BBC Worldwide have announced that the Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular is to once again take place in Australia, with three concerts to take place during January and February next year in Melbourne and Queensland, and the possibility of further performances in New Zealand.


The new Spectacular is currently scheduled for the following dates:

• 31st January (7:30pm) and 1st February (2:00pm) - Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
  Plenary Hall, Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre
  Bookings: 03 9929 9600 or visit www.mso.com.au
  
  
• 8th February - Queensland Symphony Orchestra
  Brisbane Entertainment Centre
  Bookings: 132 849 or visit ticketek.com.au/doctorwho

Composer Murray Gold said:
André Gremillet, Managing Director of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, said:
Sophie Galaise, CEO for Queensland Symphony Orchestra, said:

Helen Pendlebury, Head of Commercial, Entertainment and Children’s Brands, BBC Worldwide Australia & New Zealand commented:

The Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular is being presented in association with BBC Worldwide Australia and New Zealand. Tickets go on sale from the 6th August.

Doctor Who Live; The Next Doctor was watched by 6.1 million viewers in the UK, according to unofficial overnight figures.

The audience peaked at 6.9 million viewers at the moment Peter Capaldi was unveiled as the 12th Doctor. The live broadcast was the highest rated show of Sunday, achieving a share of 29.8% of the total television audience. Second for the day was Countryfile with 5.6 million watching, while the evening News, including news of Capaldi's casting as The Doctor had 4.8 million watching.

ITV's highest rated show of the day was Law and Order:UK with 4.2 million viewers. Against the Doctor Who reveal, Tipping Point: Lucky Stars had 3.9 million viewers.

Final official figures will be available next week. The Live show was also broadcast in the USA, Canada and Australia.

As well as revealing a new Doctor live on air, presenter Zoë Ball also announced during last night's Doctor Who Live that this year's Doctor Who Prom will be broadcast on television on Monday 26th August. The programme had previously been reported for a BBC One outing, though the time has yet to be announced for the summer Bank Holiday broadcast.

The Prom was performed twice over the weekend of 13th/14th July, and was presented by Matt Smith, Jenna Coleman, Neve McIntosh and Dan Starkey (the latter two in character as Vastra and Strax).

Peter Capaldi has won the coveted role of the Twelfth Doctor, but who exactly is the man who will take over the role of television's most famous time traveller when Matt Smith departs at Christmas?

Peter Capaldi was born in Glasgow, Scotland on Monday 14th April 1958. His mother's family was from Killeshandra, County Cavan, Ireland, and his father's family was from Picinisco, Italy. He was educated in Scotland attending the Glasgow School of Art.

While at school Capaldi joined The Antonine Players, an amateur theatre group based in Bishopbriggs, Dumbartonshire, as well as singing vocals for a punk rock band called Dreamboys, where the drummer was future comedian and fellow Doctor Who fan Craig Ferguson. Capaldi tried his hand at stand-up comedy and was invited to support Spandau Ballet on their first UK tour in 1982. The band did not want the usual rock support act and decided a comedian would add piquancy to the uniqueness of their own approach to new music. It was at the band's gig in Glasgow that Capaldi was spotted by film Director Bill Forsyth.


The chance encounter led to Forsyth casting Peter Capaldi in the role of Danny Oldsen in the 1983 feature film Local Hero. Starring Peter Riegert and Burt Lancaster, the film told the story of an American executive working for Knox Oil, sent to the fictional village of Ferness on the west coast of Scotland to purchase the town and surrounding property for his company. Capaldi played the local Knox representative.

Other movie roles followed, with Capaldi appearing as Angus Flint in the Ken Russell film The Lair of the White Worm and playing Azolan in Dangerous Liaisons. Television roles included parts in Crown Court, Minder and Rab C. Nesbitt. He played George Harrison in the TV Movie John and Yoko: A Love Story.

In 1992 he played Luke Wakefield in the BBC drama series Mr Wakefield's Crusade. It was his first starring role on television, and saw him portray a closeted gay man who imagines he has witnessed a crime.


In 1992 he helped write and star in the comedy film Soft Top Hard Shoulder, a 1992 British comedy drama film. Capaldi played Gavin Bellini a Glaswegian artist living in London. The story follows him on his journey home in a 1971 Triumph Herald. The film won the Audience Award at the London Film Festival, and Capaldi won the Scottish BAFTA for Best Actor.

In 1993, Capaldi wrote and directed Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life, a 23 minute comic film for BBC Scotland, which also starred Richard E Grant and Barry Letts's son Crispin. In 1994 the film won a BAFTA award for Best Short Film and following year it jointly won the Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film.


