Doctor Who: Introducing The Twelfth Doctor

Doctor Who: Introducing The Twelfth Doctor

The wait is over, the announcement has been made - this evening during a live BBC broadcast, Scottish actor Peter Capaldi, 55, was confirmed as the Twelfth incarnation of alien time traveller The Doctor in Doctor Who.

So then...Doctor Who exactly?

Well, fans of television and movies in general won't even need to ask that question. Not only is Capaldi a self-confessed 'Whovian' (definition: dedicated fan of Doctor Who), but he is also an incredibly well established actor in his own right, his most famous credit as the hilariously foul-mouthed Malcolm Tucker in the BBC's The Thick Of It. Other projects include Waking The Dead and, most recently, a supporting role in the summer blockbuster World War Z.

Eagle-eyed Whovians will also recognise Capaldi from appearances in previous episodes of both Doctor Who (pictured below in Series 4, Episode 2: The Fires of Pompeii) and its spin-off Torchwood for all five episodes of its third series. 

Capaldi's casting is an interesting one, as not only is he an established acting talent, but the BBC contacted him and asked him to audition, rather than completely allowing unknown actors to try out for the role. Importantly, Capaldi is a huge fan of the show and he says he could not be happier to bag the most iconic role on British television.

It's about time that an older Doctor was brought to the fore, as the past two incarnations have been assuredly appealing to the "Twilight generation" despite their formidable acting abilities. In 2005, Christopher Eccleston played the Ninth Doctor in the first of the show's revived series; he brought a dark angst to the role following The Doctor's apparent act of genocide in a Time War, killing every single member of his own race.

After one series, Eccleston left due to creative differences between himself and the producers, which allowed fan-favourite David Tennant to take over as the Tenth Doctor. Tennant himself was an up-and-coming star, having played the lead role in BBC 3's Casanova (also written by then-showrunner Russell T. Davies) but Doctor Who was his big break into stardom. 

In 2008, Tennant announced his departure from the show and after four seasonal specials, the Tenth Doctor emotionally regenerated on New Year's Day 2010 into his Eleventh incarnation: Matt Smith.

The reveal of Smith's casting was met with a barrage of head-scratching newspaper headlines: Doctor Who? After his first episode, Smith soon won over all the doubters and immediately made the role his own. Three years later, it's time for Smith to step down and the Eleventh Doctor will regenerate in this year's Christmas special.

Enter Twelve...

So what sort of Doctor will he be? Will he swing towards Smith or levitate towards Eccleston? Personally I'm hoping for the latter, but each Doctor has their own mix of dark and light and Capaldi is experienced enough to put his own spin on every line. Younger fans may find themselves in denial of him at first ("Oh but he's too old, he's not good looking enough!" was a particularly annoying Tweet I came across), but with some good writing and some positive side characters, Capaldi's Doctor will win over the fandom.

With this regeneration, the show is at an advantage. When Tennant left, so did all of the side characters who had supported him during his era - Billie Piper, Catherine Tate, John Barrowman, Bernard Cribbins - none of their characters have been seen nor heard since Matt Smith took over. And that's no bad thing - Doctor Who is all about change. Yet this time, Capaldi will still be aided by Jenna Coleman as the companion Clara Oswald, as well as a few other familiar faces who have proven popular with fans over the last year. The show is not reinventing itself again - more like shifting into a different gear.

Sadly however, we'll probably only see a few moments of Capaldi's Doctor in the closing seconds of the Christmas Special and after that, we have no idea when Series 8 will actually air on TV, although recent rumours have suggested that it'll hit our screens in late 2014.

So then, Peter Capaldi. Welcome to Doctor Who. You are now live aboard the TARDIS.

Please do not swear.