Moffat named Doctor Who supremo

Scriptwriter Steven Moffat was today named lead writer and executive producer on hit BBC1 drama Doctor Who.Moffat, who has written a number of episodes of the show - including the acclaimed 'Blink' episode which won him the writer prize at this year's Bafta Craft Awards - will replace Russell T Davies. Davies, the key creative figure behind the Doctor Who revival in 2005, stands down next year.

The appointment makes Moffat Doctor Who's showrunner - the key creative force behind the programme - on the fifth series, which will be broadcast on BBC1 in 2010. As well as 'Blink', his previous work on Doctor Who includes 'The Girl in the Fireplace' for series two which earned him his second Hugo Award. His first was for the series one two-parter 'The Empty Child'. Davies said: "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!"

For the current series, Moffat has written 'Silence in the Library', a two-parter starring Alex Kingston that transmits later this month on BBC1. Moffat said: "My entire career has been a secret plan to get this job. I applied before but I got knocked back because 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."

Davies and Julie Gardner, the BBC Wales head of drama, have worked on the fourth series of Doctor Who and are working on four specials for broadcast in 2009. In 2009 BBC Wales, which makes Doctor Who, will also have a new head of drama when producer Piers Wenger takes over from Gardner.

The BBC fiction controller, Jane Tranter, said: "The Tardis couldn't be in safer hands. Steven's talents on both Doctor Who and beyond are well known. He is a writer of glittering brilliance, comedy and depth, with an extraordinary imagination and a unique voice. Steven has a wonderful mix of being a committed Doctor Who fan and a true artist, and his plans for the next series are totally thrilling."

Steven Moffat's professional television career began in 1989 as a writer of all 43 episodes, over five series, of the fondly remembered ITV children's drama Press Gang, starring Julia Sawalha and Dexter Fletcher. He won his first Bafta for the show, for best children's programme.

The writer, who was born in 1961, went on to write two BBC sitcoms, the first of which, Joking Apart, was about a breakdown of a couple's relationship. It starred Robert Bathurst and Fiona Gillies and drew on Moffat's own experiences around the break up of his first marriage. He joked afterwards that the series "lasted longer" than his actual marriage. Moffat also wrote Chalk in 1997, which was set in a school and starred David Bamber as headteacher Eric Slatt. The BBC1 comedy drew on Moffat's early life as an English teacher.

However, it was with BBC2 sitcom Coupling, produced by his second wife Sue Vertue and broadcast from 2000, that Moffat's career really moved into another gear. The show, featuring an ensemble cast including Jack Davenport, Sarah Alexander and Gina Bellman, dealt with the ups and downs of the love lives of a group of young single friends. Coupling ran for four series and won a best TV comedy prize at the British Comedy Awards. NBC commissioned a US version, but it was axed after only three episodes – a failure Moffat blamed loudly and publicly on the network for meddling with the creative team behind the show.

More recent work includes the six-part thriller Jekyll, starring James Nesbitt and Michelle Ryan, which was shown on BBC1 last year.

On Doctor Who, Moffat has penned some of the series' most critically acclaimed episodes. His episodes are among many fans' favourites, although perhaps the best praise came from Russell T Davies, who revealed in an interview that he often edits scripts for the series but "doesn't touch a word" of Moffat's episodes.

Moffatt will continue as one of the directors on the board of Hartswood Films which produced Coupling and Jekyll, and for which he is also developing a new comedy Adam & Eve. It is about a boss and his PA, who are long-term friends but never get together. He has also just delivered the screenplay for Tintin, the first instalment of the trilogy of films featuring the iconic Belgian comic-strip hero. Steven Spielberg will direct the film for DreamWorks, with a cast featuring Thomas Sangster and Andy Serkis.

There has been much speculation in recent months about who would replace Davies as the creative leader of Doctor Who and Moffat has generally been a popular candidate among the show's fanatical fan base – although there have been a few dissenting voices who worry that his writing for the show might suffer. Time will tell.