Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor Special Announced

The bell strikes Twelve, as the next actor to play the Doctor is revealed this Sunday on BBC One!
The BBC have today announced Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor for broadcast later this week. A one-off live show filmed at BBC Elstree Studios, the thirty minute programme will feature appearances from classic Doctors, the Eleventh Doctor Matt Smith, showrunner Steven Moffat and presenter Zoe Ball. Most importantly, though, this standalone special will introduce the Twelfth Doctor, or rather the actor set to play the latest incarnation, via his first live interview.

It's an audacious move to be sure by the BBC and the production team to further increase Doctor Who's worldwide presence (as if it needed the expansion), especially with a BBC One and BBC America simultaneous broadcast on the cards, but nevertheless this is hardly precedent. New Year's Day 2009 came packaged with Doctor Who Confidential: The Eleventh Doctor to introduce Matt, but with the latter spin-off behind-the-scenes show now cancelled, reviving it for a one-off special was seemingly viewed as the wrong decision to take. All the same, Doctor Who Live will be nothing less than essential viewing on Sunday.

Executive producer Steven Moffat has teased us with the following words about the programme: "The decision is made and the time has come to reveal who's taking over the TARDIS. For the last of the Time Lords, the clock is striking Twelve." Meanwhile, BBC One's controller Charlotte Moore added a few words of her own on the matter: "BBC One is the home of big live events and this special live show is the perfect way to reveal the identity of the new Doctor and share it with the nation. The Doctor is a truly iconic role and I'm more than excited about the booking!"

Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor will broadcast on BBC One this Sunday August 4th at 7pm.