New Times,
New Thinking.

  1. Culture
4 August 2013updated 27 Sep 2015 3:57am

Doctor Who: Peter Capaldi revealed as the new Doctor

The name revealed on a special BBC1 announcement programme.

By Caroline Crampton

After a frankly bizarre “announcement” programme hosted by Zoe Ball on BBC1, the identity of the actor who will replace Matt Smith as the Doctor has been revealed as Peter Capaldi. (For a glimpse of how ridiculous the show was – at one point they randomly interviewed Bruno Tonioli off Strictly – check out Stuart Heritage’s Guardian live blog.)

Capaldi revealed to Ball that he is a lifelong fan of the show – he even wrote to the Radio Times to request more coverage of the show when he was 15 years old. Perhaps most famous for his performance as the steely, sweary spin-doctor Malcolm Tucker in The Thick of It, Capaldi has actually already appeared on Doctor Who during David Tennant’s stint as the Doctor playing a Roman marble merchant called Caecilius in the 2008 episode “The Fires of Pompeii” (incidentally also Karen Gillan’s first appearance on the show as a soothsayer – she was later cast as companion Amy). He was also in the Torchwood: Children of Earth series as government minister John Frobisher.

In an interview during the annoucement show, outgoing Doctor Matt Smith explained that Capaldi came up to him on the street after his first episode had aired, and gave him some much-need reassurance that his performance was good.

Now read Alwyn W Turner’s essay “Sergeant Pepper Pots” about the cultural significance of the Daleks.

Select and enter your email address Your weekly guide to the best writing on ideas, politics, books and culture every Saturday. The best way to sign up for The Saturday Read is via saturdayread.substack.com The New Statesman's quick and essential guide to the news and politics of the day. The best way to sign up for Morning Call is via morningcall.substack.com
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how Progressive Media Investments may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
THANK YOU

Content from our partners
No health, no growth
Tackling cancer waiting times
Kickstarting growth: will complex health issues be ignored?