Peter Capaldi Will Keep His Scottish Accent For "Doctor Who"

The Glaswegian actor will not be made to go English as the Doctor.

BBC

Peter Capaldi is likely to keep his Scottish accent when he joins Doctor Who.

The Glaswegian actor was unveiled as the Twelfth Doctor in a live TV special this month, and will make his debut this Christmas.

With Matt Smith staying in the role until then, little is known about plans for Capaldi’s Doctor. But now, showrunner Steven Moffat has said that he is “pretty certain” that he will use his native accent in a portrayal of an “older, trickier and fiercer Doctor.”

The Paisley-born David Tennant was made to adopt a southern English accent during his tenure. When Moffat took over, he allowed Karen Gillan to play Amy Pond in her own Scottish accent.

BBC

Moffat was speaking in the new issue of Doctor Who Magazine. He also suggested that the change will make life difficult for companion Clara: “I think the fun story will be – and we have the opportunity here – is what the regeneration can do to you. He can be very, very different.”

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Doctor Who has a history of unstable regenerations. When the Fifth (Peter Davison) became the Sixth (Colin Baker) he was manic and initially violent towards companion Peri, while David Tennant’s Tenth spent most of his first episode bedridden and unable to save the Earth from the Sycorax.

Meanwhile, Moffat has also addressed the inevitable problem of the Doctor running out of regenerations. It’s generally established that a Timelord can regenerate 12 times, meaning 13 lives, meaning Capaldi would be the penultimate Doctor. Asked at the Edinburgh Fringe Ad Lib event last night (August 21) whether he acknowledges that convention, he replied simply, “yes”.

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However, one popular theory about the identity of John Hurt’s mystery Doctor in the forthcoming 50th anniversary special is that he is an unseen incarnation between the Eighth and Ninth. If that were true, it would push the numbering up and make Capaldi the ‘Final’ Doctor.