Doctor Who Star Peter Capaldi Says He Doesn't Know 'Why People Take It So Seriously'

Former Doctor Who prima Peter Capaldi has dismissed disapproval of the show's caller pb actors Jodie Whittaker and Ncuti Gatwa, and said helium doesn't cognize "why radical instrumentality it truthful seriously."

Capaldi's tenure arsenic the show's time-travelling leader lasted from 2013 to 2017, erstwhile helium handed the iconic relation to Whittaker, the series' first-ever pistillate star. Gatwa aboriginal became the archetypal Black histrion to play the Doctor successful a regular capacity, with his abbreviated stint ending past year.

Both Whittaker and Ncuti faced online hatred simply for their casting, agelong earlier either histrion really appeared connected screen. Recent years person besides seen increasing disapproval of the series' penning — with Gatwa's astir caller run, mostly penned by existent Doctor Who showrunner Russell T. Davies, attracting peculiar ire.

Now, The Times has enactment criticisms of Doctor Who's "excessive wokeness" to Capaldi — who simply responded that helium doesn't recognize wherefore the series, a British taste institution, continues to punctual specified a beardown response.

"It reflects its times and it's a bully happening successful the world, though it's go a spot excessively big, excessively important for the BBC oregon whoever," Capaldi said, admitting helium nary longer keeps up with the show.

"When I was a kid and watched it, it was conscionable a monster amusement successful the country of the room. I dunno wherefore radical instrumentality it truthful seriously."

Production connected a caller bid of Doctor Who is presently connected hiatus, pursuing the departure of Gatwa successful reshot scenes, and Disney's determination to extremity its co-funding woody for the series. The BBC has announced a one-off peculiar occurrence that looks acceptable to wrapper up the show's existent cliffhanger, which is owed to aerial astatine Christmas. After that, however, the series' aboriginal remains uncertain.

It remains to beryllium seen whether the Christmas occurrence volition present a new, regular histrion to play the Doctor, pursuing the astonishment quality of returning prima Billie Piper astatine the extremity of the series' 2025 finale. Among fans, the anticipation is that the occurrence volition efficaciously wrapper up the remaining communicative threads from Davies' era, earlier the showrunner besides exits, and Doctor Who is near to instrumentality astatine immoderate constituent aboriginal successful the aboriginal with a blank slate.

"It's been backmost for 20 years, which is an awfully agelong time," Doctor Who writer Mark Gatiss said past year. "Almost arsenic agelong arsenic its archetypal run. That's beauteous spectacular. So possibly it's clip for different rest."

Image credit: Carlo Paloni/BAFTA via Getty Images

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You tin scope Tom astatine [email protected] oregon find him connected Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social