Radio Times
type: channel
link: https://www.radiotimes.com
date: 2026-05-04T09:40:09.000Z
update period: hourly
update frequency: 1
update base: 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00
items: Eric Morecambe’s son reacts to recovered The Morecambe and Wise Show episode: "It’s absolutely hilarious"
items: Two lost Doctor Who episodes have been miraculously found – and they're the 1960s era at its finest
items: Doctor Who icon Peter Purves reveals "pleasure" as fans can finally see more of missing companion in newly discovered episodes
items: How composer Sam Watts took The Traitors to the Proms – and got his break on The Sarah Jane Adventures
items: Doctor Who: Wish World / The Reality War ★★★
items: Doctor Who: The Interstellar Song Contest ★★★★★
items: Doctor Who: The Story & the Engine ★★
items: Doctor Who: Lucky Day ★★★
items: Doctor Who: The Well ★★★★★
items: Doctor Who: Lux ★★★★
items: Doctor Who: The Robot Revolution ★★
items: Nightmare Man
items: Doctor Who: Joy to the World ★★★
items: What became of the child star of The Box of Delights?
items: The Archers cast pay tribute to June Spencer
items: "Doctor Who is the hardest job I've ever done"
items: Murray Gold: "Doctor Who is the hardest job I've ever done"
items: Doctor Who: The Legend of Ruby Sunday / Empire of Death ★★★★★
items: Doctor Who: Rogue ★★★★
items: Doctor Who legend William Russell has died aged 99
items: Doctor Who: Dot and Bubble ★★★
items: Doctor Who: 73 Yards ★★★★★
items: Doctor Who: Boom ★★★★
items: Doctor Who: The Devil’s Chord ★★★★★
items: Doctor Who '70s legend returns for cameo – and breaks down "gruesome" fate
items: Doctor Who: Space Babies ★★
items: Shoulder to Shoulder, the TV classic about the suffragettes, is 50 years old – we speak to Dame Siân Phillips, Waris Hussein and Moira Armstrong
items: Doctor Who: The Church on Ruby Road ★★★★
items: Rare Doctor Who photographs discovered after 53 years

Eric Morecambe’s son reacts to recovered The Morecambe and Wise Show episode: "It’s absolutely hilarious"
type: item
date: 2026-05-04T16:00:06.000Z
creator: Patrick Mulkern
subject: Comedy
subject: TV
subject: Interview
subject: Magazine
description: The finding of a missing Morecambe and Wise episode is very timely, says Eric’s delighted son Gary Morecambe.
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. There’s always a fever of excitement when a slice of classic television is miraculously returned to the archives, and this time no one is more chuffed than Gary Morecambe. A long-thought-lost 1968 edition of The Morecambe and Wise Show provides another chance to see his father Eric in his heyday with his comedy partner Ernie. The duo were watched and adored by record-breaking millions in the 1960s and 70s. “And what timing!” says Gary. “Fantastic that it should happen right now, this being his centenary year.” Indeed, it has been found almost to the week. Eric was born on 14 May 1926, and with Ernie having been born in November 1925, it’s almost a double centenary. “How can you not celebrate 100 years!” says Gary cheerfully. “My sister and I have a whole week planned up in Morecambe of unveilings, attendances and Q&As.” (Eric’s real surname was Bartholomew and he took his stage name from the seaside town of his birth.) “It’s really amazing,” says Gary. “I mean, how do they find these things? It’s usually me who finds them.” He’s referring to a happy day five years ago when he was clearing the attic in his old family home and stumbled upon a missing 1970 edition of Morecambe and Wise. It was cleaned up and shown on BBC Two on Christmas Day 2021. “I thought that would mark the end of anything turning up, but now I just don’t know. What next?” The latest recovery has been meticulously managed by Film Is Fabulous, the same charitable trust and repository for rare film collections that recently returned to the BBC two long-lost Doctor Who episodes. This gem hails from the collection of a deceased “industry professional”, whose estate has requested anonymity. It first aired on BBC Two in colour on 16 September 1968, was then repeated in 1969 on BBC One in black and white – and has never been seen since. “I would’ve been 12 then and probably caught this one,” says Gary. Eric and Ernie’s 1968 series marked the pair’s triu…

GettyImages-3139035-4902440.jpg
width: 3634
height: 2827

Two lost Doctor Who episodes have been miraculously found – and they're the 1960s era at its finest
type: item
date: 2026-04-04T09:07:16.000Z
creator: Patrick Mulkern
subject: Sci-fi
subject: TV
subject: BBC
description: A stunning recovery brings long-lost 1960s Doctor Who back to life — and it’s every bit as thrilling, strange and essential as fans hoped.
encoded: What a spectacularly Good Friday! This is 1960s Doctor Who at its finest. Two episodes that were thought lost for ever but have now been miraculously found. Returned from the stockpile of an anonymous, recently deceased film collector, passed to the charitable organisation Film Is Fabulous, and thence to the BBC Archives. The Nightmare Begins and Devil’s Planet are the first and third episodes of the epic 12-part serial, The Daleks’ Master Plan. Broadcast once in the UK in November 1965, watched by 9.1 and 10.3 million viewers respectively, these two programmes haven’t been seen anywhere in the world since then. Until now. Television that was once deemed ephemeral and dispensable will now prove everlasting. We are looking at future worlds created in the confines of TC3, the third studio at BBC Television Centre in west London; with a little bit of filming at Ealing Studios. There’s Earth in the year 4000. The inhospitable jungle planet Kembel and the prison world Desperus, as well as the wonderful original TARDIS control room and the Daleks’ futuristic base of operations. The world-building, the hard-nosed, sceptical characterisation and comic-strip storytelling are Terry Nation hallmarks, but much of the drama’s success is down to the masterful direction of Douglas Camfield. He was not an experienced director then (only a year into his career), but what an eye he had for interesting camera angles and movement, creating scale, depth and tension from scant resources. You really sense that the Space Security agents Kert Gantry (Brian Cant) and Bret Vyon are at their wits’ end, marooned on Kembel. What a joy to observe Nicholas Courtney’s intensity and heroism as Bret in his Doctor Who debut. (Three years later he was of course to become Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, the Doctor's chief ally on Earth.) View oEmbed on the source website As the caption "The Nightmare Begins" plays over Peter Purves’s perspiring brow, you could almost imagine that the next 12 weeks are the…

Doctor-Who-866e049.jpg
width: 1593
height: 1062

Doctor Who icon Peter Purves reveals "pleasure" as fans can finally see more of missing companion in newly discovered episodes
type: item
date: 2026-03-28T08:00:39.000Z
creator: Patrick Mulkern
subject: Sci-fi
subject: TV
subject: Exclusive
subject: Magazine
subject: News
description: "I was blown away by both episodes."
encoded: This article appears in the new issue of Radio Times magazine. In thrilling news for Doctor Who fans, two episodes once thought lost for ever have been returned to the BBC Archives. Starring William Hartnell as the first Doctor – and last seen in 1965 – these are the first and third instalments of a gritty 12-part epic, The Daleks’ Master Plan. The original videotapes were erased long ago by the BBC, but film copies were preserved by a private collector, who died recently. His estate has requested anonymity, while generously passing his collection to Film Is Fabulous, a charitable trust run by cinema lovers and vintage-TV enthusiasts. “We’re lucky these 16mm films are in excellent condition,” Peter Purves tells Radio Times. Two years before joining Blue Peter, he co-starred as the Doctor’s travelling companion, Steven Taylor. Now 87, and one of the few surviving cast members of this story, he was invited to a surprise screening in Leicester a few weeks ago. “I was blown away by both episodes, not only because they’d been found, but because it was good to see how well they had been directed. Douglas Camfield was one of the finest BBC directors. His camerawork was superb. “It was also great to be able to see a little more of my own acting work, and mates like Brian Cant performing.” Already known for hosting Play School, Cant appears as a space security agent who has a nasty encounter with a Dalek. These episodes also feature the Doctor Who debut of Nicholas Courtney as agent Bret Vyon – three years before he became the long-running Brigadier. Someone who vividly recalls watching The Daleks’ Master Plan in the 60s is Jan Vincent-Rudzki, who founded the Doctor Who Appreciation Society in 1976. He was 10 when it aired on BBC One. “This is certainly my all-time favourite story. It ran across 12 weeks, and for a child that was like two summer holidays. It seemed to go on and on, but it was riveting all the way through.” Add Radio Times as a Preferred Source on Google Keep…

