Peter Capaldi will star in at least two series of Doctor Who.
The 56-year-old actor - who hasn't yet appeared on screen as the Time Lord - has extended his contract to include a Christmas special and another complete run of episodes, and hopes he can take the character even beyond that in the future.
Peter Capaldi and Jenna ColemanA source told The Sun newspaper: "Peter is the perfect Doctor.
"He's a life-long fan of the show and a great actor.
"He wanted to do another series and the BBC wanted him back.
"Even before the premiere, no one at the BBC was in any doubt that Peter was going to be brilliantly received.
"It's hoped that he'll play the role for years."
The first episode of the new series, 'Deep Breath', premiered in Cardiff, Wales, yesterday (07.08.14) and received rave reviews.
And despite his advancing years, Peter insists his age isn't holding him back with the physical aspects of the role.
He said: I've just been filming a sequence in which I have to be suspended on wires 20ft in the air for a whole day.
"It was fantastic -- like being nine years old! I was the Doctor and Superman.
"Where else is a man of my age going to be attached to wires and flung around a room?
"I think too much is made of my age -- but who cares? Doctor Who is over 2,000 years old."
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