No matter his/her changing face, body or gender, the Doctor is always more or less the same person – a time-travelling renegade out to save the world – so despite the various actors in the central role, there’s always a sense of continuity in Doctor Who.

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However, over the weekend one former Who star got a little closer to his successor in the Tardis than we’re used to, with Peter Capaldi (who played the Twelfth incarnation of the Doctor before bowing out at Christmas) whipping out an impromptu impersonation of new Thirteenth Doctor Jodie Whittaker while speaking at the fourth Regeneration Who fan convention.

Almost choking on a glass of water, Capaldi joked: “Nearly regenerated there. That would’ve been a surprise, wouldn’t it?
“You’d really get your money’s worth then!”

Responding to the laughter of the crowd, he then spoke in an approximation of Whittaker’s own Yorkshire accent, before adding her first words post-regeneration.

“Hello, I’m Jodie,” he told the appreciative audience. “Brilliant!”

You can watch the short moment during Capaldi’s panel in the video below – it pops up at about 12 minutes 45 seconds.

Clearly, then, Peter Capaldi is keeping a keen interest in Doctor Who now that he’s left – though in general the Scottish actor says he’s taking things easy, not rushing to find new acting work after years of Doctor Who’s hectic schedules.

“People keep asking me [what I’m up to next], and I have to tell you all with some shame that I’ve become addicted to idleness,” Capaldi told the crowd.

“I know it’s not a very good thing to say to the young people in the audience who are setting out into the world, but doing nothing is so great.

“That’s kind of my ambition in life – just to kind of sit around and have some coffee and watch TV. Play the guitar…”

And who knows? Maybe he’ll even find the time to work on a few more impressions.

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Doctor Who returns to BBC1 this autumn

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