Face of the week: Matt Smith

Laura Craik
26 May 2009

One of the first signs of getting older is that everyone else starts to look extremely young.

Still, this does not entirely explain away the freakish revelation that Matt Smith, aka The New Dr Who, seems to be about 12.

Granted, the T-shirt doesn't help. But you have to commend the bloke's chutzpah for wearing it.

Some might say wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with a photo of a topless Kate Moss smoking a fag isn't the wisest thing to do if you are poised to take over the lead role in one of the most successful, iconic and child-friendly television series in the history of the BBC.

Clearly, our new Doctor is a man who knows his own style, and refuses to tweak his wardrobe on the basis that a few million eight-year-olds are about to start worshipping his every move.

And why should he? On the basis of this picture, Smith's personal style - groupie tee, skinny jeans, pointy shoes, floppy hair and military jacket - makes him look more like the frontsman of an indie band than a 900-year-old time lord. This point cannot have gone unnoticed by the BBC.

When it comes to the merchandising potential of Dr Who, it can only be a big advantage to cast a young bloke whose cheekbones are so sure to attract the tween vote.

Besides, every Doctor has his trademark. Tom Baker had that woolly scarf, Peter Davison had his cricket whites and David Tennant had his unfeasibly long coat. Perhaps Matt Smith should claim the groupie T-shirt as his own.

Imagine the icons who could grace his chest throughout his tenure as the Doctor: the Queen, Iggy Pop, Mick Jagger, Debbie Harry and - my favourite - David Tennant, in an ironic nod to the fact that Tennant's final episode will see him "regenerate" into Smith.

Smith's first episode is due to air in December: will he do for men's fashion what Carrie Bradshaw did for women's? You wouldn't bet against it.