show will be on at 7.20 this Saturday), and also to watch Tuesday's 'Blue Peter', a trailer for which was then shown. (Thanks to Paul Hayes)

Tenth Planet have provided us with the full-color high-resolution cover image for the forthcoming UK DVD release of Inferno starring Jon Pertwee, Nicholas Courtney and Caroline John. Click on the thumbnail for a larger version.

The DVD release is out 29 May in the UK. As we noted when the story was originally announced, the release will feature commentary by Courtney, John Levene, script editor Terrance Dicks and producer/director Barry Letts; "Can You Hear the Earth Scream?," a 35-minute "making of" documentary which includes interviews with Dicks, Letts, Levene, Courtney, Caroline John, Ian Fairbairn and stunt arranger Derek Ware; "The UNIT Family (Part One)", a 36-minute documentary featuring a look at the first half of the "UNIT family" from the Third Doctor's era with interviews with Letts, Courtney, Levene, Dicks, John, Ware and UNIT Creator Derrick Sherwin; "Visual Effects Promo Film," an excerpt from an early sales pitch from the BBC Visual Effects department featuring rare Doctor Who footage; "The Pertwee Years Intro," a short intro by Jon Pertwee originally included on BBC Video's "The Pertwee Years"; a Jon Pertwee radio announcement; a PDF of the 1971 Doctor Who Annual; Radio Times billings; plus photo gallery and production notes.

Initial overnight viewing figures for Saturday night's new Doctor Who episode Tooth and Claw on BBC1 have come in, and it's good news: an average of 8.9 million viewers watched the episode, with an average 42.3% audience share... a gain of nearly a million viewers over last weekend's "New Earth" which had an average of 8.0 million. According to the individual breakdown of 15-minute intervals, Doctor Who was reported peaking in its last quarter hour at 9.3 million viewers (43.1% share during that fifteen-minute period) and dropped off 4.75m viewers after the episode was over, but even more interestingly, in the ViewingFigures 5-minute interval breakdown, it actually peaked at 10.03 million (44.3%). This is higher even than the peak figure for the preceding FA Cup semi-final (9.91m, of which 1.4m switched off or over as Doctor Who began); this high-profile match was Saturday's second most-watched programme with an average figure of 6.6m (42.6%). ITV, meanwhile, proved no match for "Doctor Who" this week, sustaining just shy of four million viewers at the same time as the episode broadcast. "Doctor Who" is currently in the top-ten for the week's overnight ratings on British television in equal eighth place with Thursday's episode of EastEnders and outrating all five of Emmerdale's episodes. It's likely that 'Tooth and Claw' will end the week in ninth place, as another episode of Coronation Street screens on ITV1 on Sunday evenings, although other Sunday night programmes could yet push Doctor Who out of the top ten in the week's overnights. In comparison with the same weekend last year, 'Tooth and Claw' is well up on the performance of 'World War Three', which had overnights of 7.26m (38%).

Meanwhile, the BBC Three installment of Doctor Who Confidential at 8.00pm scored 616,100 viewers (with a 3.8% audience share), peaking at just after the start at 676,000. It was fourth for the evening on the list of non-terrestrial broadcast channels. And the second edition of Totally Doctor Who last Thursday pulled in 900,000 viewers (8.2%) in its 5pm slot, about the same as Blue Peter's audience size in the same timeslot. (Thanks to 'Shaun Lyon', Andy Parish)

More "Tooth and Claw"

At half-time during the Liverpool - Chelsea game today, the trailer was shown for 'Tooth and Claw' after a brief BBC News summary. Immediately after the trailer, the football coverage presenter, Gary Lineker, assured viewers that the episode would follow 'even if the match goes to penalties', thus reassuring all us nervous Who fans! He even said that 'The Time Lord is a bit of a football fan you know,' and suggested that if viewers had a TARDIS they could have gone back 20 years to see Maradona knocking England out of the 1986 World Cup, linking into a forthcoming BBC documentary on the Argentine player.

