New Doctor Who kept role secret from family

London Evening Standard/London

The daughter of new Doctor Who Peter Capaldi yesterday told how she broke down in tears when she found out her father had been picked for the coveted role.

The 55-year-old Thick Of It actor, who is to replace Matt Smith to become the 12th time lord in the BBC sci-fi series, was forced to keep the news a secret from his daughter Cecily — even when she got upset by internet rumours that he was not in the running for the part.

Only 10 people officially knew he was to replace Smith until it was announced by Zoe Ball live on a special BBC1 show on Sunday night.

The 16-year-old yesterday told of her pride and said she was in tears when her father was finally unveiled as the new Doctor.

Cecily told the Standard: “It’s pretty amazing. I was crying when I found out.”

Capaldi, a lifelong Doctor Who fan, admitted that he struggled to keep it a secret. “For a while I couldn’t tell my daughter,” he said.

“She was reading the rumours on the internet and getting upset that they weren’t mentioning me. I kept saying ‘Rise above it, rise above it’.”

Speaking at his home in Crouch End yesterday, the Scottish actor, who won an Oscar as director of best Live Action Short Film in 1995, told the Standard: “I’m thrilled.”

He said after the announcement: “It’s so wonderful not to keep this secret any longer, but it’s been so fantastic... Being asked to play the Doctor is an amazing privilege. Like the Doctor himself I find myself in a state of utter terror and delight. I can’t wait to get started.”

Capaldi, best known for his role as foul-mouthed spin-doctor Malcolm Tucker in the BBC series The Thick Of It, was  selected after a secret audition at the home of Steven Moffat, the show’s lead writer and executive producer, who described the casting as an “incendiary combination”.

Moffat  said: “We made a home video of (Capaldi) being the Doctor and I showed it around and everyone said ‘yes, that’s the Doctor’.”