Matt Smith will carry the Olympic Torch in Cardiff on Saturday, the official Doctor Who Twitter account has confirmed.

Smith, who is currently filming the seventh series in Cardiff with new companion, played by actress, Jenna Louise-Coleman, said:

"To carry the Torch is an honour, one I thought I'd never get. I'm very excited!"

The news will come as consolation to fans who have been campaigning for David Tennant (The 10th Doctor), to be the official lighter of the Olympic Flame. An online petition has acquired over 37,000+ signatures from fans wishing for the scene from the Series Two adventure; Fear Her, in which The 10th Doctor lights the Olympic Flame, to become reality.

[Source: Official Doctor Who Twitter]

After this years Christmas Special, Doctor Who will return in the Autumn of 2012, Doctor Who Magazine has confirmed.

At the time of writing it is as yet uknown whether it will be a full run of the already commissioned 14 x episodes in 2012, or whether there will be a split season again, with more episodes airing in early 2013.

Some sources suggest there could be 6 epsiodes in the Spring of 2013 in addition to specials and another run of episodes in the Autumn of 2013, but nothing has been confirmed by the BBC.

DWO will keep you posted as soon as we have further information.

+  Vote on how you think the show will air in 2012, in the DWO Forums.

+  Subscribe to Doctor Who Magazine at Unique Magazines.

[Source: Doctor Who Magazine]

Danny Cohen (BBC1 Controller) recently confirmed at the Church and Media Conference that Doctor Who will not be returning for a full series until 2013.

The comments come after weeks of speculation over the scheduling for the series in 2012. Last week the BBC confirmed that 14 episodes of Doctor Who had been commissioned but that the schedule was yet to be announced. We do know that one of the confirmed 14 episodes will be the 2012 Christmas Special.

It is unknown yet as to the exact reason behind the decision, but it is likely due to the reports of big plans for the show's 50th anniversary in 2012.

What could we expect to see in 2013?

- Possible American-style dual season (26 x Episodes) throughout the year.

- A mixture of standard episodes and specials.

- 14 x 1-hour specials aired throughout the year.

- A 13 x Episode series (plus Christmas Special) beginning in the Autumn.

[Source: Danny Cohen]

Sam Hodges, the Head of Communications for BBC One and Fiction has confirmed that Doctor Who and Matt Smith will return for 14 more stories (2011 Christmas Special + 13 x Episodes).

Confirmation came via Hodges' Twitter account today:

"#DoctorWho is returning. Fourteen new episodes have been commissioned with Matt Smith as The Doctor #bbc1"

Doctor Who Showrunner, Steven Moffat retweeted adding the following twees:

"14 eps + Matt DEFINITELY. I've got a plan and I'm NOT TELLING YOU WHAT IT IS. Now hush or River shoots you with her Spoiler Gun.#formaqueue"

DWO's own Twitter account has been innundated with messages from fans wanting to know what will happen to The Doctor during this season, with Moffat responding to one of the followers:

"@EuroboiSteve @DrWhoOnline What, you don't think he's got time, in those 200 years, to have LOTS of adventures. He DIED - you saw him."

Further confirmation is expected from the BBC shortly, and more details are coming up in the next issue of Doctor Who Magazine.

[Sources: Sam Hodges; Steven Moffat]

Matt Smith has no plans to leave Doctor Who as he reveals he is going back to film the 2012 series.

It has previously been reported that the quirky actor was planning to leave the hit sci-fi show after the upcoming series airs on BBC this spring, however in an interview with The Daily Telegraph the star has insisted that he doesn’t want to ‘give it up anytime soon.’

“I’m going back this year,” he said. “I guess [I'll] get another one out the way, see what everyone thinks of that. I love doing it, I don’t want to give it up anytime soon, put it that way.”

Smith also confessed that he was terrified about his debut on the show last year, because he wasn’t sure fans would accept him as David Tennant’s successor.

“Before that came out, I didn’t know if people were going to hurl tomatoes at me,” he said. “I had no idea. But then I suppose every actor goes through that period of, ‘Like me! Like me!’ That’s part of being an artist, I think.”

[Sources: Unreality TV; The Daily Telegraph]