The Doctor’s new costume received its long-awaited official unveiling a few weeks ago, when the actor was in Cardiff filming scenes for an as-yet-unnamed
Doctor Who episode
being directed by Ben Wheatley (
A Field in England).
On Monday, Capaldi was taking part in BBC Worldwide’s annual showcase event, which was taking place in Liverpool, in the north of England.
The 55-year-old appeared on stage after stepping out of the TARDIS — the iconic space–time ship that looks to all intents and purposes like an old-fashioned British police box.
Radio Times reports that, to the obvious delight of those in attendance at the event, the actor — who took over the role of the Doctor from Matt Smith (
American Psycho) in last year’s Christmas Day special,
The Time of the Doctor — was
wearing his brand-new Doctor Who costume: a red-lined navy-blue three-quarter-length Crombie coat, a blue waistcoat, blue trousers and white cotton shirt with a fastened-down collar. The whole ensemble is finished off with a pair of black Loake boots (
not Dr Marten’s,
as originally announced).
Capaldi spoke briefly to the broadcaster Graham Norton, who was presenting the event yesterday (February, 24).
After the surprise appearance,
Capaldi said, “I’ve always been a fan of the show and I love that it’s now a global success.” And, of all the attention he’s receiving,
he added, “I’m excited, and slightly daunted, about how far the new series is going to travel.”
Elsewhere, yesterday, the
BBC unveiled a new
Doctor Who companion — the first new companion to be introduced since Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman) made her debut in 2012, in
Asylum of the Daleks.
Danny Pink — played by Samuel Anderson —
will be joining the Doctor and Clara sometime during the show’s forthcoming season, which will air later this year. He is a teacher at the educational establishment — Coal Hill School — that Clara also teaches at.
Previously, Anderson, 31, has appeared in
Hex,
Gavin & Stacey and
Emmerdale, having made his professional theatre debut in 2004, as Crowther in Alan Bennett’s
The History Boys.
The new season of
Doctor Who is expected to be broadcast sometime in the latter half of 2014; with the possibility of an Easter special before that, although no official word has so far been forthcoming.
The current run of Graham Norton’s TV chat show,
The Graham Norton Show, is shown on BBC One on Friday evenings. In May, as usual, he will be compering the UK broadcast of the
Eurovision Song Contest.
