For British Doctor Who fans, the Time Lord is the star of the show but it seems that in other parts of the world Peter Capaldi and co get second billing to the man behind the scenes, showrunner Steven Moffat.


“He’s always getting pulled into photoshoots with us and saying ‘Oh, no one’s interested in me,’” says Capaldi. “[But] we went on stage in Mexico and [the reaction to Moffat] was like Sting or Bono.”

Jenna Coleman has had to get used to legions of adoring fans herself but even she was forced to admit, “Steven is more popular here. I went outside the hotel yesterday to sign [autographs], and they were like ‘Where’s Moffat?! Where’s Moffat?!’”

Details of the Moff’s phenomenal following in Mexico are revealed in Earth Conquest, a 45-minute film documenting the Doctor Who World Tour, which launched the eighth season this summer.

Footage from the film, which makes up part of the series DVD extras, shows the party arriving in Mexico City to be met by fans who don’t seem particularly excited by either Peter Capaldi, the new twelfth Doctor, or Jenna Coleman, but instead are chanting “Moffat! Moffat! Moffat!”

“We all in Mexico adore, admire, Steven Moffat, because he’s a hell of a writer,” gushes one fan, in charmingly broken English. “We all love to him to play with our feelings.”

The 52-year-old Scot, who has written for the show since its relaunch in 2005 and replaced Russell T Davies as showrunner in 2009, appears to take it all in his stride.

Whether his comparitive popularity in the Central American country is down to a regional delay in broadcast – meaning Coleman and Capaldi are less well known – or simply to the appreciation of quality writing and original storylines remains uncertain. But as far as Mexican fans are concerned, Doctor Who is in very safe hands.


Doctor Who: The Complete Eighth Series is available to pre-order now