How composer Sam Watts took The Traitors to the Proms – and got his break on The Sarah Jane Adventures
type: item
creator: Patrick Mulkern
subject: App
subject: App features
subject: App archive 100
description: As The Traitors brings its masked mischief to the Proms, composer Sam Watts says it’s essential to keep mixing popular and classical.
encoded: This article was first published in Radio Times magazine in July 2025. Add The Traitors or BBC Proms 2025 to your watchlist. The First Night of the Proms is on Friday 18 July. There are many first nights at the BBC Proms – whether you’re a debut performer, an audience member visiting the Royal Albert Hall for the first time, or a composer anxiously premiering an untried and untested new work. Sam Watts is one of this season’s newcomers. You may not have heard of him, but if you’re a fan of The Traitors – and we are in our millions – his music will already be instantly recognisable. “I’m very excited,” he says. “Since the success of the first series, I said we should be pushing for a Prom. So at the end of last year when producer Sarah Fay told me it was happening, I was thrilled.” The Traitors Prom is being staged twice on Saturday 26 July and promises to be one of this year’s biggies. Hosted by Claudia Winkleman, it aims to capture the intensity of the hit BBC1 reality show, its themes of treachery and murder reflected in a playlist of classical pieces and pop tracks; even a blend of both. It follows in the wake of previous Proms dedicated to major BBC series: Life Story a decade ago, Strictly in 2016, and numerous Doctor Who extravaganzas. The Traitors is riding a crest of popularity, having won Baftas and NTAs and, crucially for the BBC, it’s a ratings success with upwards of ten million glued to series three earlier this year. For the uninitiated, The Traitors is filmed in the spectacular setting of Ardross Castle in the Highlands and unfolds like a grand-scale version of wink murder. “Faithful” competitors must identify and banish the murderous Traitors in their midst, in a quest to bag £120,000. Originating in the Netherlands, The Traitors is produced in the UK and US by Studio Lambert Scotland, while parent company All3Media has licensed the format to almost 30 territories. Watts is working flat out translating his Traitors score for the live performance. “I’…

traitors-season-3-claudia-winkleman-7e26e4a.jpg
width: 4285
height: 2851

How composer Sam Watts took The Traitors to the Proms – and got his break on The Sarah Jane Adventures
type: item
date: 2025-07-07T23:01:00.000Z
creator: Patrick Mulkern
subject: audio
subject: Entertainment
subject: Reality TV
subject: TV
subject: BBC Proms
subject: Interview
subject: Magazine
description: As The Traitors brings its masked mischief to the Proms, composer Sam Watts says it’s essential to keep mixing popular and classical.
encoded: This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine. There are many first nights at the BBC Proms – whether you’re a debut performer, an audience member visiting the Royal Albert Hall for the first time, or a composer anxiously premiering an untried and untested new work. Sam Watts is one of this season’s newcomers. You may not have heard of him, but if you’re a fan of The Traitors – and we are in our millions – his music will already be instantly recognisable. “I’m very excited,” he says. “Since the success of the first series, I said we should be pushing for a Prom. So at the end of last year when producer Sarah Fay told me it was happening, I was thrilled.” The Traitors Prom is being staged twice on Saturday 26 July and promises to be one of this year’s biggies. Hosted by Claudia Winkleman, it aims to capture the intensity of the hit BBC1 reality show, its themes of treachery and murder reflected in a playlist of classical pieces and pop tracks; even a blend of both. It follows in the wake of previous Proms dedicated to major BBC series: Life Story a decade ago, Strictly in 2016, and numerous Doctor Who extravaganzas. The Traitors is riding a crest of popularity, having won Baftas and NTAs and, crucially for the BBC, it’s a ratings success with upwards of ten million glued to series three earlier this year. For the uninitiated, The Traitors is filmed in the spectacular setting of Ardross Castle in the Highlands and unfolds like a grand-scale version of wink murder. “Faithful” competitors must identify and banish the murderous Traitors in their midst, in a quest to bag £120,000. Originating in the Netherlands, The Traitors is produced in the UK and US by Studio Lambert Scotland, while parent company All3Media has licensed the format to almost 30 territories. Watts is working flat out translating his Traitors score for the live performance. “I’m in the middle of remixing all the electronic elements for the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra to play along with. We’ve c…

the-traitors-9-34369bc.jpg
width: 3000
height: 2000

Doctor Who: Wish World / The Reality War ★★★
type: item
date: 2025-06-02T09:00:21.000Z
creator: Patrick Mulkern
subject: Doctor Who Guides
subject: Sci-fi
subject: TV
subject: Doctor Who Story Guides
subject: Fifteenth Doctor
description: It's goodbye Ncuti Gatwa and hello (again) Billie Piper in a convoluted but entertaining finale.
encoded: Story 319 Series 15/Series 2 – Episodes 7 & 8 “Once reality is broken on a scale as vast as this, I can see underneath…” – the Rani Storyline In Bavaria 1865, the Rani steals a baby destined to become Desiderium, the god of wishes. The Doctor and Belinda wake up in an alternate-reality version of Earth 2025 as a married couple with a toddler called Poppy. All humanity is now living a lie and in fear of displaying doubt. This Wish World has been willed into existence by the treacherous Conrad, using the baby’s powers, hidden away in the Bone Palace – the base of the two Ranis. It’s part of a grand scheme to magnify the power of doubt and crack reality apart – releasing Omega, the creator of the Time Lords, from the Underverse. The creature is uncontrollable and devours the new Rani. In a battle to get reality back on track, the Doctor restores his UNIT friends to normality and tries to save his new daughter. His actions ultimately trigger another regeneration where his new appearance seems to have the face of Rose Tyler… First UK broadcasts Saturday 24 May 2025 Saturday 31 May 2025 Cast The Doctor – Ncuti Gatwa The Doctor – Jodie Whittaker Billie Piper Belinda Chandra – Varada Sethu Ruby Sunday – Millie Gibson Mrs Flood – Anita Dobson The Rani – Archie Panjabi Kate Lethbridge-Stewart – Jemma Redgrave Melanie Bush –Bonnie Langford Anita Benn – Steph de Whalley Susan Foreman – Carole Ann Ford Shirley Bingham – Ruth Madeley Rose Noble – Yasmin Finney Conrad Clark – Jonah Hauer-King Colonel Christofer Ibrahim – Alexander Devrient Susan Triad – Susan Twist Cherry Sunday – Angela Wynter Carla Sunday – Michelle Greenidge Rogue – Jonathan Groff Otto Zufall – Atilla Akinci Violett Zufall – Leni Adams Poppy – Sienna-Robyn Mavanga-Phipps Lakshmi Chandra – Nila Aalia Devika Babu – Josephine Lloyd-Welcome Val Balham – Hermon Berhane Winnie Petheridge – Sam Lawton Brian Dale – Joshua J Parker The Vlinx – Aidan Cook Voice of Omega – Nicholas Briggs Crew Writer – Russell T Davies Di…

doctor-who-the-reality-war-ncuti-gatwa-archie-panjabi-c069155.jpg
width: 4743
height: 3162

Doctor Who: The Interstellar Song Contest ★★★★★
type: item
date: 2025-05-17T08:00:55.000Z
creator: Patrick Mulkern
subject: Doctor Who Guides
subject: Sci-fi
subject: TV
subject: Doctor Who Story Guides
subject: Fifteenth Doctor
description: A magnificent spin on Eurovision sprinkled with the stuff of legends.
encoded: Story 318 Series 15/Series 2 – Episode 6 “Did I just fly through space on a confetti cannon? Camp!” – the Doctor Storyline Welcome to the 803rd Interstellar Song Contest in the year 2925. The Doctor and Belinda are delighted when the Tardis lands in the Harmony Arena space station but, as the entertainment commences, the show is sabotaged and the audience are expelled into space. The hijackers are led by Kid, a vengeful Hellion, whose home world Hellia was pillaged for poppy honey by the corporation promoting the contest. He plans to transmit a delta wave to wipe out the three trillion viewers. The Doctor intercedes with considerable rage, but is having strange visions of his granddaughter Susan. Mrs Flood is revealed to be the Doctor’s Time Lord adversary the Rani. She bi-generates and both incarnations follow the Doctor and Belinda back to Earth... First UK broadcast Saturday 17 May 2025 Cast The Doctor – Ncuti Gatwa Belinda Chandra – Varada Sethu Susan – Carole Ann Ford Mrs Flood – Anita Dobson The Rani – Archie Panjabi Rylan Graham Norton Kid – Freddie Fox Mike Gabbastone – Kadiff Kirwan Gary Gabbastone – Charlie Condou Cora Saint Bavier – Miriam-Teak Lee Sabine – Julie Dray Nina Maxwell – Kiruna Stamell Wynn Aura-Kin – Iona Anderson Len Kazah – Akemnji Ndifornyen Liz Lizardine – Christina Rotondo Jeddy Kine – Abdul Seesay Runner – Imogen Kingsley Smith Crew Writer – Juno Dawson Director – Ben A Williams Music – Murray Gold Producer – Vicky Delow Executive producers – Russell T Davies, Julie Gardner, Jane Tranter, Joel Collins, Phil Collinson RT review by Patrick Mulkern I can’t stick Rylan, not for love or money. An instant turn-off on air. But he’s actually very good in Doctor Who and it made me like him. That’s how strong and persuasive this episode is. Graham Norton I love, and his hologram form here is a lovely answer to the two occasions when he popped up unwanted (thanks to BBC Presentation) in earlier programmes. Now he’s a harbinger of the cataclysm tha…

doctor-who-interstellar-song-contest-ncuti-gatwa-varada-sethu-dfd63b4.jpg
width: 4800
height: 3200

