David Tennant is going head-to-head with his Doctor Who sidekick Catherine Tate at the National Television Awards.

Both stars have been nominated for Outstanding Drama Performance for their roles as the Time Lord and his assistant Donna Noble in the hit BBC sci-fi drama.

This year will be the first time male and female stars have been pitted against each other in the acting category.

Outstanding Drama Performance is a new category, replacing the awards for Most Popular Actor and Most Popular Actress.

Tennant, who has not yet decided whether to return in a fifth series of Doctor Who, has previously won two National Television Awards (NTAs).

Tate, 40, and Tennant, 37, will also compete against Ashes To Ashes star Philip Glenister, 45, and Alex Walkinshaw, 34, for his role as Sgt Dale Smith in The Bill.

The awards, hosted by Sir Trevor McDonald, pit Strictly Come Dancing, The X Factor, Britain’s Got Talent and Dancing on Ice against each other in the contest for Most Popular Talent Show.

Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares, The Apprentice, Top Gear and This Morning are up against each other for Most Popular Factual Programme.

Jeremy Clarkson and his team have won the trophy for the last two years.

Ant and Dec are heading for their eighth entertainment presenter award, but face competition from Alan Carr, Justin Lee Collins and Paul O’Grady.

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This article was written before David Tennant announced he was leaving.

David Tennant announced his departure from BBC series Doctor Who with this statement:

“I’ve had the most brilliant, bewildering and life changing time working on Doctor Who. I have loved every day of it.. It would be very easy to cling on to the Tardis console forever and I fear that if I don’t take a deep breath and make the decision to move on now, then I simply never will. You would be prising the Tardis key out of my cold dead hand. This show has been so special to me, I don’t want to outstay my welcome.

“This is all a long way off, of course. I’m not quitting, I’m back in Cardiff in January to film four special episodes which will take Doctor Who all the way through 2009. I’m still the Doctor all next year but when the time finally comes I’ll be honoured to hand on the best job in the world to the next lucky git – whoever that may be.

“I’d always thought the time to leave would be in conjunction with Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner who have been such a huge part of it all for me. Steven Moffat is the most brilliant and exciting writer, the only possible successor to Russell and it was sorely tempting to be part of his amazing new plans for the show. I will be there, glued to my TV when his stories begin in 2010.

“I feel very privileged to have been part of this incredible phenomenon, and whilst I’m looking forward to new challenges I know I’ll always be very proud to be the Tenth Doctor.”

Russell T Davies, writer and executive producer of Doctor Who, said: “I’ve been lucky and honoured to work with David over the past few years – and it’s not over yet, the Tenth Doctor still has five spectacular hours left! After which, I might drop an anvil on his head. Or maybe a piano. A radioactive piano. But we’re planning the most enormous and spectacular ending, so keep watching!”

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I personally am surprised and saddened by David’s choice to leave Doctor Who, but I look forward to seeing the remaining specials he is filming and I wish him the best of luck with whatever he may do in the future. I also look forward to seeing the 11th Doctor in action, whomever that may be.

Over the past few days I’ve updated the gallery with screencaptures from the second series of Torchwood and the first four episodes of the second series of The Sarah Jane Adventures. In the case of the Sarah Jane Adventures, screencaps will be added two episodes at a time to avoid spoiling the story before it is complete. I’m currently working on screencapping the first series of Torchwood, those will all hopefully be added within the next few days.

Truro Cathedral’s special fundraising show starring celebrity superstars John Barrowman and Connie Fisher has sold out in record time.

The concert at Truro Cathedral on November 7 is to raise money for the cathedral choir and has been organised by Sir Tim Rice, its new musical patron .

Colin Reid, the cathedral’s communication officer, said: “This is absolutely amazing I’ve never seen tickets move so fast.

“We sent the information to our cathedral events database, which is some 3,500 people strong, at the start of October.

“They are people who have requested to be kept informed about Cathedral events and tickets sold like the proverbial hot cakes.

