Doctor Who
Press pack - phase one
Starts on ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ ONE, Saturday 26 March at 7.00pm
Introduction
Acclaimed actor Christopher Eccleston plays Doctor Who in a new 13-part series for ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ ONE transmitting on Saturday 26 March 2005.
Billie Piper, who made her acting debut in the critically-acclaimed Canterbury Tales: The Miller's Tale, stars alongside Eccleston as the Doctor's companion, Rose Tyler.
Travelling through time and space, the Doctor and Rose come face to face with a number of new and exciting monsters - as well as battling with the Doctor's arch-enemy: the Daleks!
The series, which promises to surprise and entertain a new generation, also features Penelope Wilton, Noel Clarke, Annette Badland, Camille Coduri and John Barrowman, Richard Wilson, Simon Pegg, Zoe Wanamaker and acclaimed theatre, film and television actor Simon Callow.
Lorraine Heggessey, Controller of ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ ONE, says: "There is no secret about the fact that I desperately wanted to bring Doctor Who back to its rightfully place on ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ ONE.
"Russell T Davies and the writing team have done an incredible job."
Russell T Davies says: "The new series will be fun, exciting, contemporary and scary – a full-blooded drama which embraces the Doctor Who heritage as well as introducing the character to a modern audience.
"Christopher Eccleston's Doctor is wise, funny and brave; an adventurer who travels through time and space.
"His detached logic gives him a vital edge when the world is in danger, but when it comes to relationships, he can be found wanting. That's why he needs Rose (played by Billie Piper).
"Rose is a shop-girl from the present day. From the moment they meet, the Doctor and Rose are soul mates. They understand and complement each other.
"As they travel through history and across the universe, the Doctor shows Rose things beyond her imagination. She starts out as an innocent, fettered by earthly concerns.
"But she ends up an adventurer who, by the end of the series, can never go home again.
"Wherever they go, whoever they meet, every story will come back to Earth. For all the danger and tension this is a fundamentally optimistic series.
"The human race will survive – but only with the Doctor's help. Prepare for brand-new adventures in the human race..."
A ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Wales Production for ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ ONE, Doctor Who is written by Russell T Davies, Steven Moffat, Mark Gatiss, Paul Cornell and Robert Shearman.
The executive producers are Russell T Davies, ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Wales' Head of Drama Julie Gardner and Mal Young.
In March there will be a 13-part companion series for ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ THREE, entitled Doctor Who Confidential, presented by Simon Pegg, which takes a look behind-the-scenes of the new Doctor Who series.
On Radio 2, Project Who? (22 and 29 March, 8.30pm), features interviews with the cast and crew.
bbc.co.uk/doctorwho contains further details about the new series plus background information about the classic series.
Website content includes:
Over two hours of specially shot on-set videos (even the Daleks have sent in a video diary).
Doctor Who Confidential: The entire ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ THREE "making of" show available on-demand (13 x 30 minute episodes). This is the first time a non-news TV show has been streamed on-demand.
The Doctor Who Years: 3 x 30 minute specially edited video compilations, mixing classic tunes and Doctor Who clips in a nostalgia tour of the Sixties, Seventies and Eighties.
Conquer! -the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s first multiplayer online role-playing game.
Hidden sites - enter the world of the programme through a series of hidden sites referenced in the TV show. Can you find the Doctor?
Classic clips - more than 250 classic clips from the original series (everything from Tom Baker to the first appearance of the Daleks).
Downloads - the site offers MP3 downloads of sounds, and mobile wallpaper (Trust us - there will be no escape from a phone that sounds like a Dalek death ray).
Exclusive trailers - in the countdown to transmission the site is offering exclusive trailers.
Plus hidden corners, surprises, hundreds of candid behind-the-scenes photographs and more.
Finally, to mark the launch on ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ ONE of the new Doctor Who series, ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ TWO celebrates one of British television's much-loved and truly iconic series in a special night of programmes on Saturday 19 March.
In a one-off Mastermind Doctor Who Special, four Doctor Who aficionados will be put through their paces by Mastermind host, John Humphrys to find out who will be crowned the UK's top Doctor Who fan.
The prize will be presented by the new Doctor, Christopher Eccleston.
So Some Things You Need To Know About Doctor
Who will be packed full of Doctor Who trivia, plus there is
another chance to see The Story of Doctor Who - a nostalgic
archive documentary about the longest running TV drama series.
Notes to Editors
More behind-the-scenes material and information about selected episodes
from the new series of ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ ONE's Doctor Who will be available on this
website nearer transmission.
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