Matt Smith has been named as the actor who will take over from David Tennant in Doctor Who.

At 26, this makes Matt Smith the youngest actor to take on the role – he is three years younger than Peter Davison when he signed up to play the Fifth Doctor in 1981.

Even though he is not due to appear on our television screens until the spring of 2010 he was cast over Christmas and will begin filming for the fifth series of Doctor Who in the summer. David Tennant is due to start filming the first of four specials to be broadcast during 2009.

Matt Smith

Matt Smith was named as David Tennant's replacement on Saturday 3rd January 2009 during a special edition of Doctor Who Confidential that was screened on BBC One. The programme was watched by an audience of 6.9 million people at its peak, according to official overnight figures.

With a new creative team in place for the 2010 series led by executive producers Steven Moffat and Piers Wenger, the casting of The Doctor was the first job to be completed before scripts could be finalised.

The actor said: 'I feel proud and honoured to have been given this opportunity to join a team of people that has worked so tirelessly to make the show so thrilling. David Tennant has made the role his own, brilliantly, with grace, talent and persistent dedication. I hope to learn from the standards set by him. The challenge for me is to do justice to the show's illustrious past, my predecessors, and most importantly, to those who watch it. I really cannot wait'.

Piers Wenger, head of drama at BBC Wales, said that as soon as he had seen Smith's audition he 'knew he was the one. It was abundantly clear that he had that 'Doctor-ness' about him," he said. "You are either The Doctor or you are not. It's just the beginning of the journey for Matt. With Steven Moffat's scripts and the expertise of the production team in Cardiff behind him, there is no one more perfect to be taking the TARDIS to exciting new futures when the series returns in 2010'.

Matt Smith's television debut was in the 2006 adaptation of Philip Pullman's The Ruby in the Smoke, which starred Billie Piper who played former Doctor Who companion Rose Tyler. Matt also acted opposite Piper in the follow-up, The Shadow in the North, and in Secret Diary of a Call Girl.

Matt Smith's stage work has included stints with theatre companies such as the Royal Court and National Theatre. His West End debut was in Swimming With Sharks opposite Christian Slater.

Matt was born in Northampton in 1982 and studied drama and creative writing at the University of East Anglia.

He is now following in the footsteps of one of the most popular actors ever to play The Doctor. David Tennant has said Smith's 'life is about to change in so many ways'.