Doctor Who Peter Capaldi on why there’s nothing bittersweet about leaving the BBC sci-fi show
The 12th Doctor Who says blowing up people dressed as monsters has been fun, and turning up at conventions and making some money along the way are some of the perks of the BBC’s classic Time Lord role
Doctor Who can probably go on forever. Just not with Peter Capaldi.
The actor, who has played the British time-travelling alien since late 2013, announced earlier this year that he would be departing the sci-fi show. But his Doctor, the 12th in the show’s more than 50-year history, isn’t done yet.
Who returns for BBC America’s 10th season (it returned to TV in 2005) on Saturday, and there’s a new companion in the Tardis (Pearl Mackie) and new monsters to be fought before Capaldi turns the role over to an as-yet-unannounced successor. But he’s not worried about the show going on without him. And the latest spin-off of the series, Class, follows Who on Saturday.
“The Doctor is a beacon of hope and kindness and goodness,” Capaldi says. “Because he can change, he can survive. ... I think it can go on (for a long time). I think it should.”
Who should be Doctor No. 13? “I think Tom Baker should be the next Doctor,” he jokes, referring to the 83-year-old actor who played the show’s much-beloved fourth Doctor. “He’s in pretty good shape, isn’t he?”
More questions and answers:
Has it been bittersweet to film your final season?