Garry Bushell writes in tomorrow morning's The People, "So Dr Who is an Ian Dury fan. Good man. Unfortunately the Blockheads could be writing his scripts. Let's be honest about Russell T Davies: His sci-fi sucks like the Lotus Thirst Pocket elephants. He's great at thinking up/nicking striking images... creepy cat nuns, killer monks, zombies with rice crispy-blitzed faces. And last night's werewolf will have scared the pants off more kids than Jacko. But no amount of flash computer images can disguise the pot-holes in his plots. Russ never bothers to knit a ale together, which is why his Who episodes fail to live up to the hoo-ha. As with last series, the best stories will be written by others. David Tennant, left, is a great casting, though: fun, upbeat, and his relationship with Rose is far less creepy than Chris Eccleston's was."

Says The Guardian, "There's been a bit of griping about the casting of young master David Tennant. True, he's no hefty thesp like Eccleston, and yes, his Ritalin-starved toddler shtick (part David Helfgott, part butch Kenneth Williams) does grate occasionally. But if you liken his Doctor to Patrick Troughton taking over from William Hartnell, you'll sleep better. This week he and Rose travel back to 1879 for an encounter with Queen Victoria (the wonderful Pauline Collins), a band of warrior monks and a very scary werewolf..."

The Evening News of Scotland says of tonight's episode, "Much has been made of the fact that with David Tennant's tenure as Doctor Who now well underway, there is a Scot back at the controls of the Tardis. ... For former Boroughmuir High pupil Ruth Milne, however, the most terrifying aspect of tomorrow's adventure will the fact that more than eight million viewers are expected to tune in to watch the episode in which she makes her TV debut. 'Everyone that I have ever met seems to know that I'm in Doctor Who tomorrow,' laughs the bubbly 18-year-old, as she reacquaints herself with a Tardis of sorts, an Edinburgh Police Box. I play Flora, the youngest maid in a big Victorian house. She gets separated from the rest of the staff and is looked after by Rose and the Doctor. But I'm so nervous about watching it because I've haven't had a chance to see the finished episode yet.' Although set in Scotland, filming took place in Wales - Treowen House in Dingestow doubling as Torchwood Estate, a castle in the Scottish Highlands. At a recent press screening producer Russell T Davies excused this by saying: 'We just didn't have a big enough budget. But there was no need to go to Scotland because we've made Wales look like London, France and Mars. So we could make it look like Scotland too.' However, if the locations are less than authentic, the same cannot be said for the cast, the majority of whom, like Milne, are Scots. Casting sessions were held at the Scotsman Hotel last August and it was at one of these that Milne, then just 17, was discovered, when the then leader of the Lyceum Youth Theatre, of which she was a member, put her up for the role. 'I'd been with the Lyceum Youth Theatre for five years when the BBC contacted them and asked if they had anyone they thought might be good for the part of a Victorian maid - I got a call to tell me about the auditions and I went along.' Two weeks later, she was offered the role of Flora. 'I was absolutely thrilled, because at the time everyone was watching the first series and thought it was really good.' Filming of Tooth and Claw started last October and lasted for two weeks. And on her first day on the set Milne admits she had to pinch herself. 'It was my first ever job, so I was very nervous and really excited, but everyone was very nice and looked after me. On my first day it was quite good because we weren't filming my bigger scenes, just the ones where I was in the background. That eased me into it, but it was really weird to be there - I even had my own little trailer. It was crazy. When someone says you have a part in Doctor Who that's one thing, but when you get there and David Tennant and Billie Piper are standing beside you, it's like: 'How did I get here.' In tomorrow's tale, the time-travellers set out to earn their By Royal Appointment crest by saving crown and country from the threat of an ancient werewolf. This being Doctor Who, the crown is that of Queen Victoria, played by Pauline Collins who returns to the show after a break of almost 40 years. Previously she played Samantha Briggs in a story called The Faceless Ones, alongside the second Doctor, Patrick Troughton. 'Obviously it's much more hi-tech now and I did absolutely adore Patrick Troughton, he was a wonderful Doctor. Our story was about aliens who inhabited human beings, which was quite advanced for its time. However, now, having seen David Tennant in action, I believe he is going to be the best Doctor ever,' she enthuses. 'He seems to combine authority and humour and quirkiness which, in a way, is an amalgam of all the very best Doctors. He's terrific in it and I think he'll be great,' Collins opined recently. Milne agrees, but says everyone on the show was really friendly, especially Queen Margaret University College trained Michelle Duncan, who plays Flora's boss, Lady Isobel. 'Pauline Collins was really lovely and I had a scene with her at the end. But the first actor I met was Michele Duncan. We were staying at the same hotel so I spent quite a lot of time with her and she looked after me,' says Milne. Other Edinburgh actors appearing the story include Jamie Sives, who plays Captain Reynolds, and Tom Smith, who has to morph into the werewolf. 'There were a few Scottish actors in the episode and Tom Smith was really good,' says Milne. 'He is a great actor and even though special effects hadn't been put on, he was still quite scary.'"

