What with filming Torchwood in glamorous locations all over the world and before that, giving birth to her child, Myles has been a busy bee recently. Now she’s traded the alien adventures that Cardiff and Los Angeles has to offer for something a bit more subtle.

Zach Braff’s (JD in Scrubs) new West End comedy is called All New People. Not only does he star in the play, he’s also written it as well, that’s talent for you! The story centres on:

“The dead of winter, Long Beach Island, New Jersey, Charlie (Zach Braff), has hit rock bottom. Away from the rest of the world, this perfect escape is interrupted by a motley parade of misfits who show up and change his plans. A hired beauty, a fireman, and an eccentric British real estate agent desperately trying to stay in the country all suddenly find themselves tangled together in a beach house where the mood is anything but sunny.”

Myles is very excited to be treading the boards again and has recently talked about her upcoming work plus the future of Torchwood in an interview with The Metro newspaper. Want to know what John Barrowman is really like beyond the camera?

All New People is on tour and can be seen in London at London’s Duke of York’s Theatre from February 22nd to April 28^th 2012. Visit www.allnewpeople.co.uk for more details.

Calmly but assuredly Clarke has been collecting accomplishments along his pathway to this ‘next level’ over a short but by no means limited career.

Firstly there’s Doctor Who (well he’s peaked right there, surely?), during which he found time to write an episode of Torchwood (Combat) and Kidulthood, the non-patronising portrayal of a group of 15 year-olds growing up in London. He’s he’s also written and directed a sequel, Adulthood as well as co-directing and writing 4.3.2.1.

Now however he’s leaving the galaxy altogether and embarking on a voyage to explore strange new worlds and seek out new career opportunities in the sequel to 2009 reboot of that other classic sci-fi franchise, Star Trek.

Speaking to the UK Community Channel (via TrekMovie.com) Clark remained tight lipped about anything too specific about Star Trek XII (to give it its full Roman name) but did share a few details about the audition process, where he was when he heard that he’d got the part and gave a few impressive answers in a Trek based quiz.

Click play to see the full interview.

Rumours have it that Clark will be playing ‘a family man with a wife and a young daughter’ which, if they are the most outstanding features of a character that could travel to the far reaches of the universe, tells you everything about what his motivations could be.

Kirk himself Chris Pine told PA that the British invasion – consisting of Clarke, Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock) and Alice Eve (Sex and the City 2) – have all mixed in nicely with the family Trek.

Certain newspapers and websites were quick to criticise, but like any good actor, the former Tenth Doctor was enjoying himself and since then has been on stage, on TV and on cinema screens in the remake of Fright Night.

He’s also been exercising his Hugh Grant/Colin Firth credentials by starring in a new romantic comedy, The Decoy Bride, with Kally Macdonald (Trainspotting, Nanny McPhee, State of Play) and if the results below are anything to go by then Richard Curtis (Vincent and the Doctor) will have already been in touch!

Now let’s be honest: there’s nothing cerebral or political about what you’ve just watched. It’s the old adage of a love triangle, cleverly relocated to a remote Scottish island and starring two of Scotland’s most well-known actors and that bloke off of Ugly Betty.

It’s typical romcom fare; frankly, if this doesn’t get nommed up by British audiences during 2012 there is something very wrong with the world.

We’ll Take Manhattan explores the explosive love affair between 1960s supermodel, Jean Shrimpton, and now-legendary photographer David Bailey.

Focusing on a wild and unpredictable 1962 Vogue photo shoot in New York, the drama brings to life the story of two young people falling in love, misbehaving and inadvertently defining the style of the 1960s along the way.

Set predominantly in 1962 but also exploring the story of how Bailey and Shrimpton first met, this one-off drama reveals how a young, visionary photographer refused to conform. By insisting on using the unconventional model Jean Shrimpton on an important photo shoot for British Vogue, Bailey railed against established practices. Over the course of a freezing week in Manhattan, he went against the wishes of fashion editor, Lady Clare Rendlesham, and made startling, original photographs that accidentally changed the world for ever.

You can catch the film on BBC Four from 9.00-10.30pm tonight!

The chinwag lasted over an hour and will soon be appearing on the Minster of Chance website – which sees this preview’s brace of anecdotes and raises it a few titbits on The Hobbit, a fair few moments reminiscing about the past and a theatrical tale featuring Gandalf himself Sir Ian McKellen.

Head over to the Minister of Chance site for more on the fabulous audio spin-off adventure or even donate to hear some more in the future!

The latest addition to this list is Karen Gillan, whose name is spreading like wildfire around the acting world since she started branching out from Doctor Who.

Gillan, who is due to leave Doctor Who during its seventh series, is being hotly tipped by director John McKay as “the biggest star that Scotland has ever produced”. McKay recently directed the actress in the BBC Four biopic We’ll Take Manhattan and is now overseeing her transition to the big screen by giving her a part in his feature film called Not Another Happy Ending, a romantic comedy set in Glasgow. The director went as far as to say:

“She is not just a small screen star; she is a big screen star. She really is one of Scotland’s greatest talents and can go all the way.”

