David Tennant quits Doctor Who

The announcement that many Doctor Who fans had been expecting and most had been dreading has finally been made. Last night, live on The National Television Awards, David Tennant, the Tenth Doctor, accepted the award for outstanding drama performance - and then told viewers that he is quitting the show.

In an intervew with the BBC, the 37-year-old Scottish actor described his three-series stint as "the most extraordinary time, it's been bewildering, life changing, very exciting," and explained, "I don't ever want it to feel like a job, so I want to move on when it still feels exciting and fresh and that means I'll miss it."

Tennant will appear in the Doctor Who Christmas episode, The Next Doctor, alongside David Morrissey, and in four specials next year, before handing the keys to the Tardis to…Who knows?

RadioTimes.com's resident Who expert William Gallagher gave his top tip for the new Doctor: "The odds are it will be an unknown, as David Tennant was, but if it is someone well known, I'd put money on Steven Moffat casting his old Coupling star, Richard Coyle."

Meanwhile, Russell T Davies has his own favourite and one of the major bookies has come up with this top ten of possible replacements for Tennant:

Patterson Joseph - 3/1
David Morrissey - 5/1
James Nesbitt - 6/1
John Simm - 8/1
Russell Tovey - 10/1
Anthony Head - 10/1
Richard E Grant - 14/1
Robert Carlyle - 14/1
Alan Davies - 16/1
Jason Statham - 18/1

So what do you think? Are you sad to see Tennant go? And who do you think should replace him? Post a comment below.