Media Guardian's Edinburgh International Television Festival will be holding a special screening for the next episode of Doctor Who (6.8: Let's Kill Hitler) on Friday 26th August 2011 at The Film House.

The festival website has also included the synopsis for the episode, which doesn't contain any spoilers:

In the desperate search for Melody Pond, the TARDIS crash lands in 1930s Berlin, bringing the Doctor face to face with the greatest war criminal in the Universe. And Hitler. The Doctor must teach his adversaries that time travel has responsibilities - and in so doing, learns a harsh lesson in the cruellest warfare of all.

+  Check Out Media Guardian's Edinburgh International Television Festival website.

[Source: Media Guardian]

Danny Cohen (BBC1 Controller) recently confirmed at the Church and Media Conference that Doctor Who will not be returning for a full series until 2013.

The comments come after weeks of speculation over the scheduling for the series in 2012. Last week the BBC confirmed that 14 episodes of Doctor Who had been commissioned but that the schedule was yet to be announced. We do know that one of the confirmed 14 episodes will be the 2012 Christmas Special.

It is unknown yet as to the exact reason behind the decision, but it is likely due to the reports of big plans for the show's 50th anniversary in 2012.

What could we expect to see in 2013?

- Possible American-style dual season (26 x Episodes) throughout the year.

- A mixture of standard episodes and specials.

- 14 x 1-hour specials aired throughout the year.

- A 13 x Episode series (plus Christmas Special) beginning in the Autumn.

[Source: Danny Cohen]

Sam Hodges, the Head of Communications for BBC One and Fiction has confirmed that Doctor Who and Matt Smith will return for 14 more stories (2011 Christmas Special + 13 x Episodes).

Confirmation came via Hodges' Twitter account today:

"#DoctorWho is returning. Fourteen new episodes have been commissioned with Matt Smith as The Doctor #bbc1"

Doctor Who Showrunner, Steven Moffat retweeted adding the following twees:

"14 eps + Matt DEFINITELY. I've got a plan and I'm NOT TELLING YOU WHAT IT IS. Now hush or River shoots you with her Spoiler Gun.#formaqueue"

DWO's own Twitter account has been innundated with messages from fans wanting to know what will happen to The Doctor during this season, with Moffat responding to one of the followers:

"@EuroboiSteve @DrWhoOnline What, you don't think he's got time, in those 200 years, to have LOTS of adventures. He DIED - you saw him."

Further confirmation is expected from the BBC shortly, and more details are coming up in the next issue of Doctor Who Magazine.

[Sources: Sam Hodges; Steven Moffat]

The overnight viewing figures are in for 6.7: A Good Man Goes To War.

The episode achieved a figure of 5.5m viewers, with an audience share of 25.4%, and Doctor Who was the sixth most-watched programme for Saturday:

Top Overnights - Saturday 4th June:

01 …. 12.5m (49.3%) …. Britain's Got Talent Final Results 21:30 ITV 1

02 …. 11.4m (47.0%) …. Britain's Got Talent Final 19:00 ITV 1 

03 …. 6.5m (27.5%) …. Popstar to Operastar: The Curtain Raiser 21:00 

04 …. 6.1m (26.6%) …. ITV News & Weather 22:00 ITV 1 

05 …. 5.6m (36.8%) …. Euro 2012 Qualifier Live: England v Switzerland 16:15 ITV 1 

06 …. 5.5m (25.4%) …. Doctor Who 18:45 BBC One 

Final BARB ratings will be available within the next 10 days.

+  What did you think of the episode? Rate / Discuss in the DWO Forums!

[Source: Andy Parish]

The Daleks are to be given "a rest" from battling Doctor Who, writer Steven Moffat has told the Radio Times.

Moffat, who is also the BBC television show's executive producer, said: "They aren't going to make an appearance for a while. We thought it was about time to give them a rest."

The Daleks were voted the scariest villains in the history of Doctor Who in a poll of fans in 2007.

Moffat said they had been defeated by the Doctor "about 400 times".

Created by Terry Nation, the Daleks are the Doctor's hugely popular enemies who have made regular appearances in the long-running science fiction show since first appearing in 1963.

