Karen Gillan and Matt Smith host Doctor Who extravaganzas this weekend: Saturday 24 July, 7.30pm-c9.30pm and Sunday 25 July, 11am-c1pm.

Doctor Who returns to the BBC Proms for two family spectaculars, bursting with Daleks, Weeping Angels and of course, the famous Tardis. The concerts will be hosted by stars from the current series – Karen Gillan (Amy Pond), Arthur Darvill (Rory Williams) and special guest Matt Smith (The Doctor).

The BBC National Orchestra of Wales, who record the soundtrack for the series, present a selection of intergalactic music – includingMurray Gold’s music from the TV show, plus a selection of classical favourites including Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries, Mars from Holst’s The Planets and Orff’s Carmina Burnana.

Matt Smith says of the Doctor Who Proms: “Utterly nerve-wracking… I think that Murray Gold is incredible, totally incredibly – a genius – and to hear all that in the Royal Albert Hall will just be one of the most soaring experiences.”

More than 1,000 standing tickets are released on the day and families are encouraged to come along and Prom for £5. Seated tickets are now returns only.

Doctor Who first came to the Proms in 2008 and the concert dedicated to the hit series proved to be one of the hottest tickets that season. This year the concert returns not once, but twice, as part of the BBC Proms rich programme of family-friendly events throughout the 2010 season. The Proms Plus events on Saturday 24 July give families the opportunity to learn to play the Doctor Who music, and also to learn about the series from the behind-the-scenes staff.

The concert programme can be viewed on the Proms website, providing full details of the concert, the performers’ biographies and an interview with Matt Smith and Karen Gillan.

Live pictures will be available on the day.

Doctor Who Prom – Programme to include:

Murray Gold
Music from the Doctor Who series*

John Adams
Short Ride in a Fast Machine

Holst
The Planets – Mars

Orff
Carmina Burana – O Fortuna

Wagner
The Ride of the Valkyries

Karen Gillan – host
Matt Smith – host
London Philharmonic Choir
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
*Ben Foster – conductor
Grant Llewellyn – conductor

The Doctor Who Prom on Saturday 24 July is broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and recorded for broadcast in early September on BBC Threeand BBC HD. It is audio-streamed live via the BBC Proms website atbbc.co.uk/proms and available via the BBC iPlayer for on-demand listening for seven days after broadcast.

The BBC Proms is the world’s largest classical music festival, with more than 90 concerts – featuring many of the world’s greatest artists and orchestras – as well as a host of extra events including talks, workshops, free performances and family events.

The Proms runs until Saturday 11 September 2010, and full information on the season is available at bbc.co.uk/proms.

Also Karen Gillan Interviews Matt Smith

Doctor Who

Amy Pond has a new  companion,

Matt Smith begins his first adventure as “the Doctor”

“The Doctor” has regenerated into a brand-new man, but danger strikes before he can even recover, as The Amy Pond Show* begins a new series. With the Tardis wrecked and the sonic screwdriver destroyed,  Amy Pond has just 20 minutes to save the whole world – and only  the new Doctor to help her.

Amy Pond is played by Karen Gillan and “The Doctor” by Matt Smith.

The Amy Pond Show* is simulcast on the BBC HD channel – the BBC’s High Definition channel, available through Freesat, Sky and Virgin Media.

*(Working Title)

The BBC have announced that the new Doctor Who Trailer will be shown on Saturday night on BBC One.

There is also a new promotional image for the show featuring Karen Gillan (Amy Pong) together with Matt Smith (The Doctor) for the first time.

Production started today on the new series of Doctor Who in which BBC One viewers will meet the 11th Doctor and his companion for the very first time.

Accompanying The Doctor on his further adventures in time is a new companion, Amy Pond, played by Scottish actress Karen Gillan (The Kevin Bishop Show), who will first meet The Doctor in episode one of the new series.

New show-runner and long-running Doctor Who fan Steven Moffat has developed this series and, as Lead Writer and Executive Producer, will be responsible for the overall creative direction of the show, as well as plot and character arcs.

Moffat’s previous episodes of Doctor Who, including the BAFTA-winning episode Blink, have garnered widespread acclaim from critics and fans alike.

He commented: “And here it is, the big moment – the new Doctor, and his new best friend.

“And here’s me, with the job I wanted since I was seven. 40 years to here! If I could go back in time and tell that little boy that one day all this would happen, he’d scream, call for his mum, and I’d be talking to you now from a prison cell in 1969. So probably best not then.

“Matt and Karen are going to be incredible, and Doctor Who is going to come alive on Saturday nights in a whole new way – and best of all, somewhere out there, a seven-year-old is going to see them, fall in love, and start making a 40-year plan…”

Filming is taking place in Cardiff until March 2010. Thirteen x 45-minute drama produced by BBC Wales for BBC One.