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Matt Smith revealed backstage at the National Television Awards that he has "no plans to leave" Doctor Who in the immediate future.


When asked whether his co-star Karen Gillan's exit had changed his mind on how long he should stay on the show, Smith insisted that he was happy to carry on with new companions for the foreseeable future.

"I always knew that me and Karen would have slightly different journeys in the show. People say, 'Are you not sad?' I am sad because I have enjoyed worked with Karen and Arthur [Darvill], they are wonderful guys. But the show is bigger than all of us actors in it," said the sci-fi star.

"It's bigger than everyone in it and it will continue far longer, way after me. I am here for a very small period of time.

"I'm here for the future, I love working on the show. I have no plans to leave."


However, Smith later added that he only has "a year of Who" before he would start making a possible move into films.

"I've got a year of Who and then I'll take it from there really," said Smith. "I am interested in films, I've always loved the idea and process of films and I am actually interested in directing."

His comment suggested that he had already started to think about his career after the BBC One series, but it wasn't clear if this remark was just a slip of the tongue or if he actually plans to exit in 12 months' time

Alex Kingston is a guest on The Graham Norton Show this Friday.

In the show, which has already been recorded, Kingston is asked about whether River Song will return in Series 7.

As expected, Kingston is playing her cards close to her chest, only hinting at another appearance from the character.

“You may see her again. Who knows?” she told Norton (via Digital Spy). “Let’s just say, Upstairs Downstairs and Doctor Who don’t film at the same time.”

Of course, we’ve already heard about River coming back at the Christmas press screening last year. Reportedly, Kingston will begin filming on Series 7 very soon which fits in with her comments here.

The Graham Norton Show airs at 10.35pm on BBC1.

Karen at the Cannes Film Festival and below with Arthur Darvill in Doctor Who

SCOTS star Karen Gillan will be able to keep an eye on Doctor Who after her last scene as his assistant … because she stole binoculars from the Tardis.

The 24-year-old admitted taking the memento from the set of the BBC’s most famous series when I spoke to her yesterday at the Cannes Film Festival.

She’s in the French resort to publicise her first movie, Not Another Happy Ending, which will begin shooting in Glasgow in July.

In her first interview since shooting her final Doctor Who scene as Amy Pond last Saturday, Karen admitted there were buckets of tears at the end.

Emotions were running high as Karen, Matt Smith, who plays the Doctor, and Arthur Darvill (Amy’s husband Rory) did their last scene.

Karen, who is staying tight-lipped about what happens to Amy, admitted: “It was a weird, serene day where everyone was feeling it.

“We don’t film in chronological order so the last shot we filmed was me, Matt and Arthur going into the Tardis.

“Then Matt closed the door for the last time and we were in darkness.

“We hugged and started crying. It was kind of tears of happiness.

“It was a feeling of ‘Look at what we’ve done’. It was lovely.”

Karen made her Doctor Who debut as Amy in 2010, wearing a controversial policewoman’s outfit.

But she revealed she wasn’t allowed to hang on to the costume.

She said: “I didn’t get to keep any Pond stuff because everything related to Doctor Who goes into exhibitions.

“But I might have taken a little special something from the Tardis.”
Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill

Speaking in her rented villa overlooking Cannes, where she’ll be until tomorrow, she giggled when I pressed her about what it was.

Eventually, she admitted: “A pair of binoculars. They look really weird in my house, just sitting there.”

Another reminder of her time travelling through time and space in the Tardis is a compilation of funny bits compiled by Matt on his mobile phone.

While it was obviously a huge wrench to leave such a big show, Karen is already showing she is much more than just Amy Pond.

In January, she was praised for her role as supermodel Jean Shrimpton in the BBC4 film, We’ll Take Manhattan.

Now she will be heading to Glasgow to film Not Another Happy Ending, her first leading role. She said: “I’m one step closer to my parents in Inverness which makes me so happy. I miss being up north so much.

“Because I’ll be based in Glasgow, I’ll be able to see them at weekends, which will be nice.”

The film’s director is John McKay, who also directed her in We’ll Take Manhattan.

