New ‘Doctor Who’ Companion Could Be Very Different, Peter Capaldi Is Furious With BBC
The departure of Jenna Coleman as Clara Oswald from Doctor Who means that there is now a position open in the TARDIS next to Peter Capaldi’s Doctor.
Obviously that means that rumors and speculation regarding the actress’ replacement have been swirling for some time now. During an interview with Newsweek, Peter Capaldi insisted that he wants Doctor Who’s next companion to really reflect the 21st Century, as he believes the show is at its best when “it reflects the culture and the times that it’s in.”
“Because it’s a very successful show, sometimes it just digs its own groove of success, and I think it’s time for us to be more recognizable as being in the 21st Century.”
Doctor Who revelations – Peter Capaldi accuses the BBC of neglecting its hit show https://t.co/aoYiEQVMYc
— The Guardian (@guardian) March 11, 2016
The recent rumors from the British press are that Rakhee Thakrar, who previously starred in EastEnders, is in line for the leading role. According to the Guardian, Thakrar has been touted as one of the “people currently in the frame.”
We only probably have a few weeks to wait until we learn who will be in the TARDIS with Peter Capaldi. That’s because filming on Peter Capaldi’s fourth season is expected to begin in the next few months, even though there will only be one new Doctor Who episode in 2016, which will be the Christmas special. The BBC boss, Charlotte Moore, pushed the 10th season back to 2017.
And this change is just the latest decision by the BBC that has rather annoyed Peter Capaldi. In fact in the same interview, the 57-year-old declared that, in his opinion, the BBC have actually been neglecting the show for quite some time.
“The BBC is an incredible organization, but… sometimes people there think, ‘That’s looking after itself.’ And it’s not being looked after. I think maybe their eye was taken off the ball, or the show was seen as a thing they could just push around. It’s not. It’s a special thing,” Peter Capaldi insisted.
The Scottish actor’s comments were in response to the BBC’s constant shuffling of Doctor Who across several time slots. This saw the sci-fi show be broadcast at 8pm, which is much later than its creators wanted, while it also went up against The X Factor and the rugby world cup games too.
Peter Capaldi to continue as Doctor Who “for as long as it’s right” https://t.co/Rrof01kx61 pic.twitter.com/MmYDksm8IW
— Total Film (@totalfilm) March 9, 2016
Speaking about the fact that Doctor Who was broadcast at a number of different times, Capaldi admitted, “It does frustrate me. If you’re going to have a family show, I think you have to build up a little ritual around it — and that ritual usually starts with having it on at the same time. Even I didn’t know what time it was on.”
However, Capaldi also admitted that viewers not watch shows in a variety of different ways, which means that watching an episode when it is originally broadcast, and then judging viewing figures from that, is becoming more and more obsolete.
“I have to pay attention to ratings — I’d rather not — but it’s the way the business is. I think overnight ratings are a thing of the past,” Peter Capaldi continued. “You can’t really measure the success of the show by its overnight ratings, which is what the papers do. But there’s still a place for families to sit down and watch the show — that’s still a great, fun, thing to do. That’s what the show’s success is based on. That has to be protected.”
[Image via BBC]