Moffat said: "There's a problem with the Daleks. They are the most famous of the Doctor's adversaries and the most frequent, which means they are the most reliably defeatable enemies in the universe."

Recent episodes of the show, which stars Matt Smith as the timelord, have been criticised for being "too scary for children".

But Moffat said: "It is horror, but horror for children. It's scary in the way that a fairy story can be scary."

[Source: BBC News]

The final BARB viewing figures are in for 6.5: The Rebel Flesh.

The episode achieved a final figure of 7.35m viewers, with an audience share of 34.1% (comparing to the 5.7m / 29.3% Overnights). This is a time shift of +1.65m.

6.5: The Rebel Flesh also achieved an Appreciation Index rating of 85.

+ What did you think of the episode? - Rate / Discuss in the DWO Forums!

[Source: Andy Parish]

The overnight viewing figures are in for 6.6: The Almost People.

The episode achieved a figure of 5.0m viewers, with an audience share of 24.4%.

Doctor Who was the second most-watched programme for Saturday, being beaten only by the UEFA Champions League Final with 7.9m viewers.

Final BARB ratings will be available within the next 10 days.

+  What did you think of the episode? Rate / Discuss in the DWO Forums!

[Source: Andy Parish]

The Trailer for 6.7: A Good Man Goes To War is now online, and DWO have added the HD version below:

[youtube:woZShAT3Bd4]

+  Subscribe to the DWO YouTube Channel.

[Source: BBC]

It's been confirmed that Piers Wenger, one of Doctor Who's three executive producers, is leaving the BBC.

Piers succeeded Julie Gardner as Head of Drama for BBC Wales and shortly after became executive producer of Doctor Who, taking an active role in the casting of Matt Smith as the Doctor. He also served as executive producer on Doctor Who: The Adventure Games and Doctor Who Confidential. Away from the TARDIS he worked on Ashes to Ashes, Christopher and His Kind and the relaunch of Upstairs Downstairs.

In March 2010 Piers stepped down as Head of Drama but remained at BBC Wales where he continued as creative leader for a number of key shows, including the award-winning Eric and Ernie.

He commented, 'It is with great sadness that I say goodbye to Doctor Who and BBC Drama, and all of the extraordinary people who I have worked with there.' Piers is leaving the BBC to join Film4 and everyone in the Doctor Who team would like to wish him the very best of luck in his new role.

[Source: BBC Doctor Who website]

Arthur Darvill took time out to talk to What’s On TV about playing Rory in Doctor Who and to fill them in on his latest adventure set in an acid mine. The second part of this Doctor Who story begins this Saturday with Rory in terrible danger as he looks for ‘ganger’ Jennifer in the monastery... 

Rory seems to have a bigger role in this series?

“Absolutely, he’s really part of the gang now. I think getting married and proving himself to everyone. Waiting 2000 years for Amy has helped his confidence. It hasn’t made him ‘Mr Total Confidence’ because I don’t think he’ll ever be that, but he definitely feels like he deserves to be there, and has a role to play and can help out with whatever adventure they have. There are still various tensions there, but he’s not still trying to work out what’s going on between the Doctor and Amy and the whole time travel thing. He’s got it now!”

Do you see him as a fully fledged companion this time then?

“Absolutely and his nursing skills have definitely come into play this time around. The Doctor finds him more useful now. Their relationship is growing and it’s a very complicated relationship, but they are getting quite close. They’re now good friends and can tell each other what they think, rather than Rory kind of shying away from that.”

Rory has quite a big part to play in this latest two-parter?

“This is quite a good adventure for Rory because he’s really at the point where he really wants to prove himself. Here he knows he’s useful and can help out. He really goes for it in these episodes. There’s a big war going on between the ‘gangers’ and people, and it’s really a battle of humanity. He sometimes thinks the Doctor gets swept away to solve a situation and forgets about individual people who are being hurt.”

This episode is a big one for Amy, is that right?

“Right I’m going to be very diplomatic about this. There are really things that up the stakes about how much danger they’re in, affecting each other, and how much danger the Doctor is putting Amy in. But Rory feels a responsibility to keep everyone safe. There’s the ending to end all endings in this episode. I’m not saying exactly what it is, but it’s a biggie! Saying that, there’s a terrific cliffhanger in the next story, in episode seven. You won’t want to miss that either.”

