Steven Moffat New Showrunner For 'Doctor Who'

He replaces Russell T. Davies, the man credited for finding a way to revive the 45-year-old franchise after it spent more than a decade in mothballs.

"My entire career has been a secret plan to get this job," Moffat said, according to The Guardian, which first broke this story Tuesday morning American time. "I applied before, but I got knocked back because the BBC wanted someone else. Also, I was 7" years old.

"Anyway, I'm glad the BBC has finally seen the light, and it's a huge honor to be following Russell into the best -- and the toughest -- job in television."

Moffat has been honored by almost every organization available, including the Hugo awards from the World Science Fiction Society and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Many fans have celebrated him the most for his episode "Blink" last season, which was meant to be nothing more than a "Doctor Who"-Lite episode.

He also wrote "The Empty Child," "The Doctor Dances," "The Girl in the Fireplace," and two upcoming episodes "Silence in the Library" and "Forest of the Dead."

Davies has hinted about stepping back from "Doctor Who" especially as his workload compounds with spinoffs of his modern re-creation, including "The Sarah Jane Adventures" and "Torchwood." It's not clear whether he'll continue working on those shows or not.

"Doctor Who" will take a year off in 2009, but still show a handful of specials that are already in production with Davies at the helm. Moffat will take over Davies' old office for the start of the fifth season which is set to begin filming next year, and air in Spring 2010 on BBC.

"It's been a delight and an honor working with Steven, and I can't wait to see where his extraordinary imagination takes The Doctor," Davies told The Guardian. "Best of all, I get to be a viewer again, watching on a Saturday night."

Davies earned his name in British television for his groundbreaking Channel 4 series "Queer as Folk." Davies has said in the past that the only thing that would bring him back to the BBC is if the network would let him revive "Doctor Who," which had been dormant outside of a television movie since 1989. Although BBC did try to work out a deal that would bring the show back in 1999, it wasn't until 2004 before both sides were ready to move forward on a newer version of the series that would premiere in 2005 with Christopher Eccleston as The Doctor.

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