A 'more mature actor to play The Doctor?

He's a fossil, but we love him! It's Sir Brucy!

With Matt Smith thought primed & ready to flee the Cardiff coup any time soon, the search is on for new Who, and the BBC in Cardiff Bay are said to be reacting to fan pressure after criticism that The Doctor keeps getting younger & younger!

Production staff are said to be secretly seeking out 'more mature' actors, perhaps to step in to the role for a single season, the sole intention of which 'could be' to 'sort out game-changing events' expected to occur during the show's 50th Anniversary, to air in November this year. 

Matt Smith. Heading off forever?

Speculation began to build when Matt Smith (right), who insists he's returning to film Series 8 after a 'filming break' in the US, appeared on TV sporting a savage hair cut, and spoke about his 'love' of America, and his wish to 'do movies in New York'. 

Fans have always been highly vocal about the choice of Doctor, and with the Anniversary just 6 months away, have expressed concern about the titular Time lord getting ever younger. Cerys Huws, a production assistant at Porth Teigr said that she understood the concerns of 'seasoned' fans, and it was not 'a given' that any replacement for Matt would be 'a Harry Potteresque teen'. "In fact", she added, "The Doctor has been around for about a thousand years, and maybe it's time for his appearance to reflect that".

Speaking to GW TV, Brian Minchin, only recently appointed as the show's Executive Producer would not be drawn on the choice of Doctor, saying that "Matt will be around for a long while yet", before coughing and continuing to suck on a throat lozenge. 

The Whovian rumour mill began to turn just last Friday when, speaking 'off the record' at a photo-shoot for Saga Magazine, antediluvian actor, singer and one-time ubiquitous TV host, Bruce Forsyth referred to the show in a tongue in cheek manner. When asked what he was next going to do as he was now perhaps to old to host 'Strictly Come Dancing' in the UK, Forsyth smiled wryly, adding "You never know, dear.. I may even turn up on Doctor Who... I'd love a dressing room like the TARDIS!" At this point, he was quickly escorted away from the press pack by his agent, who seemed less than impressed!

At 85, some may say that Forsyth (whose wife is thirty years his junior) is too old to be up to the pace of a hectic filming schedule required of Doctor Who, but speaking earlier, on another matter, he did say that at 85, he was "as fit as many people twice his age", adding that he could "tango like the best", and his cha-cha-cha was "something to marvel at".

The lovely Mrs. Forsyth... 30 years younger!

Tom Wilshire, a fan of Doctor Who since the first episode was aired in 1963 said he'd love for Sir Bruce to 'have a romp in the TARDIS" - and felt that this would be a great ploy to bring original fans back into the Whovian fold...

The BBC were not available to comment on the matter, though a rather portly doorman at Roath Lock did say, enigmatically, that 'time will tell. Indeed it will!

(c) Cenwyn Tiwdor-Jones, GW TV.