Have you got over having to sport a ponytail, like in the last series?

“I’d like Rory to cut himself a Mohican and travel back to the 1970s to the punk rock era. Everyone, friends and family, loved that ponytail! It was really attractive, wasn’t it?”

Were you ever a sci-fi fan before you joined Doctor Who?

“I was just a kid when Doctor Who was on before and caught the end of Silvester McCoy’s Doctor. I’ve now caught up on Tom Baker’s stories on DVD and they were brilliant - he’s the Doctor I really like. I do dip in and out of sci-fi stuff. I think Star Trek The Wrath of Khan is one of the best films ever made! And I did watch Masters Of The Universe the other day and that’s a classic.”

+  Check Out the What's On TV website.

[Source: What's On TV]

The final BARB viewing figures are in for 6.4: The Doctor's Wife.

The episode achieved a final figure of 7.97m viewers, with an audience share of 34.7% (comparing to the 5.9m / 28.5% Overnights). This is a time shift of +2.07m.

6.4: The Doctor's Wife also achieved an Appreciation Index rating of 87.

+ What did you think of the episode? - Rate / Discuss in the DWO Forums!

[Source: Andy Parish]

The overnight viewing figures are in for 6.5: The Rebel Flesh.

The episode achieved a figure of 5.7m viewers, with an audience share of 29.3%.

Doctor Who was the second most-watched programme for Saturday, being beaten only by Britain's Got Talent with 10.0m viewers.

Final BARB ratings will be available within the next 10 days.

+  What did you think of the episode? Rate / Discuss in the DWO Forums!

[Source: Andy Parish]

The BBC Doctor Who website have uploaded two new clips for 6.6: The Almost People:

[Source: BBC Doctor Who website]

BBC America has decided to delay the transmission of Episodes 6 & 7 of Series 6, due to expectations of low viewership over the Memorial Day weekend.

Instead, 6.6: The Almost People will air on 4th June and 6.7: A Good Man Goes To War will air on 11th June.

BBC America are planning to air a marathon of the Series 6 episodes so far on 28th May in place of the previously scheduled episode.

Despite the fact that DWO is 100% spoiler-free, we advise American fans to stay away from all online forums (including our own) to avoid plot details which will be available owing to the BBC airing of the episodes.

The Doctor Who Online website and forums have a zero tolerance to spoilers, but once episodes have transmitted in the UK, we open up full discussion in the forums. Speculation is of course welcomed, as we see it as healthy discussion of the show.

[Source: BBC America]

The first episode of this year's Doctor Who, 6.1: The Impossible Astronaut, was the most recorded TV event of all time, according to Kantar Media.

An analysis of BARB data shows that record-breaking numbers of viewers recorded the programme. A total of 8.9 million viewers watched the programme, making it the sixth most viewed show of the week.

Within that figure, 4.1 million viewers chose to time-shift the show by watching a recording of the show either later that day or in the following week.

The figure easily beat the previous record holder, the 2010 Christmas day episode of Come Fly With Me.  Other shows likely to have viewers reaching for the record button to ensure they are not missed include reality TV shows like The X Factor and Britain's Got Talent, along with comedy favourites like The Royle Family, according to Kantar.

Dalia Gereis, commercial director at Kantar Media Audiences, said:  "With the continued growth of hard drive recording devices like Sky+, it's no surprise that all the episodes of these top 10 recorded shows come from the last three years.

"Increasingly viewers are using their own 'time travel' abilities to watch TV shows when they want them - this particularly applies to dramas and 'must see' reality shows. Given that these figures do not include data from online catch up services like BBC iPlayer and ITVplayer, it is clear that judging a show's performance just by looking at it's overnight viewing figures is unlikely to give the full picture."

[Source: MediaTel]

DWO have seen 6.5: The Rebel Flesh and have put our spoiler-free preview together:

If you thought following Episode Two was difficult, put yourself in Matthew Graham's shoes as The Rebel Flesh has to carry the baton that the unbelievably popular The Doctor's Wife left behind.

