Who’s the big winner at National TV Awards

It’s amazing what some fresh ideas , a wad of money, and some 20 years off screen can do for a TV institution.

Back in the late 1980s when Doctor Who was on its knees credibility and ratings-wise, the chance of it winning any award other than one for most clapped out, cheap-looking, and embarrassing TV programme, was virtually nil.

Fast forward 20 years and the programme is now one of the BBC’s crown jewels, a status reinforced this week by its performance at the Nation Television Awards where Matt Smith and Karen Gillan (pictured) picked up gongs for Best Drama Performance in the Male and Female categories.

It wasn’t all good news for the Doctor Who production team though as Downtown Abbey won the tussle for Best Drama.

Gillan’s character, Amy Pond, is set to leave in the next series of Who but the man himself, Matt Smith, has confirmed that he will continue as the Doctor for the foreseeable future.

Whether this will last until the 50^th anniversary of Doctor Who is unknown but one thing is certain, Doctor Who fans will be going mad with excitement as they await a celebration that is rumoured to involve a gathering of past and present versions of the Doctor.