The second season of the new, revamped Doctor Who isn't even underway - they've not even completed filming - but tenth Doctor David Tennant and umpteenth companion Billie Piper have both been hired for series three.

The Doctor Who production team got the go-ahead to produce a second and third season way back before the first series had completed its run on British TV screens. Not long after filming began for the upcoming season - Tennant's first full run as the Doctor after December's one-off Christmas Special - rumours began to fly that Piper might call it quits at the end of the series.

Not so, it seems - she'll be back to play Rose Tyler for series three. How many of the 14 episodes - 13 in the series plus next Christmas' special - she'll appear in is another matter, so the fanboy speculation isn't going to go away any time soon.

The new season is due to start its run on Saturday, 15 April at 7pm. ®