Claim: Matt Smith is an actor.

`` The Time of the Doctor '' is an episode of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who , written by Steven Moffat and directed by Jamie Payne , and was broadcast as the ninth Doctor Who Christmas special on 25 December 2013 on BBC One . It features the final regular appearance of Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor and the first regular appearance of Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor following his brief cameo in `` The Day of the Doctor '' . The episode also features Jenna Coleman as the Doctor 's companion Clara Oswald , plus several enemies of the Doctor , including the Cybermen , Silence , Daleks , and Weeping Angels .   The episode addresses numerous plot threads developed over the course of Smith 's tenure , including the prophecy of the Silence , cracks in the universe , and the Doctor 's fate on the planet Trenzalore , while also dealing with the regeneration limit established in `` The Deadly Assassin '' . `` The Time of the Doctor '' is the ninth Christmas special since the show 's 2005 revival , and Matt Smith 's fourth and final Christmas special as the Eleventh Doctor .