If there’s one downside to the great news that Jodie Whittaker is joining Doctor Who as its first ever female Doctor this Christmas, it means that we don’t have much longer left with the amazing Peter Capaldi. The Scottish actor has proven himself born to play the part of the centuries-old Time Lord over the past three seasons and his performance has been reliably brilliant throughout.
It’s easy to forget it now, but some fans actually weren’t too pleased when Capaldi was first announced to be starring in the show back in 2013, as he was such a sharp change of pace after two younger Doctors. Here we are though, now at the opposite end of his tenure on Doctor Who, and like we mentioned above, he’s absolutely proven himself in the role, with the whole fandom united over their love of his portrayal of the Time Lord.
So, as you can imagine, it’s going to be mighty sad saying goodbye to him later this year, when Capaldi takes his final bow in the upcoming Doctor Who Christmas special. But how does the actor himself feel about vacating the role and stepping away from the iconic character?
TV Guide was on hand at Comic-Con this past weekend to ask him that very question, and here’s how he replied:
“I don’t think you do say goodbye because… you bring so much of yourself to it,” Capaldi told TV Guide. “If I was to say goodbye to him, I’d be saying goodbye to me too, and that would be an odd situation to be in.”
Also present for the interview was outgoing showrunner Steven Moffat, and while speaking about the aforementioned Christmas special, the writer-director promised that it’s going to be an emotional one – as expected.
“In [the season finale] you get what he stands for, what he tries to be, the man he aspires to be,” Moffat says. “In [the Christmas Special] episode, I suppose you get what that takes out of him. What it’s like to try to be that. What that battle is like for him. So it’s kind of personal about the Doctor. It’s, ‘how long do I have to keep doing this?’ It’s sad and it’s kind of happy as well, but it’s the choice to live on and why that choice can be difficult.”
In other words, prepare for some waterworks when Doctor Who returns this Christmas, at which point, we’ll also get our first look at Jodie Whittaker in the lead role.
