Hot on the heels of executive producer Steven Moffat’s (“Sherlock”) announcement that he would be departing from the “Doctor Who” production team, star Peter Capaldi has also confirmed that he will be stepping out of the TARDIS and leaving the show at the end of 2017.
Capaldi made the announcement on Radio 2
During an appearance on Jo Whiley’s Radio 2 show, Capaldi stated his intentions to leave the show at the end of this year, which will be the same time as Moffat, as while he’s enjoyed his time portraying the Doctor, he feels it’s time to move onto other projects.
Capaldi said that being able to view the world “at its best” stands as “one of the greatest privileges” of being the star of “Doctor Who.”
Capaldi went on to flatter a lot of people. He called the people behind the scenes of “Doctor Who” a “brilliant crew and creative team” and called the BBC “the best broadcaster on the planet” and thanked the fans of the show for their “endless creativity, generosity and inclusiveness,” which he says “points to a brighter future ahead.” He concluded by saying he “can’t thank everyone enough,” and described the experience of playing the Doctor (an experience he no longer wants to be a part of his life) as “cosmic.”
Mark Gatiss tweeted a response
Mark Gatiss, who currently runs “Doctor Who” with Moffat (soon to be ditching him as well), tweeted this response to Capaldi’s announcement: “Profoundly sad that the wonderful Peter Capaldi is leaving at the end of the year.
But he is - and always will be - a great Doctor Who. The tweet has over 2,000 retweets and over 6,000 likes. Chris Chibnall will be replacing Moffat alongside Gatiss.
Capaldi will continue to appear as the Doctor throughout this year and in the next “Doctor Who” Christmas special, he will morph into the next actor to take on the role and they’ll go from there.
Moffat released an emotional statement
Moffat said, “For years before I ever imagined being involved in “Doctor Who,” or had ever met the man, I wanted to work with Peter Capaldi.” Moffat said he “could not have imagined that one day we’d be standing on the TARDIS together.” He said that departing alongside Capaldi will make “the saddest of endings a little sweeter.”
“Doctor Who” (still starring Peter Capaldi for now) will be returning on 15 April.
