Doctor Who fans (and fans of sci-fi in general) are known for their enthusiasm.
Yet, that enthusiasm can sometimes turn into something a little more unpleasant, especially when it comes to discussing who’s playing the titular Time Lord.
This is something that’s not lost on Peter Capaldi, who played the Twelfth Doctor.
During a recent interview with The Times, the 68-year-old star was asked to address claims the show had gone ‘woke’ and the backlash Jodie Whittaker and Ncuti Gatwa faced when cast as the Doctor.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the star refused to be drawn on the subject, defending the legendary sci-fi series from those who take it so seriously.
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‘[Doctor Who] reflects its times and it’s a good thing in the world, though it’s become a bit too big, too important for the BBC or whoever,’ Capaldi said.
‘When I was a kid and watched it, it was just a monster show in the corner of the room. I don’t know why people take it so seriously.’
Jodie and Ncuti both received a lot of criticism during their tenure in the Tardis.
Jodie, as the first female Doctor, was frequently compared to her male predecessors and faced sexist backlash.
Ncuti, meanwhile, was the first Black Doctor and played the character as openly queer, something which had only been hinted at previously.
As a result, Ncuti’s run was regularly criticised by a section of the fandom and several critics as being ‘woke’.
Peter actually has criticised Doctor Who in more recent years, but never because it’s ‘woke’.
During an appearance on the Half the Picture podcast, Capaldi bemoaned how big the show has become.
Doctor Who’s most underrated Doctor
Our Deputy TV Editor, Tom Percival, shares his thoughts on Peter Capaldi’s tenure in the Tardis…
Peter Capaldi was the greatest modern Doctor and maybe even the best Doctor ever. That’s a big claim, I know, but I genuinely believe that Capaldi’s time in the Tardis was remarkable.
The stories (for the most part, even I won’t defend Kill The Moon) were amazing, the Tardis has never looked better, and the vibes between the Doctor and his companions were immaculate, as the kids defintiely still say.
Arguably, though, my favourite thing about Capaldi’s Doctor is how he changes over the course of his run. Capaldi and showrunner Steven Moffat didn’t play it safe with him; they made him brash and less cuddly than his previous incarnations, but over time, he evolved into a kind and noble hero.
The best thing about this, though, was that they showed being a good person isn’t something you are, it’s something you do every day. You may have bad days where you’re not the person you want to be. You may be angry sometimes, and that’s okay, as long as tomorrow you try to be nice, and never fail to be kind.
‘The show became very, very big. And it was never like that when I loved it. So it became a different thing,’ he said.
He also claimed that the series has become ‘a little bit of a victim of its success’.
‘You know, the show that I loved was a tiny thing, a little small thing that survived,’ he said.
‘It just survived, but nobody knew that it was warming its way into the culture in such a deep way. And I think that’s what I have an affinity with.’
Doctor Who is available to watch now on BBC iPlayer.
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