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Peter Capaldi will fire up the Tardis for at least one more series after agreeing to stay on as Doctor Who .

BBC bosses had feared the 57-year-old Scot would not renew his contract and had drawn up a shortlist of possible replacements.

Capaldi had privately admitted finding filming 13 episodes for nine months a year tiring.

But senior BBC insiders have confirmed he will return as the 12th Time Lord next year.

A BBC source said: “Peter has made it clear he is happy playing the Doctor for as long as the BBC – and viewers – want him.

"We are very happy with him and viewers are also warming to him.”

The Glasgow-born star, who replaced Matt Smith in 2013 on a two-year contract, has agreed a new one-year deal with a further one-year option.

The source added: “He loves playing the Doctor and of course we want him to do another series.

"Peter is keen to complete three years playing the Doctor to round off his storylines. That will take us until the end of next year. After that, who knows?”

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However, the new series might be made up of several feature-length episodes rather than 13 shows.

And Capaldi , foul-mouthed spindoctor Malcolm Tucker in The Thick of It, may call time on the Doctor as he is keen to direct more episodes of the political satire Veep in America.

(Image: BBC)

BBC bosses had drawn up a “succession plan wish list” of potential Doctor replacements, with Lady ­Chatterley’s Lover and Game of Thrones hunk Richard Madden, 29, at the top.

The show suffered a blow when Jenna Coleman, 29, quit as Clara Oswald to play Queen Victoria in a new ITV drama series.

(Image: BBC/Simon Ridgway)

Ratings have slumped in the two series since Capaldi became the Doctor.

But last weekend’s episode The Girl Who Died – featuring another Game of Thrones actor, Maisie Williams – averaged 4.63 million viewers.

A BBC spokeswoman declined to comment, saying: “We never discuss contracts.”