Want the best food, film, music, arts and culture news sent straight to your inbox? Sign up for regular updates of events happening in Wales Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Rumours have been suggesting that the next Doctor Who star will be named on Sunday, and those rumours have now been confirmed as being true.

The BBC’s Doctor Who team have confirmed that the next Doctor will be unveiled on live television at 7pm on Sunday, in a special episode of Doctor Who Confidential.

It follow rumours that there was some significance in the fact that Countryfile had been moved back to the later time of 8pm on Sunday, to make way for a repeat episode of Celebrity Mastermind.

It didn’t take a Mastermind to work out that something was afoot, and eagle-eyed Doctor Who fans predicted that the slot would be filled by a one-off special of Doctor Who Confidential, featuring the twelfth Doctor.

The BBC have closely guarded the identity of the latest Time Lord and BBC boss Ben Stephenson revealed executives at the corporation have been using the codeword “Houdini” to stop it getting out.

This Sunday’s half-hour show, which goes out on BBC1 at 7pm, will be presented by Zoe Ball and feature interviews with Smith and executive producer Steven Moffat as well as guests including celebrity fans and some previous incarnations of the science-fiction hero.

Moffat said: “The decision is made and the time has come to reveal who’s taking over the TARDIS. For the last of the Time Lords, the clock is striking 12.”

BBC drama controller Ben Stephenson said: “We can’t wait to unveil the next Doctor with everyone live on BBC1 on Sunday night. Amongst all the speculation and betting, there has been lots of fun and intrigue at work as we’ve been using the codename Houdini as a decoy.

“It’s the biggest secret in showbiz, even those working with the new Doctor on other projects at the moment have no idea they are in the presence of the twelfth incarnation.”

The new Doctor will not make an appearance on the 50th anniversary episode of Doctor Who, but will instead take over from Matt Smith in this year’s Christmas Special.

Matt Smith’s departure from the show has seen him praise the show’s fans, known as Whovians, commonly regarded as some of the most eager and active fans in the sci-fi world.

The fan base has exploded during the tenure of David Tennant and Matt Smith, and their replacement will have big shoes to fill, with a new army of fans in America and Australia.