bluedot Festival includes Doctor Who celebrations and premiere of new BBC Radiophonic show, “Dawn of the Doctors”

By John Freeman on June 5, 2023

A special Sunday celebrating 60 years of Doctor Who takes place at Jodrell Bank in July featuring panels, performances, screenings and much more, as part of the bluedot Festival.

With panels curated by Doctor Who expert Toby Hadoke, and music from Delia Derbyshire Day, the Manchester-based developing organisation which celebrates the work of Delia Derbyshire, and the live premiere of a new show from the BBC Radiophonic Orchestra, Dawn of the Doctors, this looks like it’s going to be a cracking occasion, with cosplay encouraged.

Guests for this special event include authors Robin Ince and Stephen Gallagher, Half Man, Half Blues Machine Tom Attah, astrophysicist Emma L. Alexander and Stand-Up Comedian, actor and writer Bethany Black, with one more Who guest yet to be announced.

Jodrell Bank Observatory was, of course, originally intended to be used as the location for the fictitious Pharos Project in the Fourth Doctor’s final story, Logopolis. In the story, a final battle of wits takes place between the Doctor and his nemesis, the Master – before the Doctor’s ‘death’ and subsequent regeneration, and the scenes were planned to be filmed there.

In the end, the scenes were shot at Crowsley Park, a country estate owned by the BBC, and scale models were used to represent the Lovell Telescope.

In 2018, a new version of Logopolis gave Jodrell Bank the starring role that was originally intended. A special feature on Doctor Who – The Collection: Season 18 sees the integral scenes taking place in the shadow of the real Lovell Telescope.

Taking place 20th – 23rd July the bluedot Festival is a music, science and culture event held annually in July since 2016 at Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire, England, combining music, live science experiments, expert talks and immersive artworks. The event is endorsed by the University of Manchester, current owners of the observatory.

Join bluedot on Sunday 23rd July for a unique carnival of music, science and cosmic culture!

• Day tickets for bluedotDoctor Who event are on sale now here

• Check out full details of the bluedot Festival 2023 at discoverthebluedot.com

• Doctor Who: Logopolis – The Locations

• Jodrell Bank Observatory: jodrellbank.net

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.