After three seasons, an on-screen death and this weekend's upcoming 50th anniversary special, Matt Smith is leaving both the TARDIS and Doctor Who as a whole, stepping down as the Doctor with this December's Christmas Special (his fourth).
"There's a lot of Who stuff that'll take me up to Christmas," said Smith. "After that, I'll just go back to being lowly and unemployed." Talking about the Christmas episode that will end Smith's time with the series, showrunner Steven Moffat admitted that "one of the joys of Doctor Who in a strange way is that you get to kill him occasionally," promising a grand finale and magnificent death for the Eleventh Doctor.
"I'll be a fanboy," Smith joked about what he'll do when Peter Capaldi takes over the role. "I'll be [watching the show] going 'I was Doctor Who once.'"
