The Doctor Who 60th anniversary episode already has a stacked cast, as it features the return of the likes of the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) and Donna Noble (Catherine Tate), but one actor from the sci-fi series has revealed that he will not be returning for the show, and that’s Peter Capaldi.
Capaldi, 64, played the Twelfth Doctor between 2013 and 2017 — and even had a cameo in the TV series‘ fiftieth anniversary special — but in an interview with SFX Magazine, the actor revealed that he wouldn’t be following in Tennant’s footsteps by reprising his role as The Doctor, who has been played by Jodie Whittaker since Capaldi exited the role in 2017.
Speaking to SFX Magazine, Capaldi went into depth about how he wouldn’t want to reprise the role, even as a one-off.
“It’s very hard to imagine how you’d get a decent crack of the whip when there’s 14 of you, you know?” he asked. “So I think I’d rather leave it as is, because I loved my time on Doctor Who and loved doing it.”
He continued, I don’t want to be Doctor Who’s assistant. It used to drive me insane on Doctor Who, not being able to talk about anything. It’s like, ‘Who cares?!’ But then I get into trouble.”
The highly-anticipated anniversary episode will also feature the new Doctor, Sex Education star Ncuti Gatwa. If you want to see more space adventures, check out our guide to the best science fiction movies.