PETER Capaldi has been announced as the new Doctor Who , the 12th actor to take up the coveted TV role .
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peter capaldi announce new doctor 12th actor coveted tv role
PETER Capaldi has been announced as the new Doctor Who , the 12th actor to take up the coveted <m> TV </m> role .
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Peter Capaldi announced as the new Doctor Who
August 05 , 2013 4 : 14PM
PETER Capaldi has been announced as the new Doctor Who , the 12th actor to take up the coveted <m> TV </m> role .
Fans eagerly awaited the news , which was broadcast during a special live show on ABC this morning .
The 55 - year - old Scottish actor will replace Matt Smith , who announced in June that he was leaving the sci - fi show later this year .
Scroll down to see the first XI Doctors and tell us who your favourite has been
Capaldi is best known in Britain for his starring role as a sharp - tongued spin doctor Malcolm Tucker in the critically - acclaimed UK political comedy The Thick of It .
He has a long list of movie , television and stage credits , from the 1983 film Local Hero to a role alongside Brad Pitt in the recent zombie horror World War Z .
He's also an Oscar winner - he directed Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life , which won the Academy Award for best short film in 1994 .
In a live interview with the BBC Capaldi admitted he had been a long - time fan of the show .
He said he used to pretend to be the Doctor as a child growing up in Glasgow .
"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 .
"I haven't played it since I was nine .
As an adult actor I've never worked on it .
" ( For the audition ) I downloaded some old scripts from the internet and pracitised that in front of the mirror . "
The role will be a dramatic change from Capaldi's turn as Tucker , a political manipulator known for his ceaseless and creative use of expletives .
Doctor Who is a firmly child - friendly program .
"I think Malcolm has been banished from the mirror by this Doctor Who , who certainly would not put up with any of Malcolm's language or attitude , " Capaldi said .
Capaldi attributed the longevity of the show to the creative team behind it as well as to its millions of fans around the world .
The show is a television institution , making its debut in 1963 .
In the show the galaxy - hopping Time Lord travels in the Tardis , a time machine shaped like an old - fashioned British police telephone booth .
Its longevity is due partly to the flexibility of the premise .
The Doctor can regenerate into new bodies , and can travel to any point in space or time .
The show went off air in 1989 and was revived in 2005 when Christopher Eccleston took on the role .
David Tennant then starred for three seasons before Smith took over in 2010 .
Talking about his time in the show , Smith told the BBC live show : 'I'll miss playing a character who can bounce from A - Z and be the smartest in the room and the silliest in the room . . .
what a character ! "