More Television roles followed with parts in Chandler & Co, The All New Alexei Sayle Show, Neverwhere and The Crow Road. He made two appearances in The Vicar of Dibley playing Tristram Campbell, a Songs of Praise producer who brings the show to Dibley. He played Lord Fellamar in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, Dr. Ronnie Pilfrey in Fortysomething and Raymond Carter in Foyle's War. In 2007 he played a university professor in the sitcom Peep Show.

It was in 2005 that he won the role that, prior to the Doctor, he would be most closely associated with. The Thick of It is a British comedy television series created by Armando Iannucci that satirises the workings of modern British government. Capaldi played Malcolm Tucker an aggressive, profane director of communications for the government, who terrorised most of Whitehall. Over 24 episodes and 4 series Capaldi created a comedy icon playing a role that would win him the 2010 BAFTA Television Award for Male Performance in a Comedy Role as well as the British Comedy Award for Best TV Comedy Actor. He repeated his performance in the 2009 feature film In the Loop.


In 2008 Capaldi made his first appearance in Doctor Who, playing Caecilius in The Fires of Pompeii. He returned to the Doctor Who franchise in 2009, playing civil servant John Frobisher in Torchwood: Children of Earth. Frobisher was the Permanent Secretary to the Home Office who was later appointed informal ambassador to the 456.

Other recent roles include Mark Jenkins in the E4 teen comedy/drama Skins, Balthazar in the TV mini series The Nativity, Randall Brown, the new Head of News, in the cold war drama The Hour and Samuel Kent in The Suspicions of Mr Whicher: The Murder at Road Hill House. His most recent role has been that of Cardinal Richelieu in the BBC production of The Musketeers, currently still under production.

The news of Peter Capaldi becoming the Twelfth Doctor made the front pages of several Monday editions of British Newspapers, including the Times, Guardian, i, Telegraph, Express, Mirror, Sun and Daily Mail (with the latter two focussing on the betting patterns over the last week).


Mark Lawson of the Guardian said:
Serena Davies of the Telegraph:
Jon Cooper of the Mirror:
James Legge of the Independent:

Other general media coverage includes the BBC, Independent, Telegraph, Metro, Independent, Guardian, Mirror, Belfast Telegraph, Daily Mail, WalesOnline, NME, MTV, Herald Scotland, The Sun (paywall), USA Today, Los Angeles Times, CNN, Entertainment Weekly, Empire, CBC, TVNZ.

On Twitter:

A selection of comments on Capaldi's casting from Doctor Who names and celebrity fans.

• Colin Baker (the Sixth Doctor): "Delighted to hear Peter Capaldi is the new Doctor, very good choice. Another Scot eh? Nice to have a more mature Doctor too. Bring it on!!"
• Sophie Aldred (Ace): "Fantastic to have another fan on board as the Dr. I think he will be ace!"
• Bonnie Langford (Mel): "Have to break my #twittersilence to congratulate Peter Capaldi on his new role. Xx"
• Karen Gillan (Amy): "CAPALDI! Superb choice. Swear I've seen him in Pompeii..."
• John Hurt ("The Doctor"): "Congratulations, Peter Capaldi. I'm suboth and we will have a lot of fun."
• Richard E Grant (Dr Simeon): "Bravo on the brilliant BBC choice to Tardis the talents of Peter Capaldi as the 12th Dr Who!!"
• Nicholas Briggs (Dalek voices): "Well I'm over the bloody moon. Worked with him in Torchwood and he was brilliant and a lovely man. He will be brilliant!"
• Mark Gatiss (writer/actor): "Thrilling, moving, beyond exciting. Cometh the hour, cometh the man! Peter Capaldi is the PERFECT choice. Welcome, Doctor!"
• Andy Pryor (casting director): "I broke #twittersilence but it had to be done after a night like this. New Doctor is very happy and dealt with his unveiling with class"
• Stephen Fry (actor/fan): "Well, at least they’ve chosen a wonderful actor..."
• Craig Ferguson (presenter/fan): "Great news that Peter Capaldi is the new Doctor. A spectacular talent and a beautiful man."
• Armando Ianucci (writer of The Thick of It): "There can't be a funnier, wiser, more exciting Time Lord than Peter Capaldi. The universe is in great hands."
• Ben Daniels (in the booking odds): "Peter Capaldi will ROCK!! Fab fab choice!"
• Aneurin Barnard (in the booking odds): "Huge great congratulations to master Peter Capaldi he's going to be a wonderful #DoctorWho"

Peter Capaldi - the one and only:

Steven Moffat has revealed that Peter Capaldi was always his choice in mind for the Twelfth Doctor.

Speaking to Sky News after last night's show, the executive producer said:
The Radio Times added:
During Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor Moffat had commented on the then unknown actor's eligibility when casting for the Twelfth Doctor:

Peter Capaldi is to play the Twelfth Doctor, it has been revealed tonight.

