New plotlines will explain damage to the double decker bus used in Planet of the Dead, the Doctor Who easter special! The bus was badly damaged when dropped by a crane as it was being unloaded at the Dubai port.
The bus is identical to one being used in Cardiff, where the rest of the episode is being shot. Russell T Davies has rewritten the script, so now the bus the Doctor is in collides with another craft while traveling through space, and then crash-lands on an uninhabited planet - in real life, the Dubai desert.
So it appears the report about a third bus was wrong!

Photographs Of The Doctor Who Camp In Dubai

(Click for Larger Images)

Two photographs of the Doctor Who camp in Dubai, you can't see anyone important, they are all off filming, but at least here is the camp!

Dubai Final Day Location Report

 

This from SunJunky...

Off I went again to the Doctor Who desert shoot location. First thing this morning we were told that although stills were being shot with the bus there, the cast/crew were about 20km away filming in area 53 (sounded like something from x-files to me). So all hope was pinned on lunchtime - David Tennant etc. were due back for lunch between 2-3pm.
So myself, hubby & kids ventured back. And who should greet us this time, but that lovely lady who had already sent me packing two days ago! Though her attitude changed when Tracie Simpson, the producer of Planet Of The Dead came over. But it was the same old story. Not only did they not want us anywhere near the filming, they didn't want us there when DT etc came back. No amount of cute smiles from the kids, or my friends daughter showing off her extensive DW scrapbook could make them change their minds. Tracie only told us what we already knew about Planet Of The Dead, its an hour long episode, to be shown at Easter. Oh and it was her hand that picked up the Masters ring from the fire, and she's been an extra, along with David Tennants make-up artist in another episode!
Tracie very politely took the childrens names and our addresses and has promised to send them Doctor Who goodie bags, which was very nice of her. Oh and her business card has a picture of the tardis in the corner of it.
She said they fly back to the UK tomorrow, but there are at least 4 BA flights leaving here for Heathrow, so I think we'd be setting ourselves up for yet more disappointment if we went along to the airport!

Thanx to SunJunky for this!

Doctor Who In Dubai Filming Update 4

 

i recieved news that doctor who made it to dubai and filming started there in the last couple of days i managed to get hold of some pictures from the BBC so you can see them.

 

NEWS REPORT BBC

The BBC has released photos that confirm that part of the forthcoming Doctor Who Easter special is being filmed in Dubai.
Planet of the Dead, which stars David Tennant as the Doctor alongside Wonder Woman star Michelle Ryan and comedian Lee Evans, began filming in January in Cardiff and the team are now in the Gulf to film further scenes for the episode.
"We rarely take Doctor Who abroad," said Doctor Who producer Tracie Simpson. "We did visit Rome for Series Four's The Fires of Pompeii - which gave us some spectacular footage.

 

"The locations in Dubai are a perfect match for writer Russell T Davies's vision of the episode and we expect to film some incredible scenes while we are here."
Bionic Woman and Merlin star Michelle Ryan plays the mysterious Lady Christina de Souza who joins the Doctor on a bus-trip which takes a very unexpected detour into danger.
British comedy star Lee Evans also joins the cast playing a character called Malcolm whose life becomes connected to the Doctor's under extraordinary circumstances.
Planet of the Dead is the first of four Doctor Who Specials which will air in 2009. Written by Russell T Davies and Gareth Roberts, the episode is will be screened on BBC One in Spring 2009.
The story will also be the first to be shot and broadcast in the Hi-Defintion format already used by Torchwood and several other major BBC Productions.
The bus to be used in the episode was badly damaged by a crane on arrival in Dubai last month, so the script was changed hastily to incorporate the damage.

Enjoy

 

Timelord50

Doctor Who –The Finding Of John Smith

The Doctor gets his pseudonym of John Smith from Jamie McCrimmon, a companion of the second doctor, who sees it as a brand name on a medical container!

Here is some Doctor Who Dubai news;
The Doctor Who Crew flew World Traveller (economy), the cast were Club World (business).
Cobbled together from information from Sunjunky; They are outside Dubai off the Al Ain Road, but its hard to explain exactly were, as there is no town/landmarks, I've not seen the bus, but have found their camp! A guy there told me they were filming 20 minutes further in over the dunes. As we sat in the jeep debating whether to try finding them, a few jeeps where headed back our way. We recognised no-one, until a tall chap wearing a black t-shirt, cap and shades walked into view - David Tennant! I was just about to let the kids out of our jeep to say hi, but he got back into a jeep along with Michelle Ryan (who wore a straw cowboy style hat) and a few others and they headed back towards the main road. Everyone looked so pale! I did follow but they parked up on the main road, so as I'm no stalker I didn't hang around. I will certainly go back over the next couple of days. There was a lot of blowing sand, so I didn't take any pictures this time.
They should fly back on either Friday or Saturday, probably British Airways again.

Matt Smith Cloned

Eleventh Doctor Who star Matt Smith is reported to be starring alongside former Bond girl Eva Green (Casino Royale) in a new futuristic drama film Womb, under Hungarian director Benedek Fliegauf.

Womb is Fliegauf's first English language movie and concerns the subject of genetic manipulation and how it might be used to overcome death. Green portrays a grieving widow who decides to clone her late husband.

Production on the film is scheduled to start in March in European locations on the North Sea coast.