Official: Matt Smith announces his Doctor Who exit
The BBC has today confirmed that Matt Smith will be leaving Doctor Who in December after four years at its helm.
An official press release announcing his departure reveals the actor will be handing in his keys to the TARDIS when his incarnation of the iconic Time Lord regenerates in this year’s “spectacular” Christmas Special. Matt – who was unveiled in the role in January 2009 – made his on screen debut to 10 million in The Eleventh Hour and said it’s “been the most brilliant experience” in a statement.
“I’m grateful to the cast and crew who work tirelessly each day,” he said. “Many of them have become good friends and I am incredibly proud of what we have achieved over the last four years. But when ya gotta go ya gotta go and Trenzalore calls. Thank you guys.”
Doctor Who’s showrunner Steven Moffat, who Matt credited for “one of the greatest and most rewarding challenges” of his career, added: “Matt’s one of the nicest people I have ever had the privilege of knowing. Whatever we threw at him – sometimes literally – his behaviour was always worthy of the Doctor. Great actors always know when it’s time for their curtain call and this Christmas prepare for your hearts to break. Thank you, Matt.”
Matt is currently filming How to Catch a Monster with Ryan Gosling and recently made his directorial debut. He’ll be returning to Cardiff to film his final scenes as the Doctor “over the summer”. We would like to wish him the very best of luck for the future and thank him for his hard work in making bow ties, Fezes and fish fingers and custard cool!
Are you sad to see Matt go? Is it the time to say goodbye? Leave your reactions below…
What, WHAT, WHAAAAAAAAT?!
what is this a joke i thought i read he was coming back for the 8th series
I guess the next christmas special is part of season 8 then. @shawn
It just came out of the blue while in France we were having a Doctor Who night with first half of series 7… Sad way to end the night!
Matt is the reason I came to be interested in Doctor Who. So I guess I’ll experience now the sadness of saying goodbye to my Doctor…
Let’s wish him a successful carreer and also let’s hope he won’t be too attracted by the Hollywood syrens on average projects…
@shawn
What Matt said was he is filming 50th and Xmas and then he said Doctor Who will return for series 8 he did not confirm that he would do series 8 just confirmed that there was going to be a series 8. Lots of people read that as confirmation he would be doing it when it really didn’t…..
It’s sad he is leaving at Xmad but its what a lot of us have been expecting and worrying for ages :(. Gunna be interesting to see who the new Doccy for series 8 will be.
Its John Hurt. lol. No, I am sure its someone else. Would be fun if he could regenerate into the 10th Doctor. That was my Doctor and I miss him. Although Matt was really good and he will be missed as well. I am actually surprised they don’t have him regenerate in the 50th. But at least we will get him for one more episode. ***Crosses finger that Doctor 12 will be either David Tennant or Andrew Scott***
Man…. Bit sad if I’m honest! Typical, just as I’m beginning to enjoy The 11th Doctor, he decides to leave. Only thing I will say is that I think Matt could have done just one more series, but that’s just me! However I have to thank Matt Smith to bringing a new and mostly quirky version of our favourite Time Lord. Only seems like yesterday when I was sitting on January 1st 2010 watching my favourite doctor (David Tennant) regenerate into this floppy haired guy fumbling about the TARDIS. Even though he isn’t my favourite, I still ended up loving his Doctor in the end (thank god!). But of course it’s this type of change in the show that gets me so excited! Not knowing who’s coming next. The excitement of who it COULD be. How will the current Doctor be sent off. And the fact his story will come full circle. So excitement and sadness at the same time. Farewell 11. It was certainly a bumpy ride, but in the end I finally saw what all the hype about this Doctor was about.
Words can not express how shocked I feel.
I knew that someday he was going to go,but I hoped it would be longer.
I didnt always like Matt Smiths Doctor, but that was because I was so upset over David Tennant Leaving, MY Doctor.
But gradually I became to accept Matt Smith, and He has become My Doctor, after David of course.
Goodbye, Raggedy man, the next man who goes sauntering away has a lot to live up to. I hope you’ll still be around as an actor, and I hope you do become a director.
With as much fondness as I can muster, GERONIMO!
I cannot begin to describe how I’m feeling about the news. I am absolutely devastated at Matt leaving. It will be interesting how Matt will regenerate. Matt has definitely become my favourite Doctor because he has been able to portray all sorts of sides to the Doctor. In the first series, he was this crazy, whacky Doctor last couple we’ve seen a darker side to him which Matt has portrayed superbly. I will be very sad to see him go but wish Matt all the luck in the world.
