BBC Books have now revealed the official synopses for three new Doctor Who novels set to be released later this year. The books, Apollo 23 by Justin Richards, Night of the Humans by David Llewellyn, and The Forgotten Army by Brian Minchin, are the first to feature The Eleventh Doctor and Amy Pond. The official synopses for all three new novels can be read below:Apollo 23 by Justin Richards
‘Houston – we have a problem.’ An astronaut in full spacesuit appears out of thin air in a busy shopping centre. Maybe it’s a publicity stunt. A photo shows an immaculately-dressed woman in her best shoes lying dead at the edge of a crater on the dark side of the moon – beside her beloved dog ‘Poochie’. Maybe it’s a hoax. But as the Doctor and Amy find out, these are just minor events in a sinister plan to take over every human being on earth. The plot centres on a secret military base on the moon – that’s where Amy and the TARDIS are. The Doctor is back on Earth, and without the TARDIS there’s no way he can get to the moon to save Amy and defeat the aliens. Or is there? The Doctor discovers one last great secret that could save humanity: Apollo 23.
Night of the Humans by David Llewellyn
‘This is the Gyre – the most hostile environment in the galaxy.’ 250,000 years’ worth of junk floating in deep space, home to the shipwrecked Sittuun, the carnivorous Sollogs, and worst of all – the Humans. The Doctor and Amy arrive on this terrifying world in the middle of an all-out frontier war between Sittuun and Humans, and the clock is already ticking. There’s a comet in the sky, and it’s on a collision course with the Gyre... When the Doctor is kidnapped, it’s up to Amy and “galaxy-famous swashbuckler” Dirk Slipstream to save the day. But who is Slipstream, exactly? And what is he really doing here?
The Forgotten Army by Brian Minchin
‘Let me tell you a story. Long ago, in the frozen Arctic wastes, an alien army landed. Only now, 10,000 years later, it isn’t a story. And the army is ready to attack.’ New York – one of the greatest cities on 21st century Earth. But what’s going on in the Museum? And is that really a Woolly Mammoth rampaging down Broadway? An ordinary day becomes a time of terror, as Ice Age creatures come back to life, and the Doctor and Amy meet a new and deadly enemy. The vicious Army of the Vykoid are armed to the teeth and determined to enslave the human race. Even though they’re only three inches high. With the Doctor kidnapped, and the Vykoid army swarming across Manhattan and sealing it from the world with a powerful alien forcefield, Amy has just 24 hours to find the Doctor and save the city. If she doesn’t, the people of Manhattan will be taken to work in the doomed asteroid mines of the Vykoid home planet. But as time starts to run out, who can she trust? And how far will she have to go to free New York from the Forgotten Army?
Apollo 23, Night of the Humans, and The Forgotten Army, will be released across the United Kingdom and Ireland by BBC Books on the twenty-second of April, all being sold at a recommended retail price of £6.99. More details, along with the cover artwork for the books, will be posted here when they are made available.
The rumours regarding a Doctor Who movie have returned again, after Billie Piper appeared on BBC Radio One on Thursday to promote the new series of Secret Diary of a Call Girl. The actress who starred as Rose Tyler in the first, second and fourth series of Doctor Who, denied that she would be appearing in a movie, but commented that BBC Films wanted David Tennant to appear in the film, despite the fact that he no longer plays The Doctor in the television series. Rumours of a Doctor Who movie emerged last May, after it was revealed that a script had been written, but the possible movie has not yet gone into production. When speaking on BBC Radio One to Sara Cox, Billie Piper had this to say: “Well, I’ve heard that they’re doing it and that they want David to do it, but I think he’s slightly anxious that there’ll be big American producers on board and that they’ll try and hijack the whole thing and cast someone like Johnny Depp.” Although a script has not been written for the movie, it has not yet gone into production, meaning that it may not be produced. More details will be posted when they are made available.
Billie Piper, the British actress well known for her portrayal as Rose Tyler in Doctor Who, has spoken to Digital Spy in an exclusive interview on their website. In the interview, Billie is asked about her cameo appearance in the second part of The End of Time, and if she would return to reprise her role in Doctor Who in the future. Two interview extracts can be read below:
Stephen Fry, the British actor, comedian, author, writer, television presenter, and film director who recently won two National Television Awards, has spoken to the media about Doctor Who. The Special Recognition award winner stated that he would be interested in writing an episode of the new series of Doctor Who, starring Matt Smith as The Eleventh Doctor, having previously been asked in 2005 to write an episode for the show's second series. “I look forward so much to seeing Matt Smith and I’m sure he’s going to be wonderful,” he said. ”If I get time it’ll be a thrill, I can’t think of anything nicer.” The writers for the fifth series of Doctor Who have already been confirmed, although Stephen Fry could be asked to write for the show if a sixth series is commissioned. More details regarding this will be posted here, on The Gallifrey Vortex, as soon as they are made available. 
