Whovians may have to wait until September for Matt Smith's Doctor Who successor to be announced

Matt Smith has decided to stand down as Doctor Who (BBC)

The bookies may be rubbing their hands together as speculation about Skyfall’s Rory Kinnear and Homeland’s David Harewood gather momentum, but Doctor Who fans are going to have to wait for some time to discover who will be the successor to Matt Smith’s Time Lord.

The BBC now says it will be August or September before the identity of the character’s 12 incarnation, according to insiders quoted in the Radio Times.

Filming of the Christmas special – which will be followed by the full series – will not take place until the autumn and sources say the identity of the new Doctor will be unveiled just prior to filming.

Whovians had hoped to have their new Gallifreyan by July as the BBC had hoped to commence filming of the Christmas special next month.

“Suffice to say we are completely on track,” said a BBC spokeswoman said.

Meanwhile the rumour mill has gone into overdrive with Kinnear and Harewood competing with other major names from Dominic Cooper, Domhall Gleeson, Daniel Kaluuya just some of those thought to be up for the role.