Speculation Rises As To Who Shall Be The Next 'Dr.Who'

According to The BBC (the british broadcasting channel),  Star of the long running sci-fi series Doctor Who Matt Smith is stepping down from his lead role, which is spurring intense speculation about his replacement.

Doctor Who is one of the BBC's most popular programs, and Smith's tenure has seen the show gain new fans in the United States, where it is shown on BBC America.

Smith plays "the doctor", a time-traveling extra-terrestrial who can regenerate into new bodies. Smith is the 11th actor to play this character since the series began in 1963.

Smith will leave after a November episode to mark the show's 50th anniversary, and a Christmas special.

 "Playing the Doctor 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. The fans of Doctor Who around the world are unlike any other." Smith said.

The BBC did not announce Smith's replacement, but fans took to the Internet to speculate about casting for the 12th Doctor.

Russell Tovey and Rupert Grint are being viewed as joint favorites respectively. One co-starred in the Harry Potter series while the other has been previously, linked with the role.

Others suspect the notion of a black actor taking over. Such names like Idris Elba and Ashley Walters have also been thrown around.

"I love all the speculation. It's never any of the names who get touted,"  Tom Spilsbury, editor of Doctor Who magazine said.

 "This debate about a woman taking the part has gone on forever. When Tom Baker left he said, 'Good luck to the new Doctor, whoever he or she may be.' Since then the media hasn't let go of it, and that was 32 years ago."

"You come up with a good storyline, that's a good reason to do it. But 'Why not?' isn't really enough in itself. The very important thing with the Doctor is that you are trying to convince the audience that it is, literally, the same person each time. You want to have someone who's a bit different, but not so radically different. I'm not saying it couldn't work but you're making it tougher for the audience." Splisbury continued.