Doctor Who (series 1) months of speculation. In the April 2004 issue of "Doctor Who Magazine", Davies announced that Eccleston's Doctor would indeed be the Ninth Doctor, relegating Richard E. Grant's Shalka Doctor to non-official status. Russell T Davies revealed that Eccleston asked for the role in an e-mail. After the announcement that the show would be returning, Davies revealed that the new companion would "probably" be called Rose Tyler in an edition of "Doctor Who Magazine" published in November 2003. This name was confirmed in March 2004, and it was announced at the same time that former pop star Billie Piper was being
Doctor Who in Australia and with Russell T. Davies as producer, the ABC responded by scheduling the series in the prime-time 7:30pm Saturday slot. Following the UK broadcast by less than two months, Series 1 of the new "Doctor Who" premiered in Australia with the first episode, "Rose", on 21 May 2005, going on to win its timeslot in four out of five capital cities. Series 1 of "Doctor Who" also saw the inception of the "Doctor Who" Christmas Special. The concept of a Christmas Special episode derived of an otherwise ongoing series has been commonplace in UK television for decades. However, the classic