Matt Smith is the new actor playing Doctor Who as of next year.

The issue the writers will have with a younger lead character is that Doctor Who plot progress has lately been entirely dependent on you having to believe and accept whatever jargon bollocks Russell T Davies spews out of David Tennant’s mouth.

We’re all going to die!

No! Because of this highly improbably and illogical and likely canon wrecking reason I just made up!

Pulling that off (not that they necessarily do) is depending on the character having de facto authority, and that comes for free by being a bit older and grizzled.

A younger character has to develop and actually convince the audience of their authority, back story and knowledge. Otherwise the ‘just because’ get out clauses won’t stick. And as for ‘he’s really 900 years old!’… you might as well disregard that.

Which means that Stephen Moffat and the other new writers will need plot devices that are actually robust in their own right, rather than just delivered convincingly with a wry smile.

That’s got to be a good thing.