Karen plays Jane Lockhart, a headstrong and passionate author of miserable fiction who suffers writer’s block on her second novel.

Her publisher Tom Welles embarks on a campaign to get her working again – by making her unhappy.

The film features Glasgow’s art scene and Karen is looking forward to spending time in the city, especially its vintage shops.

She started her acting career in Glasgow playing off-the-rails teenager Teri Cotter in a 2006 episode of Rebus.

And two years later she was back to make Channel 4 pilot Stacked.

The former model said: “I’m looking forward to immersing myself in Glasgow life because I’ve only ever been there for short period of times.

“There is this cool, happening movement going on. The art school is amazing.

“I want to get into that side of Glasgow and the film will show that side of the city. It’s a hub of creativity.”

Karen is excited at the prospect of filming in Glasgow and let’s slip she’s going to be maid of honour at a friend’s wedding during the Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival near Beauly, Inverness-shire, in August.

She’s also a regular at her local music festival on the banks of Loch Ness.

Karen said: “I love RockNess so much. I love festivals. They are one of my favourite things to do. I like getting into it and camping.”

But before enjoying arty Glasgow and splashing about in Highland mud, she’s got Cannes to enjoy.

Sitting in her plush villa overlooking the city, she is itching to get started.

She said: “I want to go down to the centre and see it looking ridiculously lavish. I’ve no idea where I’m going to end up. We’ll just see what happens.”

Now a household name thanks to Doctor Who and about to make her debut on the big screen, has Karen got her eyes on Hollywood?

She said: “I’m just taking each acting job as it comes, whether it be telly, film or theatre.

“I just want to do good stuff. I’m not looking at this film as this big transition. I just really liked the project so decided to do it. It’s been my ambition to take on a film role when the right one came my way.

“When I first read the script, I immediately fell in love with Jane and felt really drawn to the role.

“As soon as I heard that John was on board, I knew it was something I wanted to do.

“I’m really looking forward to starting shooting.

“It’s going to be completely different to anything I’ve ever done and I can’t wait to get started.”

Karen was recently voted Scotland’s sexiest woman in a FHM magazine poll. With her striking looks, red hair and long slender legs, it’s no wonder she’s also been nominated for Fashion Icon in the Scottish Fashion Awards, up against model Tali Lennox and Hollywood star Tilda Swinton.

But that kind of attention makes Karen embarrassed.

She said: “Scotland’s sexiest woman is a very flattering title to hold, but I don’t believe that myself.

“I’m sure there are far sexier women in Scotland who just aren’t in the public eye.”

Steven Moffat on 'Doctor Who', 'Sherlock' and his BAFTA Special Award

Steven Moffat appears to be riding a wave of success - he's reinvented Doctor Who to the delight of fans and critics, his co-created drama Sherlock is pulling in both acclaim and huge audience figures and now he's the recipient of this year's BAFTA Special Award for his outstanding creative writing contribution to British television.

Digital Spy caught up with Moffat on the eve of this announcement to discuss his accolade, his two hit shows and his plans for the future...

How does it feel to win this BAFTA Special Award?
"Well, I don't know, it's a bit like being shown your mausoleum! No, it's great, it's really exciting, of course. It fends off the insecurity for 10 or 15 minutes more a day, I suppose! It's absolutely lovely, absolutely thrilling."

You've had a varied career - do you take a different approach to writing something like Doctor Who than you did with Coupling or Joking Apart?
"It may look as though I take a different approach, but I don't think any writer ever does. I think you just write it, with the same anxieties - you want it to be interesting, you want it to be funny and full of incident... I don't think there is a different way to write. Just keep being interesting, keep people from turning over...

"Writing a comedy, you're doing that exclusively more or less with jokes. If you're doing a drama, you've got a wider palate, as it were. You've got a broader range of things you can do - it can be exciting moments or surprising twists. But really and truly, all you're ever doing is imagining someone reaching for the remote and trying to stop them!"

Is series three of Sherlock now in the planning stages?
"Well, we've had meetings about it. It's certainly happening and we know when we're filming it - we shoot in January. Obviously I've got quite a lot of work on between now and January!

