And I’m sticking around as the Doctor, says Matt Smith
In the backstage interviews afterwards, Matt Smith revealed that he has “no plans to leave” Doctor Who in the immediate future, insisting that, even though Karen Gillan was leaving the show, 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,” said Smith. 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. 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.”
On the other hand, 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.”
The two statements seem slightly contradictory, but if Who has further large gaps in its scheduling like this year, then he could makes films and appear in the show. Either that, or hes learning from his exec producer boss and throwing out deliberate red herrings.
Meanwhile, Karen Gillan said she had no regrets about her decision to leave
“I don’t regret it, but there is a huge part of me that is so sad to be going,” said Gillan. “I can say honestly I’ve had the best years of my life on this show and I’m not sure if I'll ever have this much fun again. I really sad to be going.”
