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"Matt Smith has said that his Doctor Who co-star Karen Gillan is one of his best friends. The actor also told talkshow host Graham Norton that he had known that Gillan would be leaving the show &amp;quot;for some time&amp;quot;.  In an appearance to be aired on BBC One tonight (December 23), Smith said: &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;ll miss Karen because she&amp;#039;s my best mate. She&amp;#039;s mad as a box of cats but a firecracker. &amp;quot;But there comes a time when a story concludes - and the essence of the show is that it constantly reinvents itself.&amp;quot; Smith also said that he is &amp;quot;very happy&amp;quot; to stay on Doctor Who as he &amp;quot;loves&amp;quot; the show, and entertained Norton with a variety of football tricks.    The actor played for Leicester City, Northampton Town and Nottingham Forest&amp;#039;s youth teams in his teenage years, but was unable to pursue a professional career due to a back injury. His co-stars Gillan and Arthur Darvill are due to make an &amp;quot;emotional&amp;quot; exit from Doctor Who in 2012. The Graham Norton Show Christmas special - featuring Smith, Dragon&amp;#039;s Den entrepreneur Hilary Devey, McFly stars Harry Judd and Dougie Poynter, comedian Russell Kane, actress Gillian Anderson and Gareth Malone with the Military Wives&amp;#039; Choir - will air tonight at 10.35pm on BBC One. &amp;gt; &amp;#039;Doctor Who&amp;#039; Christmas special preview with Alexander Armstrong &amp;gt; &amp;#039;Doctor Who&amp;#039; showrunner Steven Moffat denies quit story Watch a preview clip from The Graham Norton Show&amp;#039;s Christmas special below:      "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/showbiz/doctor-who/news/a357200/doctor-who-star-matt-smith-karen-gillan-is-my-best-mate/>