In a live show that featured a number of studio and recorded guests chatting about Doctor Who and what it meant to them, Capaldi was introduced to millions of viewers from the United Kingdom, United States, Canada and Australia in the special live programme Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor.

Met with resounding applause from the studio audience, the actor then went on to discuss with presenter Zoe Ball his enthusiasm for being the new Doctor. When asked how he found out about the role, he answered:
Talking about the differences between the Doctor and the role he's most known for - currently - Malcolm Tucker from The Thick Of It, he said:

As Doctor Who News reported on Wednesday, he has been a life-long fan of Doctor Who, making a confession to SFX back in 2008. When asked about his audition for the Doctor, he observed:
Also this week, the Radio Times reprinted a letter from a fifteen year old Capaldi congratulating the production team on another successful series.

When asked what he thought about the show's endurance and its fans, he answered:

Matt Smith also had a special message for his successor:

You can watch the interview with Peter Capaldi below (may not play outside the United Kingdom):

Biography:

Peter Dougan Capaldi was born in Glasgow on 14th April 1958; his mother's family hailed from Killeshandra, County Cavan, Ireland, and his father's family from Picinisco, Italy. He was educated at St Teresa's Primary School in the city's Possilpark district, St Matthew's Primary School in Bishopbriggs and at St Ninian's High School, Kirkintilloch, before attending the Glasgow School of Art.

Prior to his announcement tonight, the actor was best known for playing the acerbic political spin doctor Malcolm Tucker in the political satire series The Thick of It and the affiliated feature film In the Loop. In 2006, he was nominated for the BAFTA and RTS Best Comedy Actor Awards, and later won the 2010 BAFTA Television Award for Male Performance in a Comedy Role. He also won the 2010 British Comedy Award for Best TV Comedy Actor.

As well as The Thick of It, Capaldi has appeared in over forty films and television programmes since his debut as Danny Oldsen in 1983's Local Hero. Lead film roles came in 1988 with The Lair of the White Worm Dangerous Liaisons, and then on television in the BBC drama series Mr Wakefield's Crusade. In 1995 he won an Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film for Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life which he wrote and directed (it also starred Richard E Grant as Kafka and Barry Letts's son Crispin as Gregor Samsa). Other notable roles have included the fictional Songs of Praise producer Tristan Campbell in The Vicar of Dibley, a university professor in Aftersun, a prime suspect in Waking the Dead, Mark Jenkins in Skins, and the Angel Islington in Neil Gaiman's gothic fantasy Neverwhere. He has most recently been seen on television as BBC boss Randall Brown in The Hour, and in the film World War Z as the coincidentally named W.H.O. Doctor! As mentioned earlier he is due to appear as Cardinal Richelieu in the new BBC adaptation The Musketeers.

A life-long fan of Doctor Who Capaldi has played two roles previously, as Roman merchant Lucius Caecilius in The Fires of Pompeii, and more prominently as the Home Office Permanent Secretary John Frobisher in Torchwood Children of Earth: Day One.

A more comprehensive biography of Capaldi's career can be found in our followup article here.

BBC Press Release:

We're now into the final hour before the live programme that will introduce the World to the new Doctor, following on from a day of intense speculation over who it might be. Peter Capaldi has remained the bookies' favourite, with odds at the time of writing hovering between 2/5 and 1/2 (at one point reaching 1/4) - however, the "runners up" have bounced about between the known suspects throughout the afternoon, with Daniel Rigby, Andrew Scott, Aneurin Barnard and Damien Molony sharing the top spots between them - plus 'newcomer' to the party today being Sam Troughton, a grandson of former Doctor Patrick Troughton.

As one might expect, a number of Internet sources have claimed to already know who it might be, with some taking advantage of the default landing page of the BBC's Doctor Who site to 'reveal' "Peter-Capaldi-is-the-Twelfth-Doctor" and the like - suffice it to say these are not legitimate links! Meanwhile, comic actor Chris O'Dowd continued to play to the rumours of his casting, tweeting: "Anyone know a good breakfast place in Cardiff? ... gonna be spending quite a bit of time here.". Supernatural's Misha Collins also continued his own 'campaign' when he followed up last night's comment with "Yesterday I said I had an announcement regarding the UK & phone booths. Well, the announcement is... (see photo)".

The person to play the Doctor is apparently ready and waiting (and well hidden) at Elstree, with photographer Rankin reporting that he'd taken the official photo for publicity tonight. Cloudbass Graphics reported on the studio itself: "Quiet in BBC Elstree Studio D gallery. Live graphics on Dr Who Live: The Next Doctor at 7 pm tonight on BBC1".

