Peter Who?

Background

Peter Capaldi: The Twelfth Doctor

So, after weeks of speculation and rumours, we finally have our 12th Doctor. The special programme revealed the identity of the next actor to take to the blue box. Many Doctor Who fans will be asking the question: Peter who?

Peter Capaldi, 55, is perhaps most well-known for his role as a spin doctor in BBC's The Thick of It and it's subsequent film In the Loop. The eagle-eyed DW fans will notice that Capaldi has actually appeared in the show before in the 2008 episode The Fires of Pompeii as Caecilius. Peter, who is Scottish, is also a film director.

The right choice? 

I am a huge fan of Matt Smith, he is probably my favourite Doctor because he controls every scene and brings a funny and serious image to the programme that millions of fans over the world love and to be able to do all of that at such a young age is truly remarkable. Bringing someone 25 years older into the frame to play the Doctor is extremely risky because the Doctors have been getting gradually younger over time. I believe that the one thing we will miss the most, that both Matt and David before him brought to the show, is a younger actor's physicality. If you focus on the paralinguistics of Matt Smith in the role of the Doctor you can see that he never stays still, he's always running, jumping, spinning, clapping and fixing his hair. With the Whovians getting used to a more active Doctor there is a lingering question: Can Capaldi keep up? And it may be even harder for him because Jenna Coleman, 27, will be playing the Doctor's companion for another series - is the age gap just too big?

However, you should never judge a book by it's cover and I really need to see Peter in the role before I make a conclusive judgement about him. For the sake of the show, I hope he proves me wrong. 

Final Thought: Remember we still have at least 2 hours of Matt Smith before he leaves the show, so don't cry until the 25th of December.

REMINDER: 50TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL - 23RD OF NOVEMBER.