Matt Smith Is Leaving Doctor Who, It’s Official
He'll be gone by Christmas.
Bad news for fans of Doctor Who, the Doctor is about to regenerate. Matt Smith, who has played the eleventh Doctor since 2010, is leaving the show. You’ve already watched his third and final season.
The news comes straight from the BBC where they say Matt will return for the 50th anniversary special and then you’ll see him in the 2013 Doctor Who Christmas special, but Christmas will be the end for the Eleventh Doctor. He’ll regenerate at the end of the special and turn into someone else. That will be the last time you see him flying around in the TARDIS sporting his trademark bowtie.
Matt Smith released the following 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.
This comes hot on the heels of rumors that Matt was likely to return for another year as the Doctor. No one really seemed to see this coming and so no one really knows, not even showrunner Steven Moffat, who they’ll hire to play the character next. Moffat explains…
Of course, this isn’t the end of the story, because now the search begins. Somewhere out there right now – all unknowing, just going about their business – is someone who’s about to become the Doctor. A life is going to change, and Doctor Who will be born all over again! After 50 years, that’s still so exciting!
The search for the twelfth Doctor begins. Anything could happen now. The Doctor might even regenerate into a woman. Enjoy what little time number 11 has left.