Meanwhile, outside the studios, the huge queue for tonight's programme has continued to grow, with fan Jacqui Connell tweeting "This is the scene outside as we wait to be let in!! Excitement mounting", with Kier Husband observing "a queue for Who at BBC Elstree" as it weaves around the street corner! Entertainment correspondent Lizo Mzimba was on hand to report on the event and some of the more colourful characters in the queue!


With the doors opening imminently, it won't be long until the next Doctor is unveiled ...

As part of the 50th Anniversary year celebrations, Big Finish have announced that they have made the first 50 of the Doctor's adventures on CD available at a new permanent low price whilst stocks last.

With less than twelve hours to go, the odds on who will portray the next Doctor have entered 'temporal grace', with nigh on all betting shops having closed their books on the actors over the last couple of days after it became clear that Peter Capaldi was clearly the favourite for the role. William Hill spokesman Joe Crilly reported: As betting proceeded, a flurry of activity saw some new names gain popularity. The IT Crowd actor Chris O'Dowd became a focus of Internet discussion, causing the actor himself to tweet: "has anyone seen my scarf? #WinkWink". Billie Piper's cousin-in-law Freddie Fox became popular on Friday afternoon, with his odds dropping to 12/1 before bets were suspended. Eddie Redmayne was another new contender at 25/1. However, when asked about the possibility of him becoming the next Doctor tonight on this morning's Sunday Brunch, John Hannah seemed surprised, saying "Well, it will come as a surprise to me if I get named tonight!" Finally, Supernatural actor Misha Collins caused more heated debate on Saturday after he tweeted: "also, in totally unrelated news, i'll have a very exciting announcement tomorrow. Hint: it has something to do with the UK and phone booths." Whether such claims have any substance is debatable at present, but they certainly indicate the widespread interest and impact the casting of the Doctor has across the world!

A summary of odds was given on this morning's BBC Breakfast, with Capaldi at 6/4, followed by Daniel Rigby (9/2), Ben Daniels (4/1), Andrew Scott (10/1), Russell Tovey (10/1), Chiwetel Ejiofor (12/1), Idris Elba (12/1), Rory Kinnear (15/1), and Olivia Colman (20/1). Entertainment correspondent Liza Mzimba reported on how the interest in a new Doctor has changed over the years, with his main contenders being Capaldi, Harewood, Rigby and Ejiofor. Doctor Who Magazine editor Tom Spilsbury was also in the studio to chat about the atmosphere surrounding the impending announcement and the enduring popularity of the show.

Newsround explored younger viewers' expectations in Friday's edition of the children's news programme, with names suggested including Harry Potter stars Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint, James Bond actor Daniel Craig, footballer David Beckham, Blackadder Rowan Atkinson, and actrss Helena Bonham-Carter. CBBC presenter Chris Johnson said that his favourite for the role would be Idris Elba, though he felt it would more likely be an unknown actor. As for the favourite, he noted that though Capaldi had been in the show before, that hadn't stopped actors coming back again!

At the time of writing, Betfair have indicated all change on the popularity front. Though they continue to report Peter Capaldi as favourite at 10/12, Karen Gillan's We'll Take Manhattan co-star Aneurin Barnard has now jumped to second at 94/11, and they are followed by Rigby (119/10), Elba (161/10), Kinnear (31/1), Martin Freeman (47/1), Daniels (51/1), and Scott, Damian Moloney and John Hurt at 56/1.

Someone in the know is director James Hawes, who tweeted yesterday: "I have just found out who the new Doctor is... Didn't guess that!!" BBC News has reported that only ten people know the true identity of who it will be - for the rest of us all will be revealed tonight on Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor!

With less than 20 hours to go before the Twelfth Doctor is named, more details have emerged of some very special guests taking part in the show, scheduled to be screened live on BBC One, BBC America, SPACE Canada, and ABC Australia.

Current Doctor Matt Smith will be on hand in the studio to offer advice to the newcomer, where he will be joined by Fifth incarnation Peter Davison. Former Doctors will also be sending advice by video message, with Radio Times reporting Tom Baker will be taking part, and BBC One on Facebook indicating Colin Baker will be sending a message.

Current showrunner Steven Moffat will be in the audience, as one of only ten people who know the identity of the new Doctor, a closely guarded secret. Even the series brand manager Edward Russell has said the he genuinely doesn't know who has won the role, adding that "it's brilliant that we've kept the secret".

Former companions Katy Manning, Anneke Wills, Janet Fielding and Bonnie Langford will be hopefully be adding their input, along with veteran actor Bernard Cribbins, who played Wilfred Mott alongside the Tenth Doctor. A video message will also be screened from Doctor Who writer and actor Mark Gatiss.

The show goes on air at 1800 GMT on Sunday evening. That is 7:00pm in the UK, 2:00pm East Coast and 11:00am West Coast for North America, and 4:00am ET on Monday morning for those die hard fans in Australia (repeated at 8:30pm for those who aren't!).