Saturday 26 May 2012, 10:12
Matt Smith holding the iconic Olympic Torch.
See the Olympic Gallery and read a review of the historic morning…
It’s the early hours of May 26, 2012 and when the sun rises across Cardiff Bay there’s already a huge crowd gathered to greet the morning and Matt Smith.
Because today, Matt Smith has the honour of being the lead runner in the Olympic Torch relay, carrying the world’s most famous Flame for part of its journey from the Temple of Hera to London.
Matt’s used to early starts and is in high spirits when he arrives at the Norwegian Church Arts Centre. His mood is further bolstered by the masses of people who have come along to enjoy the occasion and lend their support. It’s great to see so many well-wishers and the whole team is very grateful to everyone who has managed to make it to the event. As he walks towards the Church which will be the mini-base for the morning, he greets the crowds. ‘What are you doing up so early?’ he jokes.
First things first! Matt meets the press and enthuses about the Torch Relay. He also finds time to talk to us. So, how’s he feeling?
‘I’m very excited about the run,’ he reveals. ‘It’s a huge privilege. A once in a lifetime...
Friday 25 May 2012, 14:57
Calling all Doctor Who fans!
Matt Smith is carrying the Olympic Flame this weekend and you can also see him in action as the Doctor on BBC Three.
Tonight, Friday, at 7pm he’s tangling with Weeping Angels, military Clerics and possibly most dangerous of all, River Song. It’s the episode that contains Amy’s terrifying trip through the forest past the Lonely Assassins plus an ending that hints at adventures to come…
Then at 7.45pm we say Ciao to the sinister Rosanna Calvierri as the Doctor whisks Rory back in time to an era when men were men and vampires were aquatic shape-changers from the planet Saturnyne. That’s all in the sumptuous-looking, The Vampires of Venice…
And tomorrow at 7pm, again on BBC Three, a pregnant Amy Pond faces a terrible dilemma. Or does she? All is not as it seems in Amy’s Choice…
You can find out more about Flesh and Stone, The Vampires of Venice and Amy’s Choice and right after they’re repeated you can watch them online by visiting our homepage.
Matt Smith is carrying the Olympic Flame this weekend and you can also see him in action as the Doctor on BBC Three.
Tonight, Friday, at 7pm he’s tangling with Weeping Angels, military Clerics...
Friday 25 May 2012, 09:27
Olympic Torch 2012
We can confirm that Matt Smith will be part of the relay team carrying the iconic Olympic Torch during its journey from the Temple of Hera to London’s Olympic Stadium.
Matt has been given the honour of being named the lead runner for Saturday, 26 May. This means he is the first to carry the Torch on that day and will convey the Olympic Flame through part of Cardiff, close to BBC Wales’ Roath Lock Studios – the home of Doctor Who.
Matt was delighted to take part in this world-famous tradition. ‘To carry the Torch is an honour, one I thought I'd never get,’ he told us, adding, ‘I'm very excited!’
The traditional lighting ceremony took place in Olympia, Greece on 10 May, 2012 and the Torch arrived in Britain nine days later. The UK leg of its journey began in Land’s End and it will blaze into Wales later today.
Matt’s run will begin at approximately 6.20am by the Norwegian Church Arts Centre in Cardiff (details below). He will wear the official Torch Bearer uniform and carry the Flame for a short leg of the journey before handing it to the next runner on the steps of the Senedd, often known as the Welsh Assembly Building.
If you can make it to Cardiff...
Thursday 24 May 2012, 12:09
Good as Gold!
A new Doctor Who mini-adventure will be screened today on CBBC!
Back in January, BBC Learning in collaboration with Blue Peter announced this year’s Script to Screen competition. Launched by the Doctor himself, the challenge was simple. Schoolchildren aged 9-11 should write a short Olympics-themed script full of the usual Doctor Who ingredients including humour, drama and a touch of magic!
There was a huge response to the competition and Doctor Who’s Executive Producer, Caroline Skinner, praised the quality of the entries, saying: ‘We loved reading all of the scripts from...
Wednesday 23 May 2012, 14:33
Did the Axons get their claws into the sun?
Last week we shared some of your suggestions about what could have caused Dark Day. Today, we delve into our electronic postbag and pull out a few more fantastic, funny and highly imaginative ideas!
Nadia, a Danish Doctor Who fan, had an ingenious idea that the sun was a prison, its ‘flames’ were a barrier and the darkness was caused when the sun’s prisoners lowered this solar ‘barrier’ and made good their escape. Ingenious!
Nicola told us, ‘The Vashta Nerada swarmed into our atmosphere ready to feast on humanity, but left to follow...
Read more about Dark Day: Daleks, Davros or a Giant Space Octopus?
Monday 21 May 2012, 17:26
Doctor Who’s Executive Producer and lead writer, Steven Moffat.
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts have announced they will be honouring Doctor Who’s Executive Producer and lead writer, Steven Moffat, with the 2012 Television Special Award. The accolade recognises his ‘outstanding creative writing contribution to television’ and will be presented on 27 May at the BAFTA TV Awards ceremony.
Responding to the news, Steven Moffat said, ‘Blimey! A Special Award! I didn't even know I was ill! So thrilled by this – especially after two years of Sherlock and Doctor Who,...
Friday 18 May 2012, 17:20
Tomorrow is the anniversary of Dark Day when at noon in New England and parts of Canada, night-time seemed to fall. We wanted to know what you think caused this phenomenon and we absolutely loved your replies!
Jonathan told us, ‘The Doctor knew that on this day, at this time a powerful solar flare was going to hit the Earth, causing utter devastation, wiping out all life on the planet. This solar flare was caused by Davros as the Doctor left him burning so he wanted to inflict the same suffering on his beloved Earth. To prevent the flare hitting the planet the Doctor placed his TARDIS...
Friday 18 May 2012, 17:05
BBC Three is showing Amy’s first three trips with the Doctor this weekend, beginning with The Beast Below by Steven Moffat. It’s a dark, scary story about sinister Smilers, the mysterious Liz Ten and the most remarkable Save the Whale campaign ever. Step back aboard the Starship UK on BBC Three, tonight at 7pm to relive the adventure!
Straight afterwards it’s Winston, World War II and the Daleks! Mark Gatiss’ action-packed episode has everything from Spitfires in space to a jammy dodger ruse that really takes the biscuit. Victory of the Daleks: Unmissable!
And finally, on Saturday at...
Friday 18 May 2012, 12:09
The Doctor Who Interactive Team is used to great responses when we ask for your memories, input or ideas. But in the past couple of weeks we’ve been blown away by your suggestions about which historical figure the Doctor should meet, and your ideas about what caused Dark Day.
We received thousands of messages for both of these, but what made them so fantastic was the level of creativity, humour and drama that ran through your replies.
We’ve now stopped taking suggestions but we’ll be updating you on the historical figure story soon and before that, we’ll start sharing some of your Dark...
Wednesday 16 May 2012, 13:45
Catching up on some light reading
Update! Many thanks for your thousands of emails. We’ve stopped taking suggestions and have begun to sift through all the figures from history you’d like to meet the Doctor. We’ll be bringing you more news about the story soon!
A few weeks ago we asked you to share your thoughts on which figure from history you’d like the Doctor to meet. We received thousands of replies and have loved reading through your brilliant ideas.
Executive Producer Caro Skinner was so delighted with the response and imagination in your replies that she decided to make it happen...
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