Filming for the fifth series of Doctor Who has today begun in Cardiff and both Matt Smith and Karen Gillan have already been spotted on set. To celebrate the launch of the filming, the BBC's official Doctor Who website have now uploaded a new picture of Matt Smith and Karen Gillan in their character's costumes and a new press release for the series has also been released. You can view this press release in full here on this site below;

Filming has at last started on the next series of Doctor Who! New showrunner and long-running Doctor Who fan Steven Moffat has developed this series and, as Lead Writer and Executive Producer, will be responsible for the overall creative direction of the show, as well as plot and character arcs. His previous episodes of Doctor Who, including the BAFTA-winning episode Blink, have garnered widespread acclaim from critics and fans alike.

Discussing the series, Moffat commented, 'And here it is, the big moment - the new Doctor, and his new best friend. And here's me, with the job I wanted since I was seven. 40 years to here! If I could go back in time and tell that little boy that one day all this would happen, he'd scream, call for his Mum and I'd be talking to you now from a prison cell in 1969. So probably best not then. Matt and Karen are going to be incredible, and Doctor Who is going to come alive on Saturday nights in a whole new way - and best of all, somewhere out there, a seven-year-old is going to see them, fall in love, and start making a forty year plan...'

Piers Wenger, Executive Producer and Head of Drama, BBC Wales added, 'The scripts for the new series are every bit as funny, thrilling, scary and imaginative as you'd expect from the man who brought us The Empty Child and Blink. There's a strange and perfect alchemy between Steven and Matt Smith and the next few months are going to be riveting as that relationship starts to emerge on screen. Steven always says he's been waiting to do this job since he was seven. But it's actually the Doctor who has been waiting for him.'

The new series follows on from three Doctor Who specials starring David Tennant which will transmit later this year.

Ben Stephenson, Controller, BBC Drama Commissioning says, 'I am thrilled that a whole new generation of children will forever say that their Doctor was the wonderful Matt Smith.'

The series was co-commissioned by Ben Stephenson, Controller, BBC Drama Commissioning for BBC One and Jay Hunt, Controller of BBC One and will be produced by Tracie Simpson (Doctor Who) and Peter Bennett (Torchwood). Steven Moffat is Lead Writer and Executive Producer (Jekyll) with Piers Wenger, Head of Drama, BBC Wales and Beth Willis (Ashes to Ashes), also Executive Producing.

Filming is taking place in Cardiff right through to March, 2010 and we'll be here to bring you the production news as it happens. So stay tuned. The journey starts right here!

You can view an image of both Matt and Karen's costumes in full here and we also now know that the name of the Karen's character will be Amy Pond. Doctor Who series five will see Matt Smith take on the role of the 11th Doctor and Steven Moffat take on the role of the head writer for the show. The series is currently being filmed and filming will continue for the next nine months. According to reports, the series is scheduled for transmission in Spring next year and more information about the series will be posted as soon as it becomes available.