Diana Rigg and daughter Rachael Stirling join Doctor Who in Sweetville

Diana Rigg, Emma Peel of the Avengers will finally appear in Doctor Who. Yes, two of my all time favorite programs will finally cross over (Blake’s 7 star Paul Darrow already camped it up in Timelash and Sapphire and Steel’s David Collings nearly stole the show in Mawdryn Undead).  Rub my belly and put me to bed am I ever happy.

Rachael Stirling

Dame Diana Rigg’s daughter Rachael Sterling has of course an equally impressive career and has also joined the Doctor Who family in the Big Finish audio range’s Trail of the White Worm (just released earlier this Summer). This will mark the first time mother and daughter have acted together.

… Of course it’s written by Mark Gatiss and even while I am an avid fan of his, I must admit that his luck with Doctor Who scripts has been spotty at best (though I still enjoy the Unquiet Dead). Both The Idiot’s Lantern and Victory of the Daleks are less than stellar stories (the less said about Night Terrors… though the doll house concept was superb… the better), so I am setting my bar reasonably low. Maybe I’ll be surprised, who knows.

The series 7 adventure ‘The Crimson Horror’ will be set in the fictional town of Sweetville and feature the return of sometime nurse Sontaran Strax and the Victorian lesbian manhunters Jenny and Madame Vastra. I have many issues with last year’s set of stories, but enjoyed all three of these characters, so that’s good news for me as well.

Continuing the pattern of wacky headgear, the Doctor will sport a bowler hat.

The Doctor and Jenna

Madam Vastra

Strax plays butler

Lots more photos and even an on location video can be seen at BleedingCool.

For more spoilers and such, bookmark this outstanding site.

New Doctor Who companion for 7th series announced

After two and a half years as the Doctor’s companion (longest stint running for the new Doctor Who), Karen Gillan will be leaving the TARDIS during its seventh series currently filming. Gillan has earned a very strong following from fans and has enjoyed a special chemistry with current Doctor Matt Smith as the plucky Scots Amy Pond.

Gillan’s departure is said to be massive and emotional, but the opening of a bank would be a major emotionally charged event if it were featured in the new Doctor Who, complete with deafening Murray Gold soundtrack. Oh, and Arthur Darvill who plays Amy’s husband Rory will also be leaving but not much has been said about that. Rory doesn’t even have an action figure!

In her place is Jenna-Louise Coleman as the (as yet) un-named companion.
BBC Interview (via TardisNewsroom)

Jenna-Louise Coleman with Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat

Actress joins cult show replacing Karen Gillan by the end of 2012.

LONDON – Jenna-Louise Coleman has guaranteed herself a cult following after landing the job as the next Doctor Who companion on the BBC 1 sci-fi drama.

Coleman replaces Karen Gillan from next year and will be first seen in the Doctor Who 2012 Christmas special.
Doctor Who executive producer and showrunner Steven Moffatt set Twitter twittering and fanboys into a frenzy by declining to give Coleman’s character a name.

Moffat said the chemistry between Coleman and the Time Lord, played by Matt Smith, was there from the get go.

Gillan, who plays Amy Pond, is due to leave the show this year and the 25-year-old Coleman will replace her shortly after.

Coleman made her big screen debut in Captain America: The First Avenger and is soon to star as Annie Desmond in ITV1’s Titanic.

Via HollywoodReporter

The role of the companion has always played an important part of the program. Everyone has their favorite (and least favorite) from Sarah Jane Smith to Sara Kingdom. Jenna-Louise Coleman is stepping into some demanding shoes, but she has arguable one of the best established Doctors to help her through the transition. The scripts last year were despicable, but I still enjoyed Smith. I hope that at least his contribution will maintain the same quality.

The next series is rumored to feature the return of not just the Yeti, but also the Ice Warriors and boasts 14 episodes, the longest run of the BBC Wales program yet. Let’s hope that it’s a good one.

(More rumors at DoctorWhoSpoilers)