"So yes, it's all happening and we've had our first few meetings. I don't think a word has been committed to paper yet, but nearly."

Have you decided which Conan Doyle stories you're going to adapt this time?
"Yes - and that's not to say that it won't change at all as it goes along, because it always does. But broadly speaking, yes, we have our arc and we know what we're going to cover. The writing depends to some degree on spontaneity so you give yourself a big enough framework to improvise within."

Presumably The Adventure of the Empty House will be the first episode?
"Well, there will be the return, let's put it that way!"

And it'll be yourself, Mark Gatiss and Steve Thompson writing the three episodes again?
"That's right, yes."

You've talked in the past about the new CBS Sherlock Holmes series Elementary - have you had a chance to check out the trailer?
"To be honest, I think my quotes on [that show] have been rather exaggerated. Someone asked me what I thought about making Watson a woman and I said, 'I wonder how many things you could change before it isn't Sherlock Holmes anymore?'.

"But I don't know - I haven't seen it, so I can't really comment on that sort of thing. I think everyone's very anxious for me to have a go at it, and I'm really not."

When we spoke to Gina Bellman, she suggested that your 2007 drama Jekyll could've been as big as Sherlock has become - do you agree with that?
"It didn't hit its moment, but I thought it was great. I was thrilled with Jekyll - generally speaking, it got very good reviews. I don't know what the alchemy is when something absolutely hits the way Sherlock did. I think it's a combination of... it's a good show and all that, but it was the right moment somehow. Sometimes that just happens.

"It didn't happen for Jekyll - the performance was perfectly respectable, it has to be said. There was nothing wrong with it, it just wasn't a breakthrough show. Whereas Sherlock instantly struck a chord.

"Before anyone had even seen it, it was a hit, because people turned up for its first broadcast - they couldn't have known if they were going to like it. So it was just one of those things - we must have hit exactly the right moment to do that with Sherlock Holmes."

They're similar shows in the sense that they're updates of a familiar brand...
"I think Sherlock Holmes is the bigger brand, let's be honest. But whether or not that's an advantage is interesting, oddly enough, because there have been many, many Sherlock Holmes [adaptations] that have failed. So I don't know if that hugely helps us.

"They're similar in that they're updates of famous Victorian stories, but once you get past that, I don't think they're that similar - Jekyll was obviously a sequel, Sherlock is just a straightforward update. They didn't feel similar to write."

Moving on to Doctor Who - how was it bidding farewell to Karen Gillan (Amy) and Arthur Darvill (Rory)?
"Oh, it's incredibly sad. The thing you can forget about this is, while the audience are losing people that they see for a few months per year, Karen and Arthur are walking out of something that they've been involved with every day for years. It's not just a professional change, it is a personal upheaval.

"I'm trying not to say it's like being dumped, but a huge part of your life changes. I think of Karen and Arthur, and from Matt [Smith]'s point of view - people that you saw every single day and have become absolutely part of your de facto family are now gone, never ever to be in that place in your life again.

"So it's a huge upheaval - it's personal and it's human. People should not underestimate how upsetting it is for everybody involved in it. I don't mean 'upsetting' in the sense that it's a tragedy - it's not a tragedy! But it's a huge bloody change - it's someone moving out of your house, that's how big it is."

There are going to be five Doctor Who episodes in the autumn, then a Christmas special, then eight more in 2013 - what was the thinking behind that structure?
"I don't know, on this occasion, that the thinking particularly came from me, actually. I've always been open to anything that shakes [the series] up. I think that decision actually came from the BBC.

"But I've been well up for anything that we can do to shake up the transmission pattern, the way we deliver it to the audience and how long we make the audience wait, simply because that makes Doctor Who an event piece.

"The more Doctor Who becomes a perennial, the faster it starts to die. You've got to shake it up, you've got to keep people on edge and wondering when it will come back.

"Sherlock is the prime example, as far as that goes. Sherlock almost exists on starving its audience. By the time it came back this year, Sherlock was like a rock star re-entering the building!

"So keeping Doctor Who as an event, and never making people feel, 'Oh, it's lovely, reliable old Doctor Who - it'll be on about this time, at that time of year'. Once you start to do that, just slowly, it becomes like any much-loved ornament in your house - ultimately invisible. And I don't want that to ever be the case."

