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.

Doctor Who

Production starts today (Monday 12 July) on the 2010 Doctor Who BBC One Christmas Special in which the thrilling adventures of the Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) and newlyweds Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) and Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill) will continue in a fun-filled and heartfelt festive story.

In the grand tradition of Doctor Who Christmas specials, this year the show has once again attracted stellar guest stars as veteran actor Michael Gambon (Harry Potter, The Singing Detective) and opera diva Katherine Jenkins, in her first acting role, join the Time Lord for what might be his most Christmassy adventure yet!

Arriving on set for her first day of filming, Katherine Jenkins said: “I’m over the moon to be involved in the Doctor Who Christmas Special – I can’t quite believe it as it’s a part of the family tradition at the Jenkins household. I heard the news that I got the role on my 30th birthday and it was the best birthday present ever!”

About the series, lead writer and executive producer, Steven Moffat, commented: “Oh, we’re going for broke with this one. It’s all your favourite Christmas movies at once, in an hour, with monsters and the Doctor and a honeymoon and – oh, you’ll see. I’ve honestly never been so excited about writing anything. I was laughing madly as I typed along to Christmas songs in April. My neighbours loved it so much they all moved away and set up a website demanding my execution. But I’m fairly sure they did it ironically.”

The Christmas special follows on from Matt Smith’s first series as The Doctor, which attracted huge critical acclaim for Smith, his companion, Gillan, and lead writer Moffat, from press and legions of fans alike.

Ben Stephenson, Controller, BBC Drama Commissioning, said: “Matt Smith and Karen Gillan captivated audiences in their debut series and Doctor Who’s clever twist on the much loved A Christmas Carol will thrill BBC One viewers this year with special guest stars Sir Michael Gambon and singing sensation Katherine Jenkins joining Amy and the Doctor for an unforgettable present!”

The series was co-commissioned by Ben Stephenson, Controller, BBC Drama Commissioning for BBC One, and Jay Hunt, Controller of BBC One. Steven Moffat is lead writer and executive producer with Piers Wenger and Beth Willis also executive producing.

The Doctor has gone and the Tardis has been

destroyed as Karen Gillan and Matt Smith star in The Big Bang

The Doctor is gone, the Tardis has been destroyed, and the universe is collapsing. The only hope for all reality is a little girl who still believes in stars, as this series of Doctor Who concludes with an episode written by Steven Moffat.

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

Doctor Who is simulcast on the BBC HD channel – the BBC’s High Definition channel, available through Freesat 108, Freeview 50, Sky 143 and Virgin 108.

There’s a house on Aickman road, and a staircase that people go up, but never down, as the time-travelling drama continues.

To solve the mystery of the man upstairs, the Doctor faces his greatest challenge yet – he must pass himself off as a perfectly normal human being, and share a flat with Craig Owens.

The Doctor is played by Matt Smith, Amy Pond by Karen Gillan and Craig Owens by James Corden. This episode is written by Gareth Roberts.

Doctor Who is simulcast on the BBC HD channel – the BBC’s high definition channel, available through Freesat 108, Freeview 50, Sky 143 and Virgin 108.

Terror lurks in the cornfields of Provence, but only a sad and lonely painter can see it, as the time-travelling drama continues with an episode written by Richard Curtis.

Amy Pond finds herself shoulder to shoulder with Vincent Van Gogh, in a battle with a deadly alien.

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

Doctor Who is simulcast on the BBC HD channel – the BBC’s high definition channel, available through Freesat 108, Freeview 50, Sky 143 and Virgin 108.

It is the most important day in the history of Earth: the dawn of a new age of harmony or the start of its final war.

In the latest episode of the time-travelling drama, written by Chris Chibnall, The Doctor must face his most difficult challenge yet. It is a battle in which he cannot take sides and a day when nobody must die…

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

Doctor Who is simulcast on the BBC HD channel – the BBC’s High Definition channel, available through Freesat, Sky and Virgin Media.

It’s 2015 and the most ambitious drilling project in history has reached deeper beneath the Earth’s crust than man has ever gone before – but now the ground itself is fighting back.

In the latest episode of the time-travelling drama, written by Chris Chibnall, the Doctor, Amy and Rory arrive in a tiny mining village and find themselves plunged into a battle against a deadly danger from a bygone age.

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

Doctor Who is simulcast on the BBC HD channel – the BBC’s high definition channel, available through Freesat, Sky and Virgin Media.

Also Karen Gillan Interviews Matt Smith