'I'd Have Very Happily Done Another Year': Matt Smith Admits He Could Have Stayed On Doctor Who

November 23 saw the episode of Doctor Who we had all been waiting for, the episode to celebrate 50 years of the show - and as the drama played out on screen, we saw the return of Matt Smith with a few other familiar faces.

The special episode - titled The Day Of The Doctor - also marked Matt's penultimate appearance as the iconic Time Lord following his announcement earlier this year that he was leaving the hit BBC drama.

However, the actor has now admitted to the Los Angeles Times that he could have stayed on the show for another year

“I’d have very happily done another year. It’s a wonderful show", he added before insisting that it was the best time for him to leave.

"But I think you gotta go when you gotta go, and for me, it just felt like the right time to move on."

Matt will make his last appearance as the Doctor during the Christmas episode (BBC Pictures)

The actor also revealed that it wasn't an easy decision to make to leave the show. Speaking to the Hollywood Reporter, Matt - who will be seen passing his sonic screwdriver on to new Doctor Peter Capaldi - said:

"It's a very intense process to play the Doctor. The line-learning is really hard, and you have to live away from home for nine or ten months a year. I love the show, and it wasn't an easy choice to come to, but it's the right time for both of us".

Meanwhile, The Day Of The Doctor, which saw Matt's Doctor reunite with David Tennant's Time Lord and the Lost Doctor - played by John Hurt - to battle against the Zygons to save the world and their home planet of Gallifrey against the Daleks, scored highly on the ratings for the weekend.

A huge average of 10.18 million tuned in, with numbers peaking at a massive 10.61 million - 41.2% of the people watching TV at the time.

Missed The Day Of The Doctor? Read our review HERE

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