This hasn’t come as a shock to me at all. For me, all the signs were there that he was leaving, from the rumours accelerating and his desire to direct and get properly into the film industry, amongst other things.
I can’t say I feel anything really. Matt has been a good Doctor and I’ve enjoyed quite a lot of his episodes, despite the faults I inevitably find, but I just couldn’t connect with him in any way the same as I did with the 10th Doctor.
I’m not saying this because I’m a 10th Doctor fanboy, because anyone that spends enough time here will know that I’m not, it’s just a fact that the 10th Doctor regenerating was really powerful for me, whereas the news the 11th Doctor is going to regenerate hasn’t really affected me.
As a Doctor Who fan though, I’ve been thinking about who the next Doctor will be and what decisions will be made about the Doctor’s future.
I worry that Doctor Who under Steven Moffat will pander to a specific perception of Political Correctness that other ethnicities and genders actually find completely warped and ridiculous and have said so.
I too wish Matt Smith well in the future though and thank him for his portrayl of the 11th Doctor, both those we’ve seen and have yet to see and hope that Moffat is able to give him a send-off worthy of any Doctor.
I am in shock–I had hoped for one more season–it is such a big time with the 50th. I just hate to see him go. My Doctor was Tom Baker, my introduction–but my Doctor has been Matt–he reminds me some of Tom. David was beautiful, energetic, talented and a great Doctor and Matt was such a wonderful follow up to compliment him. I cannot wait to see them together in the 50th. But saying goodbye to Matt is difficult. I am now looking forward even more to attending London in November to be among “my people” for the 50th. I have no one to commiserate with here! Oregon, USA—London–can’t wait–
Absolutely devastated and shell-shocked. This is way too soon.
I’ve just been feeling terrible since this was announced. I just can’t believe it.
Matt is my Doctor, much as I love the other ten. I don’t think I’d ever be ready to say goodbye, but my money was on him leaving at the end of series 8. Not now. This is just too soon.
Ideally, Benedict Cumberbatch would be a perfect 12th Doctor, but even though his connection to Moffat through Sherlock i doubt he will commit to something like Doctor Who, something tells me thanks to Star Trek Into Darkness AND Sherlock his ego has taken a turn for the worst :-/
I despise Benedict Cumberbatch more than I can put into words and for numerous reasons.
Just wanted to put that on record, lol
Having said that, I don’t have a problem with his fans, I just don’t like him and I’d rather he stayed away from Doctor Who.
Only my opinion.
I’m surprised hes not been mentioned but what about Martin Freeman? Or Colin Morgan as he could grow into the role just like Matt. One of them for me but will be interesting.
Okay, soo theres two choices… he either regenerates into a seven year old or a seventy year old!!! since he keeps looking younger
I will be honest this seems very out of the blue and sudden. At least with David leaving we had time for it to go in but this does seem really rushed. I also think its a bit odd considering that the doctor has recently changed his outfit ad the title sequence so it does seem odd why now he’s decided to leave.
Having said that he’s done a good job being the doctor (not my favourite sadly as I found him a bit bland after a while)and he has done a good stint of 3 years as the doctor so maybe now is a good time to go.
Probably going to be controversial when I see this but I see a very a strange pattern developing recently with people leaving the show all of sudden….
First Piers wenger and beth willis leave, then a couple of the past crew, then Caroline Skinner and now Matt Smith has suddenly announced he is going. Might just be me but I’m sensing maybe moffat may have something to do with this trend lately
Presidents and prime ministers have also four-year stints, but for fans four years translate to three seasons. One season short, for sure, because he has just recently found Clara. They will not have even a full season together!
Good luck, Matt, thank you for a lot of great episodes.
And hello, the New Doctor, whoever you will be. I like an idea of Tom Hiddlestone (he looks a bit of Tom Baker-ish to me), no Freeman (Martin or Morgan), no Cumberbatch.
I was hoping for another season too. I miss the hey-days of River Song and want him to get his married groove on. Now that 11 is 12 and 10 is 11 and Hurt is 9 we all gotta reshuffle. OK the Hurt Doctor may not go by “Doctor” but he still gets only 12 generations!! Moffat is giving me anxiety.