James Delahunty
8 Mar 2005 22:18
The BCC is investigating how a brand new episode of Doctor Who has appeard on the Internet to download three weeks before the shows official air date. TV episodes leaks are not that rare anymore on the Internet, but three weeks before an initial airing is quite a long time. This is the first episode of Doctor Who to be made since the show was cancelled in 1989. A show spokesperson said the leak was a "significant breach of copyright".
"We would urge viewers not to spoil their enjoyment and to wait for the finished version, which airs at the end of the month," a statement said, indicating that the episode might not have been fully complete yet at all. A 45-minute episode called Rose appeared on the internet on Monday. Rose is the name of the Doctor's assistant, played by pop singer Billie Piper. "The source of it appears to be connected to our co-production partner," the BBC statement said.
Their co-production partner is the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). A CBC spokesperson said: "We are looking into it. That's all I can say at this point because we don't know exactly what happened. It certainly wasn't done intentionally." This new episode is highly anticipated by fans who have been waiting for a new series ever since the show was first cancelled. In 2003, it was voted the show people would most like to see back on TV.
Source:
BBC News