Matt Smith Reacts To Steven Moffat’s Doctor Who Departure

A bombshell dropped on the Doctor Who fandom on Friday when the BBC announced that showrunner Steven Moffat would step down from his position following Season 10.

When Moffat stepped in as showrunner for Doctor Who Season 5, he came with a brand new Doctor. Matt Smith debuted as the Eleventh Doctor in the Season 5 premiere, and remained Moffat’s Doctor through Season 7.

Smith is currently out promoting his new film Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, but he took the time to offer his thoughts on Moffat’s departure to the Anglophile Channel.

“I’m sad he’s leaving Doctor Who,” Smith says. “He’s done so much for it and so much for me.

“He pretty much is Doctor Who,” Smith adds, “but the show will always endure and there’s a wonderful writer coming in and as always, it’s about regeneration and reinvention of things.

“But he has done so much for the show and I feel very privileged that I got to work with, what I think, is the greatest writer.”

Moffat’s final season as Doctor Who showrunner will air in 2017, after which he’ll be replaced by Broadchurch creator and former Doctor Who and Torchwood writer Chris Chibnall. John Barrowman, who played Captain Jack Harkness in both sci-fi series, also recently offered his thoughts on the turnover.