According to an article published on the MCV website, the BBC are planning to enter the video game industry, with Doctor Who among the many titles the company plans to release. Reportedly, the British Broadcasting Company will be working alongside game makers to produce games about Doctor Who and other shows such as Top Gear for Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii, iPhone, and the Internet. A Doctor Who video game based around the popular Top Trumps card game was released for Windows computers, Playstation 2, and Nintendo DS in May 2008, and later for Nintendo Wii in December 2008, but no games have been released until now. More details regarding this apparent new Doctor Who video game will be posted here as soon as they are made available. What are your thoughts on this news?
The fifteenth National Television Awards, celebrating the actors, actresses, and television series of 2009, was broadcast on ITV One earlier tonight. Doctor Who was nominated in the Best Drama category, alongside BBC One's hospital drama, Casualty, ITV One's police drama, The Bill, and Channel 4's adult drama, Shameless, but despite the challenging opposition, Doctor Who won the award for the fifth year running. David Tennant had been nominated in the Outstanding Drama Performance category for his portrayal in Doctor Who as The Tenth Doctor, facing opposition from David Jason, David Threlfall, and Philip Glenister, and won, making it a successful night for Doctor Who. A full list of winners can be found by clicking 
It has just been announced that the American broadcaster, FOX, are developing a U.S spin-off series of Torchwood with BBC Worldwide. Previous Doctor Who lead writer, Russell T Davies, and creator of the original Torchwood series, which was commissioned for a fourth series last year, will be writing a script for the U.S Torchwood's pilot which John Barrowman, who stars in the original Torchwood as Captain Jack Harkness, has been hinted to appear in. In addition to Russell T Davies, previous Doctor Who executive producer, Julie Gardener, and ex-controller of BBC One fiction, Jane Tranter, have been named as being part of the production team. It has also been revealed that the new series, following an American division of Torchwood, will have a more global storyline, rather then the original series' usual Cardiff setting. The series has not yet been commissioned by FOX, but more details regarding it will be posted here when they are made available.
The names of two writers who will be writing for the fourth series of The Sarah Jane Adventures have been revealed. The show's co-creator, Gareth Roberts, who has previously written Invasion of the Bane, Revenge of the Slitheen, Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane?, Secrets of the Stars, The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith, and The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith, will be writing a story consisting of two episodes, and an hour-long special, his agency has confirmed. Writer of series two story, The Mark of the Beserker, and the series three story, The Mad Woman in the Attic, will also be returning to the series, writing another new story consisting of two episodes. It is not yet known if Elisabeth Sladen, Anjili Mohindra, Thomas Knight, and Daniel Anthony will be reprising their roles for the series which is expected to be aired on BBC One and on the BBC HD channel at some point towards the end of the year, but news regarding it can be expected to be seen here shortly.
Various online retailers are now listing the third series of the hit children's Doctor Who spin-off series, The Sarah Jane Adventures, for a DVD release later this year. The box set will include every episode from the series which was broadcast on BBC One during Autumn in 2009; Prisoner of the Judoon, The Mad Woman in the Attic, The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith, The Eternity Trap, Mona Lisa's Revenge, and The Gift. It has not been confirmed what interviews or other special features will be featured but more details will be posted when they are available. The Sarah Jane Adventures series three will be released on DVD across the United Kingdom and Ireland on the eighteenth of October, being sold at an unconfirmed recommended retail price. Will you be purchasing this DVD when it goes on sale?
It has been confirmed that Helen McCrory, the English actress who is well known for her portrayal as Narcissa Malfoy in the Harry Potter film series, has been cast for a role in the fifth series of Doctor Who. The actress will be appearing as a vampire in one of the episodes, thought to be the sixth and rumoured to be entitled 'Vampires of Venice'. The episode, starring Matt Smith as The Eleventh Doctor, and Karen Gillan as Amy Pond, was written by Toby Whithouse, and was filmed partially in Trogir, Croatia, while other scenes were filmed in Cardiff, Wales. Doctor Who series five is scheduled to be broadcast on BBC One and on the BBC HD channel in the Spring, and more details regarding Helen McCrory's role in one of the episodes will be posted here, on The Gallifrey Vortex, when they are made available to us.
