For some performers, fan conventions are the last refuge of a dying career, a place to wring a few dollars and moments of fading glory from a minor role in some half-forgotten sci-fi series. But for Peter Capaldi, whose tenure as the 12th incarnation of Doctor Who came to an end only last year and whose career in general is in ruddy health, meeting the fans is a little like coming home.

As a young boy in Glasgow, he freely admits, "I was crazy about the show".

He regularly wrote to the BBC hunting autographs, and was usually successful in his entreaties. "I had Jon Pertwee's autograph, Tom Baker's. I used to have all of the Doctors' autographs, except for William Hartnell, because he was rather infirm. But his wife wrote me a rather lovely letter and signed his photograph, which was very sweet."

His most treasured scalp was that of Peter Cushing, who played the Doctor in two movies in the 1960s. Cushing came to Glasgow – a rare treat for fans in those days – and chatted happily with the young Capaldi before writing a message and signing a large black and white photograph for him.