26 year old British actor Matt Smith has been named as the 11th Doctor in the BBC series Doctor Who.
Smith takes over from David Tennant, and becomes the youngest Doctor in the history of the series.
A relative new comer to television, Smith made his first appearance in 2006 in The Ruby in the Smoke, a series that started previous Dr Who actress Billie Piper. He appeared in the 2007 BBC political drama Party Animals.
Piers Wenger, head of drama at BBC Wales, said Smith was the obvious choice: “It was abundantly clear that he had that ‘Doctor-ness’ about him,” he said. “You are either the Doctor or you are not.”
Smith will first appear on screen as the Doctor in 2010 and will start filming for the show in the Northern Summer. Tennant will continue to appear as the Doctor in four specials, three in 2009 and one in early 2010.
