Hearing a report that the lead actor in Doctor Who is poised to exit the series can only mean one thing. The Doctor may be set to regenerate! That in itself is only moderately spoilery, assuming it's true, as it's in the Time Lord's nature to take on a new body and personality from time to time, which means the character is occasionally recast. But for those of you who don't want to know exactly when that's reportedly happening, read no further!
Doctor Who currently stars Matt Smith as the space and time traveling Doctor. Last Christimas, the BBC series introduced his new companion following the departure of Karen Gillan's Amy Pond, and recent previews for the second half of Season 7 indicate that the series will focus on the mystery that is Clara in the coming episodes. But it sounds like there may be another big change coming up, as British news site The Sun reports that Matt Smith's departure from the series will happen at Christmas when the Doctor regenerates into the 12th Time Lord.
Crediting insiders, the site says the Christmas special will be Smith's last episode as The Doctor and the end of his four-year run in the role. Who will replace him to play the next Doctor? The Sun doesn't say, but their sources say the bosses already have an idea of who they want to fill the iconic role. It looks like BBC is mum on the matter for now:
Last night, the BBC said in a statement: “Sorry folks but even we don’t know what’s going to happen at Christmas. It’s not been written yet! But Matt loves the show and is to start filming the unmissable 50th anniversary, and the new series starting on Easter Saturday.”
Whether or not this news turns out to be true remains to be seen but with four years in the role and the recent companion shift, perhaps it's time for Smith to depart and a new Doctor to step up?
In the meantime, the second half of Season 7 resumes with "The Bells of Saint John" on March 30 on BBC America. Watch the trailer here.
