Doctor Who Magazine‘s 600th issue is available in shops now!

This celebratory issue includes a 16-page supplement, an exclusive art card, a specially commissioned diorama featuring figures from the recent series, and a four-hour long Sixth Doctor audio drama for every reader.

But what’s inside? All of this:

• Millie Gibson checks in with DWM following the debut of companion Ruby Sunday in The Church on Ruby Road.
• UNIT regulars Jemma Redgrave (Kate Lethbridge-Stewart), Alexander Devrient (Colonel Ibrahim), and Ruth Madeley (Shirley Anne Bingham) face questions from the TARDIS Tin.
• Production designer Phil Sims takes us on a guided tour of UNIT’s central London HQ!
• We talk to DWM writers about their experiences interviewing the stars of Doctor Who for early issues of the magazine.
• International Who! A special report on how the series has become a hit in Spain!
• Meet Christina Rotondo – the singer who gave voice to Janis Goblin!
• We pay tribute to Richard Franklin who died on Christmas Day – and examine the impact he had as UNIT officer Captain Mike Yates.
• We talk to production runner Thani Subkhi about his vital work on the upcoming series.
• Letter from the Showrunner – Russell T Davies gives us an update on the progress being made on the next two series!
• Time-Space Visualiser – discover the secret recipe for sky-high ratings!
• The Fact of Fiction – we examine the opening episodes of 1973’s Planet of the Daleks.
• The adventures of the Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby Sunday continue in the comic strip!
• Gallifrey Guardian – all the latest official news.
• Reviews – covering books, audio dramas and games.
• Other Worlds – the essential guide to new stories in Doctor Who’s expanded universe.
• Win The Daleks in Colour, Blu-ray box sets, books, and audio dramas!

Doctor Who Magazine #600 is out now, priced £10.99 (in the UK). A digital edition is also available from pocketmags.com, priced £9.99.

Since its announcement, fans have been eagerly awaiting the reveal of the release date for Doctor Who: The Collection Season 15, a Blu-ray set comprised of Fourth Doctor stories — and though it’s not been confirmed by the BBC yet, we now have a date the collection should be on shelves across the land.

Doctor Who: The Collection Season 15 will be released on 18th March 2024.

So we don’t have long to wait at all!

The set features adventures for Tom Baker’s incarnation of the Doctor, alongside Louise Jameson as Leela, and introduced John Leeson as K9.

Season 15 isn’t exactly a fan favourite, but does include some very popular stories, notably Horror of Fang Rock and Image of the Fendahl; they’re accompanied by K9’s intro, The Invisible Enemy (a guilty pleasure of mine), the myth-inspired Underworld, Robert Holmes’ The Sunmakers, and Leela’s exit in The Invasion of Time.

The release date comes via Amazon, though expected delivery dates for the set are typically a week later according to online reports.

We should note that instalments of Doctor Who: The Collection have often been delayed, so this might not be the final release date, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed. Zavvi has an expected due date of December 2024, so we think that’s a filler date until a final one is actually revealed.

The set also includes loads of bonus features:

• UPDATED SPECIAL EFFECTS: Exclusive to Blu-ray, on Horror Of Fang Rock.
• BEHIND THE SOFA: New episodes with Louise Jameson (Leela), Colin Baker (The Sixth Doctor), Sarah Sutton (Nyssa), Janet Fielding (Tegan), Matthew Waterhouse (Adric), Katy Manning (Jo Grant), Betsan Roberts (wife of director Pennant Roberts), and comedian and presenter, Toby Hadoke.
• BLU-RAY TRAILER: A brand-new scripted trailer to announce the Season 15 boxset of Doctor Who.
• DARKNESS AND LIGHT: A look at the life and career of producer Graham Williams.
• IN CONVERSATION: Interviewer Matthew Sweet chats to Louise Jameson.
• INSIDE THE LIGHTHOUSE: Making Horror Of Fang Rock.
• TOM TALKS: Tom Baker muses on life, the universe, and everything.
• AUDIO COMMENTARIES: Exclusive new Audio Commentaries from Tom Baker.
• 5.1 SURROUND SOUND MIX: On Horror Of Fang Rock.
• RARE CONVENTION FOOTAGE
• TOM BAKER BLACKPOOL EXHIBITION LINKS
• RARE ARCHIVE TREATS
• HD PHOTO GALLERIES
• INFO TEXT
• PDF ARCHIVE

Doctor Who: The Collection — Season 15 is available to pre-order now.