Various online retailers are now listing several new audios, based around the popular adult Doctor Who spin-off series, Torchwood, for release later this year. Two new audio adventures have been confirmed, featuring the voices of John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness, Eve Myles as Gwen Cooper, and Gareth David-Llyod as Ianto Jones, meaning that the new stories will be set before the events of Torchwood: Children of Earth. Both audios will be released on the sixth of May at a price unconfirmed at this time, but it has not yet been announced if they will receive a radio transmission. Set for release on the eighth of April at a recommended retail price of £39.99 is a CD box set consisting of the previously broadcast Torchwood radio plays; Lost Souls, Asylum, Golden Age, and The Dead Line, which guest star Freema Agyeman as Martha Jones, and Tom Price as PC Andy. The covers, alongside more details for the audios will be posted when available.
After Russell Tovey's reprisal as Midshipman Frame for a cameo in Doctor Who: The End of Time part two, many fans have began to speculate that he will have a starring role in the fourth series of Torchwood as a new team member. In response to the rumours, Russell Tovey talked to SFX magazine, and revealed what he thinks about a possible role in the Doctor Who spin-off series. The actor said: “I’ve no idea if I’ll be in Torchwood, although it’s something I’d be open to if they asked me. I didn’t really realise when I was filming it, but when it was on people suddenly were saying, ‘Oh you’re going to be the new Ianto,’ and I had no idea what that meant.” Russell Tovey previously appeared in 2007's Doctor Who Christmas special, Voyage of the Damned, and is now appearing in the second series of Being Human on BBC Three. More details regarding Russell Tovey's rumoured role in Torchwood will be posted on this website when they are made available.
Steven Mofatt, the new lead writer of Doctor Who, has revealed inside his first production notes in the latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine the complete list of writers who have written stories for Doctor Who's fifth series. Beforehand, it had already been confirmed that Richard Curtis, Mark Gattis and Gareth Roberts would be writing episodes for the series starring Matt Smith and Karen Gillan as The Doctor and Amy Pond. Steven Moffatt confirmed that he has written six of the thirteen episodes and revealed that Toby Whithouse, Chris Chibnall and Simon Nye have also penned stories. Toby Whithouse who previously wrote the series two episode, School Reunion, has written a story that reportedly features vampires which if some reports are correct will be called 'Vampires of Venice'. What are your thoughts on this news?
Various online retailers are now listing the first pieces of Doctor Who series five merchandise; books and audios featuring The Eleventh Doctor and Amy Pond, as portrayed by Matt Smith and Karen Gillian in the upcoming television series. Set for release on the eighth of April is the first Eleventh Doctor adventure exclusive to audio CD, a brand new story entitled The Hounds of Artemis, written by James Goss. The popular Doctor Who New Series Adventures series from BBC Books is releasing three new titles on the twenty-second of April; Apollo 23 by Justin Richards, Night of the Humans by David Llewellyn, and The Forgotten Army by Brian Minchin. The Doctor Who: Decide Your Destiny book series which originally featured The Tenth Doctor and Martha Jones is set to return on the twenty-ninth of April with two new novels; The Coldest War, and Claws of the Macra. Set to be released in June is three more New Series adventures books; Adorable Illusion by Garry Russell, Nuclear Time by Oli Smith, and The King's Dragon by Una McCormack, alongside another Eleventh Doctor exclusive audio, The Runaway Train by Oli Smith. The covers, synopses, along with more details for the upcoming books and audio CDs will be posted when they become available.
Having already been broadcast in the United Kingdom and America, ABC, the Australian Broadcasting Company, has now revealed the details for The End of Time part one and part two's transmissions in Australia. The End of Time part one will be broadcast on Sunday the fourteenth of February, Valentines Day, at 7.30pm on ABC1, while the second part of the story will be broadcast at the same time on the same channel on Sunday the twenty-first of February. The story has had a generally positive reception in both the United Kingdom and in America, and the first part achieved 12.04 million viewers in the U.K. The ABC has plans to show the fifth series of Doctor Who, starring Matt Smith and Karen Gillan as The Eleventh Doctor and his companion, Amy pond, at some point in the not so distant future. 
BARB, the Broadcasters Audience Research Board, have made the final and accurate ratings available for the Doctor Who Christmas special, The End of Time part one. When the special was broadcast for the first time on BBC One and on the BBC HD channel in the United Kingdom last month, it was watched by 12.04 million people, BARB has confirmed. The overnight ratings released after on Boxing Day stated that the episode was watched by ten million, two million less then the final results, and the episode was given an appreciation index of 87. The final ratings for The End of Time part two will be released by the Broadcasters Audience Research Board in a few weeks and will be posted here, on The Gallifrey Vortex, some time after.