Doctor Who: The Story & the Engine ★★
type: item
date: 2025-05-10T08:00:16.000Z
creator: Patrick Mulkern
subject: Doctor Who Guides
subject: Sci-fi
subject: TV
subject: Doctor Who Story Guides
subject: Fifteenth Doctor
description: The Doctor's trip to a Nigerian barber shop is in need of more than just a trim.
encoded: Story 317 Series 15/Series 2 – Episode 5 “You must tell a story, Doctor. You must feed it. It is always hungry” – the Barber Storyline The Doctor lands in Lagos, Nigeria, 2019 to revisit his old friend Omo who runs a barber shop, but Omo and some of his regular customers have gone missing. The premises have been taken over by a sinister Barber, who is transporting them across space on the back of a giant spider, part of an engine fuelled by storytelling. First UK broadcast Saturday 10 May 2025 Cast The Doctor – Ncuti Gatwa Belinda Chandra – Varada Sethu Omo Esosa – Sule Rimi The Barber – Ariyon Bakare Abena – Michelle Asante Rashid Abubakar – Stefan Adegbola Tunde Adebayo – Jordan Adene Obioma Okoli – Michael Balogun Mrs Flood – Anita Dobson Paramedic – Simon Bailey Consultant – Adrian Pang Patient – Tessa Bell-Briggs Market seller – Inua Ellams Security guard – Funmi James Poppy – Sienna Robyn Mavanga-Phipps The Doctor – Jo Martin Crew Writer – Inua Ellams Director – Makalla McPherson Music – Murray Gold Producer – Vicky Delow Executive producers – Russell T Davies, Julie Gardner, Jane Tranter, Joel Collins, Phil Collinson RT review by Patrick Mulkern Doctor Who as experimental theatre. Not a bad idea. You can’t fault the ambition, but the execution... Oh dear. Were this a play put on by one of the more avant-garde playhouses around the country, even the most receptive audience members might start creeping out before the interval. Playwright Inua Ellams had a hit on his hands in 2017 with Barber Shop Chronicles, launched at the National Theatre in London, then remounted around the world to acclaim. The Story & the Engine is a brother to that, in that its action is largely constrained to a barber shop whose customers share stories. The leap is to give it a Doctor Who spin so that the storytelling fuels gods and monsters, with the shop somehow still in Lagos but also on a journey through space on the back of a gigantic spider. Delirious and nonsensical barely cover t…

519180-cd9f6db.jpg
width: 4800
height: 3200

Doctor Who: Lucky Day ★★★
type: item
date: 2025-05-03T08:00:22.000Z
creator: Patrick Mulkern
subject: Doctor Who Guides
subject: Sci-fi
subject: TV
subject: Doctor Who Story Guides
subject: Fifteenth Doctor
description: Ruby Sunday meets a very different kind of monster.
encoded: Story 316 Series 15/Series 2 – Episode 4 “I think I’m in shock. Like PTSD. Because what happened last year was not normal” – Ruby Storyline Ruby, now 20, is adjusting to life after her Tardis travels. She agrees to talk on a podcast with Conrad Clark, who encountered the Doctor as a child and has been obsessed ever since. He and Ruby start dating, but when they go away for a country break, it transpires that he has been deceiving her. Conrad is the figurehead of Think Tank, an organisation intent on exposing what they see as the lies perpetuated by UNIT about the alien threat to our planet. Kate is tested to the limit and unleashes the monstrous Shreek on him. First UK broadcast Saturday 3 May 2025 Cast The Doctor – Ncuti Gatwa Ruby Sunday – Millie Gibson Belinda Chandra – Varada Sethu Kate Lethbridge-Stewart – Jemma Redgrave Conrad Clark – Jonah Hauer-King Carla Sunday – Michelle Greenidge Cherry Sunday – Angela Wynter Shirley Anne-Bingham – Ruth Madeley Louise Miller – Faye McKeever Col Christofer Ibrahim – Alexander Devrient Moira Clark – Kirsty Hoiles Young Conrad – Benjamin Chivers Jordan Lang – Kareem Alexander Elsa – Madison Stock Sparky – Paddy Stafford Jack – Blake Anderson Michelle – Aoife Gaston Alfie – Paul Jerricho Derek – Michael Woodford Audrey – Tina Gray Trinity Wells – Lachele Carl The Shreek – Gethin Alderman The Vlinx – Aidan Cook Voice of the Vlinx – Nicholas Briggs Mrs Flood – Anita Dobson Influencers – Selorm Adonu, Calypso Cragg, James Craven As themselves: Reeta Chakrabarti, Alex Jones, Joel Dommett Crew Writer – Pete McTighe Director – Peter Hoar Music – Murray Gold Producer – Chris May Series producer – Vicky Delow Executive producers – Russell T Davies, Julie Gardner, Jane Tranter, Joel Collins, Phil Collinson RT review by Patrick Mulkern Activism can often be characterised by self-righteousness and delusion – whether we sympathise with a cause or not – and Pete McTighe’s script captures that edge tartly. Fans and regular viewers know the…

518810-abac417.jpg
width: 3259
height: 2173

Doctor Who: The Well ★★★★★
type: item
date: 2025-04-26T08:00:37.000Z
creator: Patrick Mulkern
subject: Doctor Who Guides
subject: Sci-fi
subject: TV
subject: Doctor Who Story Guides
subject: Fifteenth Doctor
description: Rose Ayling-Ellis gives us a riveting, nightmarish Aliss in Terrorland.
encoded: Story 315 Series 15/Series 2 – Episode 3 “There’s something behind me all the time” – Aliss Storyline Some 500,000 years in the future on the planet 67-67, all contact has been lost with the mining colony of Base 15. The Doctor and Belinda assist the band of troopers investigating the scene. The colonists are found dead, either by gunfire or with their bones shattered – all bar one survivor, Aliss. She is the host of a vile, unseen force that the Doctor encountered long ago when 67-67 was called Midnight. Can Aliss be freed? And why has no one heard of Earth or the human race? First UK broadcast Saturday 26 April 2025 Cast The Doctor – Ncuti Gatwa Belinda Chandra – Varada Sethu Aliss Fenly – Rose Ayling-Ellis Shaya Costallion – Caoilfhionn Dunne Cassio Palin-Paleen – Christopher Chung Mo Gilliben – Bethany Antonia Hanno Yeft – Annabel Brook Kai Sabba – Gaz Choudhry Callo Rence – Luke Rhodri Albie Bethick – Gary Pillai Sal Van Hyten – Frankie Lipman Albie Bethick – Gary Pillai Ulric Dazen – Jermaine Dominique Val Vivo – Amy Tyger Mrs Flood – Anita Dobson It Has No Name – Paul Kasey Crew Writers – Russell T Davies, Sharma Angel-Walfall Director – Amanda Brotchie Music – Murray Gold Producer – Chris May Series producer – Vicky Delow Executive producers – Russell T Davies, Julie Gardner, Jane Tranter, Joel Collins, Phil Collinson RT review by Patrick Mulkern Sometimes when Doctor Who echoes itself, it sings. The plunging mineshaft looks like the massive rim into an abyss in The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit (2006), and the spacesuited troopers being picked off by an unseen menace recalls Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead (2008) or, going even further back, Earthshock (1982). Meanwhile, The Well itself is a form of sequel to another highly popular 2008 episode, Midnight – and arguably superior. This is core Doctor Who when everything comes together: a rattling script, from the moment the Doctor and Belinda are jettisoned into space (Ncuti Gatwa and Varada Sethu…

518584-fe65bff.jpg
width: 4800
height: 3200

Doctor Who: Lux ★★★★
type: item
date: 2025-04-19T08:00:35.000Z
creator: Patrick Mulkern
subject: Doctor Who Guides
subject: Sci-fi
subject: TV
subject: Doctor Who Story Guides
subject: Fifteenth Doctor
description: Scooby-Doo meets Sapphire & Steel in this animated adventure.
encoded: Story 314 Series 15/Series 2 – Episode 2 "We’re going 3D. And remember, whatever you do, don’t make me laugh." – Mr Ring-a-Ding Storyline Miami, 1952: at the Palazzo picture house, cartoon character Mr Ring-a-Ding bursts out of the screen and terrorises the audience, who all subsequently vanish. Months later, the Doctor and Belinda investigate the mystery and discover that Mr Ring-a-Ding is the embodiment of Lux, the god of light, and one of the sinister Pantheon. After he converts the time travellers into cartoons, they must use their wits to break back into reality. First UK broadcast Saturday 19 April 2025 Cast The Doctor – Ncuti Gatwa Belinda Chandra – Varada Sethu Mr Ring-a-Ding – Alan Cumming Reginald Pye – Linus Roache Mrs Flood – Anita Dobson Tommy Lee – Cassius Hackforth Husband – Ryan Speakman Sunshine Sally – Millie O’Connell Renée Lowenstein – Lucy Thackeray Logan Cheever – Lewis Cornay Helen Pye – Jane Hancock Hassan Chowdry – Samir Arrian Lizzie Abel – Bronté Barbé Robyn Gossage – Steph Lacey Policeman – William Meredith Newsreader – Ian Shaw Crew Writer – Russell T Davies Director – Amanda Brotchie Music – Murray Gold Producer – Chris May Series producer – Vicky Delow Executive producers – Russell T Davies, Julie Gardner, Jane Tranter, Joel Collins, Phil Collinson RT review by Patrick Mulkern Doctor Who is often at its curious best when it transcends dimensions. Week in, week out, we witness that with the Police Box/Tardis, but when the writer’s imagination stretches even further with, say, the Land of Fiction in The Mind Robber (1968) or the dimension-straddling force in Flatline (2014), the Doctor and the viewers are obliged to think beyond the box. Lux achieves this superbly. It takes the trappings of cinema projection and celluloid, and capitalises on Disney funds for lustrous animation (actually delivered by British VFX company Framestore), to create an original and increasingly disturbing threat in Mr Ring-a-Ding. He’s like a mix of the Cat in t…

