Doctor Who actor Peter Capaldi, who played the Twelfth Doctor in the British science fiction series recently explained why he has no plans to ever return to the series.
Peter Capaldi speaking at the 2017 San Diego Comic Con International, for “Doctor Who”, at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California. Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Speaking with Forbes about his role as Detective Chief Inspector Daniel Hegarty in Criminal Record, Capaldi was asked about whether he would return to the show.
He answered, “No. I’m a long-standing Doctor Who fan from being a kid. Haggerty is the same age as me, so maybe he watched Doctor Who, too. He’s of that era. I like the idea that my Doctor is still out there. He’s not available to come and be on TV. The real Doctor is not on TV, the real Doctor is out there.”
Peter Capaldi as the 12th Doctor
While he notes he has no intention of returning to Doctor Who, he did provide praise for the new specials, “I enjoyed it. I thought it was great and a lot of fun. It was wonderful, exuberant, and full of life, drama, and monsters. David was wonderful, and Catherine Tate, of course.”
He added, “It’s Doctor Who, you know, it’s a gas and a good thing in the world. It’s a nice, fun, exciting thing, and I look forward to the rest of the specials and Ncuti Gatwa coming along. I’ve met him, and he’s very inspiring and charming.”
The Doctor (David Tennant) and Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) in Doctor Who Special Three: The Giggle
While Capaldi has no interest in returning to Doctor Who, he is interested in working with James Gunn again.
He told Forbes, “Of course, I would, absolutely. James was lovely; I loved working with him. He creates such a great atmosphere on set and is such a nice person to work with.”
“I honestly think James is gifted, clever, and sharp, but I sometimes feel like he’s making a film in his garage,” Capaldi shared. “He feels like a guy who would go off at the weekend and make these films because he has such enthusiasm and sincerity about them.”
He concluded, “I think that’s what makes this work stand out; he means it. He has a meaningful relationship with all these comic book characters; it’s not a commercial relationship. He cares about them, and that’s wonderful.”
Peter Capaldi as the Thinker in The Suicide Squad (2021), Warner Bros. Pictures
Capaldi is not the only former Doctor to indicate he has no interest in returning to the show. Christopher Eccleston, who played the 9th Doctor said the only way he would return is if massive changes happened to the show’s production.
“Sack Russell T. Davies, sack Jane Tranter, sack Phil Colinson, sack Julie Gardner and I’ll come back,” Eccleston said. “So can you arrange that?”
Former Doctor Who actor Christopher Eccleston says Russell T. Davies and more need to be sacked in order for him to return to Doctor Who. pic.twitter.com/lC7uxBYX7A
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What do you make of Capaldi’s comments?
