Robotic dog K9 all set to delight fans in UK and Oz

Science-fiction fans in the UK and Australia are in for a real treat today – thanks to a Doctor and a very special robotic dog.

Not only does the new series of Doctor Who, starring Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor, premiere in the UK tonight, but the spin-off show, K9, begins its Series 1 run in the UK and Australia, too. The UK launch is at 4 p.m. on Disney XD, with Episode 2 being broadcast tomorrow, also at 4 p.m. In Australia, the series launched at 9.30 a.m. on Channel Ten. The new 26-part series features the Doctor’s former robot-dog companion, K9, who originally appeared alongside the fourth Doctor, Tom Baker, in Doctor Who from 1977 to 1981. Since leaving the BBC-produced science-fiction series, K9 has appeared in numerous books, television and audio dramas. In 1981, in K9 and Company, he joined the Doctor’s most popular companion of all time, Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen). After a successful series of audio plays, Sarah Jane Smith, for Big Finish Productions, both companions returned to Doctor Who, alongside the tenth Doctor, David Tennant, in the stories School Reunion (2006) and Journey’s End (2008), and, from 2007 to the present, have starred in another Who spin-off, The Sarah Jane Adventures. K9 the series was jointly created by Bob Baker and Paul Tams. Baker and Dave Martin originally created K9 himself for Doctor Who in the 1977 story The Invisible Enemy. The actor John Leeson, who was the original voice of K9 and has continued being so on and off for over 30 years, voices him for the new series. K9 is already showing in Scandinavia, where it premiered in January. It was shot between December 2008 and May 2009 in Brisbane, Australia, and is a co-production between Stewart & Wall Entertainment and London-based Park Entertainment, the company responsible for the phenomenally successful Wallace & Gromit.