The Church on Ruby Road, the first full adventure for Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor, is due to be released on DVD and Blu-ray on 12th February 2024 — which means it’ll be a perfect Valentine’s Day present*!

The 2023 Christmas Day special introduced Millie Gibson as new companion, Ruby Sunday.

Rather funnily, the cast is listed as “Ncuti Gatwa, Milllie Gibson, and Davina McCall”; yes, McCall is in it, but you’d think some others actors — Anita Dobson at least — would be listed ahead of her cameo.

Anyway, here’s the synopsis:

Long ago, on Christmas Eve, a baby was abandoned in the snow. Today, Ruby Sunday meets the Doctor, goblins, stolen babies, and perhaps, the secret of her birth.

We presume this is like one of those “vanilla” releases of days gone by, and that the festive special will also be included in the Doctor Who Series 14 complete set, which is surely coming later this year once all eight episodes of the season have been aired.

The Church on Ruby Road is written by Russell T Davies, and directed by Mark Tonderai.

Oh, and don’t forget that you can also get the novelisation of The Church on Ruby Road, which is available now!

Will you be getting this DVD or Blu-ray? Are you content to just stream it on BBC iPlayer or Disney+? Or are you waiting for the complete series set?

*We do not hold ourselves responsible for any tears resulting from such a romantic gift.

Character Options has confirmed a number of new Doctor Who designs coming to shelves near you very soon — including the Fifteenth Doctor’s sonic screwdriver!

The Toy Fair, the UK’s largest annual dedicated toy, game, and hobby trade show, is drawing to a close today (25th January 2024), and has run in the Olympia London since 23rd January, with many exhibitors showing off their latest designs. Character Options has a considerable section of the Fair, and is showing off:

• The Fifteenth Doctor’s Sonic Screwdriver.
• Fifteenth Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) action figurine.
• Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) action figurine.
• Wrarth Warrior action figurine.
• Beep the Meep plush toy.

The last two are, of course, from The Star Beast, the first of the 2023 60th anniversary specials with the Fourteenth Doctor (David Tennant), based on the designs from the comic strip of the same name by Pat Mills and Dave Gibbons.

But we can’t show any photos as those are hard to get by — as the designs still have to be confirmed and finalised by the BBC, any photography was very limited. Nonetheless, if you search on X (formerly Twitter, and yes, we still call it Twitter too), you’ll find some decent pictures, not only of these but also the Fourteenth Doctor sonic screwdriver.

There’s word that the figurine of Ruby Sunday may not go into production, but this feels like unnecessary and unrealistic nastiness from certain fans and media outlets — we don’t think Millie is being dropped (companions coming and going is what Doctor Who does) and fans will still want a figurine of Ruby. Millie has been going through a hard time lately, and it’s not right. So come on, Doctor Who Companion readers, let’s get behind a fellow companion!

Either way, these toys are sure to be big hits, and we look forward to seeing them on shelves.

The new issue of Doctor Who Magazine is out now, and features an exclusive double interview with the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Doctors, respectively David Tennant and Ncuti Gatwa, as they chat about The Giggle and the bi-generation/ bi-regeneration/ that thing where they split in half.

It further includes an access-all-areas look at the making of the 60th anniversary finale special.

