Doctor Who is probably Britain’s biggest TV show (apart from those Simon Cowell makes) and is broadcast weekly in 42 countries around the world, so with such a large fan base it wouldn’t be shock to learn that BBC Film are quietly working on a movie version of the show. Unlike Lost and other shows that could potentially spawn a movie, Doctor Who episodes have no strict links between them, and the TV specials being shown throughout this year prove that the Doctor can appear just about anywhere, which makes a movie version more viable.

Buried at the bottom of a Doctor Who related BBC article we get:

David Tennant will firstly appear in three specials, starting with The Waters of Mars in November.

Meanwhile, Doctor Who may be heading for the big screen after a spokeswoman for BBC Films confirmed that “a script is in development”.

BBC entertainment correspondent Lizo Mzimba said there were no guarantees a film would be made and that, if the project went into full production, a release would be a long time away.

So if it eventually happens David Tennant probably won’t be the Doctor, instead it may be Matt Smith who will take over the role in 2010.

Steven Moffat, who co-wrote The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn for Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson, will be taking over Russell T Davies’ job as head writer and executive produce for future series, so he would be a great candidate to write the script for the movie.

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Doctor Who has been a ratings winner ever since it was rebooted in 2005. However, the BBC are now planning to make four specials in place of a full season. Does this mean Doctor Who is running out of steam? Well according to head writer Steven Moffat (who turned down writing the script for Steven Spielberg’s Tintin trilogy to work on Doctor Who) the doctor hasn’t finished yet, as a movie could be on the cards.

…as long as it never gets in the way of the show. It would be great to see it at the cinema. It’s been there before so it would be good to see it again. A movie is 90 minutes, that’s not that different from making a single episode, so I’m not against it.”

I would be interested in seeing a movie. I wouldn’t call myself an avid Doctor Who fan however I watch it now and again. It is cheesy British sci-fi at it’s best, so why not make it into a movie?

• Doctor Who movie has a script in development