Old Friends and New Faces.

It has been announced that the Eleventh Doctor will be making an appearance in the new series of The Sarah-Jane Adventures ... and it looks like he is bringing a former companion with him!

From the BBC Press Office:

Sarah Jane Smith is reunited with another of The Doctor's former companions, Jo Grant (Katy Manning), in a new series of The Sarah Jane Adventures, set to air on CBBC this autumn. They'll be joined by The Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith), in a special edition of the show penned by executive producer Russell T Davies.

The two episodes will see The Doctor and his two former time-travelling partners caught up in an alien-busting adventure that will entertain Doctor Who fans of all ages.

Elisabeth Sladen, who plays Sarah Jane comments: "It's a fantastic script and I can't wait to work with another Doctor and hope Matt has fun with us. I've known Katy for ages and I am delighted to be working with her. I last met her in LA but this time we will be in Cardiff. LA was good but Cardiff is better."

Katy Manning, who recently returned to live in the UK again, adds: "Playing Jo Grant again is something I never really considered. I was gob-smacked when they told me and I am over the moon. What an incredible little treat. I come home and this is one of the first things that happens."

Executive producer Nikki Wilson says: "We are absolutely thrilled to be introducing Sarah Jane and the gang to both The Eleventh Doctor and Jo Grant, and to have a script penned by Russell T Davies is the icing on the cake!

"Viewers are in for a real treat, with an action-packed story full of Russell's usual wit and warmth, which takes the gang inside a secret base beneath Snowdon and introduces brand-new vulture aliens, the mysterious Shansheeth. All this, plus a trip to an alien planet – a first for The Sarah Jane Adventures."

Featuring the usual mixture of thrills, laughs and scares, the fourth series promises fun with enemies old and new, including the terrors of the Nightmare Man and a dangerous journey back into history.

A galaxy of guest stars are lined up to appear in the series and include Laila Rouass (Primeval, Footballers Wives) and Cheryl Campbell (Pennies From Heaven), whilst David Bradley (Argus Filch in Harry Potter) will provide the voice of the Shansheeth.

Jo Grant eh?
She was the companion when I was born you know!
Just one more reason to be excited by the new series of the Sarah-Jane Adventures!

Departure

We've had a bit of a dry spell for Sarah Jane news lately [April Fools jokes aside], but we've got plenty to keep you happy on the SJA front this week!

Pictures and videos from series four filming done over the past few days are starting to crop up, offering us a rare glimpse of what The Nightmare Man two-parter's going to be about well in advance of its airdate later this year. You can follow the stream of Twitter updates here, or even check out some of the spoilery set report videos courtesy of SJA aficionado, Timeboy.

Those videos, however, are nowhere NEAR as spoilery as SFX Magazine's recent interview with SJA executive producer, Nikki Wilson, where she stated:

[SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! HIGHLIGHT TO REVEAL!]

"We have plans to introduce a new character into the gang for series five..."

Not that that's a bad thing... It's just...VERY big news. Atom Bomb big =D It does, however, mean that one of the regular cast members will be leaving the show to make room for the newbie. :( I won't say who, but if you're following the set reports on Gallifrey Base, Twitter and Youtube - it isn't hard to guess.

Nikki Wilson went on to state that in series four, the gang would be in the "first year of their A-levels" and that the show will be opening with "a big story for Luke, which [will be] about him facing his fears for the future." *hint hint*

Returning aliens will include Androvax from Prisoner of the Judoon [yaay!] and the Slitheen/Blathereen, who'll have a smaller role to play this series [phew!]. Personally, I quite liked The Gift - so I wouldn't really mind seeing a little more of our beloved Raxacoricofallapatorians. :P There'll also be a 'classic' Who character coming onto the show. We'd like to see the Brig again, plz!

Wilson also elaborates that the gang's journey to another world this series won't encompass the whole story, and that the trip back in time will be a 'quest' [to find something or someone? *shrug*]. I assume that as Androvax is back this series, so too are the Judoon. Perhaps Clyde and Rani will have their ban on off-world travel lifted in time for their jaunt to another planet? =D

Wilson concludes on a teasey note, hinting to the possibility of Matt Smith meeting the SJA gang one day. After giving a rather epic performance during The Eleventh Doctor last Saturday, we'd wholeheartedly approve!

In other news, the third series of SJA is up for download on iTunes UK, Tommy Knight's doing a signing at Collectormania next month, a cover for Elisabeth Sladen's new autobiography is up on Amazon and the new series of K9 finally kicked off on Disney XD last Saturday! Despite seemingly airing episodes out of order, you can still catch your favourite robotic pooch every Saturday at 4pm!

Stylin' SJA

Filming for the fourth series of The Sarah Jane Adventures kicked off in Cardiff earlier this week! With a host of new monsters, fantastical journeys to alien worlds and even a little time travel thrown in for good measure - Series 4 is looking set to be the most action-packed series to date!

But as with every new series of a show starring kids, there are evermore arduous challenges to face; the most dire of these being the age of the cast.

The production staff attempted to delay father time by filming some of the fifth series back-to-back with the fourth. Which didn't do much to tackle the problem of two of the 'child' stars being over the age of 20, whilst the third had sprouted up in height over a very short space of time [despite being a mere year older than the character he portrays]. A solution to the problem was found, however...

SJA's new fashion consultant

Style-icon Gok Wan, of Channel 4's How To Look Good Naked, has recently been recruited by the BBC to help make the SJA cast look five years younger! Though Gok was unavailable for comment, our insider sources have informed us that he has some ambitious plans for the show's wardrobe this series. And it's not only the kids who'll be getting a dose of his bold fashion pointers!

'He's thinking of dressing Sarah Jane up as Lady Gaga!' claims an unnamed member of the production crew. 'And he's going to build on Luke's angst from last series and make him all emo. He'll even start wearing gothy nail varnish!'

Sounds like Gok's really shaken things up this year =D But will it be for the better? We'll find out this Autumn when the fourth series starts airing!