New Doctor Who star 'conned' into acting

This is The West Country

A DRAMA teacher from Taunton ‘conned’ the new Doctor in cult television series Doctor Who into taking to the stage as a teenager, the County Gazette can reveal.

Twenty-six-year-old Matt Smith – the eleventh incarnation and youngest Doctor Who ever – wanted to be a top footballer rather than a television star and played in the youth teams of Leicester City and Nottingham Forest until a back injury forced him to quit.

But Jerry Hardingham, Matt’s drama teacher at Northampton School for Boys, always believed he was destined for the stage.

And when the 14-year-old failed to audition for a part in a school production of 12 Angry Men, his biggest supporter cast him in the play without him knowing.

Speaking to the County Gazette, Jerry, now a drama teacher at West Somerset Community College in Minehead, said: “We had a new theatre opening, and the production of 12 Angry Men was a big opportunity for Matt, but he didn’t turn up for the auditions.

“I rang his mum who told me he was on holiday, so I told her he was doing this part in the play – no discussion.

“He was so self-effacing and was thinking of doing history at Sheffield University but me, his mum, dad and another drama teacher were telling him not to go.......read more here