Official news released this morning reveals that Jenna-Louise Coleman will be the next Doctor Who companion...

Jenna-Louise Coleman has beaten hundreds of hopefuls to become the new companion to Doctor Who, it was announced today by Steven Moffat.

Twenty-five year old Jenna from Blackpool will star alongside the 11th Time Lord, Matt Smith, to mark the biggest year in the show's history.

Best known for her roles in Emmerdale (Jasmine Thomas) and Waterloo Road (Lindsay James), Jenna will replace Karen Gillan when she and Arthur Darvill bow out of the show in a heartbreaking departure after one final series of rollercoaster voyages later this year on BBC One.

Jenna says: "I'm beyond excited, I can't wait to get cracking; working alongside Matt I know is going to be enormous fun and a huge adventure."

The Doctor will meet his new friend in a dramatic turn of events as the show builds towards its enormous, climactic 50th anniversary year - full of thrills, adventures and big surprises. Series seven is currently filming and comprises 14 big, blockbuster-movie episodes - each a brand new epic adventure featuring new monsters and some familiar foes as you've never seen them before.

Lead writer and Executive Producer, Steven Moffat, says: "It always seems impossible when you start casting these parts, but when we saw Matt and Jenna together, we knew we had our girl. She's funny and clever and exactly mad enough to step on board the TARDIS.

"It's not often the Doctor meets someone who can talk even faster than he does, but it's about to happen. Jenna is going to lead him his merriest dance yet. And that's all you're getting for now. Who she's playing, how the Doctor meets her, and even where he finds her, are all part of one of the biggest mysteries the Time Lord ever encounters. Even by the Doctor's standards, this isn't your usual boy meets girl."

Danny Cohen, Controller, BBC One, adds "As we approach Doctor Who's 50th anniversary it's great to welcome a new companion to the TARDIS. I feel confident the Doctor will look after her in his own very unique style."

In 2011 Jenna made her big screen debut in Captain America: The First Avenger and is soon to star as Annie Desmond in ITV1's Titanic. She has just finished filming on Stephen Poliakoff's Dancing On The Edge for BBC Two. 

Saturday 4th February 20121pm - John and Carole will be signing copies of Hollow Earth at Waterstone's, Bluewater West, The Village, Greenhithe, Kent DA9 9SE (Tel: 01322 624831)

Sunday 5th February 20121pm - John and Carole will be signing copies of Hollow Earth at Costco, Hartspring Lane, Watford, Hertfordshire WD25 8JS (Tel: 01923 699800)

John Barrowman has joined with his sister, Carole E. Barrowman once again to co-write a new children's novel.  The Novel, Hollow Earth, which is non-Who/Torchwood related is about telepathic twins who have the ability to bring art to life.

Hollow Earth
John and Carol E. Barrowman
R.R.P.: £6.99
Released: 2nd February 2012

Lots of twins have a special connection - being able to finish each other's sentences; sensing what the other is thinking; perhaps even knowing when the other is in trouble or in pain - but for 12-year-old twins, Matt and Emily Calder, the connection is beyond special. Together, the twins have extraordinary powers. They are able to bring art to life, or enter paintings at will. Their abilities are sought by villains trying to access the terrors of Hollow Earth - a place where all the demons, devils and creatures ever imagined lie trapped for eternity. The twins flee with their mother to the security of an island, off the west coast of Scotland, where their grandfather has certain protective powers of his own. But too much is at stake, and the twins aren't safe there either. The villains will stop at nothing to find Hollow Earth and harness the powers within...

"Matt Smith is so much fun, I'm so luck. He's just got so much energy; he always brings out the best in you every take. His energy makes him such a good Doctor. Even in between takes he was so much fun, he was a dream to work with. He was really welcoming."

“I kind of come in as a companion-like character, I wouldn’t go as far as to say I was a companion. We had to create some kind of friendship, which was easy with Matt.”

Who do you play in the Christmas special?
I play a character called Madge Arwell who, first and foremost, is a mother. It just informs everything about her character. What I found attractive about the role is that she’s warm and a thoroughly decent woman, as well as being quite straight down the line. In the episode she gets tested and challenged and it’s interesting to see how she handles different things and adapts to various situations for the sake of her children.

What was it like working with Matt Smith?
Lovely! A really nice experience. He’s thoroughly charming, good fun and has loads of energy.

What about the other guest stars?
I’ve worked with Alexander Armstrong before, so it was great to see him again. We’ve actually been fishing together! Bill Bailey is just completely brilliant; a really nice, natural and funny bloke. And the children as well. Maurice and Holly were just delightful, completely lovely.

Are you a fan of “Doctor Who”?
Yes for several reasons actually. My son watches it, my husband has directed it before and my father in-law was in an episode. It’s a nice connection to have.

How did it feel being cast in such an iconic show?
I was very excited to be in it, both because it’s “Doctor Who” and also a great script. When I got the call I was like “Yay, at last I’m going to be in ‘Doctor Who.’”

How did you find filming on location?
We shot some scenes outside in a public space and it was an unusual experience acting in front of huge crowds of people who had come to watch. I had to drive a car down the road, which took about 500 takes, and they applauded my driving each time. It was lovely, but I hadn’t been quite ready for that.