Also in this issue:

• Production designer Phil Sims takes us on a guided tour of the new TARDIS.
• Sonic disruptors! The making of the Fifteenth Doctor’s sonic screwdriver.
• A profile of new companion, Ruby Sunday.
• Join Blue Peter competition winner Verity on a tour of Doctor Who’s Wolf Studios.
• We talk to the people who worked on post-production on the latest episodes.
• Script editor Scott Handcock relives the anniversary month in his Production Diary.
• Crowd Sourcing – the concluding part of our feature on the life of extras on ’60s Doctor Who.
• Russell T Davies explains how the Gallifrey of the Fugutive Doctor was foreshadowed in ’70s episode, The Hand of Fear – now available on iPlayer.
• Sophie Aldred – aka Ace – remembers her time on the show.
• The Fact of Fiction scrutinises the Eleventh Doctor mid-series finale, A Good Man Goes To War.
• Other Worlds: The essential guide to new stories in Doctor Who’s expanded universe.
• A brand-new comic strip featuring the Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby Sunday!

PLUS: All the latest news; a new look reviews section; and competitions to win the 60th anniversary specials on Blu-ray, the latest audio releases, and the new Target novelisations.

Oh, and if you look on the back cover, you’ll find a review quote from the DWC! Yes, we know this is standard stuff, but it still feels cool that our kooky little site is being featured on an ad that’s in every newsagent across the country (and even in other countries too!).

Doctor Who Magazine #599 is on sale now, priced £7.99 (UK). 

The BBC has announced the next in its Doctor Who: The Collection Blu-ray releases — Season 15, with Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor, Louise Jameson as Leela, and John Leeson as K9!

The seven-disc set will be out later this year.

Containing six classic stories, this limited-edition set is packed with hours of new and exclusive material.

The box includes:

• Horror of Fang Rock
• The Invisible Enemy
• Image of the Fendahl
• The Sun Makers
• Underworld
• The Invasion of Time

Oh, and we’ve got an awesome new teaser trailer with Leela in the Time War…

Plus, a whole heap of bonus features:

• UPDATED SPECIAL EFFECTS: Exclusive to Blu-ray, on Horror Of Fang Rock.
• BEHIND THE SOFA: New episodes with Louise Jameson (Leela), Colin Baker (The Sixth Doctor), Sarah Sutton (Nyssa), Janet Fielding (Tegan), Matthew Waterhouse (Adric), Katy Manning (Jo Grant), Betsan Roberts (wife of director Pennant Roberts), and comedian and presenter, Toby Hadoke.
• BLU-RAY TRAILER: A brand-new scripted trailer to announce the Season 15 Boxset of Doctor Who (as above).
• DARKNESS AND LIGHT: A look at the life and career of producer Graham Williams.
• IN CONVERSATION: Interviewer Matthew Sweet chats to Louise Jameson.
• INSIDE THE LIGHTHOUSE: Making Horror Of Fang Rock.
• TOM TALKS: Tom Baker muses on life, the universe, and everything.
• AUDIO COMMENTARIES: Exclusive new Audio Commentaries from Tom Baker.
• 5.1 SURROUND SOUND MIX: On Horror Of Fang Rock.
• RARE CONVENTION FOOTAGE
• TOM BAKER BLACKPOOL EXHIBITION LINKS
• RARE ARCHIVE TREATS
• HD PHOTO GALLERIES
• INFO TEXT
• PDF ARCHIVE

And more!

This seven-disc box set also includes hours of special features previously released on DVD including documentaries, updated special effects, featurettes, audio commentaries, and more.

Doctor Who: The Collection — Season 15 is available to pre-order now.

Candy Jar Books’ UNIT range kicks off this year with The Vaughn Identity, a sequel to the much-loved Second Doctor serial, The Invasion.

The new original novel is written by the range editor, Tim Gambrell, and picks up where The Invasion left off.

Tim says:

“There’s a lot left open at the end of The Invasion. Tobias Vaughn’s story – and the whole International Electromatics set-up – is very layered and detailed. We see repeatedly in Doctor Who that once the main threat is dealt with the Doctor is quick to leave.”

This new series of books now squarely focuses on UNIT and explores the fall-out from The Invasion, both on a personal and national level, and how the story would have been spun by the government and the press. As the title suggests, the story looks into the background of Tobias Vaughn.

