Hoardes tuned in to the BBC last night (4th August) to watch Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor and be the first to hear the news. Peter Capaldi was finally unveiled after plenty of hype, reminiscing and dry ice. The 55-year-old new Doctor, famous for his role as the profanity-prone Malcolm Tucker in The Thick of It, walked out onstage to a storm of applause and seemed slightly bewildered by it all.

Peter Capaldi
Let's All Hope He Keeps That Fabulous 'Tache!

Well, the Doctor's still white and male, so no major changes there, despite betting and predictions, but Capaldi will represent an older generation than the previous three Doctors, harking back to the original TV series where the Whos were slightly more aged gentlemen than David Tennant or Matt Smith. Keen eyes will have already noticed that Capaldi, a DW fan himself, has already acquainted himself in front of the camera on the series, having appeared in 'The Fires of Pompeii' episode alongside David Tennant.

Watch A Clip From The Thick Of It [Warning: Foul Language]:

Matt Smith, the current Timelord who is about to step out in the Christmas regeneration episode, appeared via videolink to express his excitement for the 12th Doctor, as well as herald a whole new era of quirky dress size and mad scientist mannerisms. Was it just us or could Matt Smith's "welcome" video to Peter have done with a retake? The actor, who's gearing up to step away from the series, shuffled, switched his eyes from side-to-side rather shiftily and sounded generally unenthused about his successor in an interview broadcast straight after the new Doctor announcement.

Peter Capaldi
Will He Describe The Daleks' Antics As "A F***ing Omnishambles."

However, Doctor Who fans or 'Whovians' across the world made up in their excitement for the new Doc and, it has to be said, he does look rather like an older version of 10th Timelord David Tennant who was, for the record, also Scottish.


Whovians took to Twitter in their thousands, embracing the BBC's decision and predicting yet another highly popular series of the time-travelling fantasy adventure. Fan comments ranged from "Peter Capaldi - you're going to be FANTASTIC!" to "Peter Capaldi will be a superb Doctor," describing the eldest Doctor since William Hartnell as "perfect", "superb" and "exciting."


Fellow celebs have also expressed their glee: John Hurt, who will star again in the 50th anniversary special of DW tweeted, "Congratulations to Peter Capaldi and to the BBC. Another splendid Doctor!" Mark Gatiss, one of the Sherlock creators and frequent DW writer said "Thrilling, moving, beyond exciting. Cometh the hour, cometh the man! Peter Capaldi is the PERFECT choice."