Doctor Who: Jenna-Louise Coleman first look
There's been a lot of secrecy surrounding the new companion - when can we expect to learn who Jenna-Louise Coleman is playing?
"Christmas! But don't expect to learn everything! We've got a good story and there are some proper legitimate surprises in it. I'm excited by it. I think we're going to do some fun stuff."

Are you hoping to conceal the companion's identity until the Christmas special actually airs?
"We can't really contain everything, because people will crawl all over us with cameras and sneak views of scripts and call-sheets. Something will get out. But we've been fairly sly, so let's wait and see.

"Again, a lot of the audience that I talk to specifically avoid any spoilers and I'm absolutely certain they have a better experience of the show. As I've always said, if I could make it on the dark side of the moon, I would, but you can't do these things.

"i got pilloried by somebody at some deep level of naivety about the industry - they were angry that I'd revealed the fact that Amy and Rory were even going to leave! But y'know, actor's agents really do have to advertise their client's availability - I had no choice but to announce they were going to leave. But in an ideal world, you wouldn't even do that."

And are plans for the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who under way too?
"Yes, they are. I had a meeting about that earlier in the week!"

We can confirm that David Tennant will be now joining Billie at the Midnight Convention at the Hilton Metropole Hotel, Birmingham but so he can attend the dates have been changed to 14th to the 16th December (they will be there on Sunday 16th December.) They will be doing photoshoots both separately and together, autographs, a guest talk and the closing ceremony. Other guest include Gareth David Lloyd (Ianto) and Kai Owen (Rhys) from Torchwood! Tickets are available to buy here, photo’s with Billie will cost £20, one with Billie & David will be £50 & extra autographs are £15!

Best Family Drama

Doctor Who
Glee
Merlin
Waterloo Road

Best Actor

Martin Clunes, Doc Martin
Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock
Colin Morgan, Merlin
Matt Smith, Doctor Who

Best Actress

Karen Gillan, Doctor Who
Miranda Hart, Call The Midwife
Jaye Jacobs, Waterloo Road
Freya Mavor, Skins

Take a look at the new issue of Entertainment Weekly (left) and you’ll see that the travel-heavy habits ways of a certain Doctor have finally landed him on the cover of EW. Yes, the 49-year-old British time travel show Doctor Who has hit the big time — and in more ways than one, as stars Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, and Arthur Darvill and executive producer Steven Moffat reveal in the cover feature.

Alas, unlike the Doctor’s time- and spaceship the TARDIS, Entertainment Weekly is not “bigger on the inside,” which meant we couldn’t include everything Moffat and crew had to say. But worry ye not, Whovians! Over the next few days we’re going to post Q&As with the Who folks as well as notable super fans Craig Ferguson and Grey’s Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes.

First up? The “Doctor” himself, Matt Smith, whom I spoke with earlier this month in his trailer while he was shooting a new, Victorian era-set episode of Doctor Who in South Wales. Below, Smith previews the new season (which BBC America will start screening later this summer), discusses his Who future, and recalls filming the final episode to feature the Doctor’s companions Amy and Rory. You’ll find an exclusive, behind-the-scenes shot from that episode at the bottom of the page.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: The Doctor’s companions Amy (Karen Gillan) and Rory (Arthur Darvill) are leaving the show at the end of the first half of the new season, in an episode that was shot in New York and features the much feared Weeping Angels. What was it like filming that show?
MATT SMITH: It was one of the most amazing experiences that I’ve had as an actor. Me, Karen, and Arthur had a whale of a time. Because (a) it’s New York, everywhere you point a camera, it’s going to look brilliant. And (b) I love the Weeping Angels, they’re my favorite monster. And people in America are really getting hold of the show. They really support it. It’s interesting, in America, we’re seeing more children turn up for things. Alex Kingston (who plays the Doctor’s fellow time traveler and girlfriend River Song) was saying that when she picks her kids up from school some of the kids are going, “Hey River Song!” That’s exciting for us. But it’s the last days of the Ponds! [Pretends to start weeping] They’ve gone, everyone!

