New Doctor Who series to kick off in desert

The sixth series of Doctor Who will begin with a two-part episode set in the desert, the BBC has confirmed. According to the BBC News website scenes will be filmed for the episode in the Utah desert, for a story set in the 1960s that will see the Doctor, Amy and Rory summoned to the Oval Office. The episodes, which have been written by new series boss Steven Moffat and are co-produced by BBC America, will begin filming later in October. "The Doctor has visited every weird and wonderful planet you can imagine, so he was bound to get round to America eventually," Moffat said. "And of course every Doctor Who fan will be jumping up and down and saying he's been in America before. But not for real, not on location - and not with a story like this one." The sixth series of the show has been split into two parts, with the first airing on BBC One in Spring 2011 and the second part in the autumn.