It is with deepest regret that DWO announces the passing of Classic Series Doctor Who Actor, Nicholas Parsons.

Nicholas was known for the playing the role of Reverend Wainwright in the 7th Doctor adventure, The Curse Of Fenric.

His career began at the end of the Second World War, making his stage debut as Kiwi in The Hasty Heart. Nicholas then went on to have further credits in Film and TV; The Eric Barker Half-Hour, Look At It This Way, Here And Now, The Adventures Of Robin Hood, Four Feather Falls, The Ugliest Girl In Town, Benny Hill, Cluedo, The Wotwots and Good Omens are just a few from his many performances.

Nicholas was also the host of popular BBC Radio 4 panel game, Just A Minute - a show which had its first broadcast in 1967! There were some episodes where he relinquished his chair to be a panellist, but was famed for never missing an episode until 2018, where Giles Brandreth stood in for him due to illness.

On a personal note, I met Nicholas in 1998 during the Southampton leg of The Rocky Horror Stage Show. I was studying drama at college at the time, and all of our class were dressing up as characters from the show. As I knew Nicholas was in Doctor Who, I decided to dress up as him with flour in my hair and eyebrows and a cravat (much to the confusion of some of my peers) - in hindsight, this was also my first-ever cosplay!

I met him after the show (pictured-right) and he was incredibly generous with him time. A gently spoken man who looked back on his Doctor Who role with pride. He even found time to give me a few career tips and advice. Lovely man!

DWO would like to extend our sympathies to Nicholas' family and friends.

[Source: DWO]

BBC Studios continues to offer Doctor Who fans the opportunity to build their own home archive on Blu-ray. Debuting on Monday 23rd December is Doctor Who: The Collection - Season 26; the acclaimed final season from the series’ original run, starring Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred.

The set includes four stories: 

BATTLEFIELD
GHOST LIGHT
THE CURSE OF FENRIC
SURVIVAL

In 1989, Doctor Who was on a creative high, with the Seventh Doctor and his companion Ace revitalising the programme for a new generation. Season 26 featured four epic adventures traversing a future Britain invaded by inter-dimensional knights, a strange Victorian house haunted by ghosts from Ace’s past, an alien world populated by Cheetah People and a 1940s army camp under siege from monstrous vampires.

With guest stars including Nicholas Courtney (Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart), Anthony Ainley (The Master), Jean Marsh, Nicholas Parsons, Anne Reid, Ian Hogg, Sylvia Syms and comedy duo Hale & Pace, this fondly-remembered set of stories saw the end of an era for Doctor Who, and set the stage for its hugely successful revival.

With all episodes newly remastered from the best available sources, this Blu-ray box set also contains extensive and exclusive special features including:

Rare Restored Extended Cuts
The Curse of Fenric VHS Extended Version The Curse of Fenric DVD Special Edition Battlefield VHS Extended Version Battlefield DVD Special Edition, plus

5.1 surround sound & isolated scores
On all 14 broadcast episodes, plus 5.1 sound on all extended versions of The Curse Of Fenric and Battlefield.

Behind the Sofa
New episodes with Sylvester McCoy, Sophie Aldred, plus companions Janet Fielding, Sarah Sutton, Anneke Wills and Jodie Whittaker-era writers Pete McTighe & Joy Wilkinson.

Showman - the Life of John Nathan-Turner
A feature-length look at the life and career of Doctor Who’s longest-serving producer, who fought to keep the programme on-air during the 1980s. Contributors include Peter Davison and Colin Baker.

Making ‘The Curse of Fenric’
A brand new documentary featuring Sylvester McCoy, Sophie Aldred, Tomek Bork, Nicholas Parsons, Cory Pulman, Marek Anton, Ian Briggs, Andrew Cartmel, Mark Ayres and Ian Collins featuring unseen behind-the-scenes footage and photographs.

In Conversation
Matthew Sweet chats to companion Sophie Aldred.

The Writers’ Room
Ben Aaronovitch, Marc Platt, Ian Briggs, Rona Munro and Andrew Cartmel discuss their work on Season 26.

Becoming The Destroyer
Actor Marek Anton and prosthetics designer Stephen Mansfield recall the creation of one of Doctor Who’s best ever monsters.

Blu-Ray trailer
Sophie Aldred back in character as Ace.

Brand new Ghost Light extended workprint Unseen studio footage

Rare archive treats

Convention footage

HD photo galleries

Scripts, costume designs, rare BBC production files and other gems from our PDF archive

And lots more!

The seven-disc box set also includes hours of special features previously released on DVD.

+ PREORDER this title from Amazon.co.uk for just £39.99 (RRP: £56.16)!
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[Source: BBC Studios]

There’s no doubt that the appearance of Doctor Who on LOVEFiLM’s catalogue has gotten us excited – the chance to enjoy our favourites whenever we like (within reason) seems a good enough reason as any to get in a good mood.

And while the presence of Matt Smith’s recent outing is good enough for now, one thing that has caught our eye is the wealth of old episodes that LOVEFiLM has to offer.

We all know that the Doctor has been on fire since 2005 and we need little excuse to revisit any one of hundreds of moments from the run. However, it’s reassuring to know that if we need to recap an episode, catch up with one that we’ve missed or simply relive the excitement all over again, LOVEFiLM has it covered.

To have classics such as Jon Pertwee’s Inferno, Tom Baker’s City of Death, and Sylvester McCoy’s The Curse of Fenric available as well as other movies online whenever you want them, thanks to the LOVEFiLM Player, is a treat that we’re really looking forward to – even if it doesn’t come to fruition.

For now, of course we’re happy with whatever we’re given, and LOVEFiLM are allowing us to get our hands on copies of Doctor Who for a fraction of what it would cost to buy the box set, or even to rent it in the conventional way.

So, in truth, there’s no excuse for going without a Doctor Who fix thanks to LOVEFiLM, providing a fantastic TV back catalogue at a great price!

[Sources: Doctor Who Online; LOVEFILM]