SCI FI Channel and BBC Worldwide Americas today announced a major acquisition deal for the U.S. premiere of the third season of Doctor Who. The series will debut on SCI FI in July 2007, kicking off with the Doctor Who Christmas Special: The Runaway Bride, guest-starring award-winning comedy actress Catherine Tate.

In season three, David Tennant returns to his role as the mysterious, time-traveling Doctor. American audiences will meet the Doctor's brand-new sidekick, Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman), in the first official episode of the season, "Smith and Jones."

Chris Regina, Vice President of Programming, SCI FI Channel, said Doctor Who has become a favorite among SCI FI audiences. We are happy to bring the show back for its third season and look forward to following the Doctor's continuing adventures with his newest companion."

Executive Producer and Lead Writer Russell T Davies says, "We were delighted and honored by the second series' success, and we can promise new thrills, new laughs and some terrifying new aliens. The Doctor and Martha are destined to meet William Shakespeare, blood-sucking alien Plasmavores, The Judoon - a clan of galactic stormtroopers - and a sinister Dalek plot in 1930s New York."

The second season of the new Doctor Who earned impressive ratings during its airing on SCI FI, delivering an average of over one million viewers each week.

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