Fortunately, you have no time to reminisce and compare, as you are immediately drawn into the adventure, which pulls you in from the opening shot. In fact, so different is this story in contrast to its precursor, that it's literally impossible to compare.

It's no secret that the story is centred around clones - a subject matter that Doctor Who history knows only too well, but this time around there is so much more to the concept that plunders emotional and moral depths in such a way that will have you questioning who you feel for most.

Perhaps most of all, this is a story about consequences and trust - something that not only echoes the plot, but the entire Steven Moffat era of Doctor Who to date.

Matthew Graham has carved his name into addictive and gripping drama; two elements that sum up this adventure perfectly. Those of you who have seen Life on Mars or Ashes to Ashes, will also know just how much life he can breathe into characters in just a few lines of dialogue. And its no different here.

Rory has so much more to do in this adventure, and it's rewarding to see so many more facets of his character that enable Arthur Darvill to really sink his teeth into the role. In fact, in this first portion of the two-part adventure, Amy very much seems to take a bit of a backseat, which leads to a refreshing change of dynamic.

As with all the episode previews for Series 6 thus far, don't expect us to cater you with plot details, as even the tiniest morsel might give away too much. What we can tell you is that there are lots of corridors, a little bit of running and several cases of mistaken identity, that will leave you wondering who's who. There's also a cliffhanger that will have you on the edge of your seat, and devoid of fingernails.

Graham's rather understated previous Doctor Who outing, Fear Her, may not have hit the right notes with certain circles of Doctor Who Fandom, but The Rebel Flesh, is set to secure his place in Doctor Who lore as a master storyteller who bridges the classic series with the new, seamlessly.

Something is building here, you really feel it, and as we make our way to the centre point of the series, you cant help feeling if we are halfway out of the dark, or halfway out of the light.

5 things to look out for…

-  The unforgettable sound of Dusty Springfield.

-  "Behold! A Cockerel! I love a Cockerel!"

-  The TARDIS gets that sinking feeling.

-  A lot can go wrong in an hour.

-  We find out The Doctor's shoe size!

[Source: Doctor Who Online]

The final BARB viewing figures are in for 6.3: The Curse of the Black Spot.

The episode achieved a final figure of 7.85m viewers, with an audience share of 35.5% (comparing to the 6.2m / 30.9% Overnights). This is a time shift of +1.6m.

6.3: The Curse of the Black Spot also achieved an Appreciation Index rating of 86.

+ What did you think of the episode? - Rate / Discuss in the DWO Forums!

[Source: Andy Parish]

The overnight viewing figures are in for 6.4: The Doctor's Wife.

The episode achieved a figure of 5.9m viewers, with an audience share of 28.6%.

Doctor Who was the third most-watched programme for Saturday, with the Eurovision Song Contest taking the top slot with 9.4m viewers, and Britain's Got Talent taking second place with 8.4m viewers.

Final BARB ratings will be available within the next 10 days.

+  What did you think of the episode? Rate / Discuss in the DWO Forums!

[Source: Andy Parish]

The BBC Doctor Who website have uploaded two new clips for 6.5: The Rebel Flesh:

[Source: BBC Doctor Who website]

DWO have seen 6.4: The Doctor's Wife and have put our spoiler-free preview together:

When we first heard Neil Gaiman was to write a Doctor Who story, it would be an underestimation to say we were bloody excited. After all, this is the very same Neil Gaiman who wrote the awesome Sandman comic book series - not to mention the Nebula Award-winning American Gods.

BUT... then we heard his episode was being 'bumped' to series six, and were a little worried things would go the way of Fry...

Fear not though! As right in front of us is the (still-warm-owing-to-the-fact-we've-just-watched-it) preview disc for 6.4: The Doctor's Wife - Neil Gaimain's love letter to Doctor Who. (Yes, they are his words, but it really is!). 

In 45 minutes, Gaiman's script takes us to another universe (in more ways than one), and dips several toes into the show's past, present and future - something that will please fans old and new.

As a viewer, prepare to experience a plethora of emotions that will leave you feeling you've run a mental marathon, with no time to stop for liquid refreshment, as you will almost certainly miss something witty, clever or heartbreaking.