516727-45d9d6c.jpg
width: 4800
height: 3200

Doctor Who: The Robot Revolution ★★
type: item
date: 2025-04-13T09:12:22.000Z
creator: Patrick Mulkern
subject: Doctor Who Guides
subject: Sci-fi
subject: TV
subject: Doctor Who Story Guides
subject: Fifteenth Doctor
description: If you’re up for a bit of flash-bang-wallop cartoonery, then maybe this episode works for you.
encoded: Story 313 Series 15/Series 2 – Episode 1 "We need you as our queen" – Robot Storyline In London 2008, Belinda Chandra has a star named after her by her boyfriend Alan. In 2025, robots from Missbelindachandra One, a world orbiting that star, want her as their queen. Before the Doctor can intercede, Belinda is abducted by the robots in a space rocket. He pursues in the Tardis, but a time fracture means he arrives on the planet six months early. A plan is hatched with the subjugated locals, the Missbelindachandrakind, to prevent her becoming the bride of the controlling AI Generator. It contains a golden being who, it transpires, is the robotised remains of her former boyfriend Alan. He is vanquished by the force of the time fracture, and peace is restored between the people and robots. The Doctor promises to return Belinda home but the Tardis is bounced away. Could Earth have been destroyed...? First UK broadcast Saturday 12 April 2025 Cast The Doctor – Ncuti Gatwa Belinda Chandra – Varada Sethu Alan Budd – Jonny Green Manny – Max Parker Mrs Flood – Anita Dobson Kirby Blake – Thalía Dudek Stefan Haines – Jeffin Kunjumon Tombo – Tom Storey Sasha 55 – Evelyn Miller Scoley – Caleb Hughes Shago – Nadine Higgin Prime Minister – William Ellis Receptionist – Belinda Owusu Voice of the robots – Nicholas Briggs Robots – Stephen Love, Robert Strange, Charles Sandford, Lucas Edwards Crew Writer – Russell T Davies Director – Peter Hoar Music – Murray Gold Producer – Vicky Delow Executive producers – Russell T Davies, Julie Gardner, Jane Tranter, Joel Collins, Phil Collinson RT review by Patrick Mulkern If you’re up for a bit of flash-bang-wallop cartoonery, then maybe this episode works for you. A retro rocket reaching a faraway star remarkably quickly… shiny robots vaporising their victims in mid-air… a gorgeously gold-plated semi-human villain… the cute (only mildly annoying) busybody hoover ("Polish! Polish!") that could put a Dyson to shame… juddery time-distortion effects… a…

517537-7ef8ae2.jpg
width: 4800
height: 3200

Nightmare Man
type: item
creator: Patrick Mulkern
subject: App
subject: App features
subject: App Doctor Who 20
description: Steven Moffat scares people for a living. The fan-turned-mastermind talks to Patrick Mulkern about misogyny, Missy and the past, present and future of Doctor Who
encoded: This article was published in RT in December 2015 and is part of our digital Doctor Who anniversary bookazine — click here to download it for free. There’s a telling photo of Steven as a boy in 1973 absorbed in a Doctor Who paperback. Can he paint a picture of the young Master Moffat back home in Paisley? “This is going to be so ‘stereotypical Doctor Who fan’. Quiet. Bullied at school. Very bookish. I liked anything magical. I loved the Narnia books and entirely missed the Christian allegory.” Today he’s a crazily busy man, a top dog in British TV drama, running both Doctor Who and Sherlock, global hits and cash cows for the BBC. He’s just bagged a lifetime achievement trophy at the British Screenwriters’ Awards, to add to the Emmy and five Baftas on his groaning mantelpiece. It’s six years since Russell T Davies handed him the Tardis key and he says, “I’m gobsmacked by how much Doctor Who I’ve written – an insane amount.” The well of ideas isn’t about to run dry any time soon, but the current series saw a shaky start with a dip in the ratings. An un-child-friendly time slot and being up against The X Factor and the Rugby World Cup on ITV didn’t help, but Moffat concedes, “That wasn’t our best-run launch. This isn’t a new Doctor year, an anniversary or new companion year. It’s dangerous when you don’t have that special extra bit to launch a show with. And our ratings went up with episode five.” Meet Moffat for the first time and he might seem saturnine, taciturn, a tad unapproachable. I’ve known him long enough to discern that, however high his profile, he’s shy at heart. “Not at heart,” he laughs. “At every level a shy person. But hey, I’m 54. I’ve got the hang of it.” He doesn’t let it interfere with the job. “I’m relaxed about getting up on stage and talking to a crowd and might even make them laugh. This, my son tells me, is typical of introverts. But stick me in a room with a bunch of people I don’t know and I go, ‘Oh God!’ and try to hide behind Sue.” His wife…

1299-Custom-Name-copy-b5daeca-e1742402029796.jpg
width: 1978
height: 1320

Doctor Who: Joy to the World ★★★
type: item
date: 2024-12-26T21:00:59.000Z
creator: Patrick Mulkern
subject: Doctor Who Guides
subject: Sci-fi
subject: TV
subject: Doctor Who Story Guides
subject: Fifteenth Doctor
description: Ncuti Gatwa and Nicola Coughlan shine in Steven Moffat's Christmas special – with more than one new star
encoded: Story 312 Christmas Special 2024 “A hotel but instead of rooms, time portals? Package deals for all of history’s biggest hits. No wonder there was no room at the inn” – the Doctor Storyline London, Christmas 4042: the Doctor arrives at the Time Hotel, which has portals to hotel rooms and lodgings throughout Earth history. In 2024, a woman called Joy is spending Christmas alone at the Sandringham Hotel in London, but she gets manacled to a deadly suitcase. It contains a star seed that requires millions of years to grow and is key to a plot by the Villengard corporation to destroy Earth. The Time Lord must save Joy but he gets stuck in London for a year, befriending hotel receptionist Anita. Ultimately, after a trip to prehistoric times with the Doctor, Joy is transformed by the energy into a benign star. First UK broadcast Wednesday 25 December 2024 Cast The Doctor – Ncuti Gatwa Joy Almondo – Nicola Coughlan Trev Simpkins –Joel Fry Anita Benn – Steph de Whalley Hotel manager – Jonathan Aris Hilda Flockhart – Julia Watson Basil Flockhart – Peter Benedict Sylvia Trench – Niamh Marie Smith Edmund Hillary – Phil Baxter Tenzing Norgay – Samuel Sherpa-Moore Receptionist – Ruchi Rai Mr Single – Joshua Leese Angela Grace – Fiona Marr Barman – Liam Prince-Donnelly Joy’s mum – Fiona Scott Ruby Sunday – Millie Gibson Crew Writer – Steven Moffat Director – Alex Sanjiv Pillai Music – Murray Gold Series producer – Vicky Delow Executive producers – Russell T Davies, Julie Gardner, Jane Tranter, Joel Collins, Phil Collinson, Steven Moffat RT review by Patrick Mulkern Time really does fly. It wasn’t so long ago that Ncuti Gatwa and Nicola Coughlan were among the stand-out stars in two of Netflix’s biggest hits – Sex Education and Bridgerton – and here they are now, confidently fronting the Doctor Who Christmas special. Though both shine effortlessly as individuals, Steven Moffat’s time-twisting plot doesn’t allow them many moments to sparkle as a duo. Unexpectedly, he lets more chemi…

498787-0885bd3.jpg
width: 4800
height: 3200

What became of the child star of The Box of Delights?
type: item
date: 2024-11-25T08:00:05.000Z
creator: Patrick Mulkern
subject: Fantasy
subject: TV
subject: BBC Four
subject: Interview
description: Devin Stanfield found stardom difficult in 1984 – now, 40 years later, he looks back with pride at the BBC classic, co-starring Patrick Troughton.
encoded: The BBC’s adaptation of The Box of Delights has become a cult classic since it first aired in the run-up to Christmas in 1984. Based on John Masefield’s 1935 fantasy novel, the six-part serial tells of the adventures of schoolboy Kay Harker, who is entrusted with a magical box that he must protect from evil forces. With pioneering visual effects, the production won three BAFTAs. Now, for its 40th anniversary, The Box of Delights is being released in new Blu-ray and DVD editions on Monday 25th November. It will also be repeated on BBC Four from Saturday 7th December. The series starred famous actors such as Doctor Who’s Patrick Troughton as a kindly magician, and Robert Stephens and Patricia Quinn as the villains. But what became of the boy star, Devin Stanfield, whose face lit up the cover of Radio Times but who gave up acting soon afterwards? RT: What's it been like revisiting The Box of Delights after 40 years? Devin Stanfield: It’s been an odd experience. I’d put the whole thing to bed and moved on with my life and hadn't really given it a great deal of thought, to be honest. It's just kind of a childhood chapter. So revisiting it was very interesting. I've said no to almost every request for publicity or interviews over the years. RT: Chris Chapman has produced a new feature-length doc for the Blu-ray/DVD – Time and Tide: The Making of The Box of Delights. How did you get involved with that? Devin Stanfield: When Chris phoned me about doing something, I said that I’d already done the 20th anniversary. Back then I’d met Renny Rye [the director of The Box of Delights] at Pinewood and we shot a little interview for a DVD extra. I didn't have much to add to that. But then when Chris said he’d actually like to get me and Renny out on location, I thought... well, I have a huge amount of respect and love for Renny, so I said, "OK, I'll do that." Really, it was just a chance to spend the weekend with Renny and catch up over a few glasses of wine and talk – and oh God, d…

