Steven Moffat to succeed Davies as Executive Producer

The BBC Press Office and various media sources (originally broken by MediaGuardian) have announced thatSteven Moffat is to succeed Russell T Davies as the chief writer and executive producer of Doctor Who when it returns for its fifth series.

The article states that Moffat will replace Davies in 2009, taking over as "showrunner" for the fifth series in 2010. Moffat has been responsible for several episodes of the revived Doctor Who to date, including the BAFTA Award-winning "Blink" and the forthcoming two-parter "Silence in the Library" and "Forest of the Dead".

Davies is quoted as saying: "It's been a delight and an honour working with Steven, and I can't wait to see where his extraordinary imagination takes the Doctor. Best of all, I get to be a viewer again, watching on a Saturday night!"

The BBC press release includes a comment from Moffat himself: "My entire career has been a Secret Plan to get this job. I applied before but I got knocked back 'cos the BBC wanted someone else. Also I was seven. Anyway, I'm glad the BBC has finally seen the light, and it's a huge honour to be following Russell into the best - and the toughest - job in television. I say toughest 'cos Russell's at my window right now, pointing and laughing."

Moffat will continue as a director on the board of Hartswood Films, which produced Coupling and Jekyll, where he is also working on a new comedy Adam & Eve with wife Sue Vertue.