There’s been a lot of ‘Doctor Who’ news lately – so much so that I’ve decided to put it all in one post! With the announcement that our favorite Time Lord and his companions will be landing (not parking as River does) at Comic-Con, the excitement grows as it may just be a few weeks away until we finally see the premiere of Season 7!

Andrew Garfield On His Time On ‘Doctor Who:’

In honor of ‘The Amazing Spider-man’s’ release tomorrow, here’s a little bit of trivia about Andrew Garfield you may not have known. Before Garfield donned the tight fitting Spidey suit, he appeared in 2 episodes of ‘Doctor Who:’ ‘Daleks in Manhattan’ and ‘Evolution of the Daleks.’ Although his role was a minor part of the episodes, he did have several lines and did it with a Southern accent! Check it out below as he talks with BBC America about the role, how David Tennant is a genius (I know I liked this guy!) and how he’s happy that his good friend Matt Smith is the Doctor:

If you don’t recall seeing Garfield on the series, here’s a little clip of him as Frank:

‘Dame Diana Rigg and Rachel Stirling To Guest Star on ‘Doctor Who:’

In a bit of exciting news, the BBC has announced in a press release that Dame Diana Rigg will be appearing in an episode of ‘Doctor Who’ with her daughter Rachel Stirling.

Although Dame Rigg’s career has spanned several decades, she is best remembered as the “ever so competent at handling herself” (okay, kick-ass) Mrs. Emma Peel  in the 1960’s series ‘The Avengers’ and also as Tracy Di Vicenzo, the wife of James Bond on the film ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’ starring George Lazenby. She’s also been the host of the PBS series ‘Masterpiece Mystery!’

American audiences may recognize Rachel Stirling as she has appeared in two big films this year ‘Salmon Fishing in Yemen’ where she played the role of Mary Jones and ‘Snow White and the Huntsman’ where she had the role of Anna.

The episode that they will be guest starring in was written by Mark Gratiss who also wrote the ‘Doctor Who’ episodes ‘Night Terrors,’ ‘Victory of the Daleks,’ ‘The Idiot’s Lantern’,  and ‘The Unquiet Dead.’ He also is executive producer Steven Moffat’s writing partner for the series ‘Sherlock.’

This will be the first time Dame Rigg and Stirling will be working together. Of the opportunity, Dame Rigg has said, “The first time Rachie and I will be working together is on an episode of ‘Doctor Who’ specially written for us by Mark Gatiss. How lucky is that?” Stirling has also commented about the role stating, “What joy. I am looking forward to the madness of Doctor Who enormously. Mark Gatiss has written a gift of a script and an on-screen relationship between Ma and I that is truly delicious. We have never before worked together because the offers have not been tempting, but when such a funny and original script comes through you know the time has come.”

Although specifics of their roles are under wraps, they will be playing roles they’re quite familiar at… a mother and daughter, except that they harbor a dark secret. Moffat says of the episode, “Dame Diana Rigg, Rachael Stirling and a Mark Gatiss script – a combination of talents you could only get in Doctor Who! Frankly, I’m terrified already!”

Filming has begun in Cardiff on their episode which will include new companion Jenna Louise Coleman.

‘Daleks Galore in First Episode Airing…?’

Lastly, while we all try to figure out when Season 7 will begin, it’s been announced that the first episode ‘Asylum of the Daleks’ will be shown at the MediaGuardian Edinburgh International Television Festival at the end of next month. Moffat will be attending the festival with co-creater Gatiss and producer/wife Sue Verute to conduct a masterclass on his highly popular mystery series ‘Sherlock.’ Last year when he did this with ‘Let’s Kill Hitler,’ the episode aired on BBC and BBC America the Saturday after so many are predicting the same to happen this year. The festival will occur between August 23-25. If predictions are correct, that would mean Season 7 could possibly start on August 25 or September 1. After all, the BBC wouldn’t want spoilers to be leaked before the episode airs, would they sweetie?

From the Institute’s schedule, ‘Asylum of the Daleks’ will have “every Dalek ever” from the vast ‘Doctor Who’ history. Of course, Moffat won’t be revealing anything except saying, “The Daleks are coming back and they’re worse than ever. Just you wait until you see what they’re going to do.” From the BBC Doctor Who site, executive producer Caroline Skinner added,

“This is an epic Dalek adventure that kicks off the new series in explosive style! If you think you know all there is to know about the Daleks, think again…  [The episode will feature] every kind of Dalek ever faced by the Time Lord – including the legendary Special Weapons Dalek.”

There you have it! I’m sure more news will be released when the ‘Doctor Who’ cast and producers come to the San Diego Comic Con in a few days so make sure you check back here!