Every time the Doctor regenerates into a new actor in Doctor Who, it’s both an exciting and tragic affair, as fans can’t wait to see the new guy/girl but also don’t want the current Doctor to go. It sounds like we shouldn’t expect things to be any different this time around, either, as outgoing Time Lord Peter Capaldi has teased a “beautiful” and “emotional” exit for his character.
While chatting with Digital Spy, Capaldi talked about the experience of filming the scene, and it turns out they were very committed to getting it just right.
“It was great, it was lovely, because we spent the whole day doing it, and it’s quite a big scene, and so we didn’t short-change it.”
Naturally, it proved to be a tear-jerking day for the actor, mainly because he had to say goodbye to friends and colleagues he’d known for years.
“Obviously it’s emotional – because you’re also saying goodbye to the people that you’ve been working with for nearly four years and that’s tough.”
Capaldi also spoke about the many fans that came to see him on his last day of filming, saying:
“Also, a lot of people came to visit – a lot of people decided that that was a great day to come and see what was happening! But I didn’t mind that. It was lovely.”
But what about the actual content of the big scene itself? How will the Doctor bow out this time? Will he go with reluctance and tears like David Tennant? Or a sad smile like Matt Smith? All we know is that Capaldi believes that writer Steven Moffat has sent the Twelfth Doctor off in style.
“I felt Steven had written something very beautiful, and very right for my Doctor, so I was just happy to try and do my best with it.”
We’ll be able to judge for ourselves when the Doctor Who Christmas special, “Twice Upon A Time,” arrives at the end of the year. Once Capaldi bows out of the role, Jodie Whittaker will take his place, with her first season in charge likely arriving in the fall of 2018.