Series 12 of Doctor Who will air "very early in 2020" according to comments by Tony Hall (BBC Director General) at the recent BFI preview screening of 'Resolution', Digital Spy reports.

The news means that we could be having another New Year's Day special! Jodie, and her companions have all been confirmed to return for the new series when it airs in 2020, with Chris Chibnall at the helm, once more.

In the meantime, you can catch the 2019 New Year's Day special 'Resolution' at 7:00pm on BBC One.

[Source: Digital Spy]

Some conflicting reports have appeared online and in printed newspapers that Christopher Eccleston (The 9th Doctor) agreed to appear in the 50th Anniversary Special, and then pulled out.

The rumours, which were unsurprisingly started by The Daily Star newspaper, claimed Eccleston was all set to star in the special but as filming started, he apparently pulled out.

An official BBC source (speaking to Digital Spy) has reportedly claimed that: "Eccleston was never attached to the 50th and the decision has had no impact on production." The source was further quoted as saying the following:

"Chris met with Steven Moffat a couple of times to talk about Steven's plans for the Doctor Who 50th anniversary episode. After careful thought, Chris decided not to be in the episode. He wishes the team all the best."

Further rumours claim that Paul McGann has stepped in and the storyline originally intended for The 9th Doctor has simply been swapped for The 8th Doctor.

According to The Independent newspaper, The 9th Doctor may still have an appearance in the special:

"Fans might still get the chance to see Eccleston's portrayal of The Doctor as show bosses are rumoured to be planning to use old footage of previous doctors for the special show."

At this stage we would suggest taking all rumours with a pinch of salt until confirmed by the BBC.

[Sources: The Daily Star; Digital Spy; The Independent; DWO]

IDW Publishing has confirmed that a new series of Doctor Who comics titled 'Doctor Who: Prisoners of Time' will launch next year.

The series is written by David and Scott Tipton, with artwork by Simon Fraser and cover art by Francesco Francavilla, and each issue will feature a past Doctor and Companion.

The first issue will feature The 1st Doctor, Ian and Barbara, with the final issue of the year to either feature the current Doctor or another past Doctor.

+  Doctor Who: Prisoners of Time #1 is released in January 2013, Priced £TBC.

[Source: IDW]

Twitter was ablaze last night with three words constantly cropping up in the trending list; 'Sarah Jane Adventures', 'Tommy Knight' and 'Waterloo Road' - which can only mean one thing...Tommy Knight's first episode of Waterloo Road has now aired in the UK!

Tommy, who previously played the role of Luke Smith in The Sarah Jane Adventures, has been cast as pupil Kevin Skelton in Waterloo Road, and is set to be a series regular going forward.

In a recent interview with Digital Spy, Tommy describes his character:

"Kevin is a foster child, who's been through many families and been to many different schools. He's constantly moving about all over the place, and it seems that he's been let down a bit in his past, so his expectations when it comes to things are incredibly low. He doesn't really expect much out of life. 

At the same time, Kevin is incredibly intelligent, but he's almost shy or ashamed of it, as if he's been bullied in the past. So he hides that away to start off with - it's not something that he's proud of, so he doesn't answer any of the questions in lessons. He also winds up the teachers and stuff like that. But later on, you find out he's a bit of an intelligent chap."

+  Read the full interview, here.

+  Tommy's episode of Waterloo Road is available to view on BBC iPlayer, here.

[Sources: BBC; Digital Spy]

Steven Moffat has ruled out a crossover between Doctor Who and Sherlock.

The writer told the New York Times that it would be "quite hard" for the show's central characters to collide.

"I think there are problems of doing that," he admitted. "Because then you would say that Sherlock Holmes lives in the same world as The Doctor, and there are Daleks and all sorts of things. If a Sherlock Holmes story depends on time travel being impossible, it's quite hard [to do it] if he's a personal friend of The Doctor's."

However, he admitted that fans of both shows have often enquired about the potential crossover.

"I think everyone who's passing me in the street is suggesting that at the moment," he revealed.

Moffat also confirmed that work has begun on the next three-part series of Sherlock. The second series of Sherlock is expected to air in Autumn 2011.

[Source: Digital Spy]