“A statement on Monday morning was issued hoping to sell the last hundred or so tickets; by lunchtime they were all gone. This is absolutely wonderful for the choir, it’s a real boost in our quest to try and put them on a more sustainable financial foot ing.”

Hall For Cornwall, who have been handling the tickets, will not be holding a waiting list, but they say there may be the odd ‘returns’.

“I’m delighted to become the musical patron of the Cathedral Choir,” said Sir Tim. “They have a fantastic reputation both in and out of Cornwall.

“I want to support all that the cathedral does musically, and it is just fantastic that they’ve managed to sell all the tickets.”

The list of stars in the line-up also include keyboard wizard Rick Wakeman, The Magnets and the cathedral choir.

Actor, singer and West End musical star, John Barrowman, has taken a break from his hectic filming schedules of the latest highly successful BBC Torchwood series to star in the show. He plays Captain Jack in the series as well as the same character in Dr Who.

Connie Fisher was winner of the hit BBC 1 series “How Do You Solve a Problem like Maria?” with Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber casting her as the lead role in his revived West End musical hit “The Sound Of Music”.

Rick Wakeman is well known as an amazing keyboard player and member of the band Yes, he has already played the fabulous Father Willis organ at the cathedral so is no stranger to the building.

The Cathedral Choir will also take part showing their quality and versatility with a number of pieces picked to showcase their musical talents.

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Writing is an anguished process for you. Why?

The hard thing is having to carve half-formed ideas out of your head and put them on paper. Actually putting them into words other people will understand is a really strange process. It’s hard work, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

Since Doctor Who, do people forget Queer As Folk?

Queer As Folk is a huge thing on my CV, and still gets mentioned. I love being known for Doctor Who and I love being known for Queer As Folk. I love being known, full stop! In personal terms, Queer As Folk is more apt for me and who I am. I’d love to write stuff like that again.

Why aren’t you doing a fifth series of Doctor Who?

Because it’s time to move on. I’m naturally freelance and I’ve never stayed in a job for so long. I’ve just got a wandering soul. But I’ll always watch it: I’ve loved Doctor Who all my life.

You’ve been named the most influential gay man in the UK. Do you feel all-powerful?

Not in life. If I went to a pub on [Manchester's] Canal Street nobody would listen to me, and quite right too. Within the industry I’m very lucky, and there’s a certain amount of responsibility in being visible. What we need is more gay sportsmen, more gay engineers, more gay scientists.

You’re not much of a drinker these days, are you?

I had a little bit too much when I was younger. I inherited it from my father, another fine drinker. It’s that Welsh gene. I was a very fine drinker in my day but as I get older it kills me. My God, I’ve reacted against it now.

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It might be time to put your hands in your pockets, as the BBC’s telethon is going to feature two of our favourite shows…

Earlier this month, it was speculated that all seven living actors who had played Doctor Who on the small screen would be uniting for a seven Doctors special to be run on Children In Need night. And while no confirmation was, or has been, forthcoming, the breadth of outlets reporting the news left you suspecting that there was fire underneath all of the proverbial smoke.

Well, the BBC has trailed Children In Need now with a Doctor Who clip, and just as last year, it’s also confirmed that some special material has been recorded for the annual telethon. Again, it’s still not clear exactly what we’ll be getting, but given that last year we got Peter Davison and David Tennant side by side, it should be worth looking forward to.

The announcement from the BBC, which also confirmed the transmission date of 14th November for this year’s Children In Need, specifically states “There are some Children In Need-themed scenes from Doctor Who and Ashes To Ashes, a musical extravaganza from Albert Square, featuring the cast of EastEnders, and a special edition of Junior Masterchef.”

Truthfully, we’re not hugely bothered about EastEnders or Junior Masterchef, but the confirmation of Doctor Who involvement is very welcome, as is the news that Gene Hunt and co will be involved too. Expect more details to emerge in the next couple of weeks.

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The Doctor Who star required an emergency caesarean after a 26 hour labour. The baby was born at 1am, weighing in at 6lb 11oz, and has been named Winston James Fox.