Karen has already started receiving some fantastic review for her role in We’ll Take Manhattan as 1960’s model Jean Shrimpton.

Although a lot of us will miss Gillan’s turn as Amy Pond in Doctor Who, there comes a time for everyone to move on to other projects and it looks like we’ve only just seen the beginning of her career!

Courtesy of Fantom Films, Mark Strickson and Ray Brooks will be appearing to sign autographs on at the Galaxy 4 store in Broomhill, Sheffield on Sunday 22^nd January 2012 from 13:00 until 15:00.

Strickson played the Fifth Doctor’s companion Turlough in the 1980’s and appeared in such stories as Enlightenment, The Five Doctors, Frontios and Resurrection of the Daleks. He has also played the character in numerous Doctor Who Big Finish stories alongside Peter Davison, Sarah Sutton and Janet Fielding. Ray Brooks appeared in the Peter Cushing film Daleks – Invasion Earth 2150 AD playing the big screen version of David Campbell. From 2005-2007 Brooks played the role of Joe Macer in the BBC soap opera Eastenders.

Both are part of the rich tapestry that is Doctor Who’s history and both will be available for you to meet! If you want a signed photo you’ll be paying ten pounds BUT, before you stop reading, as long as you purchase a photo you will be entitled to have one other piece of personal merchandise signed free of charge, so technically it’s only a fiver a photo!

To find out more about the event head to the Galaxy 4 website.

Matt, of course, has appeared in Christopher and His Kind and the upcoming drama, Bert and Dickie, since taking on the role of the Doctor, while Shrimpton is the first role Karen has played since becoming Amy Pond in 2010.

She said:

“I did speak to him about it, mainly about what it would be like doing something different from Doctor Who, because I’d forgotten what that’s like! He just said to really savour the experience, because it would be so different.”

Karen seems to be looking for a particular type of role at present – ones that particularly interest her.

“I want to do jobs that I really care about rather than just going to work for the sake of it. We’ll Take Manhattan was a no-brainer for me. I am really interested in that period of the Sixties, when the whole youth thing was so powerful, and fashion was just lovely.”

You can see Karen adorning the cover of the Radio Times this week, while the magazine also includes a photoshoot of the actress, captured by the real David Bailey.

Karen is also due to appear in Not Another Happy Ending, directed by Manhattan writer, John McKay. She’s set to leave Doctor Who during the next series, alongside Arthur Darvill (Rory Williams).

We’ll Take Manhattan – focussing on the professional and, uhm, unprofessional relationship between ‘60s supermodel, Jean Shrimpton, and her photographer, David Bailey – will be broadcast Thursday 26^th January on BBC Four.

Colin Baker will be launching Gallimaufry – a collection of short stories about, love, murder, and of course the Sixth Doctor – at the Lass O’Gowrie in Manchester as part of the Hirst Book Showcase.

The event which forms part of the LassFest celebrations takes place on the 21st January – running from 14:00 till 17:00 – and entry is free!

As well as launching his new book Colin will also be on hand selling photos and copies of his other two books Look Who’s Talking – a compilation of his musings on life from his regular feature in the Bucks Free Press – and Second Thoughts – a further tome dedicated to his Bucks Free Press articles.

The other guests in the line up include:

• Ruth Wheeler – author of All Aliens Like Burgers and Do Aliens Read Sci-Fi?
• JT Wilson – author of Cemetery Drive
• Paul Castle – with both volumes of Shooty Dog Thing, an anthology of Doctor Who fan writing.

For more details on the event and the Lassfest head over to The Lass website.

Gillan will soon be appearing as the star of the Jean Shrimpton biopic BBC drama We’ll Take Manhattan, which details the affair of Shrimpton and photographer David Bailey in the 1960’s.

However, to give the drama a sense of realism, the producers enlisted the real David Bailey to come and take photos of the actress during the shoot.

But it wasn’t a straightforward “stand and pose” kind of shoot, as it seems that Bailey had plenty of idea to keep the actress on her toes. Recalling the day, Gillan told tales of how the photographer gave her some, let’s say interesting, inspiration:

“He kept shouting, ‘Surprise me! Do something!’ He seems to build up your confidence but then knock it back down again. He kept on saying to me, ‘You’re pretty but pretty girls are like red buses.’… He meant being pretty is not enough to make an interesting portrait, essentially.”

Ah, the intrepid world of an artist, they always want to approach the canvas in a different way. Maybe he should have shown her how Steven Moffat plans for her character of Amy Pond to leave the next series of Doctor Who, now that would have given her some interesting facial expressions…

Fancy some more photos (thanks to the BBC)?