New Sheen to Doctor Who

TWILIGHT actor Michael Sheen is set to voice a character on Doctor Who.

The 42-year-old Welsh star, who plays Volturi leader Aro in vampire flick New Moon, has been lined up for a part in an upcoming episode penned by fantasy writer Neil Gaiman.

Neil, famous for his award-winning run on comic The Sandman, confirmed the Underworld actor's guest spot after Michael let it slip during a visit to the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama.

But the American Gods scribe stayed tight-lipped on details of Michael's casting.

It is understood his character will feature alongside ex Coronation Street actress Suranne Jones, who played Weatherfield's feisty Karen McDonald, in an episode set on a junk yard alien planet.

Suranne's character, Idris, is thought to be a figure from the Doctor's past.

Other guest stars on the show's new series include funnyman James Corden.

The Gavin & Stacey star has just finished filming his scenes on the BBC sci-fi hi in Cardiff which will see him reprise his role as landlord Craig Owens from the last series.

The sixth series of Doctor Who begins on April 23 on BBC1. It has been split into two parts, with the second showing in the autumn.

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Doctor Who Panel At Wondercon

There’s going to be a Doctor Who panel on April 3rd at Wondercon in San Francisco.

The panel: Neil Gaiman. Mark Sheppard. Toby Haynes. And moderator Chris Hardwick.

Yes, you want to see this.

You know Neil Gaiman, who’s written an episode for the new season. You know that Mark Sheppard is guest-starring on the two-part season premiere (part one debuting April 23rd at 9 pm ET on BBC America). You know Toby Haynes as the director of several Doctor Who episodes. And Chris Hardwick is your friend.

What are you waiting for? More details and registration by clicking here. So do it.

A new dawn for space travel? Scientists unveil plans for a £6bn 'spaceplane'

The retirement of three of Nasa's flagship shuttles this year signals the end of an era.

But a new day is dawning after scientists this week unveiled images of a brand new type of reusable 'spaceplane' they hope will more than take the place of these orbiters and elevate space tourism to new heights.

Skylon is an unpiloted craft that engineers at UK-based manufacturers Reaction Engines claim will provide both cheap and reliable access to outer space.

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It is hoped Skylon, an unpiloted 'spaceplane', will provide both cheap and reliable access to outer space

They hope it will replace space shuttle Discovery that was retired yesterday, to be followed by both Endeavor and Atlantis later in the year.

The 90-metre-long craft's secret weapon is a hydrogen fuel-powered rocket engine called SABRE (Synergistic Air-Breathing Rocket Engine) and was designed by the company's managing director Alan Bond.

Although it is primarily intended to launch satellites, they say the ship, which will carry 30 to 40 passengers, could even pioneer a new era in space tourism.

The secret weapon of the 90-metre-long craft is a hydrogen fuel-powered rocket engine called SABRE (Synergistic Air-Breathing Rocket Engine)

UK-based manufacturers Reaction Engines Ltd hope it will replace space shuttle Discovery (pictured) that was retired yesterday

But development is only in its earliest stages and it will still be at least 10 years before ordinary Brits should begin packing their bags.

Mark Hempsell, future programs director at Reaction Engines Ltd, told CNN: 'The engine starts by burning hydrogen with air and finishes up burning hydrogen with liquid oxygen like a shuttle engine.'

Because all this is in the same rocket chamber, the aircraft can take off and land in the same way as a conventional jumbo jet.

This, he says, is where Skylon leaves NASA crafts or the European Space Agency's (ESA) Ariane five rocket, in its wake as they need expensive, disposable rockets to propel them into orbit.

Mr Hempsell added: 'It's a very doable system. The basics of the engine are thoroughly rooted and explored, so there is no danger they aren't going to work.

'We feel that this should have taken over from the shuttle a while back.'

But he said production could hit a bump if future investment doesn't keep coming in and added that the project would be much further ahead if more money had been injected at an earlier stage.

Currently 80 per cent of the operation is funded by private equity, with the remainder topped up by public funds, including a £800,000 award from the ESA in 2009.

Although it is primarily intended to launch satellites, it is hoped the ship, which will carry 30 to 40 passengers, could even pioneer a new era in space tourism

But as Reaction Engines Ltd move into the next phase of building the prototype, they predict the full cost could surpass £6billion.

Mr Hempsell added: 'If you look at the development costs of something like Airbus's A380 airliner we're not really talking about a huge amount of money.

'At present, access to space is incredibly expensive. If you can redesign spacecraft so that you can reuse them, this will reduce the costs dramatically.'

Do you believe in time travel? How Doctor Who has blurred reality for some sci-fi fans

The lives of nearly a third of Britons could soon be made much easier thanks to the gift of time travel - or so they believe.

Thirty per cent of adults across the UK mistakenly believe that time travel is actually possible and not confined to the realms of fictional films or television, research suggests.

The survey, commissioned by Birmingham Science City, found that programmes such as Doctor Who and Ashes to Ashes may have had a hand in the blurring of lines between science fiction and science fact.

Fiction meets fact: Shows like Doctor Who have encouraged a third of Britons to believe time travel is possible

Results also showed that nearly half of adults (44 per cent) wrongly believe that memory-erasing technology similar to that used in the film Men in Black and hover boards, such as those showcased in Back to the Future, exist in reality.

The possibility of being teleported was also an option for nearly a quarter of the 3,000 people surveyed (24 per cent), who wrongly think it is a real mode of transport, while 22 per cent of people think light sabres exist not just in Star Wars, but also in real life.

Other findings also revealed that nearly one fifth of adults (18 per cent) hold the incorrect view that they can see gravity.

The team of researchers, who carried out the study to celebrate National Science and Technology Week, said it was 'not surprising' that people sometimes get science fact and science fiction confused because of the major scientific advances being made across the world.

For example, more than three quarters (78 per cent) of Britons believe that invisibility cloaks exist only in the fictional world, and yet a team at the University of Birmingham, led by Prof Shuang Zhang, has developed a method for making objects appear invisible.

More powerful than you could possibly imagine: A fifth of people think light sabres like the one wielded by Obi Wan Kenobi are real

Nearly nine out of 10 people (89 per cent) think it would be impossible to grow an extra pair of eyes, even though scientists at the University of Warwick have found this is possible in frogs. The team members believe they will be able to use the technology to explore eye development in humans and grow an 'eye in a dish'.

Dr Pam Waddell, director of Birmingham Science City, said: 'While films and TV can be acknowledged as creating confusion, it is also worth highlighting how advanced science has now become and many things deemed only possible in fiction have now become reality or are nearing creation due to the advancements of science."

'What's clear from this research is that science captures everyone's imagination, so we must continue to invest in it and strive to develop the latest 'stranger than fiction' creations.'

The survey also asked people what they would most like to see created.

For those male participants who did not already think otherwise, time machines or teleportation got the most votes, each receiving 21 per cent and 19 per cent respectively, whereas over a quarter of women (26 per cent) instead favoured a universal cure for all diseases.

Where we're going, we won't need roads: Films such as Back to the Future showed fictional scientific advancements