Doctor Who

Doctor Who to return in May

The Doctor and Ruby Sunday stand in a white corridor of the TARDIS

The Doctor last careened onto screens with Christmas special ‘The Church on Ruby Road’, which marked the debut of new companion Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson). Ncuti Gatwa (Sex Education) plays the 15th Doctor, having appeared in the last of three specials for the show’s 60th anniversary.

The new series will see the Doctor and Ruby travel to Regency England, Abbey Road studio to watch the Beatles record and distant space. Expect fun and camp in equal, multidimensional measure.

Jenna Coleman on Wilderness, dancing in Vegas and going beyond right and wrong

Jenna Coleman stands in front of a canyon

Extensive use of accents means the versatility of the actor’s work is obvious even if you watched it blindfolded. She is French-Canadian in The Serpent, cockney in The Sandman, Geordie in this year’s action thriller movie Jackdaw and Welsh in revenge tale Wilderness.

BBC releases first-look image for Jenna Coleman crime thriller The Jetty

Jenna Coleman, in character as Ember Manning, looks into the camera at the foot of a jetty

The show follows Ember Manning, a rookie detective investigating a fire in her home town, bringing her into contact with more than one of its less savoury residents.

“Bringing the complex and enigmatic character of Ember Manning to life has been an incredible experience,” said Coleman. “I can’t wait for everyone to meet this new heroine and to find out what’s lurking beneath the surface of The Jetty.”

Doctor Who: a Time Lord for the streaming era

Doctor Who is back, bigger and arguably better than before. RTS Cymru Wales was first off the mark, hosting a premiere in Cardiff two days before the show returned to BBC One. It was also 60 years to the day since the Time Lord first appeared on TV.

A roar rose from a sold-out audience at the conclusion of The Star Beast, which saw David Tennant and Catherine Tate return as the Doctor and his assistant after almost 15 years. Also back, as showrunner, was a visibly moved Russell T Davies.

Doctor Who companion Millie Gibson talks soaps, spoilers and Ruby Sunday

Millie Gibson sits down, stretching her arms out to the side

If the actor is sleep deprived, it doesn’t show. The topic quickly turns to Doctor Who, she’s ready for it.

Gibson is joining Ncuti Gatwa (Sex Education) in the TARDIS as companion Ruby Sunday. The Christmas special – quietly revealed by Disney+ to be titled ‘The Church on Ruby Road’ – will be her debut. Has a year of filming that and the new series been enough to take the pressure off joining a programme as big as Doctor Who?

Children’s TV – a box of digital delights?

Five members of the band Andy and the Odd Socks stand in a line, posing with their instruments, in front of a blue background

Hands up everyone who was told off for watching too much television. And hands up who watched Why Don’t You Just Switch Off Your Tele­vision Set and Go and Do Something Less Boring Instead?, the BBC One series that ran between 1973 and 1995. Irony, dead? It was slaughtered, stuffed and displayed behind glass half a century ago.

But what about today’s children? If the primary school pupils of St Peter’s in Newchurch, Lancashire, and Holly Mount in Bury are anything to go by, television viewing is still popular.

BBC announces ‘Puppet Masterchef’ for Children in Need

A two-by-two grid of different puppets posing in the Masterchef kitchen. From top left clockwise, they are Tinky Winky, Hacker and Dodge T Dog, Basil Brush and Zippy and George

Amongst the furry friends making an appearance are Tinky Winky, Hacker T Dog, Dodge, Basil Brush and favourites from 1970s-90s series Rainbow, Zippy and George. Like any flesh-and-blood contestant, the puppets will be expected to wow judges Greg Wallace and John Torode with their culinary flair.

Tinky Winky made a name for themselves on hit CBeebies series Teletubbies, whereas Hacker T Dog first appeared in CBBC’s Scoop. The canine personality was later introduced as a presenter in the CBBC office, with half-brother Dodge joining soon after.