Comic-Con 2012: Get the latest news, photos, and more

The first show of the new season features the dreaded Daleks. What was filming that like?
Wonderful! Because I got to meet my favorite Daleks, which are actually from [Patrick] Troughton’s era, I think. They’re the sort of pale blue and whitey ones. They’re a bit smaller actually. I think they’re groovy! I mean, we’ve got every Dalek that exists in the world [in the episode].

Groovy? The Daleks are supposed to be frightening!
Oh yeah, I mean they are frightening. But you can’t help but go, “God, there’s 20 Daleks in a room moving around me!” It’s exciting!

I understand the people operating them have to go to “Dalek school.”
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. People have to go and learn how to be a Dalek. Rule 1: Be evil! Rule 2: Don’t eat chips, don’t drink soda.

You’ve also shot a Western-themed episode?
We went out and shot in Almeria in Spain, where they shot The Good The Bad and the Ugly, a Fistful of Dollars. All the Sergio Leone stuff. Indiana Jones. All these great movies. You know, we’ve done Utah, we’ve done a great big Western, we’ve done New York. I think it’s very exciting to see just where else it can go.

Ben Browder from Farscape is in that show?
He did really well. He’s great in it, actually. He brings that sort of American naturalism which we Brits just don’t have, however hard we try. Yeah, he was great. He makes a good cowboy. He has that great drawl. And the wonderful Adrian Scarborough (The King’s Speech) is in that, he just steals the whole episode. He’s fantastic.

Is James Corden (the star of Broadway show One Man Two Guvnors and repeat Who guest star) coming back this season?
We’d love him to, but he’s pretty busy being a Tony award-winning actor on Broadway and having a baby. But we’d love to get James back.

Steven Moffat said he intended this season to feature less poetic understatement and more Die Hard-type action.
Yeah, it’s kind of a big film-of-the-week. We’ve got dinosaurs on a spaceship. We’ve got a Western episode. We’ve got New York and Weeping Angels. And I think that’s quite exciting. It’s like going to the box office every week. We hope. I think the last days of the Ponds are really strong, I’m really thrilled with those. And I think going into the new season with the new companion is very exciting. Again, Steven is on fine form and he’s playing with time and space in his cool, timey-wimey way.
What can you say about the episode you’re filming this week?
Well, we’re doing a Mark Gatiss script. He’s written numerous Doctor Who episodes. We’ve got Diana Rigg, Dame Diana Rigg — Emma Peel! (Rigg played Peel on the beloved ’60s U.K show The Avengers)! I mean, she is one of the first kick-arse women. It’s wonderful. What an actress! What a lady! We’re thrilled to have someone of her caliber on the show.

I think Mark has written a wonderfully sprawling episode. Let me read you a line. This is an exclusive! “Well, thanks a million, you three. Have some Pontefract Cakes on me.” So there we go. I’m giving it all away! It’s a great episode. The Doctor’s in a cool new Victorian costume. I get a hat and a three-piece suit. I’m having a ball!

This is one of the first episodes to feature the Doctor’s new companion, played by Jenna-Louise Coleman. How is she doing?
She’s doing really well. She’s thoroughly prepared, has a lovely nature about her, and I think she really gets Steven’s writing. This show is about change and it’s about regeneration and the only thing you can do is move with it. So we embrace and welcome Jenna and she’s doing really well.

Doctor Who is such a big deal in the U.K. Her life is about to completely change. Did you give her any advice?
Yeah, as much as you can. You say, “The truth is your life is going to change really dramatically in ways that you probably can’t even fathom at the moment. You know, the next time you go to a family wedding, you won’t be left alone.” But to an extent you have to discover that sort of thing for yourself. But it’s all for the good, really. It’s just about being positive. How do you handle anything? It’s part of your job. You never say “No” to children. It’s just part of the remit.

You once described Steven Moffat as “brilliantly cantankerous.” Would you care to expand on that?
He is brilliantly cantankerous. He has very firm opinions about everything — apart from what car he’s meant to get into going from A to B, where he generally looks quite confused. He doesn’t quite know where he should be going once he’s leaving somewhere and going somewhere else.

