Speaking to Digital Spy backstage at the National Television Awards after being hailed as Best Male Dramatic Actor by the public, Doctor Who star Matt Smith made it clear that although he has always had an interest in films, and might be drawn towards directing, he is not yet contemplating life as a former Time Lord.

“I’m here for the future,” he said categorically. “I love making the show. I have no plans to leave.”

Although he is saddened by the departure of Karen Gillan’s Amy Pond during the upcoming seventh season, Smith maintains a sense of perspective about his place in the show’s history. “I always knew that me and Karen would have slightly different journeys in the show. People say, ‘Are you very sad?’ I am sad because I enjoy working with Karen and Arthur [Darvill], they are wonderful guys. But this show is bigger than all of us actors in it and bigger than all of us who write it, and has been going far longer, and will have a life way after me. I am here for a very small period of time.”