The father, actor Laurence Fox, said of his newborn son: “He is beautiful. He is sweet. “Billie is happy, of course she is, she’s a mum.”

Speaking outside the private Portland Hospital in central London, a weary-looking Fox said: “I’m tired but not as tired as her. I’m a proud father. Mum is doing really well, no complications, healthy, brilliant.”

Fox, scion of the acting dynasty which includes his father, James, and uncle, Edward, later celebrated with friends at a nearby pub where he showed off pictures of the baby on his mobile phone. He married Piper in December after they appeared together in a West End play.

Asked how long Piper, 26, would be spending in hospital, Fox replied: “Well, she has been cut apart, so probably overnight. I will be with her for the length of it.”

Also at the hospital was Chris Evans, the Radio 2 presenter and Piper’s former husband, who was among the first non-family members to pay a visit.

Mother and baby are doing “fantastic”, he said, adding: “Mum is very happy and I am really pleased. There are some tears of joy up there.”

Writing on his blog shortly afterwards about “the absolute pure joy of Billie and her brand new shiny baby”, Evans said: “Mother and baby are doing swell, dad happy as a pig in the preverbial [sic]. There will be ale at seven this evening, I have been assured. At the time of writing, the little fella is not even fifteen hours old. He is cute as you like and didn’t cry once for the few minutes I was there which was just a few moments ago. How cool is life?”

Evans, 42, is expecting a baby of his own with new wife Natasha Shishmanian, 28. He recently revealed that she and Piper wer involved in a “baby race” to see which of them could get pregnant first. “I’ve never talked about this before, but it’s true. And Billie thrashed us. Well, it wasn’t so much that Billie thrashed us or Tash, it was the fact that Laurence, her husband, thrashed me.”

The radio star was married to Piper for six years and they have had one of the most amicable divorces in showbiz. Piper, currently appearing in risque ITV2 series Secret Diary of a Call Girl, refused to take a penny of Evans’ multi-million pound fortune when they split.

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Congratulations Billie!

James Strong will direct the Doctor Who Easter Special in 2009.

Showrunner Russell T. Davies announced the news in the latest Doctor Who Magazine and hailed Strong’s previous involvement in the show, having helmed stories including ‘The Impossible Planet’, ‘Daleks In Manhattan’, ‘Voyage Of The Damned’ and ‘Partners In Crime’.

“We’re so happy that he’s returning to the fold,” Davies stated. “James has handled Daleks in sewers, hordes of Adipose and Satan himself, as well as a Titanic with Kylie on board.”

Davies, who has co-written the Easter Special with Gareth Roberts, added: “But believe me, none of that will have prepared him for what we’re about to unleash in this next script!”

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Torchwood Magazine has picked up a scoop that four new cast members will be joining the Doctor Who spin-off.  Lucy Cohu, Susan Brown, Cush Jumbo, and Rik Makarem will take up roles in the five-episode serial, Children of the Earth, which has been shooting since late August with a 2009 airdate (to be announced).  Cohu will play Alice, “a woman keeping many secrets from the past” and Brown will play the cheekily named Bridget Spears – “a character vitally connected to the government, which plays an important part in this story”.  As for Jumbo and Makarem, they’ll play Lois Habiba, “a secretary who hacks into some vital information”, and Doctor Rupesh Patanjali, a “junior doctor at St Helen’s hospital who gets drawn into Torchwood’s investigations,” respectively.

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Elisabeth Sladen has attributed the enduring success of the Sarah Jane Smith character to 1970s Doctor Who producer Barry Letts.

Speaking to Wired about the popular companion, who first appeared in the time-travelling show in 1973, Sladen said: “I sometimes think, ‘If I knew what made Sarah Jane so popular, I’d bottle it’. I love her as a character, and I credit Barry for instilling something special in the character. He is a true gentle and honorable man and has such a wonderful take on life. I took some of that influence for Sarah.”

Sladen, currently appearing in spinoff show The Sarah Jane Adventures on BBC One, added that she has drawn from her own experiences to play the role: “You also scavenge some of what you are as well. But, I wish I was more like her.”

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