The television listings section of 'Saturday' magazine in today's Daily Express featured a preview of 'Tooth and Claw', which it marked as their 'critic's choice' for Saturday, with a picture of Rose and the Doctor above the following write-up by Mike Ward: "We're going to be seeing oodles of guests in this latest series. Here in episode two it's Pauline Collins who pops up, delivering what I'd imagine could well be a fine impression of Queen Victoria (I can't be sure, I never met the woman). The Tardis delivers the Doctor and Rose back to 1879, where it turns out things aren't all they appear to be in the Scottish Highlands. This is partly because the programme is actually filmed in Wales and they're hoping nobody will notice, but mostly it's thanks to the presence of some rather sinister monks, blatantly up to no good. Oh, and there's a sort of werewolf-type thing on the rampage, which doesn't help. The Queen herself comes across as a tiny bit less stern and grumpy that you might expect."

School Reunion

SFX Magazine has a full (and somewhat spoiler-laden) preview of "School Reunion," the next Doctor Who episode to air, next Saturday.

The Manchester Evening News says of next week, "Hi-tech K9 is set to return to the small screen as Dr Who's sidekick next weekend. But the robot dog has already been spotted being walked around parts of Manchester. While it may be more than 24 years since the clever canine last appeared on screen alongside the Time Lord, played by Tom Baker, he was quickly spotted by fans. And while the spin-off K9 and Company was a ratings flop in 1981, BBC bosses believe the pet, who has already had three screen comebacks, will help boost the huge success of the Dr Who revival. Mark's K9, which usually lives in his sitting room, is made from the same mould as the mark three version, which returns next Saturday. Mark, 33, a law costs clerk in Oldham, said: 'Everyone loved K9 when he first appeared on Dr Who. There was something about the way he looked and sounded that appealed to everyone, even people who weren't big fans of the series. He got a great reaction today. One woman couldn't take her eyes off him. People definitely remember him. It's really exciting that he is coming back. He was one of the best things about the vintage Dr Who episodes and I can't wait to see what he gets up to this time. He is part of what made Dr Who great and unique, not a soap opera and not a documentary, just real family fun.'"

Other Items

CBBC News says, "Doctor Who is starting to dominate Your Charts again. Series two has only just started and you've already voted the new Doctor, David Tennant as a new entry in the celeb chart. He replaces singer Kelly Clarkson, but can he take on the mighty Emma Watson for the title of your fave celeb? The top sci-fi TV show also enters your fave thing chart this week as you are bored with books!"

TV Squad reviews "The Long Game" which aired Friday night on the Sci Fi Channel in America; The Sun discusses Big Brother star Michelle Bass' desire to be in Doctor Who;

(Thanks to Paul Engelberg, Steve Tribe, Paul Hayes, Andy Parish, Peter Weaver and 'Shaun Lyon')

It may not necessarily win during the big national award ceremony, but Doctor Who has won five categories at theBAFTA Cymru awards, the BAFTA ceremony for television and film made in Wales. The program today won the awards for Best Drama Series, Best Drama Director, Best Costume Design, Best Make-up Design and Best Photography Direction. Series executive producer Russell T Davies also the Sian Phillips Award for Outstanding Contribution to Network Television. In a quote to BBC News, BBC Wales head of English programmes Clare Hudson says, "We are thrilled that the spectacular contribution made by Russell T Davies to television over the past few years has won him such a very special award."