Doctor Who's Steven Moffat: I’d be surprised if Peter Capaldi didn’t speak in his Scottish accent
“I think there are two schools of thought on new Doctor. I was always quite keen for them to regenerate to see what the next one would be like"
When Scottish actor Peter Capaldi was unveiled as the 12th Doctor, questions were immediately asked about Steven Moffat’s plans for his accent. Capaldi would not have been the first Doctor to disguise his natural way of speaking after David Tennant famously ditched his Scottish lilt to play the tenth reincarnation.
But according to Moffat, Capaldi is more likely to follow the example of sixth Doctor and fellow Scot Sylvester McCoy in retaining his accent.
Speaking with Frank Skinner and Fred MacAuley at the Ad-Lib event in Edinburgh, Moffat shared his thoughts on whether Capaldi would deliver his lines in his native Scottish accent. “I would be very surprised if he didn’t,” he said – which, as you can imagine, went down rather well with the local audience.
Moffat then went on to discuss the Doctor’s imminent regeneration when Matt Smith departs his role this Christmas after three years playing the Time Lord. “I think there are two schools of thought on new Doctors,” said Moffat. “I was always quite keen for them to regenerate to see what the next one would be like. The first time it happened to me – I was really devotedly watching Jon Pertwee – and I remember reading the article and I was instantly interested in who it was going to be next.
“I think that’s what made me a Doctor Who fan - that there could be different Doctors. You want to know why there are different Doctors and how they’re different and the hero of the show is just going to turn into somebody completely different. That was probably what drew me into it."
But while Moffat holds down a job that is many a young fan’s boyhood dream, his role as Doctor Who’s showrunner does have its downsides… “I would like my brain wiped so I could then go and watch Doctor Who. My one regret is that I know what’s going to happen next. I’ve just started to get a bit vague about series five.
“The lovely thing about Doctor who is that that fanboyness doesn’t go away. Ever. It’s absolutely the same as it ever was.”
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