RT-1984-Box-of-Delights-alt-ec1efae-e1732199203116.jpg
width: 7187
height: 4795

The Archers cast pay tribute to June Spencer
type: item
date: 2024-11-20T15:30:05.000Z
creator: Patrick Mulkern
subject: audio
description: Actors Louiza Patikas, Pat Gallimore and David Troughton share their memories of the BBC radio legend.
encoded: June Spencer played Peggy in the pilot episode of The Archers in 1950, and still had an active role in the long-running BBC radio serial until 2022, when she retired at the remarkable age of 103. When she died on 8th November 2024, aged 105, fans mourned and tributes flooded in. Three of her friends from the cast of The Archers are paying their own tribute in Radio Times. Read on for what they had to say. Louiza Patikas June was a phenomenon – a living legend. She embodied the poise and precision of the golden age of radio acting, and yet she felt ageless somehow and completely accepting of the modern world, including the many generations of young actors who joined the show after her and grew up on her watch. It was an honour to know her, to share the mic with her, and to play Scrabble with her. She was utterly irreplaceable. (Louiza Patikas has played Peggy's granddaughter Helen in The Archers since 2000.) Pat Gallimore June was my Archers mother-in-law for 50 years. She was a wonderful actress and friend. The tributes from the members of The Archers family are a testament to how much she was loved and how much she taught us. She was the matriarch of Ambridge. A loyal team member of grace and kindness. I was so lucky to have worked with her for so long. I cherish our friendship and the memories of the times we shared on and off the microphone. Dearest June, I shall miss you greatly. RIP ❤️ (Pat Gallimore has played Peggy's daughter-in-law Pat in The Archers since 1974.) David Troughton June Spencer – what a legend! Ultimate professional, fun to work with, always interested in how you were getting on and, above all, for more than half a century, the absolute centre of the Ambridge community. It seemed quite a daunting task taking over the role of Tony Archer [from Colin Skipp], but her kindness, professionalism, her sense of fun and caring understanding eased me seamlessly into the Ambridge way of life. For that, I shall always be truly grateful. She was an amazing …

118123-low res-the-archers-f720de9-e1659952886903.jpg
width: 2000
height: 1335

"Doctor Who is the hardest job I've ever done"
type: item
creator: Patrick Mulkern
subject: App
subject: App features
description: Britain’s top TV composer Murray Gold invites you to a solo recital in his attic
encoded: The Doctor Who Prom will be broadcast on Radio 3 on Monday, before being televised later this year. Add it to your collection. For a longer version of RT's exclusive Murray Gold interview, click here. Murray Gold wears his success lightly. “I’ve just been lucky,” he shrugs, and adds without a hint of swagger, “I’ve always been the composer of the northern poets.” He means the great TV dramatists: Paul Abbott (Shameless, Clocking Off), Sally Wainwright (Last Tango in Halifax, Scott & Bailey, Gentleman Jack) and Russell T Davies (It’s a Sin, A Very English Scandal and, of course, Doctor Who). All those shows bear Gold’s stamp, but an even greater accolade is that he must be the only living composer to have had five BBC Proms dedicated to his work – concerts so popular that, even with two performances in one day, seats sold out within hours of release. It helps that three were Who extravaganzas, with a fourth coming this Monday. But the organisers might just as easily fill the Albert Hall by programming his other hits. Indeed, a highlight of the 2015 Proms showcased his score for David Attenborough’s Life Story. An engaging blend of laid-back and intense, Gold has invited me to his north London home to see where all the magic happens. His recording studio is a padded attic, kitted with five Apple Macs, synthesizers, an analogue reverb unit and a plethora of guitars. Is he ever stuck for inspiration? “No. I feel the music is invented just by watching and listening to the story. I block out any sense that I’m composing and just put my hands on the piano like an old-fashioned theatrical organist. I play along and record it.” Under the eaves is a play area for his two daughters, aged five and seven. This must act like a sound bath for them? “Yeah, I let them listen and sometimes they say, ‘That’s really good, Dad.’ But they’re not allowed to watch Doctor Who yet. It’s too scary.” Now 55, Gold came to fatherhood late. His wife Gemma (an actor and dancer whom he met while wo…

RT-2024-Murray-Gold-Patrick-Mulkern-A-8456b15.jpg
width: 4032
height: 2268

Murray Gold: "Doctor Who is the hardest job I've ever done"
type: item
date: 2024-08-20T09:00:39.000Z
creator: Patrick Mulkern
subject: Sci-fi
subject: TV
subject: Exclusive
subject: Interview
description: The iconic composer previews this year's Doctor Who Prom - from a David Tennant suite to "old favourites".
encoded: Murray Gold could lay claim to being the busiest composer in Britain. He rarely takes a day off. It’s almost 20 years since he became the sound of Doctor Who, recently returning to the series after a five-year break. His TV CV includes the scores for Queer as Folk, Shameless, It’s a Sin, Gentleman Jack and Last Tango in Halifax. Currently, he’s working on Stephen Frears’s new drama about Mrs Thatcher and Sally Wainwright’s forthcoming Riot Women, about five friends who start a punk band. Now 55, Murray lives in north London with his wife Gemma (an actor and dancer) and their two daughters. This summer, Radio Times caught up with him to talk about his life and career and his imminent Doctor Who Prom at the Royal Albert Hall. Murray invited us to his home recording studio – his attic where all the magic happens… RT: Talk me through the actual process – from the music coming from your imagination all the way up to being realised as an orchestral score. What steps do you go through? MG: A lot of the music arises just from watching episodes of whatever I'm working on, be it Doctor Who or anything else. There's a mutually flattering, symbiotic relationship between music and film. A good picture can make the most humdrum music memorable and, vice versa, a piece of music can absolutely elevate the picture. I always feel like the music is invented just by watching and listening to the story. I block out any sense that I'm composing and just put my hands on the piano, like an old-fashioned, theatrical organist. I play along and record it. There's a good function called "retrospective record", which buffers it all as you play. RT: And do you work every day? MG: Yeah. This stretch, coming back to do Doctor Who again is, I swear, the hardest job I've ever done. I don't really know why. Maybe because the expectations are so high, the intensity of the music is unrelenting. I realised that, until a few months ago, I'd only had three days off – one for Christmas Day and a couple aro…

Murray-Gold-814bae7.jpg
width: 1215
height: 810

Doctor Who: The Legend of Ruby Sunday / Empire of Death ★★★★★
type: item
date: 2024-06-22T18:35:39.000Z
creator: Patrick Mulkern
subject: Doctor Who Guides
subject: Sci-fi
subject: TV
subject: Doctor Who Story Guides
subject: Fifteenth Doctor
description: Susan, Sutekh, Bonnie Langford... Russell 'Tease' Davies turbo-blends the Time Lord's rich heritage with Long Lost Family in an eerie and thrilling finale
encoded: Story 311 Series 14/Series One – Episodes 7 & 8 “I bring Sutekh’s dust of death” – Susan Triad Storyline The Doctor flies the Tardis into UNIT HQ, determined to solve two mysteries: the identity of Ruby’s mother and the woman whose face keeps popping up in his adventures. The modern version of the latter is tech giant Susan Triad, who is about to launch some world-changing software for free – and Mel has infiltrated her inner circle. Kate allows the Doctor to use UNIT’s time window to re-create the events of Christmas Eve 20 years ago. Wondering if Susan could be his granddaughter and fearing a trap, the Doctor is unprepared to be facing his ancient enemy Sutekh. This god-like being has been waiting aeons for revenge – latched onto and cloaked by the Tardis, evolving, and is now ready to spread his dust of death across every planet the Doctor has visited. As Earth is destroyed across time, the Time Lord, Ruby and Mel flee in the “memory Tardis” to London 2046. The secret of Ruby’s birth is the key to ensnaring Sutekh and hauling him to his demise in the space-time vortex. Finally, on Earth in 2024, Ruby meets her mother and must leave the Doctor. First UK broadcast Saturday 15 June 2024 Saturday 22 June 2024 Cast The Doctor – Ncuti Gatwa Ruby Sunday – Millie Gibson Melanie Bush – Bonnie Langford Kate Lethbridge-Stewart – Jemma Redgrave Voice of Sutekh – Gabriel Woolf Rose Noble – Yasmin Finney Carla Sunday – Michelle Greenidge Mrs Flood – Anita Dobson Cherry Sunday – Angela Wynter Colonel Christofer Ibrahim – Alexander Devrient Susan Triad – Susan Twist Morris Gibbons – Lenny Rush Harriet Arbinger – Genesis Lynea Bailey Sinclair – Fela Lufadeju Colonel Winston Chidozie – Tachia Newall Corporal Alice Sullivan – Jasmine Bayes The Vlinx – Aidan Cook Voice of the Vlinx – Nicholas Briggs Kind woman – Sian Clifford Amol Rajan – himself Roger ap Gwilliam – Aneurin Barnard Louise Miller – Faye McKeever Crew Writer – Russell T Davies Director – Jamie Donoughue Music – Murray…

