Series 8 in August 2014?
The Sun (who are keen to remind us they were correct about Matt leaving) claim:
Beeb bosses had to admit Matt’s exit after a leaked email from its commercial arm, BBC Worldwide, to clients gave the game away.
The mail, sent [last] Friday, told of plans to air 12 new episodes from August 2014. Crucially, it said: “This will give the new Doctor a chance to develop with the audience (apologies for this spoiler if you didn’t know).”
Meanwhile, the Radio Times reports that the 12th Doctor could be announced as soon as July 2013:
The new Doctor could be handed the keys to the TARDIS as early as next month, BBC sources have confirmed – with insiders suggesting Matt Smith’s replacement needs to be announced before the Doctor Who Christmas special begins filming next month.
It would be virtually impossible to keep the identity of the new doctor a secret even if the entire set went into lockdown during filming of the Christmas special, a BBC source told RadioTimes.com.
“The search has begun in earnest and is active now,” the source said, adding that the BBC has not ruled out hiring a woman to replace Matt Smith.
They also corroborate that Series 8 will contain 12 episodes:
The new series, expected to be 12 episodes long, begins filming in the autumn.
A BBC source also moved to squash speculation that showrunner Steven Moffat could also be calling it a day, insisting that he has signed up for at least another year.
