Steven Moffat decided to make Peter Capaldi the Twelfth Doctor "a long time ago".
The 55-year-old actor was revealed as the new titular Time Lord yesterday (04.08.13), and despite months of speculation about who would play the part, the showrunner of the BBC One sci-fi series admits he always had the 'Thick of It' star in mind for the role since learning he was a big 'Doctor Who' fan.
When asked at what point he considered Peter as a possible candidate for the job, he said: "Quite a while back. I happened to know he's a very, very big fan. There's something rather seductive about an utterly brilliant, arresting-looking leading man actor - one of the most talented actors in Britain - who you happen to know is a big fan of the show.
"And you do start to think, 'Maybe we should do something about that.' So quite a long time ago."
Steven also insists Peter was the only actor who made it onto his shortlist to replace Matt Smith as the character because he was almost certain he would accept the part.
He explained: "The list went: Peter Capaldi.
"It was a very, very short list. Honestly, there was only one audition this time. And it wasn't an audition really so much as saying ... he came around my house and we put him on video to see what he looked like as the Doctor and, gosh, he was terribly good."
Peter was revealed as the Twelfth Doctor yesterday on a special 'Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor' programme on BBC One.
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