During a much hyped live special on BBC One that was simulcast around the world, Peter Capaldi was revealed as the 12th Doctor on “Doctor Who.”
After the announcement, Capaldi told BBC News, “It’s so wonderful not to keep this secret any longer, but it’s been so fantastic.”
At 55 years old, Capaldi is nearly thirty years older than Matt Smith was when he took over the role of the Doctor from David Tennant. “Doctor Who” showrunner Steven Moffat had previously teased that the next Doctor may be older than his last few incarnations.
Unlike some of his predecessors, Capaldi is coming to “Doctor Who” as an established BBC star, primarily for his role as Malcolm Tucker in “The Thick of It” and in the film In the Loop. Among Capaldi’s numerous credits are appearances in “Waking The Dead,” “Fallen Angel,” “Midnight Man, “ “Torchwood: Children of Earth,” “The Hour” and he even had a previous guest slot on “Doctor Who” opposite Tennant’s Tenth Doctor in “The Fires of Pompeii.” That was also the episode in which Karen Gillan guest starred before she was cast as Amy Pond.
Earlier this week, Capaldi emerged as the frontrunner among bookmakers who were taking bets about whom would play the next Doctor. In a strange bit of coincidence, Capaldi was credited as a World Health Organization member, “WHO Doctor” in World War Z earlier this summer.
Within the mythology of “Doctor Who” itself, Capaldi will be the 12th Doctor, but the 13th regeneration of the same Time Lord following the reveal that John Hurt played an incarnation who didn’t live up to the Doctor’s name. On the original “Doctor Who” series, Time Lords were said to only have 13 incarnations before finally dying. But the Master has previously found a way around that.
Capaldi will make his debut as the Doctor near the end of this year’s Christmas special before taking over the role full time during the eighth season of “Doctor Who” in 2014.
