The official Doctor Who Festival is coming to Australia for the first time, and will provide fans of all ages with exclusive access into the magic and the secrets behind your favourite program.

The Festival will be held on the 21st & 22nd November 2015 at the Royal Hall of Industries and Hordern Pavilion, the Doctor Who Festival promises fans a unique insight into the imagination and skills put into bringing an episode of Doctor Who to you. This includes exclusive access to the people that make it happen, giving you the chance to get inside the adventure.

The general day ticket price includes:

*Meet The Cast:

Your chance to attend a Q&A session which will get you closer than ever before to Twelfth Doctor, Peter Capaldi, with more cast yet to be announced.

*Meet The Writers:

Hear from the experts who create the storylines of your favourite programme, including lead writer and executive producer, Steven Moffat and find out how the Doctor’s many adventures are developed from script to screen.

*Meet The Monsters:

Experience the work that goes into creating iconic Doctor Who monsters right in front of your eyes, with live monster make-up demonstrations and interactive monster workshops.

More To Be Announced…

As we get closer to November, more cast and activities will be revealed. Register here to sign up to the newsletter for more information, and like the official Doctor Who Facebook page to keep up to date with the latest announcements.

For New Zealand fans, Peter Capaldi will also be heading to Auckland, New Zealand on the 24th November for an intimate evening with fans. Venue and ticket details for this will be announced in due course.

*Information provided on this website relating to the Doctor Who Festival, including cast and activities, is correct as of 25th June and is subject to change.

[Source: DoctorWho.TV]

Fans of Doctor Who can now keep all 11 incarnations of the good Doctor together in one place as New Zealand Mint has struck the ultimate collectors set in 1⁄2 ounce 999 Fine Silver coins that carry a coloured image of all 11 Doctors to have played the role since the series creation in 1963.

Produced in collaboration with BBC Worldwide Australia & New Zealand, the limited edition coin set comes packed in a 3D replica of the Doctor’s fob watch.

The coins are legal tender for $1 in the South Pacific Island nation of Niue, making them an ideal item for Doctor Who fans around the world.

NZ Mint chief executive Simon Harding says:

“There are not many television shows which boast a 50 year history. To be able to celebrate that evolution in such a unique way, as this silver coin set does, is something Doctor Who fans will love.”

Rachael Hammond, BBC Worldwide ANZ’s Senior Licensing Executive, Consumer Products, adds:

“To celebrate 50 years is a remarkable achievement for a television show and these 11 silver coins provide a a worthy memento of Doctor Who’s enduring popularity.”

Only 3,000 sets will be issued for sale worldwide, with a further 1,000 coins offered for individual sale of each of the 11 Doctor coins.

The 50th Anniversary Doctor Who set will be available for purchase from the New Zealand Mint website www.nzmint.com for NZ$699, while the individual Doctor coins are priced at NZ$80 each.

UK fans will be able to purchase the coin set from NZ Mint's UK vendor, Minted UK.

[Source: New Zealand Mint]

In an exciting collaboration through time and relative dimension in space, BBC Worldwide Australasia and New Zealand Mint are offering a legal tender coin, and a series of collectible coins as a celebration of Doctor Who’s 50th Anniversary.

To celebrate the world’s longest running sci-fi series, New Zealand Mint will launch a one-ounce silver .999 coin which features an engraved picture of the iconic TARDIS, as well as a unique 50th Anniversary logo. The coin comes packaged in a 3D model replica of the TARDIS, which opens with the iconic TARDIS “vwarp vwarp” sound. The coins themselves are issued by New Zealand Mint as legal tender, under the authority of the South Pacific Island nation Niue, making them a must-have item for fans to collect. 

Later in the year New Zealand Mint will also release collectible coins featuring all 11 Doctors, from the first Doctor played by William Hartnell, to the current incarnation - Matt Smith. Further Doctor Who coin releases are also planned for 2014 and 2015. 

“We are thrilled to be partnering with New Zealand Mint on this global deal. It is an historic year for the Doctor Who brand, and we are pleased to be able to bring this unique product to Doctor Who fans and coin collectors alike,” said Rachael Hammond, BBC Worldwide’s Senior Licensing Executive, Consumer Products.

Simon Harding, NZ Mint Chief Executive added: “I grew up watching Doctor Who as a child in New Zealand which, coincidentally, was the first country outside the UK to screen the show. It’s a great honour to now be asked to produce these coins to celebrate the 50th anniversary. Fans are going to really like what we’ve come up with.” 

The coins will officially launch at the World Money Fair in Berlin on 1st February 2013 and will be available for pre-order at the New Zealand Mint website www.newzealandmint.com from 24th January 2013 or via selected international coin distributors. 

[Source: BBC Worldwide]

In a recent article for the Daily Mail newspaper, Classic Series Doctor; Peter Davison discusses his recent trip to Australia and New Zealand.

On the thought of travelling with children, Davison had the following to say:

"My wife Elizabeth and I thought it sounded a great idea but we had two major reservations. It wasn't the fans, the signings or hanging out with the likes of Hercules and Flash Gordon at sci-fi events that bothered us; it was the thought of dragging our two boisterous boys, Louis and Joel, both aged under ten, halfway across the world. The prospect of a nightmare 21-hour flight was not enticing. But we decided to bite the bullet and booked New Zealand, with a stopover in Sydney."

On the New Zealand leg of his trip, Davison got to meet the Weta team, who, it became clear, were big Doctor Who fans:

"Mix in a dash of geekdom (one of the Weta guys disappeared suddenly, only to return from his house around the corner with an obscure episode of Doctor Who circa 1982 that he just happened to have on his bookshelf) and their success in the film industry begins to make sense."

+ Read the article in full on the Daily Mail website.

[Source: The Daily Mail]