Friday, July 12, 2013

The Moff Says Searching For The 12th Doctor Is \"Terrifying\"... And Other Things

Normally, we think Steven Moffat has the best job in the world. But right now, we don't envy him one little bit.

Currently, The Moff is the man responsible for finding a replacement for Matt Smith as TV's most iconic character, the Doctor.


But he's perfectly happy to admit that his current task is a daunting one.

"Well, it's always just terrifying," he told Entertainment Weekly. "When you're suddenly faced with the reality that you are going to sit there and you are going to make that decision it does feel absolutely chilling. There's a very big range of people who could play it and different ways you could go with it. We must get this right. One false move and the show's over."

But Mr Moffat indicated that it won't be long before we find out who'll be taking over the Tardis in 2014. "Unless we have an insane plan, we'll announce a new Doctor within days of finalising the new Doctor. I think we'll go public pretty fast," he said.

And while he refused to comment on the "direction" he's planning to take regarding the new Doctor, The Moff did reveal that we'll see number 12 in the closing moments of this year's Christmas special, adding that Smith will need to wear a wig due to shaving his head for upcoming Ryan Gosling movie How To Catch A Monster.

"We're sprinkling fertiliser on his head as we speak," Moffat laughed. "The Doctor will turn up in his trademark quiff. We can't have Matt's last stand in the TARDIS without his proper look."

Talking of Smith, The Moff revealed that he's known about Matt's departure for a while, explaining: "I've known broadly speaking for a very long while because I knew how long, when he first came in, he was broadly speaking intending to do. And obviously, being the man I am, I always tried to persuade him to do longer and to do more and he [stayed] a little bit longer than he intended to. I knew that he would do what most of them do and do his three years."

"We discussed ages ago that we would do three series and then he would do the 50th and then he'd do Christmas. That was Plan A for a very, very long while. That may sound cold that it was so far in advance but you've got to plan a career. The question was, 'Will I be able to talk him out of it?' We went out for lunch and he said that he'd come very close to doing another series but it was the same argument: 'If I do another series, I think I might do two more series, or three more series. I think I might never leave.' It's that thing of wanting to leave while you're a huge hit and not let it tail off."

But before we say goodbye to the bouncy-bonced Doctor, there's the small matter of the show's 50th anniversary to contend with, which Moffat describes as movie-length.

The showrunner described Smith and his predecessor David Tennant as "a sublime double act", adding: "There's a bit of the normal joshing of each other but they're both such enthusiastic Doctors. While they might be sort of competing slightly, they're both standing there saying, 'Oh God, it's so cool, there's two of me!' - so, it's very different."

And he also promised that John Hurt will be "terrific" as the Doctor, saying "It's a lovely 50th anniversary treat, I suppose. You get a whole new Doctor played by a proper screen legend."

Doctor Who's 50th anniversary special will air on BBC One on Saturday, November 23.
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