Anger over Dr Who's new jacket

Makers of Harris Tweed have reacted angrily after Dr Who programme-makers swapped the Timelord's distinctive jacket for a replica.

Manufacturers of the cloth were thrilled when the Doctor, played by Matt Smith, opted for a vintage 1960s jacket for his adventures in time and space.

He wore the Hebridean handwoven material throughout his first series playing the Doctor. But when the latest episodes were aired, the Harris Tweed jacket had vanished in the place of a part-acrylic version.

The BBC said they needed to change the costume because the original jacket wasn't warm enough. A spokesman said: "The tweed changed because they needed a warmer jacket for outside filming."

But makers reacted angrily, branding the new jacket "cheap and tacky". Lydia Walton, a spokesman for Harris Tweed Scotland, said: "Harris Tweed is so special as it is woven by hand on the Western Isles and every 50 metres is stamped by the Harris Tweed authority. It is steeped in romance and history."

Harris Tweed, which is exclusively woven in the Outer Hebrides, is owned by the islanders and protected by an Act of Parliament.