Who's that girl? Matt Smith in the cross-dressing role that helped land him role of the new Time Lord



This is the new Doctor Who, Matt Smith, getting in touch with his feminine side on the West End stage.

The 26-year-old taking over from David Tennant as the Time Lord slipped on a white dress with hooped earrings and a pearl necklace during his critically acclaimed performance in That Face at London's Royal Court in 2007.



The actor won a Evening Standard Best Newcomer nomination for the role and a year later the play had a second life in the West End at the Duke of York’s Theatre.

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In That Face, written by newcomer Polly Stenham, Smith plays the confused and damaged 18-year-old Henry, who has an incestuous relationship with his drug-abusing and alcoholic mother Martha.

In the final scene of the play, Martha, played by Lindsay Duncan, dresses her son in her silk nightie, pearls and lipstick, to the horror of his absentee father Hugh.

Smith wowed critics in the play, who dubbed his performance 'heart-rending' and 'deeply affecting'.



Meanwhile, it was revealed yesterday that the actor has signed a five-year contract worth up to £1million.

Smith, 26, will earn drastically less than departing Time lord David Tennant, who earned about £1million a year for the role.

The BBC has signed a three-year deal with Smith worth £600,000, with an option for a further two years.

The reduced wage is a reflection of the credit crunch and the fact that Smith comes into the show as an unknown whereas Tennant already had a TV presence when he first entered the Tardis.

The BBC would like to tie Smith down for a long-time if he is a success in the role having been hit hard by the unwanted departures of previous stars.

Christopher Eccleston quit after just one series and Tennant left after three full series of the show and at the height of his popularity.

The BBC will not comment on the agreement, as with all talent deals, but it is understood it has slashed what it would have paid 12 months ago.

Smith, who will become the eleventh Time Lord, is the youngest ever actor to play the 903-year-old doctor.

Family saga: Absentee father Hugh (Julian Wadham) is horrified to see his son Henry (Matt Smith) dressed up in his mother Martha's (Lindsay Duncan) clothes

He signed up for the part in December, but will not appear on screen until next year.

Programme-makers are keen to avoid a repeat of the current situation where 37-year-old Tenant left the role as the series was getting massive ratings.

The BBC was also forced to accommodate his growing desire to play other roles, including Hamlet, leaving them with just four specials this year and no series.

Last week Smith, who is currently appearing in BBC2 detective drama Moses Jones, indicated that he had made a long-term commitment

He told the Doctor Who magazine: 'I'll hit 30 in 2012, and that's an important stage of growing up, and how brilliant to do that as Matt Smith, but also as Matt Smith playing the Doctor.'