But, I mean, Steven makes me laugh more than most people in the world. He is acute and funny and ironic and silly and remains, at the ripe and seasoned age of 50, very child-like and ridiculous and good fun. I just read the Christmas special and there’s a bit in it where I’m like, “Where does he get it from? Where? Where does it come from?” Because it’s totally left field as an idea, and it’s magic. The invention through form in this show — I mean, can you imagine having to plot this show?

You’re friends with Andrew Garfield, who actually appeared on Doctor Who a few of years ago. How did you meet?
We did a play together at the National Theatre in London. It was a trilogy of plays called Burn, Chatroom, and Citizenship. I remember at the read-through looking up and going, “Whoah, this kid’s good. Damn!” I was like, “Boy, this kid’s something. I’ve got to raise my game.” He’s an incredible actor and it’s no surprise to me that he’s doing the things that he’s doing. I knew at that read-through. I loved working with him every night and we went to war, you know.

It must be surreal now that he’s Spider-Man, you’re the star of Doctor Who.
It is kind of surreal, I’ve got to say. I knew I’d come across one of the actors of a generation when I worked with him and absolutely that’s what he is. But he’s a good guy as well.

Have you discussed with Steven an end date to your tenure as the Doctor?
Not really, no. We’ve got too much to plan in the meantime. We’ve got the 50th anniversary stuff next year. I take it year by year. Because it’s such a commitment on your life. I don’t think you could do it for 7 years, like Tom Baker did. It would age you too savagely. The great thing about the Doctor is that there’s no stop sign. He can keep going and keep evolving and he can surprise you and the moment he stops surprising you is probably the moment that you should hand it over. But he still surprises me, so I’m still hanging in there.

As part of the build up to series 7 of Doctor Who, US pop culture mag Entertainment Weekly asked their online readers to vote for their favourite incarnation of the Doctor.

The results are in and they are very clear: David Tennant has blown away the competition, winning the vote easily with a lead of 59%. His nearest rival, Matt Smith, came in at only 16%. Tom Baker and Chris Eccleston picked up third and fourth place respectively, while the remaining seven Doctors could only muster 5% of the vote between them.

Doctor Who is due to return to BBC America this autumn. Before then, BBC America will be showing four specially created documentaries weekly throughout August, starting this coming Saturday with The Science Of Doctor Who (9pm, 4th Aug. BBC America)

Many thanks to Tiff - @tkmcquay on Twitter - for the scan!

It’s a story that refuses to go away. The recent Doctor Who movie rumours have become a tiresome back and forth between Harry Potter director David Yates and Steven Moffat. Yates says he’s directing a movie reboot, Moffat denies it, Yates says he’s doing it, Moffat denies it and so on.

Now here’s the latest statement from Moffat on the matter. He told EW: “There isn’t a film. That was all some weird fantasy going on somewhere. Look, we hopefully will do a Doctor Who film someday. It will be absolutely run by the Doctor Who production office in Cardiff. It will feature the same Doctor as on television. It will not be a rebooted continuity. All of that would be insane.”

He adds: “So that whole proposal was not true, did not happen. I can say that with authority because, as far as the BBC is concerned, I’m the voice of Doctor Who. So if I say it, it’s true. The BBC own Doctor Who and, for the moment, I run it for them. So I can assure you definitively that was all nonsense — not the idea of making a film, we’d love to make a film, but the idea of a rebooted continuity, a different Doctor. That’s writing the book on how to destroy a franchise. You don’t behave like that with it. Not ever.”

Asked if David Yates is involved he replied: “I don’t think he was ever signed to it. I never signed him, so he’s not. But I think he’s [expressed] an interest in doing it and he’s a very fine director and I think he’d certainly be someone that would be on the list for directing such a project. I’m a big fan of his. But the project as he describes it would not happen. It was all a bit more off the cuff than it seemed to be.”

Which is funny when Yates says statements like: “I’m definitely doing a Doctor Who movie”. Clearly there’s a lack of communication going on somewhere.

Will this finally put the whole thing to bed? Unlikely. Yates will probably be telling the world how he’s making it for sure next week, and the cycle continues.