As with every episode this season thus far, it is almost impossible to describe the story without giving too much away, but we will tell you this; Suranne Jones, and her character truly shine at the centre of all of this, and the sets and beautiful CGI scenery with its mesmerising bluey-green hues are truly epic. Also stealing some of the spotlight is the TARDIS, and something fans have been begging for since the show's revival in 2005...

Some die-hard fans may view this as a slightly unconventional episode, but this is not a bad thing. There are actually more strands of a traditional Doctor Who story here than you may notice at first, and all the ingredients are there from the cracking story to a purposeful threat, right through to an unforgettable conclusion.

Gaiman takes his turn to hold the proverbial Doctor Who torch, runs with it, and has it burning even brighter by the end.

It's no secret that The Doctor's Wife has had a lot of hype, but honestly, truly, it lives up to everything a fan of Doctor Who could hope for, and will have you hoping this isn't the last Doctor Who script from Neil Gaiman.

Our preview disc is now cold again…time to warm it up!

Five things to look out for...

1) Knock, knock - Who's there?

2) A cupboard with a terrible truth.

3) Uncle's looking a little green.

4) Rory shows his mature side.

5) "The only _____ in the ______ is the _____".

[Source: Doctor Who Online]

Doctor Who Showrunner, Steven Moffat, has spoken out against fans who leak spoilers of the show ahead of transmission.

Speaking this morning to BBC Radio 5 Live, Moffat had the following to say regarding the recent plot leaks that were posted online for the series 6 opener:

"You can imagine how much I hate them, it's only fans who do this, or they call themselves fans, I wish they could go and be fans of something else."

"It's heartbreaking in a way because you're trying to tell stories, and stories depend on surprise, so to have some twit who came to a press launch, write up a story in the worst, most ham-fisted English you can imagine, and put it on the internet. I just hope that guy never watched my show again, because that's a horrific thing to do."

"Stories depend on shocking people. Stories are the moments that you didn't see coming, that are what live in you and burn in you forever. If you are denied those, it's vandalism."

On a personal note, hearing Steven speaking about this was quite upsetting, as you could clearly hear how deeply hurtful it was to find out that so called fans of the show could do this. We remember reading the plot twist at the end of 3.11: Utopia, and wishing that we hadn't. It was after that point that we made the decision to be a spoiler-free site.

Following today's comments, we are going to be extra vigilant against spoilers, and are taking the drastic step of making our online forums completely spoiler free. We originally partitioned off any spoiler related discussion on our online forums to a specific section to enable the rest of the forums to be 100% spoiler free, but as of right now the Spoilers and Speculation section of the forum has now become the Speculation forum, and all spoilers removed.

We are aware that a portion of fans will be angry at this decision, but owing to the fact of how much we love this series, and the work everyone puts into it, we feel this is the right thing to do.

+ Join the DWO Forums for Spoiler-Free discussion of Doctor Who.

[Source: BBC Radio 5 Live]

US breakfast TV show, The Today Show, has a Doctor Who feature presented by Meredith Vieira.

Below is the 8-minute video feature, which includes a clip and mild spoilers for Episode 13:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

[Source: MSNBC]

The final BARB viewing figures are in for 6.2: Day of the Moon.

The episode achieved a final figure of 7.30m viewers, with an audience share of 36.7% (comparing to the 5.4m / 30.5% Overnights). This is a time shift of +1.9m.

6.2: Day of the Moon also achieved an Appreciation Index rating of 84.

+ What did you think of the episode? - Rate / Discuss in the DWO Forums!

[Source: Andy Parish]

The overnight viewing figures are in for 6.3: The Curse of the Black Spot.

The episode achieved a figure of 6.2m viewers, with an audience share of 30.9%.

Doctor Who was the second most-watched programme for Saturday, with Britain's Got Talent taking the top slot with 10.4m viewers.

Final BARB ratings will be available within the next 10 days.

+  What did you think of the episode? Rate / Discuss in the DWO Forums!

[Source: Andy Parish]

Any episode following on from the series 6 two-part opener would have a tough job on its hands, but Stephen Thompson's The Curse of the Black Spot, has delivered a mighty fine story that will unreservedly and undeniably buckle your swash.

