'Doctor Who' Rome set hit by fire

Filming for the fourth series of Doctor Who has been disrupted, after a fire spread through a film set that producers had planned to use.

Writers have plotted an Ancient Rome-themed episode for the new series, and the show's team recently flew out to the Cinecitta studios in Italy, which had previously been used to recreate the ancient city for hit BBC Two show Rome.

However, expensive BBC equipment was destroyed when a fire hit the set on Thursday night. Fortunately, most of the crucial parts have been left untouched, and producers are still hoping to go ahead with their plans once the damage has been cleared up.

An insider told The Sun: "It was a huge blaze. At one point, it looked like the whole studio was a goner. It threw a real spanner in the works for the Doctor Who team. They're planning an episode where the Doctor goes back in time to Ancient Rome and thought it would be perfect to use the set. Filming on Rome has finished so it wasn't being used."