As they both prepare to exit ‘Doctor Who’ at the end of the upcoming series in 2017, the show’s star Peter Capaldi has defended its chief writer and showrunner Steven Moffat from accusations of misogyny from some quarters.

Moffat’s tenure as the BBC show’s head is coming to an end soon, when he’ll be replaced by Chris Chibnall (of ‘Doctor Who’s sister show ‘Torchwood’ and ITV’s ‘Broadchurch’). However, while many fans have praised Moffat, some have accused him of misogyny and not including enough female characters or storylines around relevant issues.

Peter CapaldiPeter Capaldi defended his 'Doctor Who' colleague Steven Moffat

“I think we’ve done great stuff. I think Steven’s fabulous,” he told Radio Times on Monday (April 3rd). “I don’t know why people have a go at him, why they call him a misogynist. I don’t understand that at all. I think he’s a brilliant writer.”

Capaldi was speaking ahead of this upcoming weekend’s BFI & Radio Times Television Festival in London, where he’ll appear alongside Moffat and the show’s new star Pearl Mackie to give a preview of this year’s upcoming series.

More: The next ‘Doctor Who’ should be a woman, says the show’s former star Billie Piper

He also alluded to the relatively small budget that ‘Doctor Who’ operates with, and says that the nature of superfandom almost inevitably means that a show won’t please everybody all of the time.

“The fact of the matter is any show that’s making 12 episodes a year, with these budgets and under these circumstances, not every [episode] is going to be fantastic. And certainly not every [episode] is going to be to everyone’s tastes.”

“Fandom is so rich and diverse that you’re absolutely guaranteed to be disliked by a whole pile of people somewhere. But I think he’s done amazing stuff,” Capaldi concluded about his colleague Moffat. “To push the envelope of what ‘Doctor Who’ can be, while hanging onto it, is hard, especially when it’s so successful it becomes a victim of its own success, because as a kind of brand it’s encouraged to do the same thing.”

More: Peter Capaldi is moving on after the next series of ‘Doctor Who’