wait for it, waaaaaait for it ...

at 12:35 EST on the BBC or thereabouts, the name of the actor playing the next regeneration of Doctor Who will be announced. Anita Singh writes in the Telegraph:

"The 11th Doctor will be unveiled in a special BBC One programme, Doctor Who Confidential, at 5.35pm. The hype surrounding the announcement is so great that the show will be broadcast on giant outdoor screens around the country. Negotiations with the actor who will take over have taken place over the last three months and the deal signed in recent days. Tennant will remain on screen throughout 2009 in a series of special episodes but the new Doctor is expected to make an introductory appearance in one of them. A campaign for a black Doctor Who has gathered pace and earned the backing of the show's outgoing writer, Russell T Davies. Favourites for the role include Paterson Joseph, who appeared in two Doctor Who episodes in 2005, Hustle star Adrian Lester and Dirty Pretty Things actor Chiwetel Ejiofor. Despite Davies' tongue-in-cheek lobbying for Catherine Zeta Jones to become the next Time Lord, it is thought unlikely that a woman will be given the role. Cold Feet's James Nesbitt, Shakespearean actor Ben Whishaw and the little-known Russell Tovey have also been linked to the job. David Morrissey, who appeared in the Christmas Day special as a man who mistakenly believed himself to be the Doctor, is another contender. Tennant recently described Morrissey as "perfect casting" for the role.

Piers Wenger, the show's executive producer and head of drama for BBC Wales, where the series is filmed, said: "We are so pleased to have been able to cast this person as the new Doctor. We believe the actor is going to bring something very special to the role and will make it absolutely their own. "I just can't wait to tell everyone who it is. It has been a nail-biting Christmas trying to keep this under wraps."

Personally, if they go for a black doctor, which would be like Obama rather than Hillary, I'd vote for the lovely Colin Salmon, who was Dr. Moon in the library eps. Meanwhile, I am on at least a couple of tenterhooks!