“I am very happy to stay. I love it" - Matt Smith

Matt Smith as reassured fans that he is staying put, stating on the Graham Norton Show “I am very happy to stay. I love it and love making the show.”

Matt Smith on Grahan Norton Show copyrighted BBC

With the news of Karen Gillan and Arthur Davills' departure from the show coming next season, the big question was will Matt Smith remain as The Doctor. Rumours have circulated the internet for sometime that Matt Smith was quitting however these rumours have hopefully now been quashed by Smiths response to questions.

He went on to say “I’ll miss Karen because she’s my best mate. She’s mad as a box of cats but she’s a firecracker!”

Adding: “There comes a time when a story reaches its conclusion and the essence of the show is that it constantly reinvents itself”

The interview will air on Friday, December 23rd on the Christmas edition of The Graham Norton Show at 10.35pm on BBC1 and for the US, 10:00pm Saturday, December 24th on BBC America

Wishing you a Pond Farewell...

Next year will see series 7 of Doctor Who returning in the fall, however there's going to be two BIG changes, firstly there will be no more two parters, each episode will be its own standalone story which for me I dunno if I'm a huge fan of this idea.  Personally, I feel that sometimes the story requires more than 45mins, otherwise it can seem a little rushed.  I don't think we could have got through season 6 if each episode was a standalone.

Here's what Stephen Moffat had to say in the Doctor Who Magazine:

“I was looking at the facts and stats and it’s not true that the two-parters save us money. We’ve assumed it for years. They don’t save us money at all. Not a penny. So what’s the point in them? The viewing figures always go down. The AI [Audience Appreciation Index] goes down, even if the second episode is the better one. The press coverage goes down. The trailers are a bit boring. I want to be able to say, every week, we’ve got a big standalone blockbuster, and then a trailer that makes it look like nothing compared to what’s going to happen next week! That’s the form for next year. Interesting point of order on this—the AI’s change from part one to part two on any given episode is usually negligible. In fact, there are many occasions when it goes up. Look, AI is a nice way of saying “Did the audience actually like the episode?” In the grand scheme of things, that matters very little to the BBC. What does matter is viewership.”

The second bit of news is that series seven will say goodbye to both Amy and Rory (Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill) there was hints of this sometime ago, I believe Moffat even made mention that the Ponds will appear now and again but not as full time companions however it has now been confirmed that they will be making a heart breaking permanent departure and the Doctor will be getting a new 'exciting' companion...

Screen Shot from The 11th Hour copyright BBC

Moffatt said: "The final days of the Ponds are coming. It's during the next series. I'm not telling you when and I'm not telling you how. That story is going to be a heartbreaking one."

He went on to say that The Doctor would be "taking a new friend", adding: "I'm not going to tell you anything about he, she or it."

Me with Arthur Darvill from November 2011 at Hurricane Who