Tim continues:

“As a character, he was in a class of his own – due very much to Kevin Stoney’s bravura performance, but also because of Derrick Sherwin’s script and Douglas Camfield’s direction. We know Vaughn was killed at the end of The Invasion, and left hanging over the railings. I wanted to find a way to get more from the character without pretending that he hadn’t really died on screen, which would have felt like a cop-out. I also wanted to work purely within the situations and concepts that Derrick Sherwin had created, to give my story the sense that it was finishing off, or tidying up any strands left hanging loose after the TV story had concluded.”

Here’s the blurb:

The invasion is over. UNIT has received its baptism of fire. However, the events have left the British government licking its wounds and looking for a scapegoat. UNIT is licking its wounds, also.

The Doctor has vanished, to the annoyance of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, and the organisation still lacks a scientific advisor. Maybe the introduction of Major Branwell will help ease the pressure.

Meanwhile, life is seemingly good for Isobel Watkins, snapping away with her little black box and loved-up with her dolly soldier, Captain Turner. Not so her uncle, whose involvement with International Electromatics appears to have left him black-listed by the scientific community.

But some of the victims of the recent invasion may not be as dead as originally believed. Such as Tobias Vaughn himself.

With pressure from the government on one side and key people disappearing on the other, the Brigadier and his trusty team find themselves battling the odds once again to protect the world.

And just what is Tobias Vaughn’s secret?

Featuring the UNIT team and other characters from The Invasion, plus characters from The Web of Fear, The Vaughn Identity is a direct sequel to The Invasion and the first of Candy Jar’s new UNIT range of novels.

The Vaughn Identity also looks forward to the series of UNIT books that will follow.

Tim explains:

“We’ve got a wider cast of UNIT regulars to take our books forward. Readers have already been introduced to many of them in the two UNIT Files short story collections (Operation Wildcat, 2022, and Operation Fall-Out, 2023) but The Vaughn Identity allows us to see how they were impacted by the events of The Invasion, making it more of a shared experience. As the first novel of the range, it’s important to introduce and involve new regular characters in the action and the storyline and not simply as an info-dump roll call.”

Some other familiar faces are also appearing, besides the Brigadier and his TV team, as Tim says:

“There are a few minor nods to the Lethbridge-Stewart range, but nothing that would faze new readers. We want this to be a jumping-on point, a fresh start whilst also quietly acknowledging the achievement of the previous range.”

There will be another short Benton Files book, free with the hardback of The Vaughn Identity. More details of that will be available nearer the time.

You can pre-order The Vaughn Identity now from Candy Jar Books.

Though no dates have been confirmed by the BBC as yet, it looks likely that The Celestial Toymaker, an animated version of the mostly-lost Doctor Who serial, will be released in March 2024.

While Amazon lists the release date for the DVD as 31st December 2099, i.e. a placeholder date, a listings error indicates the Blu-ray could be out on 26th March 2024 — the anniversary of Rose, the 2005 episode which relaunched Doctor Who featuring Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper as the Ninth Doctor and Rose Tyler respectively. It’s also the anniversary of the Doctor Who Companion‘s launch!

The release includes:

• All 4 episodes animated in both colour and black & white
• Audio commentaries
• Newly restored original episode 4
• Making the Animation
• Photo Gallery

There is some controversy over the animation style, as it’s simply inferior to other releases like The Evil of the Daleks, The Invasion, and The Tenth Planet, instead more akin to The Web of Fear Episode 3, which was met with a lot of complaints.

Nonetheless, we can see fans being eager to fill this gap in their collections. It’s not a great advert for newer fans, however, perhaps enthusiastic to see more of the Toymaker after his triumphant return in the 60th anniversary special, The Giggle, played then by Neil Patrick Harris.

Obviously, Amazon might have it wrong again and The Celestial Toymaker won’t be out in March. Still, it feels like a good rough date, and will give Who fans something new to watch over the Easter break at the end of that month.

The Celestial Toymaker will be available on DVD, Blu-ray, and limited edition steelbook.