Today, the eighth of January, is the anniversary of the day I created this website, meaning that The Gallifrey Vortex is now one year old. When I had made the website, I set about to update fans with the latest news regarding Doctor Who and it's spin-offs, despite that The Gallifrey Vortex was not that well known. But over it's first year, it grew in both size and in popularity, with people from across the world visiting daily to see at least one post a day. At this point in time on The Gallifrey Vortex, there are 545 posts, 87 episode guides, and 3 exclusive interviews, all of which I have taken my own time to create. There are many people I would like to thank for helping me make the website what it is today, most notably Conor from Tardis Base, Mark from Tardis and Torchwood and Treasures, and Axlart from Doctor Who Hideout. For what they have done, I am extremely grateful and thank them, along with this website's 93 followers and everyone else who visits. The Gallifrey Vortex will continue to be updated with daily posts throughout it's second year online, and you can expect to see many more pages online here soon. Again, I would like to say thank you. - Brad.
The short list for The National Television Awards 2009, set to take place at the O2 Arena on the 20th of January, has now been revealed. The long list for the awards was announced in November last year, showing that David Tennant, John Barrowman, and Eve Myles, had all been nominated in the Outstanding Drama Performance category for their roles as The Tenth Doctor in Doctor Who, and Captain Jack Harkness, and Gwen Cooper, in Torchwood, but unfortunately John and Eve did not get into the short list. David Tennant however got into the short list in the Outstanding Drama Performance category, as did Doctor Who in the Best Drama category. The results of the award will be announced on the 20th of January, being televised live at 7.30pm on ITV One, and will be posted here shortly after.
BARB, the Broadcasters Audience Research Board, have made the appreciation index available for The End of Time part two, David Tennant's final Doctor Who episode as The Tenth Doctor. The preceding episode, The End of Time part one, achieved an appreciation index of 87, lower then the recently released appreciation index for The End of Time part two, which is 89. The End of Time part two saw The Doctor, as portrayed by David Tennant, battle The Master, as portrayed by John Simm, and The Time Lords in order to prevent universal destruction. The final ratings for the second part of The End of Time will be released some time soon, and the ratings for the first part will be available to see here in a few days time.
Murray Gold, composer of Doctor Who music since the show was bought back by Russell T Davies in 2005, has confirmed in an interview with Music From The Movies.com that he will be composing the music for Doctor Who series five. In the interview, Murray revealed that Mark Gattis, writer of the series one episode, The Unquiet Dead, and the series two episode, The Idiot's Lantern, will be returning to Doctor Who to write an episode for the fifth series, along with Gareth Roberts who will also be writing an episode. Doctor Who series five stars Matt Smith as The Eleventh Doctor and Karen Gillan as Amy Pond, and is set to be broadcast across the United Kingdom on both BBC One and on BBC HD at some point during this Spring. What are your thoughts on this Doctor Who series five news?
BARB, the Broadcasters Audience Research Board, have now made the overnight ratings available for the fourth Doctor Who special, The End of Time part two. According to the ratings, 10.4 million people tuned in to see the episode which saw the regeneration of The Tenth Doctor, David Tenannt, into The Eleventh Doctor, Matt Smith. An additional 389,000 watched the episode in high definition on BBC HD, giving the episode 35.5% of the audience share last night. These ratings mean that Doctor Who: The End of Time part two was the second most-watched programme of last night and the most-watched regeneration episode in Doctor Who history. These overnight ratings are not completely accurate but the final correct ratings will be released by BARB shortly, and will be posted here on The Gallifrey Vortex.
Tonight saw the first transmission of The End of Time part two, and the regeneration of The Tenth Doctor, as portrayed by David Tennant, into The Eleventh Doctor, as portrayed by Matt Smith. The official Doctor Who website was revamped after the episode's broadcast with a brand new look and a brand new trailer for the fifth series of Doctor Who featuring clips of The Eleventh Doctor and his companion, Amy Pond, as portrayed by Karen Gillan. As well as being available on the BBC's Doctor Who website, the trailer can be seen below: 
It has gone midnight here in the United Kingdom, meaning that the year of 2009 has passed and the new year of 2010 has finally arrived. 2009 saw Torchwood return for a brand new series entitled Children of Earth, consisting of five episodes airing across five consecutive nights, and starring John Barrowman, Eve Myles, and Gareth David-Llyod. The Sarah Jane Adventures also returned in 2009, bring a whole horde of aliens to our television screens such as the Veil, the Judoon, the Trickster, the Blathareen, and many more. Three Doctor Who specials were also broadcast in 2009, seeing The Doctor arrive on the planet San Helios in a bus, encounter creatures of water on Mars, and battling The Master, a battle which will conclude tonight in the second part of The End of Time. 2010 will be a year of change in the Doctor Who universe. A new Doctor, a new companion, a new lead writer, a new logo, a new TARDIS, and new adventures will make up the fifth series of Doctor Who. I wish you a happy new year, hope that you enjoy The End of Time part two tonight at 6.40pm on BBC One and on the BBC HD channel, and that you have a great time through 2010.
