The next series of Doctor Who will premiere over the Easter weekend.

The first half of the show’s sixth run will begin on BBC One on Saturday 23 April, according to Doctor Who Magazine.

The first episode, written by showrunner Steven Moffat, will also air on the same date in the US.

Supernatural actor Mark Sheppard and Jonathan Creek’s Stuart Milligan will both appear in the opening two-parter, which is set in ’60s America.

Subsequent episodes will include guest spots from Hugh Bonneville, David Walliams and a returning James Corden.

Writers confirmed for the series include Sherlock scribe Steve Thompson, Being Human creator Toby Whithouse and fantasy author Neil Gaiman.

After an initial run of seven episodes, Doctor Who will take a two-month hiatus and return to BBC One in September.

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The Doctor is back!

BBC America will premiere the new season of Doctor Who, starring Matt Smith, next month. The beloved franchise will launch Saturday, April 23 at 9 p.m. with Part 1 of its two-part season premiere.

The season picks up with the Doctor (Smith) and his companions Amy (Karen Gillan) and Rory (Arthur Darvill) finding “themselves on a secret summons that takes them on an adventure from the desert in Utah — right to the Oval Office in 1969.”

The two-parter was penned by Steven Moffat and features guest star Mark Sheppard (Supernatural). Alex Kingston (ER) will also reprise her role as River Song.

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ACTOR David Tennant brought Comic Relief to the kids who most need the charity’s help on a moving trip to Africa.

The former Doctor Who joked around with youngsters in Uganda.

But in moving diaries, he tells of the serious side of his trip – to track how the money raised by the charity helps to fight illness and disease.

In the diaries, written for the Radio Times, the star writes how he felt compelled to make the journey.

He said: “I don’t have any particular expertise in telling other people’s stories to the world but then Comic Relief asked me to travel to Uganda to see how the money you raise is used where it is needed most.

“I suppose the idea is that someone new to it all will be easier to identify with. I feel woefully under-qualified and ill-equipped, but I figure I can’t keep reading out the phone number and telling everyone how necessary it is without seeing it up close.”

The films made by the 39-year-old Scots actor will be shown as part of Red Nose Day 2011 on March 18.

Presenters and performers include a host of TV favourites.

There are also Comic Relief specials of Masterchef and The Choir and music from some of the biggest names in the industry.

A spokesperson for Comic Relief said: “By raising cash this Red Nose Day, you’re helping to change lives forever. To join in the fun, go to www.rednoseday.com and find out how you can get involved.”

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Doctor Who fans will soon be able to follow the trail of the Tardis – when a new Doctor Who bus tour is unveiled in Cardiff.

The company behind a similar Gavin and Stacey venture in Barry has announced it will be starting the new four-hour trail from next month.

Among the sites from the BBC Wales hit that fans will sample will be Farringham Village (really St Fagans), the church where Catherine Tate’s character Donna disappears on her wedding day, and Cardiff Bay sites such as where the rift crack opened up and Bad Wolf graffiti in Butetown.

Familiar locations from spin-offs Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures, which are also largely filmed around the capital, will also feature.

Plans are for the tour – which runs in a similar guise in London and can host 29 fans – to run every Saturday from 12.30pm from April 9 until October, with tickets priced at £21 for adults and £19 for children, with family group discounts. A group of five will be priced £85.

Brit Movie Tours says it has already tasted success in Barry where more than 4,000 people have visited sites including Stacey’s mum’s house in Trinity Street within two years.

Lewis Swan, company director, said that the firm wanted to bring the London experience closer to a “domestic audience” – especially with the Cardiff Bay’s Doctor Who exhibition due to close shortly.

He said: “We should have a really good response to this, and we are hoping that fans will enjoy seeing some of the familiar locations from the show.

“But it won’t just be a tour of Doctor Who, it’ll be an advert for Cardiff as a city and the tour guides will be able to talk about Cardiff’s history as well.

“With the exhibition due to close, we’re hoping that we can carry on the Doctor Who experience in the city.”

Tour guide David Thompson, who has been guiding for 11 years and worked for the firm’s tours of Gavin and Stacey, confessed to being a bit of a Doctor Who fan, and was relishing the challenge of guiding “an enormous brand”.

He said: “It’s very exciting for it to all start, all the stuff I’ve been reading on it, shows what an enormous following it has and it will be interesting to see how it goes.

“I’m guess I’m a bit of a Doctor Who buff and it’s great to be working on a big Welsh brand.”

TARDIS TRAIL

Cardiff Castle: Walk to St John’s Church – where Donna Noble nearly gets married to Lance

Loudoun Square: Bus ride down to Loudoun Square, scene of the Bad Wolf graffiti and where Rose Tyler’s dad was killed

Cardiff Bay: Walking tour, visiting the Torchwood Hub, where the rift crack opened and where the Doctor, Rose, Captain Jack and Mickey ate lunch in BoomTown

Penarth: Fans will see 13 Bannerman Rd – the home of Sarah Jane Smith from Doctor Who spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures

St Fagans: To the National Museum of Wales to take a walk through Farringham, the village attacked by the Family of Blood in Human Nature

Llandaff: Fans can recreate scenes from The Eleventh Hour, where it stood in for the village of Leadworth

National Museum: A bus ride down to the Glamorgan building and museum of Cardiff for a look at locations from episodes including Vincent and the Doctor

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David Tennant and Jim Broadbent have been nominated for best actor at this year’s Royal Television Society Programme Awards.

Tennant is up for his performance in Single Father, while Broadbent is nominated for Any Human Heart. Both will compete against Johnny Harris, who starred in Channel 4’s This is England ‘86.

Vicky McClure, who also appeared in This is England ‘86, has been nominated in the best actress category, alongside Natalie Press, who appeared in Five Daughters, and Julie Walters for Mo.

The nominees for scripted comedy are The Inbetweeners, Miranda and Rev, with stars from all three shows – James Buckley, Miranda Hart and Tom Hollander – making up the nominees list for best comedy performance.

Meanwhile, Any Human Heart, This is England ‘86 and Five Daughters will compete for best drama serial and Downton Abbey, Sherlock and Misfits will battle it out for best drama series.

Single drama nominees are The Road to Coronation Street, The Song of Lunch and Mo, while Coronation Street, EastEnders and Casualty are up for best soap.

In the comedy writing section, Peep Show’s Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong will compete with the writers of Getting On – Jo Brand, Vicki Pepperdine and Joanna Scanlan – and Graham Linehan, who receives a nod for The IT Crowd.

The nominations for drama writer are Jack Thorne and Shane Meadows for This is England ‘86, Stephen Butchard for Five Daughters and Neil McKay for Mo.

Finally, The X Factor is up for best entertainment, against The Million Pound Drop and The Cube.

The awards, which celebrate all genres of programming, will be presented on March 15.

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