Peter Capaldi argues scale has caused issues for Doctor Who: "It was never like that when I loved it"

Along with David Tennant, Peter Capaldi is one of the Doctor Who stars best known for being a fan of the series long before he played the title character.

Over the years, Capaldi has reflected on both starring in the show and having a prior, personal connection with it. Now, speaking on the Half the Picture podcast, the actor has revealed what he thinks is one issue in the way the show has developed over the years.

"The show became very, very big," he said. "And it was never like that when I loved it. So it became a different thing. I think the responsibilities of playing the part became more... there were more of them.

"There were more things that you had to do rather than just... I mean, I think in the old days, if you were John Pertwee or Tom Baker or something like that, you spend most of your year making it and then a bit of your year promoting it.

"But it wasn’t this in-your-face kind of thing that suddenly was really important to the BBC, or suddenly really important to a brand that had to be maintained.

"It was just a show that some kids really loved, and other kids didn’t care about, but wanted to watch football, or you grew out of. It became this sort of very important thing – I think less in a cultural way and more in an economic way."

Capaldi also said that he thinks the series is "a little bit of a victim of its success", noting that "the show that I loved was a tiny thing, a little small thing that survived. It just survived and then it didn't".

"But nobody knew that it was worming its way into the culture in such a deep way," he continued. "And I think that’s what I have an affinity with."

Back in 2024, the showrunner of Capaldi's era, Steven Moffat, said at a talk regarding Doctor Who's future: "Everyone talks about ratings as if they matter. I was in a position to know how much money that show generated. That's the number you want to look at. And that's why Doctor Who still gets made."

In recent years the show's budget jumped dramatically, due to a co-production and distribution deal the BBC had with Disney Plus.

That deal has just recently ended, and while the BBC has confirmed that the show will continue, with a 2026 Christmas special already confirmed, exactly how it will be financed, and whether it will be part of another deal, remains to be seen.

Doctor Who is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

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