Doctor Who will announce Matt Smith’s replacement on Sunday with a live half-hour television special on the BBC.
Speculation has started to increase over who will replace Smith in the role, with the likes of Peter Capaldi, Billie Piper, and Rory Kinnear, all heavily linked with the part.
Whoever becomes the 12th Doctor will inherit one of the most popular characters in sci-fi history. Doctor Who has run for almost 800 episodes over 33 seasons since 1963, and the likes of Sylvester McCoy, David Tennant, Tom Baker, and Christopher Eccleston have all made the character their own.
The BBC has even announced the backdrop to the television spectacular. It will include a swirling vortex, Daleks, and, as you would expect, the Doctor’s beloved TARDIS, which has helped to transport the affable Time Lord through space and time.
Currently, The Thick Of It star, Peter Capaldi, is odds on favorite to replace Smith, who announced in June that he would be hanging up his sonic screwdriver after four years.
Ben Stephenson, who is the Controller of BBC Drama Commissioning, has revealed that the entire British Broadcasting Company can’t wait to reveal the next Doctor, before amping up the tension by stating that it’s currently the biggest secret in show business.
Only a handful of people currently know who is inheriting the role from Smith. The show, called Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor, will air on BBC One in Great Britain at 19:00 pm, but it will also air simultaneously in America at 14:00 p.m. E.T.
At the moment the likes of Ben Daniels, Chiwetel Ejiofor, David Harewood, Idris Elba, Daniel Rigby, Andrew Scott, and Ben Whishaw, are all considered frontrunners for the role behind the aforementioned Capaldi.
Doctor Who is currently celebrating its 50th anniversary, and a special episode is set to be broadcast in November which will see Smith star alongside David Tennant and John Hurt.
Who do you think will be the next Doctor?