When Series 8 airs in 2014, its rumored that airing will begin in August and run for 12 episodes uninterrupted. If the rumors prove to be accurate, its great news, not only for us fans, but for the new Doctor to gain his/her foothold on the character.
The Sun, crediting an insider says that the BBC had to acknowledge Matt Smith’s exit from the show after an email lead to it’s clients saying that BBC had plans to air 12 new episodes starting in August 2014 and that “This will give the new Doctor a chance to develop with the audience (apologies for this spoiler if you didn’t know).”
Unfortunately August 2014 is 14 months away (the pain!) and a ton of things could happen or change between now and then, but if this news stays true, like I said, I think its great news for all involved
