In a new interview to mark the broadcast of the series finale The Name of the Doctor, Matt Smith has made it very clear that he is coming back for a new series of adventures as the Doctor.

“I’m on a break for a couple of months while I’m in Detroit making How To  Catch A Monster,” Smith told the Sun. “We come back and shoot the Christmas special over the summer, then we go on to the next series, which will either start filming at the end of this year or at the start of 2014.”

That would lend credence to the suggestion that series 8 will begin broadcast in September 2014, with the show effectively taking a year break, marked with two specials – the 50th anniversary story in November, and the Christmas special.