The BBC has made its choice and finally announced the twelfth Doctor Who is to be played by the great Peter Capaldi.
Actor Peter Capaldi has been announced as the new star of BBC sci-fi series Doctor Who.The 55-year-old Glasgow-born star will be the 12th actor to play the Doctor, replacing outgoing lead Matt Smith.
Capaldi is best known for his role as foul-mouthed spin-doctor Malcolm Tucker in the BBC series The Thick of It. "It's so wonderful not to keep this secret any longer, but it's been so fantastic," he said after the news was revealed on a live BBC One show.
The actor had been the bookmakers' favorite to take on the role, with betting on him becoming the next Doctor suspended on Friday.
It is not the first time Capaldi has appeared on the show - he played Roman merchant Caecilius in 2008 Doctor Who adventure The Fires of Pompeii. At 55, he is the same age as William Hartnell when he was cast in the role as the first Doctor in 1963.
"Being asked to play the Doctor is an amazing privilege. Like the Doctor himself I find myself in a state of utter terror and delight. I can't wait to get started," he said.
Steven Moffat, the show's lead writer and executive producer, said casting Capaldi as the Doctor was an "incendiary combination".
"One of the most talented actors of his generation is about to play the best part on television."
Moffat said Capaldi had been cast after a secret audition at his house."We made a home video of [Capaldi] being the doctor and I showed it around and everyone said 'yes, that's the Doctor'.
Moffat added the actor had "briefly flicked through my mind" the last time he was casting the role, but he did not think he was right for the part, however "now that moment has arrived".
I hope you've seen Peter portray foul-mouthed spin doctor Malcolm Tucker on The Thick Of It. The series is available for free on Hulu. He also won an academy award playing Tucker in the excellent film version of the series called In The Loop.
Peter also had a pivotal role in the awesome five-part Torchwood miniseries called Children Of Earth that is one of the best things Russell T. Davies ever wrote. You can view that on Netflix Instawatch if you missed it. The first three season of Torchwood are also available on Netflix.
I didn't buy into the reboot of the series in 2005 until David Tennant took over the role. Doctor Who has now become BBC America's number one show.
