Peter Capaldi fears Doctor Who is a 'victim of its success'
Peter Capaldi believes Doctor Who is "a little bit of a victim of its success" because it has become more important to the BBC "economically" than "culturally".
Peter Capaldi believes Doctor Who is "a little bit of a victim of its success".
The 63-year-old actor was a big fan of the programme before he was cast as the Twelfth Doctor - who he played between 2013–2017 - and he has reflected on how the show has developed and changed over the years as priorities shifted.
He told the Half the Picture podcast: "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. And I think that’s what I have an affinity with."
Peter noted he had "more" responsibilities than the Time Lords of the early eras because Doctor Who has become more important to the BBC in an "economic way" rather than a "cultural way".
He reflected: "The show became very, very big. 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."
Steven Moffat, who was showrunner during Peter's stint on the show, previously insisted the "money generated" by the programme is more important than viewing figures.
Speaking at a talk about the show's future, he said: "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."
