Doctor Who star Peter Capaldi has a beautiful theory about the Doctor’s real name

Somebody please make this real

Published: Tuesday, 26 December 2017 at 9:57 am

Peter Capaldi may be hanging up his sonic shades and leaving Doctor Who later this year, but he still has plenty of ideas about the iconic Time Lord’s backstory.

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Specifically, we’re talking about the Scottish actor’s brilliant theory about the Doctor’s real name, which has been shrouded in mystery since the character’s inception in the 1960s (even to RadioTimes.com’s best investigators) and which he shared at a special series 10 screening this week.

“I’m not in charge of the show, so I don’t get to have a real name as the Doctor,” Capaldi told a young fan when asked if he’d ever come with his own Gallifreyan name for the character.

“But I think he does have a real name... I think 'the Doctor', like everything about him, is a thing he’s come up with to make himself understood by human beings.

“I don’t think human beings could even really say his name. But I think we might be able to hear it. At a certain frequency.

“If the stars are in the right place, and your heart’s in the right place, you’ll hear it,” he concluded, to loud applause.

Frankly, it’s as good an explanation for what the Doctor’s real name could be as we’ve ever heard, and we can only hope someone ends up making this canonical (we’re looking at you, Chris Chibnall).

Otherwise, it’s just one more reminder of why viewers will miss Peter Capaldi when he departs this December. A Doctor Who star who’s also into making up emotional fan theories? We couldn't name a more worthy person to play the Time Lord.

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Doctor Who returns to BBC1 on Saturday 15th April

Authors

Radio Times commissioning editor Huw Fullerton. He sits in front of a shelving unit, looking at the camera and smiling. He wears glasses and has a moustache

Huw FullertonCommissioning editor

Huw Fullerton is a commissioning editor for Radio Times magazine handling comedy, entertainment and specialist drama. In a previous regeneration, he covered all things sci-fi and fantasy for RadioTimes.com.

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