If anyone ever had a doubt about how committed executive producer Steven Moffat is to his show ‘Doctor Who,’ then think again. In an interview with The Guardian, Moffat reveals how he walked away from a three picture deal with Steven Spielberg to become the show runner for ‘Doctor Who.’

Moffat has said that he had fulfilled a childhood dream when he was asked to write for ‘Doctor Who’ in 2004. About the time that Russell T. Davies was thinking about leaving the ‘Doctor Who’ series, Moffat was hired by Spielberg to write the script for three ‘The Adventures of Tintin’ films. He was already working on this project when the position to become the executive producer for ‘Doctor Who’ was offered to him. Without a second thought, Moffat took the offer essentially walking out on Spielberg. “I felt really guilty,” explains Moffat, “Far from swaggering out of the building saying, ‘I don’t care about your damn movie’, I felt haunted with guilt because I was the villain. I’m glad they used some of my script in the first film. Steven was lovely about it. He could have sued me.”

Choosing television over a movie career may seem like a bad career move, but Moffat admits he likes the flexibility and freedom that comes with filming for television. “You can get things made the same year you think of it,” he says, “rather than 12 years later. We can make three Sherlock films in the time it takes Hollywood to have lunch.”

Currently, Moffat is gearing up to start production on the 7th season of ‘Doctor Who’ as well as setting up for the 50th anniversary year in 2013. In an interview with Radio Times, he confirmed that there will be “at least” 14 episodes (which includes a Christmas special) and that the series will return sometime in autumn. And what are his plans for the 50th anniversary year? As usual, Moffat won’t tell but has stated he has “huge” and “extensive” plans and did promise this:

“Honestly, I’m saying this as a Doctor Who fan myself, and knowing a certain amount about what’s coming…There will never be a better time, I promise you for so many reasons I can’t talk about yet, there will never be a better time to be a Doctor Who fan, I absolutely promise that “

I have to admit, I’m very impressed by the level of commitment and loyalty that Moffat has for ‘Doctor Who.’ Working on the Tintin films would obviously have opened more doors in Hollywood for Moffat. It’s good to know that his decision was not made in vein and fans can enjoy more adventures with the mad man with a box.

What do you think? Did Moffat make the right decision?