Peter Capaldi auditioned for Doctor Who role

Bang Showbiz

12 December 2013

Peter Capaldi had to audition for his 'Doctor Who' role despite being the only actor the show had in mind for the part

Peter Capaldi had to audition for his 'Doctor Who' role.

The 55-year-old actor is set to become the latest regeneration of the Time Lord in the Christmas Day edition (25.12.13) of the show, but executive producer Steven Moffat admits Peter still had to try out for the lead role, despite being the only actor in mind for the part.

He said: "We asked and he was incredibly excited to come and audition. We didn't tell him that he was the only person auditioning because that would be oddly pressuring.

"He's one of the best actors in the country and is very beloved. I was at the Baftas, shortly before we were contemplating Peter, and heard the cheer he got from the audience.

"Nobody has a bad thing to say about him and that's not a minor issue when it comes to casting a Doctor. They've got to be lovely. And he's a huge fan of 'Doctor Who'."

Jenna Coleman - who plays assistant Clara Oswald - admits she knew who the new Doctor would be a month before it was publicly announced, and she can't wait to see how he takes his role in a different direction to current Time Lord Matt Smith.

She explained: "He's going to be so different to Matt and take the show in an interesting direction."