James Buckley is 33 today - credited as Nevi in Orphan 55

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Gillian Taylforth is 65 today - credited as Kathy Beale in Dimensions In Time(Misc)

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Vernon Dobtcheff is 86 today - 5 credits, including Scientist in The War Games

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Patsy Smart (died 1996 aged 77) would be 102 today - credited as Ghoul in The Talons of Weng-Chiang

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BBC Studios has partnered with Reality Gaming Group to create a brand new digital trading card game launching later this year. The partnership will enable fans to collect and trade digital versions of their favourite characters for the first time, before adventuring through the Doctor Who: Worlds Apart game as the Doctor, battling friends in turn-based contests. Each trading card a player collects will be tokenised into a non-fungible token (NFT) secured and protected on the blockchain, which means there can be no copies or disputes about ownership. Doctor Who: Worlds Apart players will own unique digital collectible items which can be used in the game or traded with other players. As with physical trading cards, some will be rarer than others, and all will feature Doctors, companions, allies and enemies from across Doctor Who’s expansive history. Limited edition packs containing five digital cards will be available for fans to buy from October 2020. Once these limited-edition cards have sold out, they will not be available to purchase again, except by trading with others. The accompanying Doctor Who: Worlds Apart trading card game will be released for PC in 2021 with mobile to follow, allowing players to go head-to-head with their card collections. More cards will also be made available at launch. UK-based publisher Reality Gaming Group’s Digital Asset Trading (DAT) Platform uses innovative blockchain technology to turn any IP into a rare and collectible digital asset that can be traded between fans using dedicated marketplaces. Its debut title, mobile AR combat game Reality Clash, was released in 2019 and pushed the boundaries of what’s possible when AR, VR, geo-location and blockchain technology are combined. Tony Pearce, Co-Founder of Reality Gaming Group, said: We are tremendously excited to be working with BBC Studios to bring Doctor Who’s huge global community an exciting new digital experience based on a pastime we all know and love – trading cards. The cards used in Doctor Who: Worlds Apart are both functional and collectible, so fans can actually own a piece of the game while they play. John Kavanagh, Licensing Manager, Gaming and Interactive, BBC Studios, said: This is what BBC Studios does so well, exploring new technologies and bringing our most iconic brand to an area of the gaming industry which we’re sure will engage and thrill fans.   More information about Doctor Who: Worlds Apart can be found here
13 Aug

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Episode 1 of Season 2 of David Tennant Does a Podcast With… is released today   In the new series of his Podcast, the Tenth Doctor will be joined by stars including Dame Judi Dench, Dan Levy and Stacy Abrams.   Doctor Who News has been given an excluside clip from the first in the new series, in which Tennant talks to Jim Parsons the American actor and producer best known for playing Sheldon Cooper in the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory   David Tennant Does A Podcast    To hear the whole episode and subscribe to the series visit Apple Podcasts. 
11 Aug

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Over the past six months, Big Finish has given away over 100,000 free downloads of stories from its various ranges, including Doctor Who, Blake’s 7, Sherlock Holmes, and Dorian Gray.     Throughout August, Big Finish is releasing a selection of giveaways including free and discounted releases, entitled Weekly Freebies. These will be made available to download exclusively from the Big Finish web site’s Weekly Deals page   These stories can be unlocked by anyone who has registered for a Big Finish account (which is free to create) and played on the Big Finish listening app (which is free to install).   Each download will be available for one week only, and comes accompanied by a special discount offer on related titles, available as either downloads or collector’s edition CDs or box sets.   This week’s Weekly Freebie is:  Doctor Who: The Nightmare Fair part one, written by Graham Williams, adapted by John Ainsworth.  This full-cast audio drama was Big Finish’s first ever Lost Story, adapted from the script originally planned for Doctor Who’s twenty-third season on television. It stars Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant (as the Sixth Doctor and Peri), with guest star david baillie as The Celestial Toymaker (a part originated by Michael Gough in the 1960s).   The TARDIS has been drawn to Blackpool in the year 1985, where the Doctor intends to investigate a dangerous space/time vortex… while enjoying some local attractions along the way. But an old enemy is watching from his base deep within the amusement park, a timeless being who craves revenge.  The Celestial Toymaker has returned. The game is on. And, should he lose, the Doctor will pay the ultimate forfeit…  The complete Doctor Who: The Nightmare Fair is available for £4.99 as a collector’s edition CD or download (at over 60% OFF), while stocks last.   Big Finish listeners can also get up to 60% OFF any story in Doctor Who: The Lost Stories (series one), and up to 50% OFF Doctor Who - The Lost Stories: The Second Doctor box set, either as collector's edition CD, or as a digital download, while stocks last.   All offers end at 23:59 on 16 August 2020. All titles offered are going out of print – once the current stock is sold, these will not be repressed.    
10 Aug

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Big Finish Productions, in association with BBC Studios, today announced the long-awaited return of Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor in a brand new series of audio adventures. First seen on screen in 2005, Christopher Eccleston’s Ninth Doctor introduced a whole new generation of fans to Doctor Who. Now he's back, with a brand-new series of twelve full-cast audio adventures in space and time, due to be released across four box sets, starting with volume one in May 2021. Christopher Eccleston said: After 15 years it will be exciting to revisit the Ninth Doctor's world, bringing back to life a character I love playing. Story details, writers and additional guest cast are being kept under wraps at present but this Doctor Who audio series promises to be, once again, the trip of a lifetime. Big Finish’s Chairman, Jason Haigh-Ellery said: I first talked to Christopher about returning to the role of the Doctor at the Gallifrey One convention in February this year. Christopher said he was enjoying meeting the fans and was pleased that his Doctor was remembered so fondly. I am so pleased that Christopher has decided to return to the role with us – and I'm excited to welcome him to the Big Finish family as we discover the new adventures of the Ninth Doctor.   Big Finish’s Creative Director, Nicholas Briggs, added: Working with Chris was a very special time for me. The beginning of my Doctor Who TV career. So, writing for and directing him feels incredibly exciting. He’s such a powerful performer and it’ll be amazing to work with him again. Doctor Who fans worldwide can now pre-order all four volumes, which are available in three formats – collector’s edition CD, digital download or limited edition gatefold triple LP vinyl – exclusively from the Big Finish website. Each of the four volumes in Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor Adventures will be released as a 4-disc collector’s edition box set or download containing three brand-new full cast audio adventures, plus a selection of behind-the-scenes extras. Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor Adventures is now available to pre-order. Find out more and get your copy exclusively at the Big Finish website    
9 Aug