After a TARDIS-load of speculation, it seems current Doctor Matt Smith is holding onto the keys of the timeship for the forseeable future.
With series 7 coming this autumn, and opening with the fan-baiting ‘Asylum of the Daleks’, Smith is already working on the 2013 series.
‘[Showrunner Steven Moffat’s] first episode sounds great. It hasn’t been written yet but the idea is as brilliant and as mental as you’d expect from Steven. So there’s a lot to look forward to.
‘When Steven was going to pitch the next season to me not long ago, he said, “Are you ready to cry?” ‘
Looming a little further away on the horizon is next year’s 50th anniversary, which will include a docu-drama chronicling the early days of the series, way back in 1963. Smith has said he can’t wait to ‘get stuck in’ –
‘We want to do 50 years — and everyone that’s been associated with the show — justice. We want to go, “Look, world, here is Doctor Who. It’s 50 years old, a science-fiction show, still going and going from strength to strength”.
‘Steven will do something brilliant. He’ll do something grand or maybe something very simple but he’ll come to it as a fan. He’ll go, “What would I want to see?” ‘
Any actor taking on the lead in DOCTOR WHO has big shoes to fill, but for Smith the challenge was not only keeping the show going, but following up David Tennant, whose tenure is regarded by some as unbeatable.
‘For a month or two when I started I was like, “This is impossible. I can’t” — just the pressure of it. Everyone was sort of going, “Go on, show us what you’ve got.” I told myself, “If I can get through this I can get through anything”.’
DOCTOR WHO SERIES 7 is due to start in September, and will include the last appearances of Amy and Rory, played by Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill, and also the debut of Jenna Louise Coleman as the Next Companion… whoever that will be.
