Matt Smith Is Leaving Doctor Who
Matt Smith is leaving Doctor Who, the hit BBC One science fiction TV drama. According to the official announcement Saturday from the BBC, Smith will leave at the end of this year’s fourth season.
Before he leaves, Smith will appear in the highly anticipated 50th anniversary episode on November 23, which will also include David Tennant. Smith plays the Eleventh Doctor. Tennant was the Tenth.
Popular villains like the Daleks, Cybermen, and the little-known Zygons are expected to feature in the special episode. There will be 2D and 3D versions broadcast simultaneously on television and in British theaters.
In Matt Smith’s award-winning turn as the Eleventh Doctor, he has been seen by over 30 million unique fans just in the United Kingdom, in addition to millions of others around the world.
The Eleventh Doctor will regenerate into the next doctor in a special Christmas episode, which will be Smith’s final appearance. However, the BBC hasn’t said who the next doctor will be. According to their statement, he may not even have been chosen:
“[T]his 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!”
The current head writer for Doctor Who Steven Moffat had plenty of praise for Matt Smith on the set, saying that the actor always had the ability to bring freshness to the role:
“Every day, on every episode, in every set of rushes, Matt Smith surprised me…I just never knew what was coming next…And even better than that, given the pressures of this extraordinary show, he is one of the nicest and hardest-working people I have ever had the privilege of knowing…[H]is behavior was always worthy of the doctor.”
It sounds like Matt Smith is a guy who won’t be easy to replace.
Farewell Matt Smith… #doctorwho #mattsmith – twitter.com/DoctorWhoFanz_…
— Doctor Who Fans (@DoctorWhoFanz_) June 1, 2013
A BBC video clip for the Doctor Who: 50th Anniversary Special:
Will you miss Matt Smith when he leaves Doctor Who?
[Matt Smith photo by Featureflash / Shutterstock.com]