What do you think is the scariest “Doctor Who” monster of all time?
It’s not exactly a monster, but the creepy people in the gas masks in series one were pretty scary. They definitely freaked both my children out at the time.

What will you be doing on Christmas Day?
I will be with my family and my husband’s family; a traditional Christmas. We’ll of course be watching “Doctor Who.”

What other Christmas TV do you like?
I like traditional comedy; I’m such a fan of “Morecambe and Wise.” We’ve got the box set, so we always get that out at Christmas.

"He's called Reg, he's husband to Madge (Claire Skinner). He's a brave airman. I die, that's true, but there are quite a lot of flashbacks, and the instance of his dying turns out to be very important. As will be revealed." 

What can you reveal about your character?
I play Reg Arwell, who is a bomber pilot in the Second World War. We witness him flying over the channel and all the navigation equipment completely stops working. It doesn’t look good for him! His wife Madge then receives a slip of paper saying that a ‘Reg’ is missing and presumed dead. Their two children hope that their Daddy is going to be back for Christmas and that’s when the Doctor gets involved to return a favour to Madge as she helps him out at the very beginning of the episode.

Did you enjoy working with your co-stars?
Amazing. Lovely to work with Claire Skinner again, I did a drama with her called Life Begins a couple of years ago. But the real treat was working with Matt, who’s just a tremendously fine fellow and an excellent person to hang out on set with. As you can imagine, there’s an awful lot of time between takes and I can think of few nicer people to spend time with than Matt.

Doctor Who will soon be celebrating its 50th anniversary. Are you a fan?
It’s something I’ve always wanted to be in and there really isn’t another show like Doctor Who. The heritage of it is amazing and when the BBC got it going again it suddenly took on a whole new life. It has all the charm and ingenuity of the first incarnation but it also has Russell and now Steven’s really current TV brains behind it, people who are so literate in really good television that gets you thinking. With Christopher, David and now Matt, this Doctor Who has kind of gone nuts. I mean my Doctor Who when I was young was Tom Baker, I loved Tom Baker, everyone did, but the Doctor these days has taken on a sort of rock star status.

Did you enjoy filming in Cardiff?
Brilliant, it was lovely. It was a fantastic journey out of Cardiff down to the studio – a really beautiful part of Wales. We filmed in an amazing Victorian castle looking right out on the Gower peninsular. It was absolutely stunning.

What will you be doing on Christmas day?
Entertaining children, trying to keep a lid on sugary treats and desperately rationing presents because our children got high on them last year. Also, we will of course be watching Doctor Who. I really hope it’s another cold Christmas; I loved the cold winter last year. A bit of snow and a bit of sledging – it’ll be great.

K9 series two is still in the works with over half the finance secured, given the world's economic climate that is quite an achievement so far. The new year will see further developments there. Series one has gained momentum in other territories, Russia, Turkey on ATV and the Cartoon Network across Asia and still appears on Disney XD. I can reveal that an upgrade to the new look K9 has been done which we are very happy with. We have also been very busy with the development of two other TV shows, unrelated to K9, but hopefully fans will like them, news next year on them.

SFX have revealed 35 facts learnt from Elisabeth Sladens newly released autobiography, which is a “fascinating read for any Doctor Who fan”. See an extract below:

Tom Baker brought the house down at John Nathan-Turner’s memorial service by saying, “What would John, looking down, be thinking now? Well, I can tell you… He would be thinking, ‘I would rather it were Tom up here than me!’”

Lis was in terrible pain throughout the filming of “School Reunion” after tearing a quad muscle. “If you look really closely, you can see one of my thighs is twice the size of the other!”

The production team wanted The Brigadier to give Sarah Jane away in “The Wedding Of Sarah Jane”, but sadly Nicholas Courtney was too ill to take part.

Lis was diagnosed with cancer in February 2011. The first person she told was Russell T Davies – she rang him on the way back from the hospital.

Read more here. Elisabeth Sladen: The Autobiography is out now.

Karen Gillan talked about Amys future in Doctor Who with Graham Norton on BBC Radio 2 this morning, revealing how she will “welcome the new companion with open arms”, but also says her character will be back next year alongside Rory, but she’s “not really sure when”.

“I don’t really know what’s going on, I think that’s all up in the air at the moment. I know I’m going to be coming back, but I’m not really sure when. But I know that the time will come where Amy and Rory have to leave. It’s inevitable and sad, but that’s the nature of the show, and I’ll welcome the new companion with open arms. I think it’s important to do other things and establish myself in other ways.”

Actor Mark Sheppard hinted that his character of Canton Delaware III could return to the show in the future. He told entertainment website Stuff that “Canton is in fact one of the friends that the Doctor deemed should be present at his death eludes to perhaps some further involvement”. See a video of the interview below:

Would you like Canton to return to Doctor Who?

"Everybody keeps asking me and if I'm offered I would love to," says Barrowman. "I think it would be great. There is no plan to do that. No one has come forward. I don't think it'll happen. I'm always open for it, but who knows?"

“I think it would be great to be involved with the 50th Anniversary, since Jack was such a big part of the Who world. But, having said that, nothing’s been said, so I don’t sit and wait.

I don’t want fans to think that I don’t want to do it because I would love to, but if I’m not asked I’m not going to bang down the door – I’ll just move onto something else.”