Matt Smith to Exit DOCTOR WHO After Christmas Special

DOCTOR WHO is losing its latest 'Doctor.'

The BBC has announced that Matt Smith will Exit the series after four years, following the the 50th Anniversary in November and regenerating in the Christmas special. During his time as the Doctor, Smith has reached over 30 million unique UK viewers and his incarnation has seen the show go truly global. He was also the first actor to be nominated for a BAFTA in the role. Doctor Who is BBC AMERICA's highest-rated series and premieres as part of the channel's Supernatural Saturday programming block. Smith first appeared in the series in 2010.

"Doctor Who has been the most brilliant experience for me as an actor and a bloke, and that largely is down to the cast, crew and fans of the show," Smith said. "I'm incredibly grateful to all the cast and crew who work tirelessly every day, to realize all the elements of the show and deliver Doctor Who to the audience. Many of them have become good friends and I'm incredibly proud of what we have achieved over the last four years."

"Every day, on every episode, in every set of rushes, Matt Smith surprised me: the way he'd turn a line, or spin on his heels, or make something funny, or out of nowhere make me cry, I just never knew what was coming next," Steven Moffat, lead writer and executive producer, said?."The Doctor can be clown and hero, often at the same time, and Matt rose to both challenges magnificently. And even better than that, given the pressures of this extraordinary show, he is one of the nicest and hardest-working people I have ever had the privilege of knowing. Whatever we threw at him - sometimes literally - his behavior was always worthy of the Doctor.

DOCTOR WHO's 50th anniversary episode? will air on BBC America on Saturday, November 23.