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Doctor Who co-stars Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill might have last been seen together on screen nearly a decade ago, but the trio’s friendship is still going strong.
As Matt rung in his 40th birthday this week, his former co-stars were close by, joining in the celebrations in Equador.
Taking advantage of the sunshine and the endless natural beauty on offer in the Galapagos Islands, Matt had a group of family and friends there to mark the occasion with him in South America.
While Matt doesn’t have social media, Karen shared a video of him making faces at the camera as they took off on a boat trip.
Capturing some of what they’ve all been getting up to, Karen shared a bunch of photos and videos as they encountered tropical crabs, birds and lizards, and even a seal shaking about on the shore.
Spare a thought for Arthur too, as Karen caught him struggling to put on his wetsuit on camera, captioning the post: ‘Enjoy [him] dealing with a snug wetsuit’.
Matt Smith turned 40 this week (Picture: Karen Gillan/ Instagram)
Taking the trip with the Charles Darwin Foundation, Matt’s mum Lynne also shared some snaps of her son, who most recently starred in House of the Dragon.
In one video, likely taken on his birthday on Friday, a group gathered around him and sung He’s a Jolly Good Fellow before he blew out the candles on his cake.
‘This trip couldn’t get any better. Thank you for your grace and hospitality, this is really too kind,’ he said.
Arthur Darvill, Matt Smith and Karen Gillan starred in Doctor Who together (Picture: BBC)
From 2013 until 2013 Matt played the 11th Doctor, while Karen and Arthur played his assistants, childhood sweethearts Amy Pond and Rory Williams.
Matt was replaced by Peter Capaldi who became the 12th Doctor in 2014.
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While he managed to make it through the bloodshed of House of the Dragon and looks set to return for the second season, Matt recently said that he thought his exit as the doctor could have been ‘better.’
‘I knew I had to leave really but part of you goes, “Oh I could stay for a bit”, regenerating is a tough… was it the best episode it could be? I dunno, maybe, maybe not,’ he said.
‘I was proud of the body of work up to that point. But I think everything can always be better.’
House of the Dragon is available to stream on NOW, while Doctor Who streams on BBC iPlayer.
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The trio have been exploring the Galapagos Islands.