Matt Smith Leaving DOCTOR WHO
It’s official. Despite saying he was sticking around through 2014, Matt Smith will be leaving Doctor Who this year. The Christmas special will be his final regular episode. (We’re allowing for his return in a multi-Doctor special in the future, of course.)
From the press release sent out by the BBC:
The BBC is today announcing that Matt Smith is to leave Doctor Who after four incredible years on the hit show. Matt first stepped into the TARDIS in 2010 and will leave the role at the end of this year after starring in the unmissable 50th Anniversary in November and regenerating in the Christmas special. During his time as the Doctor, Matt has reached over 30 million unique UK viewers and his incarnation has seen the show go truly global. He was also the first actor to be nominated for a BAFTA in the role. Doctor Who is BBC America’s highest-rated series and premieres as part of the channel’s Supernatural Saturday programming block.
Here’s Matt Smith’s statement:
“Doctor Who has been the most brilliant experience for me as an actor and a bloke, and that largely is down to the cast, crew and fans of the show. I’m incredibly grateful to all the cast and crew who work tirelessly every day, to realize all the elements of the show and deliver Doctor Who to the audience. Many of them have become good friends and I’m incredibly proud of what we have achieved over the last four years.
Having Steven Moffat as showrunner write such varied, funny, mind-bending and brilliant scripts has been one of the greatest and most rewarding challenges of my career. It’s been a privilege and a treat to work with Steven, he’s a good friend and will continue to shape a brilliant world for the Doctor.
The fans of Doctor Who around the world are unlike any other; they dress up, shout louder, know more about the history of the show (and speculate more about the future of the show) in a way that I’ve never seen before, your dedication is truly remarkable. Thank you so very much for supporting my incarnation of the Time Lord, number Eleven, who I might add is not done yet, I’m back for the 50th anniversary and the Christmas special!
It’s been an honor to play this part, to follow the legacy of brilliant actors, and helm the TARDIS for a spell with ‘the ginger, the nose and the impossible one’. But when ya gotta go, ya gotta go and Trenzalore calls. Thank you guys. Matt.”
By all accounts, Jenna-Louise Coleman will remain as Clara, and there’s no word that Steven Moffat is going anywhere, either. Smith’s four-year run is consistent with most of the other actors in the role. William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton and Peter Davison all had three-year runs, Jon Pertwee had four, with Colin Baker and Slyvester McCoy each playing the part for two years. And while David Tennant had a good run — five years — Tom Baker still holds the record with seven. Paul McGann and Christopher Eccleston would have had longer runs, probably, had things worked out. But they didn’t.
So, start speculating. Who’s going to be the 12th Doctor? More than likely, it won’t be John Hurt, as the 11th remembers him — meaning Hurt’s character is in Smith’s past — so where does the show go from here? Maybe an older Doctor, again?
Spoilers, sweetie.