The adventure begins on board a 17th-Century pirate ship that has been stranded for over a week. Members of the crew are falling prey to a curse of a black spot on their hands, which promptly summons a beautiful but deadly siren, played by Lily Cole.

The TARDIS team appear to be stowaways on board the ship - a situation that  Captain Avery (Hugh Bonneville), doesn't take too kindly to. After a few scuffles and a re-pegging of authority, the hunt begins for a cause, and indeed a cure for the curse.

It all feels very classic who, but yet unmistakably new who too, and a little bit Moffat-y in places also, but one of the biggest winning elements here is the wonderful atmosphere that the story and indeed the set, paints.

It's also good to see Rory being used more this season, and we certainly get to see some different sides to him in this adventure.

Expect some shocks and a couple more signature plot twists that Doctor Who is becoming famous for, and you have a thoroughly enjoyable 45 minutes, made more enjoyable by the fantastic guest cast.

If there is anything negative that could be said about the story, it would be the final scene, which, without giving too much away, feels all too similar to the penultimate scene from 6.2: Day of the Moon.

Rating: 8/10

The final BARB viewing figures are in for 6.1: The Impossible Astronaut.

The episode achieved a final figure of 8.86m viewers, with an audience share of 43.3%.

This is the biggest ever time shift for Doctor Who, and one of the biggest ever for BBC One with a +2.4 Million shift.

+ What did you think of the episode? Rate / Discuss in the DWO Forums!

[Source: Andy Parish]

The overnight viewing figures are in for 6.2: Day of the Moon.

The episode achieved a figure of 5.4m viewers, with an audience share of 30.5%.

Doctor Who was the second most-watched programme for Saturday, with Britain's Got Talent taking the top slot with 9.5m viewers.

Final BARB ratings will be available within the next 10 days.

+  What did you think of the episode? Rate / Discuss in the DWO Forums!

[Source: Andy Parish]

The BBC Doctor Who website have uploaded a teaser to their prequel for Episode 3 of Series 6.

The teaser offers a short 30-second insight into the full prequel which will air after 6.2: Day of the Moon, exclusively on the BBC Doctor who website at 6:45pm.

You can view the teaser video below:

+  6.3: The Curse of the Black Spot airs on Saturday 7th May 2011 at 6:15pm on BBC One.

[Source: BBC Doctor Who website]

DWO have seen 6.2: Day of the Moon and have put our spoiler-free preview together:

It's been 7 days and the nail biting can finally end as the resolution to last week's cliffhanger is finally here…

6.2: Day of the Moon, doesn't immediately pick up from where last week left off, however. The final moments of the previous story are revisited in a fragmented form which feels more like a stylistic resolution than what we have come to accept from traditional cliffhangers.

We're also treated to one of the longest pre-title sequences in the show's history - over 6 and a half minutes in total!

As with our previous preview, it's an incredibly difficult episode to describe without giving too much away, but we can tell you that it's set 3 months after the events in The Impossible Astronaut, there's another prison with The Doctor's name on it and there are more shocks here than the previous episode.

Day of the Moon actually feels a little more complex than The Impossible Astronaut, even with a couple of answers to some niggling questions (no, not THAT question…yet) - your brain will literally hurt after the 45 minutes are up.

Moffat displays once more just how talented he is on every level, delivering a story that takes the show to new exciting levels and possibilities.

But the cherry on this proverbial cake of an episode comes in the final minute - in a scene that will have you screaming through your television set in a way that makes Maureen Lipman's portrayal of 'The Wire' look diluted.

May the nail biting begin…AGAIN!

Rating: 8/10

Five things to look out for...

1) Rory's addiction to a little red light.

2) A certain picture in a frame.

3) 2 body bags filled with people The Doctor cares about.

4) River makes a splash!

5) Video Phone.

[Source: Doctor Who Online]

The overnight viewing figures are in for 6.1: The Impossible Astronaut.

The episode achieved a figure of 6.5m viewers, with an audience share of 36.7%.

Doctor Who was the second most-watched programme of Easter Saturday, with Britain's Got Talent taking the top slot with 9.5m viewers.

Final BARB ratings will be available within the next 10 days.

+ What did you think of the episode? Rate / Discuss in the DWO Forums!

[Source: Andy Parish]