480407-9c63a0d.jpg
width: 4285
height: 2857

Doctor Who: Rogue ★★★★
type: item
date: 2024-06-08T18:30:43.000Z
creator: Patrick Mulkern
subject: Doctor Who Guides
subject: Sci-fi
subject: TV
subject: Doctor Who Story Guides
subject: Fifteenth Doctor
description: The Time Lord loses his heart to a starship bounty hunter in the most gloriously gay episode yet. Happy Pride Month!
encoded: Story 310 Series 14/Series One – Episode 6 “Some are saying the best of the season. A triumph! A new standard set. But I think the real estimation of an evening is in the matches made” – Duchess of Pemberton Storyline Bath, 1813: the Doctor and Ruby are enjoying the Bridgerton vibe at the Duchess of Pemberton’s ball, but alien shapeshifters are abroad, killing off partygoers and assuming their identities for fun. The cosplaying Chuldur are being observed by bounty hunter Rogue, who catches the Doctor’s eye and his heart. They join forces to round up the aliens and save Ruby from their clutches. First UK broadcast Saturday 8 June 2024 Cast The Doctor – Ncuti Gatwa Ruby Sunday – Millie Gibson Rogue – Jonathan Groff The Duchess of Pemberton – Indira Varma Lord Barton – Paul Forman Emily Beckett – Camilla Aiko Carla Sunday – Michelle Greenidge Lord Galpin – Maxim Ays Miss Talbot – Nancy Brabin-Platt Mr Price – David Charles The portrait – Susan Twist Housekeeper – Debra Baker Crew Writers – Kate Herron and Briony Redman Director – Ben Chessell Music – Murray Gold Producer – Chris May Series producer – Vicky Delow Executive producers – Russell T Davies, Julie Gardner, Jane Tranter, Joel Collins, Phil Collinson RT review by Patrick Mulkern What a way to celebrate Pride Month! This is the gayest episode of Doctor Who to date – and that takes some doing after The Devil’s Chord only a few weeks previously. It’s wonderful that under Russell T Davies’s stewardship the programme has the confidence, and yes the balls, to present something this gloriously gay. And under the watchful eye of investor Disney. I wouldn’t want it every week but I quite enjoy it when the usually indifferent Time Lord is sweet on someone. This is nothing new. William Hartnell’s Doctor was smitten with Aztec lady Cameca 60 years ago, Paul McGann’s version kissed Dr Grace in the 1996 TV Movie, David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor fell for Madame de Pompadour in 2006, and River Song captured various Time Lord’s he…

479364-a27cd36.jpg
width: 4285
height: 2857

Doctor Who legend William Russell has died aged 99
type: item
date: 2024-06-04T17:42:05.000Z
creator: Patrick Mulkern
subject: News
subject: Sci-fi
subject: TV
description: An adventure hero since the 1950s and one of the original Doctor Who cast in 1963, he had a long and varied career, captured in Radio Times across the decades
encoded: Sometime in the early 1990s I surfaced at Finchley Road station on the London Underground and spotted a familiar figure in the ticket hall. A silver fox in a dapper blazer, he was waiting to meet someone (not me), but he caught my eye and smiled kindly – and I realised I was looking into the well-preserved face of William Russell, inseparable in my heart from Ian Chesterton, the original hero of Doctor Who. He may have played many parts and many other heroes – Lancelot, Ivanhoe, Nicholas Nickleby – but Russell would always be most famous for his co-starring role in the BBC sci-fi series when it began in 1963. After that fleeting encounter I hoped to meet him one day but it would take almost two decades. In 2010, I realised Radio Times had never formally interviewed him, so I made contact and he was only too happy to speak. I arrived at his London home in a leafy terrace south of Hampstead Heath, and as soon as I’d rung the doorbell, a window flew open high above. I stepped back and saw a beaming head emerge. “Is that Patrick? I’ll be right down.” Moments later this spry man, just about to turn 86, was on the doorstep firmly shaking my hand. Then he led me up to a third-floor apartment, the Enoch family home for many years. A note: he may be known as “William Russell” professionally, but he was born William Russell Enoch (in Sunderland, 19 November 1924) and friends and colleagues called him Russell or, even likelier, Russ. I’ll call him Russell here. A vivid memory of that afternoon... He offered me tea, then apologised that his kettle was on the blink, so he was soon boiling water in a saucepan. Tottering across the kitchen with the pan to the teacups, he splashed scalding water on the lino and deployed the F word. How unlike the Mr Chesterton of my imagination! I hooted with mirth. Couldn’t help it. But it broke any ice. We shortly settled in two armchairs and whiled away a pleasant few hours talking about his life and career. I was embarrassed, really, to focus o…

RT-2010-William-Russell-main-21146f1.jpg
width: 2242
height: 1345

Doctor Who: Dot and Bubble ★★★
type: item
date: 2024-06-01T18:35:36.000Z
creator: Patrick Mulkern
subject: Doctor Who Guides
subject: Sci-fi
subject: TV
subject: Doctor Who Story Guides
subject: Fifteenth Doctor
description: Slug monsters are harvesting vacuous, tech-dependent humans, but in this intriguing satire do they deserve saving?
encoded: Story 309 Series 14/Series One – Episode 5 “I am not lowering my bubble” – Lindy Storyline The young inhabitants of Finetime are dependent on their dot and bubble technology to get through their home and working lives. Interaction is constant but they are unaware that they’re being harvested and eaten by slug-like creatures, until the Doctor and Ruby intercede and try to guide Lindy and her fellows to safety. First UK broadcast Saturday 1 June 2024 Cast The Doctor – Ncuti Gatwa Ruby Sunday – Millie Gibson Lindy Pepper-Bean – Callie Cooke Ricky September – Tom Rhys Harries Hoochy Pie – Niamh Lynch Harry Tendency – Aldous Ciokajlo Squire Cooper Mercy – Eilidh Loan Gothic Paul – Pete MacHale Blake Very Blue – Billy Brayshaw Valerie Nook – Millie Kent Dr Pee – Max Boast Rotterdam Twins – Elloise Bennett, Olivia Bennett Penny Pepper-Bean – Susan Twist Alan K Sullivan – Milo Callaghan Weatherman Will – Jack Forsyth-Noble Suzie Pentecost – Ellie-Grace Cashin Brewster Cavendish – Jamie Barnard Crew Writer – Russell T Davies Director – Dylan Holmes Williams Music – Murray Gold Producer – Vicki Delow Executive producers – Russell T Davies, Julie Gardner, Jane Tranter, Joel Collins, Phil Collinson RT review by Patrick Mulkern We all do it. Walk around in a bubble, glued to our devices. In this intriguing satire, Russell T Davies takes that to an extreme. On Finetime – a city under a bubble dome – people go about their business constantly encased in a literal bubble of interactivity, oblivious to the fact that they and their friends are being harvested by slug-like monsters. He toyed with this idea once before in Years and Years with the “filter mask” worn by young Bethany (Lydia West) who wanted to become a “trans-human”. Diehard fans will also spot the strong debt owed to the 1967 Patrick Troughton story, The Macra Terror, in which a human colony were enslaved by giant crabs they couldn’t see. The technology and set design are gorgeous. The monsters brilliantly, disgustingly …

