London - UPI
The BBC says current \"Doctor Who\" star Matt Smith isn\'t leaving the British science-fiction series next year, despite a tabloid report claiming he is. Sam Hodges, head of communications at BBC TV, denied a weekend Mirror story saying the 29-year-old actor wants out of the show because the workload is too intense. \"Matt Smith hasn\'t quit -- just an over excitable headline,\" Hodges said via Twitter. \"It\'s taken from comments saying he won\'t be doing it forever. He\'ll be around for a good while yet.\" Smith became the youngest actor to play the iconic role when he started playing the Doctor in 2009. A recent article in Empire Magazine quoted Smith as saying: \"I couldn\'t do this for seven years. I\'d be run into the ground. I don\'t think you can sustain it...\" \"There are no days off unless your leg has fallen off,\" he said. \"You see yourself looking slowly more bedraggled. I have aged savagely. But all for a good cause. I wouldn\'t change it for the world. There are burdens, but these are small crosses to bear for getting on set.\"