Just one month after it airs on BBC1 and Disney+, The Church on Ruby Road, will be released as a Target novelsation.

This one doesn’t look like previous Target novels, however, not being accompanied by a classic painted cover, but instead a photo composition by the very talented Lee Binding. The book will be out towards the end of January, while the audiobook version is out in February.

Here’s the brief blurb:

Long ago on Christmas Eve, a baby was abandoned in the snow. Today, Ruby Sunday meets the Doctor, stolen babies, goblins and perhaps the secret of her birth…

Little is known about Ruby Sunday as she was abandoned on Christmas Eve as a baby. Now living with her mum, Carla and grandmother, Cherry her world is about to be turned upside down when she encounters the Doctor and the two set off on their first adventure together…

The Target novelisation of the first full adventure featuring the Fifteenth Doctor, played by Ncuti
Gatwa, and the introduction of his new best friend, Ruby Sunday played by Millie Gibson, is based on Russell T Davies’ original script and is novelised by Esmie Jikiemi-Pear, sci-fi author and co-founder of the organisation Impact of Omission.

We look forward to reading The Goblin Song in this novel…

The book comes shortly after the novelisations of the three 60th anniversary specials, The Star Beast, Wild Blue Yonder, and The Giggle.

The audiobook, released 29th February, is read by Angela Wynter, who plays Cherry Sunday.

The Church on Ruby Road by Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson is out in hardback on 25th January 2024.

Candy Jar Books is releasing 12 new festive stories to celebrate Christmas — and they’re all free!

Published from 14th to 25th December, these new stories star Lucy Wilson, granddaughter of Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart. The two Christmas-themed short stories by Steven Walton are available to download right now. After this, a story will be released daily, with the concluding tale being released on Christmas Day.

Inspired by the carol The Twelve Days of Christmas, the first story is entitled Twelve Drummers Drumming and each subsequent story is named after, and is loosely linked, to one of the twelve days.

Head of publishing at Candy Jar, Shaun Russell, says:

“We like to give something back at Christmas as a thank you for the support our readers have given us throughout the year. In the last few years, we’ve had some brilliant Christmas stories from our regular writer Chris Lynch. And with his Lucy Wilson book, The Best Christmas Ever being released in all good retailers this Christmas (please go and buy a copy if you can), we thought we’d give someone else a chance to celebrate the upcoming festivities. Enter Steven Walton…’

Steven previously wrote a short story for the Lethbridge-Stewart series, which led to the commission of a full-length Lucy Wilson novel, The Mystery of Lucy Wilson: Apocalypse Tomorrow, available exclusively via Candy Jar in the summer of 2023. Following its success, Apocalypse Tomorrow will be released officially through the Books Council of Wales, making it available at all good bookshops, in June 2024.

Publishing Co-ordinator at Candy Jar, Keren Williams, says:

“In my duties as part of the Lethbridge-Stewart and Lucy Wilson editorial team, I’ve found Steven to be a highly creative individual. It’s not easy writing twelve festive-themed short stories back-to-back, but Steven has succeeded and has even managed to bring the reader something different each day, which is a real triumph.”

And, with popular Beano artist Steve Beckett continuing at the helm of the series’ artwork, providing a front cover filled with Christmas chaos, this is a collection that won’t disappoint!

Here’s the blurb for The Twelve Days of Christmas:

By now, Lucy Wilson shouldn’t have expected anything more than a holiday hamper full of monster mayhem at Christmas. But this time around, Lucy didn’t quite anticipate being attacked by her Christmas dinner.

Twelve festive stories featuring monsters in the pipes, a Christmas party gone wrong, and a trip around the world with Santa himself. Will Lucy be able to save the world just in time for the holidays?

The Lucy Wilson Mysteries is a Lethbridge-Stewart spin-off adventure and featured licensed characters created for Doctor Who by Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln.

You can enjoy these stories for free from Candy Jar Books now, where you can find other free tomes including The Best Christmas Ever and 6 Festive Objects of Dr Who!