478841-01c3033.jpg
width: 4285
height: 2857

Doctor Who: 73 Yards ★★★★★
type: item
date: 2024-05-25T18:35:44.000Z
creator: Patrick Mulkern
subject: Doctor Who Guides
subject: Sci-fi
subject: TV
subject: Doctor Who Story Guides
subject: Fifteenth Doctor
description: Millie Gibson impresses in a beautiful tale of enchantment
encoded: Story 308 Series 14/Series One – Episode 4 “The clifftops are a boundary between the land and the sea – a liminal space, neither here nor there, where rules are suspended” – Enid Meadows Storyline When the Tardis lands on a clifftop in Wales, the Doctor and Ruby stumble upon a magical "fairy circle". Once interfered with, it creates a timeline in which the Doctor has vanished and Ruby is haunted by the figure of a woman – always present but always at an intangible distance of 73 yards. Anyone who has contact with the woman flees and abandons Ruby, throughout her life, for decades, until in 2046 together they can save the world from a wicked prime minister, Roger ap Gwilliam. Only at Ruby’s death in old age does the woman come close; it is Ruby and now she has the power to reach back through time and stop the Doctor stepping into the circle. First UK broadcast Saturday 25 May 2024 Cast The Doctor – Ncuti Gatwa Ruby Sunday – Millie Gibson Enid Meadows – Siân Phillips Roger ap Gwilliam – Aneurin Barnard Old Ruby – Amanda Walker Kate Lethbridge-Stewart – Jemma Redgrave Carla Sunday – Michelle Greenidge Cherry Sunday – Angela Wynter Mrs Flood — Anita Dobson The Woman – Hilary Hobson Hiker – Susan Twist Lowri Palin – Maxine Evans Eddie Jones – Glyn Pritchard Thin Lucy – Elan Davies Ifor Jones – Gwïon Morris Jones Joshua Steele – Sion Pritchard Frank Hinchey Graham Butler Sanjay Miah – Ali Ariaie Rufus Bray – Albey Brookes Craig Deloach – Miles Yekinni Himself – Amol Rajan Marti Bridges – Sophie Ablett Akhim Patil – Shane David-Joseph Groundsman – Jason May Security officer – Dylan Baldwin Armed policeman – David Constant Newsreader – Deeivya Meir Eizabeth Campbell – Rhyanna Alexander-Davis Nurse – Vee Vimolmal Crew Writer – Russell T Davies Director – Dylan Holmes Williams Music – Murray Gold Producer – Vicki Delow Executive producers – Russell T Davies, Julie Gardner, Jane Tranter, Joel Collins, Phil Collinson RT review by Patrick Mulkern This is ludicrous nonsense and I…

478091-a5939e8.jpg
width: 4285
height: 2857

Doctor Who: Boom ★★★★
type: item
date: 2024-05-18T18:35:14.000Z
creator: Patrick Mulkern
subject: Doctor Who Guides
subject: Sci-fi
subject: TV
subject: Doctor Who Story Guides
subject: Fifteenth Doctor
description: Steven Moffat is back in a tense episode about faith, fatherhood and love.
encoded: Story 307 Series 14/Series One – Episode 3 “One wrong move and I go BOOM! All food mixer” – the Doctor Storyline In the year 5087, on the war-ravaged Kastarion 3, the Doctor steps on a landmine. Ruby is determined to help but one false move and they will die, as will the ordained Anglican marines deployed in the vicinity. Without moving, the Time Lord must outwit the deadly technology and the so-called Ambulances that are sweeping the battlefield. First UK broadcast Saturday 18 May 2024 Cast The Doctor – Ncuti Gatwa Ruby Sunday – Millie Gibson John Francis Vater – Joe Anderson Carson – Majid Mehdizadeh-Valoujerdy Splice Alison Vater – Caoilinn Springall Mundy Flynn – Varada Sethu Canterbury James Olliphant – Bhav Joshi Ambulance – Susan Twist Crew Writer – Steven Moffat Director – Julie Anne Robinson Music – Murray Gold Producer – Vicki Delow Executive producers – Russell T Davies, Julie Gardner, Jane Tranter, Joel Collins, Phil Collinson, Julie Anne Robinson, Steven Moffat RT review by Patrick Mulkern After two frantic episodes, Boom offers a welcome gear change. A sophisticated landmine stops Ncuti Gatwa in his tracks, rooting his quicksilver Doctor to the spot almost for the duration. A tense predicament unfolding in real time obliges him and Ruby to catch their breath, and be calm, brave and resourceful. Gatwa and Millie Gibson impress throughout. Fatherhood and blind faith are the themes of the week. The first character seen in close-up personifies both – a sightless Anglican marine and father whose very surname is Vater – "father" in German. To spare our sniggers, this is given an English pronunciation, not the German "farter". Vater will soon be a ghost, an AI hologram, thanks to a so-called "ambulance" that cruelly dispenses death on the battlefield. Its interface offers "Thoughts & Prayers" with all the glibness of politicians and social media types who claim to be "so sad" whenever anyone of note "passes". ("Ambulance" is also the latest guise for Susan Tw…

477196-c5ab72e-e1715524729367.jpg
width: 4270
height: 2842

Doctor Who: The Devil’s Chord ★★★★★
type: item
date: 2024-05-11T19:00:12.000Z
creator: Patrick Mulkern
subject: Doctor Who Guides
subject: Sci-fi
subject: TV
subject: Doctor Who Story Guides
subject: Fifteenth Doctor
description: Two Maestros – Russell T Davies at an audacious peak and hilariously OTT Jinkx Monsoon – create musical delirium
encoded: Story 306 Series 14/Series One – Episode 2 “My notation is Maestro… I am music” – Maestro Storyline In the 1920s, a music teacher inadvertently opens the gateway for a terrifying creature to enter our universe. The demonic Maestro will rob the world of melody, even of the Beatles’ greatest hits – as the Doctor and Ruby discover when they arrive in London 1963. Who can find the right chord to send Maestro back to oblivion? First UK broadcast Saturday 11 May 2024 Cast The Doctor – Ncuti Gatwa Ruby Sunday – Millie Gibson Maestro – Jinkx Monsoon Timothy Drake – Jeremy Limb Henry Arbinger – Kit Rakusen George Martin – Ed White Paul McCartney – George Caple John Lennon – Chris Mason George Harrison – Philip Davies Ringo Starr – James Hoyles Cilla Black – Josie Sedgwick-Davies Tea trolley lady – Sherinne Kayra Anderson Studio producer – Chan Shoker Tea lady – Susan Twist Vinnie – Simon Jason-Smith Elderly woman – Laura June Hudson Shirley Ballas – Herself Johannes Radebe – Himself Murray Gold – Himself Crew Writer – Russell T Davies Director – Ben Chessell Music – Murray Gold Producer – Chris May Executive producers – Russell T Davies, Julie Gardner, Jane Tranter, Joel Collins, Phil Collinson RT review by Patrick Mulkern Released/broadcast/dropped a semi-quaver after the disappointing Space Babies, The Devil’s Chord elevates Doctor Who back into the realms of delirium and genius. No matter that not one note of the Beatles is heard. No matter that this Abbey Road is clearly nowhere near London NW8. No matter that the Fab Four look nothing like the originals but disturbingly like Ann Widdecombe’s discarded love-children. This is peak Russell T Davies. On astonishing top form. Doctor Who at its most audacious and highly entertaining. Maestro is an extraordinary creation – jaw-droppingly OTT, scenery-devouring, a note-perfect performance from Jinkx Monsoon. Hilarious, savage company. A fun night out. A presence that only a Drag Queen Supreme with decades of experience could co…

475614-bd193a8.jpg
width: 4285
height: 2857

Doctor Who '70s legend returns for cameo – and breaks down "gruesome" fate
type: item
date: 2024-05-11T19:00:09.000Z
creator: Patrick Mulkern
subject: Sci-fi
subject: TV
subject: BBC
subject: BBC iPlayer
subject: Exclusive
subject: News
description: June Hudson makes an incredible return to Doctor Who in The Devil's Chord.
encoded: *Warning: Spoilers for Doctor Who season 14 episode 2, The Devil's Chord, ahead.* A frisson of recognition rocked around Doctor Who fandom when June Hudson popped up in the trailer for the new season – screaming at some unseen horror. In episode two, The Devil’s Chord, she plays a lonely old woman menaced by the new villain Maestro (Jinkx Monsoon). Hudson was already Doctor Who royalty for her time as a BBC costume designer. In the 1970s and '80s, she created clothes for Tom Baker’s Doctor as well as his companions, Time Lady Romana (played by Mary Tamm and Lalla Ward) and air-hostess Tegan (Janet Fielding). In 2003, she designed a brand-new costume for Baker commissioned by Radio Times. “Tom still emails me,” she says fondly. But in recent decades, Hudson, aged 91, has taken on acting roles, in BBC sitcom This Country, Ricky Gervais’s Derek, Class, and the 2024 comedy film Wicked Little Letters. Now she’s fulfilling her ambition to act in Doctor Who. “I’d gone for various auditions on Doctor Who,” she tells RadioTimes.com, “including the awful mother on the train in the Egyptian one [Mummy on the Orient Express], but I couldn’t make that because I was lecturing in California". Hudson reveals she was offered this latest part without an audition, but her agent nearly turned it down because there was no dialogue. “The casting director Andy Pryor replied, ‘Well, dialogue isn’t appropriate in this case because it's about a lonely old woman living on her own. It’s a good part and requires a lot of acting. It’s not a walk-on,'" she recalls. She filmed her scene in Cardiff in April 2023. “I can never walk into a studio without feeling high. It was a very big studio with lots of little sets, and mine was my living room where I had a piano. "My character is transfixed by this strange music, raises the piano lid and this frightful monster leaps out. Jinkx Monsoon looking absolutely fabulous as Maestro! “I get murdered, of course,” says Hudson, with delight. “A very gruesome d…

June-Hudson-and-Jinxx-Monsoon-in-2023-74ff265-60cd2a8.jpg
width: 1302
height: 868

