Time To Say Goodbye?

Publication: The Sun
Date: 2013-05-18
Author: Paul Simper
Page: TV Magazine, p. 4
Language: English

Who's the man?

Doctor Who star Matt Smith reveals all as TV's biggest mystery is solved

As doctor who fans await tonight's highly anticipated series finale, Matt Smith has some reassuring words about his own future...

For devotees of the Time Lord, this is promising to be one hell of a Saturday night. Sci-fi fans around the globe have waited patiently - half a century, to be precise - for the moment when one of TV's longest-running riddles is solved: Doctor who?

Now that moment may be upon us as a huge secret about the Time Lord is set to be revealed, along with the true identity of the Doctor's latest companion, Clara 'Oswin' Oswald - who has been everything from a Victorian governess to a Dalek.

Yet as important as these revelations are, there is an even bigger, more pressing concern: the future of the show's leading man, Matt Smith.

And as TV Magazine joins Matt on set, we're thrilled to declare he's going nowhere just yet.

"I'm on a break for a couple of months while I'm in Detroit making How To Catch A Monster [he plays the lead role in Ryan Gosling's directorial debut]," explains Matt, who's played the eleventh incarnation of the Time Lord since 2010. "We come back and shoot the Christmas special over the summer, then we go on to the next series, which will either start filming at the end of this year or at the start of 2014."

So unless he's lying through his teeth, fans can look forward to another full series of Matt next year, as well as the bumper treat of the 50th anniversary 313 special, with his much-loved predecessor David Tennant, this November.

Shrugging off rumours that he's quitting, the actor is good-natured about the speculation.

"People are always going to ask because they care about the show," says Matt, who admits he'd love to direct an episode of Doctor Who. "But I take it year by year. And this year is going to be the biggest one in the show's history"

Matt admits "the aim" is to make Doctor Who's 50th anniversary even bigger than the celebrations for James Bond's half-century last year.

It'd be a notable achievement for someone who was made to feel -- like Daniel Craig as Bond - that he was the wrong man for the job when it was announced he'd play the Doctor.

"We both came into our roles at similar times and got frosty receptions," he recalls. "'That's not what James

Bond is', 'He can't be the Doctor, he's too young"'. But Bafta-nominee Man has triumphed over Daleks, Cybermen and the critics.

DOCTOR FEEL GOOD?

He laughs as he recalls the life-changing moment when he landed the coveted gig.

Shortly after receiving the good news, he was sitting in a pub with his mum when he found himself on the receiving end of a lecture from a lady who claimed to know the creator of the Daleks.

"She said: 'Don't screw it up!'" he remembers. "I said: 'I'll try not to!"'

There's a pause as he reflects on the magnitude of it at all.

"Doing the show is such a weird experience," he says. "I was thinking about this the other day when I saw my face on one of those sticker books."

Matt appears on millions of pieces of merchandise around the world. There are posters, mugs, satchels and dressing-gowns. He even has his own action figure.

"I've realised I have quite a strange relationship with my action figure," he admits. "I've got one, but where do you put it? I just gave it to my mum."

He quite fancies a blue TARDIS dressing-gown, however, having discovered that Jenna-Louise Coleman (Clara) has given one to her grandad.

"Is it wrong that I want one of those?" he asks. "I gave Rich [Game Of Thrones actor Richard Madden, who's Jenna-Louise's boyfriend] a Tom Baker dressing gown that I'd been given. I thought: 'I can't wear this. What are people going to think if I answer the door in it?'"

Of course, the most famous Doctor Who toy of them all is the Sonic Screwdriver - and the trusty tool is among the hot topics of conversation whenever members of the public spot Matt in the street.

"Some kids freeze when they see you," he says. "But that's what's wonderful because Doctor Who is watched by children. One of the directors once brought his kids to watch us film and these three children just came and hugged my legs and I was like: 'This is the best hug I've ever had' because it was so genuine.

'Kids want to know about the Sonic, or the TARDIS, and they're all cool questions. It's nor boring adult questions like: Who's your girlfriend?', 'Who are you dating?' Who cares?"

At the age of 30, Matt's the youngest actor to have played the Doctor, and the question of age is one that fans love to pick over. Would it be interesting for the next Doctor to be older?

"Could they get any younger? [Laughs.] I don't know [if they'll go older] . It's a tough old show to make. There's a lot of running around and filming for nine months of the year. But I just think whoever they get - whenever they get them - they'll just get the best actor."

And with that he's gone -- back to the TARDIS with the Doctor's greatest secret still intact. Well, until Saturday night that is. WATCH IT! Doctor Who Saturday 7pm BBC1

A Whole New World

Actress Jenna-Louse Coleman, 27, on the biggest year at her life in Doctor Who

You must have had to endure lots of guessing about who Clara is... I've heard everything: she's a Dalek, she's another Doctor, she's River Song [the Doctor wife, played by Alex Kingston, who's back this week]. None are right!

Are you constantly spotted by Doctor Who fans?

I can still walk around where I live [in North London]. Unless I'm being oblivious, my life is exactly the same - all I get is fans occasionally asking me a few questions.

You made your name as Jasmine Thomas in Emmerdale - do you still see any of your former soap co-stars?

Yes. Sammy Winward and some of the Emmerdale girls came to Cardiff for my birthday. It was lowly to catch up.

How is your family coping with your new level of fame?

My mum looks after my fan mail - all she's been doing is phoning me up saying she needs to come to London with a suitcase of mail for me to sort out [laughs]. To be honest, she gets to read about her daughter, so she's quite happy!

How does your Doctor Who experience compare with what your boyfriend Richard Madden is going through with Game Of Thrones [he plays Robb Stark)? I suppose we get the same thing, csciteu people coming up to you in the street. The fan-love for both shows is similar because they're both so big in their own right.

Have you ever Googled yourself?

That was the first thing Karen Gillan [who played Amy Pond] and Matt told me not to do. But I did it once, then realised it was boring to read!

Are you envious that Matt is getting the chance to work with Ryan Gosling?

I always find it strange being on set when Matt isn't around. But I'm really pleased for him- It's an amazing part and I can't wait to see what Matt does with it. He and Ryan together should be something quite special.

Caption: Mummy's boy: Matt with his mother Lynne

Cult couple: Jenna-Louise with Game Of Thrones star and boyfriend Richard

Time To Say Goodbye?

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