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Who's next as Matt calls time?

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HERE we go again. Matt Smith has called time on being a Time Lord and will leave the Tardis behind later this year. Is there a new Doctor in the house?

Smith will be seen in the 50th anniversary episode in November and regenerate in the Christmas special, which sounds something the schedulers have organised rather than the script writers. His departure comes just as I was about to announce mine. From watching Doctor Who, not the Northern Echo. It's gone from hiding behind the sofa, when the Daleks were on in the early days, to wondering what the Dickens is going on. I've lost the plot as episodes of Doctor Who have become increasingly baffling. You expect a certain degree of mystery, but not to the extent that it takes away the pleasure of watching. And they've also abandoned the traditional Doctor Who cliffhanger at the end of each episode.

Smith's Doctor, having the unenviable task of following David Tennant's Who, was too frantic, too fidgety formy liking. And don't get me started on the bow ties.

We should pause a nano-second to consider Smith's achievements during his four years as the doctor. I'm grateful for the BBC for telling me that he has reached "over 30million unique UK viewers", has gone global and the first actor to be Bafta-nominated in the part.

Smith has played one of the biggest roles in TV with more than 77 million fans in the UK, US and Australia alone, according to the BBC.

Shall I ask them to prove it by supplying the names of every single person?

He's starred alongside three different companions, Amy Pond (Karen Gillan), Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill) and, most recently, Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman). He's fought Daleks and Cybermen, as well as Weeping Angels in New York.

He also introduced a new culinary combination that Jamie Oliver won't be adopting - fish fingers and custard.

His "spectacular exit" is yet to be revealed and will be kept tightly under wraps, although there have been rumours of his departure for months so I wonder how secret they'll be able to keep the manner of his exit.

So goodbye Doctor number 11, hello Doctor number 12. But who'sWho? Will it be a female Who for the first time? Perhaps current companion Clara could be promoted. Perhaps it will be John Hurt, who was seen at the very end of the last episode of the most recent series turning round accompanied by the caption "Introducing John Hurt as The Doctor".

But is he the Doctor or any old doctor.

I have the solution. The actress du jour, the female performer who seems to be everywhere and in everything is Olivia Colman.

She's fresh from collecting two awards at the Bafta TV awards and has already been confirmed to star in new BBC drama series The 7.39, as well as a BBC2 adaptation of the bestselling novel The Thirteenth Tale.

Stop the speculation and just give her the part. That'll free up a lot of other roles for actresses who can't get a look in thanks to Colman's monopoly.

And if she won't do it, how about another actress who's here, there and everywhere - Sheridan Smith.

She picked up a best actress Bafta as well as presenting the awards ceremony.

She's also signed up to star opposite Colman in The 7.39.

Perhaps they could job-share the role of the Doctor. That would be another first.

Illustrations/Photos: Caption: Goodness, gracious me: Matt Smith and Olivia Colman

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  • APA 6th ed.: Pratt, Steve (2013-06-08). Who's next as Matt calls time?. The Northern Echo .
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  • Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Who's next as Matt calls time? | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Who%27s_next_as_Matt_calls_time%3F | work=The Northern Echo | pages= | date=2013-06-08 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=29 March 2024 }}</ref>
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