Press Round Up

Some stories you may have missed recently in the press...Comparisons between Doctor Who and ITV's new show Primeval have been cropping up in a variety of sources. Heat magazine said "...it's not a fair comparison - where Doctor Who is quirky, playful and very British, this glossy adventure is more in the American style, with spectacular effects, fancy locations and less larking about... For all it's slickness, Primeval would be improved by the presence of a David Tennant or a Billie Piper. But what wouldn't?". Closer magazine commented that as, "Doctor Who proved that decent sci-fi drama can be a huge family hit, so you can't blame ITV for wanting a piece of the action." John Barrowman has been 'celebrating the best of Broadway, Hollywood and the West End' by sitting in for Elaine Paige) on Sunday 11 February on BBC Radio 2 at 1-3pm, and will be carrying on the presenting duties on the following Sunday, 18 February, at the same time. You can listen again for 7 days here. The first show included radio play for Love Don't Roam and discussion of Torchwood filming, as previously reported on the News Page.A home-made Doctor Who time machine was the star attraction at a space-based literacy day on Saturday 20 January at the Langworthy Cornerstone, aimed at improving English. Doctor Who scriptwriter Steve Cole also attended, conducting a writing seminar and judging the winning entries in the story competition.The Mirror has reported on the investigation of a BBC Wales executive for fraud as "A Doctor Who Swindle", claiming the executive "was in charge of a multi-million pound budget at the Cardiff HQ where Doctor Who is made" and is under investigation for a series of payment he authorised. Any Doctor Who link is may be largely geographical however, as the executive who resigned in April 2005 was head of operations for BBC Wales, and was responsible for technology, outside broadcasts, studios, post-production, facilities management, and BBC premises.According to Sky Showbiz (A. Montini), Hugh Grant 'got offered a role in the revived version of Doctor Who. Not sure what put him off the role - the hard work or the show being shot in Cardiff... Either way he said no.'Many celebrities have been revealing their love of Doctor Who.Take That singer Mark Owen told Sky Showbiz he would like to appear in Doctor Who, saying that "I never missed it and loved the show the first time around. I think there is room for us on the show to do a concert on another planet, but we would have to return, of course."

PeopleMarc Warren (Love and Monsters) and Yasmin Bannerman (The End of the World) both appeared in the first episode of the second series of Life on Mars, broadcast on BBC 1 on the 13th February. Written and co-created by Matthew Graham and starring John Simm, episode 2 in the current series was written by Chris Chibnall (Torchwood).Peter Davison is to star in a new BBC 2 comedy Fear, Stress and Anger.