Doctor Who: Space Babies ★★
type: item
date: 2024-05-11T18:59:55.000Z
creator: Patrick Mulkern
subject: Doctor Who Guides
subject: Sci-fi
subject: TV
subject: Doctor Who Story Guides
subject: Fifteenth Doctor
description: Ncuti Gatwa sizzles and cute babies talk, but this frenetic season opener fails to excite
encoded: Story 305 Series 14/Series One – Episode 1 “If things connect, then you are connecting like crazy” – the Doctor Storyline Ruby Sunday joins the Doctor on his adventures – first stop, prehistory, where she nearly changes evolution. They move on to a space station in orbit above the planet Pacifico del Rio. A baby farm has been abandoned by society and the tiny survivors live in terror of a Bogeyman. First UK broadcast Saturday 11 May 2024 Cast The Doctor – Ncuti Gatwa Ruby Sunday – Millie Gibson Jocelyn Sancerre – Golda Rosheuvel Carla Sunday – Michelle Greenidge Cherry Sunday – Angela Wynter Eric – Mason McCumskey Voice of Eric – Sami Amber Poppy – Sienna-Robyn Mavanga-Phipps Voice of Poppy – Shola Olaitan-Ajiboye Voice of Sandra – Cadence Williams Voice of Marcel – Param Patel Voice of Adjani – Lonnee Archibong Bogeyman – Robert Strange Rico Trieste – Jesús Reyes Ortiz Lucia Colasanto – Yasmine Bouabid Crew Writer – Russell T Davies Director – Julie Anne Robinson Music – Murray Gold Producer – Vicki Delow Executive producers – Russell T Davies, Julie Gardner, Jane Tranter, Joel Collins, Phil Collinson, Julie Anne Robinson RT review by Patrick Mulkern Sometimes programmes with the naffest titles confound expectations. Space Babies is not among them, sadly. It's a new experience for me to dislike something written by Russell T Davies – whom I greatly admire – but my finger wavered over the one-star button, such is my antipathy to this instalment. Cute babies should tug at your heartstrings. Baby-farmed little 'uns abandoned by an uncaring society, even more so. These babies zip around in pushchairs, run an orbital station, and can even talk (clever effects). They're aging but seem to be in arrested development. Never had a hug. This should bring out one's protective parental instinct but weirdly it all lands flat. There's nothing to feel here. We observe a lot of dashing about, fleeing from a monster and hiding in shadows, but the excitement levels simply don't trans…

476122-1133e7b.jpg
width: 4320
height: 2880

Shoulder to Shoulder, the TV classic about the suffragettes, is 50 years old – we speak to Dame Siân Phillips, Waris Hussein and Moira Armstrong
type: item
date: 2024-04-09T09:00:25.000Z
creator: Patrick Mulkern
subject: Drama
subject: TV
subject: BBC Four
subject: BBC iPlayer
description: We celebrate the making of Shoulder to Shoulder with its star and directors - plus rare photos from the Radio Times archive.
encoded: Shoulder to Shoulder was a landmark BBC drama series in 1974 – six 75-minute plays about the struggles of the Women’s Suffrage Movement in their fight for equality and to win the right to vote. Radio Times even published a special magazine on the subject 50 years ago. The series is now being repeated on BBC Four for its 50th anniversary – and to mark the 90th birthday of its star, Dame Siân Phillips. We speak to her and to the programme’s two directors, Waris Hussein and Moira Armstrong. Dame Siân Phillips Dame Siân has had a long and illustrious acting career, taking in theatre, film, TV and radio, as well as writing her two-volume autobiography. She won a BAFTA in 1977 for playing Empress Livia in I, Claudius, and is soon to guest star in the 2024 season of Doctor Who. In the 1970s, she was even an occasional Radio Times columnist. Now she shares her memories of 1974’s Shoulder to Shoulder with RadioTimes.com. "It was an important series and a very good one. It was also highly unusual because there were lots of women in the cast and the producers were all women too – Midge Mackenzie, Georgia Brown and, of course, Verity Lambert. She was a very distinguished person. "I'd never been in a play in my life that had nearly all women in it. At first I was doubtful, because I thought, 'It's going to be all rows and complaining about make-up and hair and who's doing what… but never mind, it's going to be worth doing.' "But there was not one disagreement from beginning to end. I've never known such camaraderie. It was a life-changing show to be on because it just showed what we women could do left to ourselves. I enjoyed it so much. I really loved it. "Quite honestly, I was very pleased to get the part of Mrs Pankhurst. We all started reading up on the suffragettes and became experts on the subject. They laid all the textbooks out in the rehearsal rooms so everybody could read them. "We wanted script changes. We would say, 'Well, what about the scene where they did this? An…

RT-1974-Shoulder-to-Shoulder-main-image-c23cf00-e1712570557534.jpg
width: 6741
height: 4494

Doctor Who: The Church on Ruby Road ★★★★
type: item
date: 2023-12-25T18:50:08.000Z
creator: Patrick Mulkern
subject: Doctor Who Guides
subject: Sci-fi
subject: TV
subject: Doctor Who Story Guides
subject: Fifteenth Doctor
description: A spirited reset as Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson encounter mischievous Goblins and Davina McCall
encoded: Story 303 2023 Christmas Special “Health and safety – gin and tonic division” – the Doctor Storyline Davina McCall is hoping to help teenage orphan Ruby Sunday trace her parents via DNA records, but in the run-up to Christmas 2023 both women are beset by a spate of increasingly dangerous accidents – caused by mischievous Goblins. Ruby befriends the new Doctor at a London nightclub, while at home her adoptive mother Carla is preparing to foster a baby over Christmas. When this newborn is abducted by the Goblins and taken to their ship in the clouds to be eaten by a Goblin King, the Doctor and Ruby race to the rescue. First UK broadcast Monday 25 December 2023 Cast The Doctor – Ncuti Gatwa Ruby Sunday – Millie Gibson Davina McCall as herself Mrs Flood – Anita Dobson Carla Sunday – Michelle Greenidge Cherry Sunday – Angela Wynter Denzel – Bobby Bradley Trudy – Mary Malone Abdul – Hemi Yeroham Ruth Lyons – Gemma Arrowsmith Goblins – Rachelle Beinart, Jess Judge, Dilu Miah, Giuseppe Lentini, Andrew Francis, Lukas Disparrow Crew Writer – Russell T Davies Director – Mark Tonderai Series producer – Vicki Delow Producer – Chris May Executive producers – Russell T Davies, Phil Collinson, Joel Collins, Julie Gardner, Jane Tranter RT review by Patrick Mulkern I’ve never seen Doctor Who as an inherently Christmassy commodity, but others do and I’m delighted that, after a six-year lull, the show has regained its linchpin status in the BBC1 Christmas Day schedule and has the chance of a bigger audience. In The Church on Ruby Road the yuletide trappings are fairly minimal: a countdown to Christmas, a smattering of snow, a new companion born on Christmas Eve, and street decorations and a tree made deadly. Instead of elves toiling for Santa, a band of mischievous Goblins steal babies to feed their monstrous king. More importantly, this episode offers a soft reset, introducing the new pairing who’ll be fronting the series for the foreseeable future. We’ve already had a decent dose of …

455296-030a227.jpg
width: 4200
height: 2800

Rare Doctor Who photographs discovered after 53 years
type: item
date: 2023-12-17T08:00:25.000Z
creator: Patrick Mulkern
subject: Sci-fi
subject: TV
subject: Exclusive
subject: News
description: Don Smith's previously unpublished photos of Jon Pertwee, Katy Manning and Roger Delgado from December 1970.
encoded: The Radio Times photo archive is always yielding surprises, but we believed we’d accounted for every last morsel of Doctor Who. That is until a few months ago, when a set of 24 black-and-white negatives was discovered in the files of our late and much-missed RT staff photographer Don Smith. Never catalogued, never scanned nor printed before, they had lain forgotten since he took them in December 1970. Broadcasting historian Steve Arnold stumbled upon them while helping to sort through Don’s collection after his death last year. During a career that began in the 1950s – much of it working for Radio Times – Don had preserved thousands of unused photos. “He hated seeing anything go into a skip so took it upon himself to become a sort of archive of the unwanted,” says Steve, who became friends with Don and visited him in hospital the day he died. Calling at Don’s house in the weeks that followed, Steve encountered “stacks of material. I’d promised I’d help him but the task was monumental and I’m grateful to Don’s family that they trusted me to get on with it. The sheer volumes meant I couldn't stop and fully comprehend what was there, although it was obvious there were long-lost Doctor Who images passing through my hands and into boxes to deal with later.” The pictures were taken on Saturday 5th December 1970 on the set of a story called The Mind of Evil, in Studio 6 at BBC Television Centre in London. It was the recording day for Episodes Three and Four, which were subsequently broadcast in February 1971. Jon Pertwee was into his second year as the third Doctor, Katy Manning played his plucky companion Jo Grant, and together they were tackling the latest diabolical scheme of the Master (Roger Delgado). He had seized control of a men’s prison with the Keller Machine, which housed an alien parasite feeding on criminal impulses. Katy is delighted to see the pictures for the first time 53 years later. “Back in my day they didn’t take a lot of studio shots that we ever saw,…

Doctor-Who-Jon-Pertwee-Katy-Manning-Roger-Delgado-e4b8226.jpg
width: 3350
height: 2233