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!).

People are being given the chance to put a question to whoever is playing the 12th Doctor when the big reveal takes place tomorrow.

The identity of the actor who has landed the title role will be announced on BBC One in the programme Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor - which starts at 7pm and is being simulcast by BBC America, Canadian channel SPACE, and ABC1 in Australia - and the official site is offering fans the opportunity to be part of the show by having their questions put to the actor when the person is interviewed.
The subject line should be Next Doctor Questions and people have until midday BST tomorrow to submit their questions, which should be sent to thedoctor@bbc.co.uk. The messages should also include the sender's first name, their age, and where they are from. A full address is not needed, just the sender's city, town, or village.

Sunday 4th August sees the broadcast of Doctor Who - The Movie, starring Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor, on Australian and New Zealand television.

This screening represents the culmination of a chronological run through selected stories of the classic series, to mark the 50th Anniversary season of Doctor Who on the UKTV channel.

The story is scheduled to screen in Australia at 4:45pm and in New Zealand at 5:00pm with an additional screening in New Zealand on Monday 5th August at 3:40am.

The UKTV listing describes the story as follows:

The TARDIS arrives in San Francisco on New Year's Eve 1999. As the clock counts down to the start of the new millennium, can the Doctor stop his oldest enemy destroying all life on Earth?

The movie was first broadcast in Australia in July 1996 and in New Zealand in October of the same year.

The Doctor Who screenings lined up on UKTV for the remainder of August are entirely different for Australia and New Zealand.

Australia has: Doctor Who Proms (11th August), Doctor Who America Specials: The Science of Doctor Who and The Timey Wimey Stuff of Doctor Who (18th August), and Doctor Who America Specials: The Destinations of Doctor Who and The Women of Doctor Who (25th August).

Whereas New Zealand's line-up includes: The Dalek Invasion of Earth (11th August), The Three Doctors (18th August), and Pyramids of Mars (25th August). These are all repeats of stories previously screened on UKTV earlier this year.

Selected stories from the Ninth, Tenth and Eleventh Doctors' eras are expected to screen on UKTV in September, October and November this year.

Up-and-coming broadcasts from both 20th and 21st Century series of Doctor Who can be found via UKTV's Doctor Who sections for Australia and New Zealand.

Doctor Who has been nominated in two categories in the BAFTA Cymru Awards for 2013, it was announced today.

The programme's sound team are jointly up for the Sound gong, facing competition from Bang Post Production for Sherlock - co-created by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss - and from the sound team for The Gospel of Us.

In addition, William Oswald is in the running for the Editing award for his work on the 2012 Christmas special The Snowmen.

Meanwhile, Michael Sheen is nominated for the Actor title for The Gospel of Us, and Ruth Jones and Sara Lloyd-Gregory are both vying for the Actress award for, respectively, Stella and Alys. Brian Minchin - appointed in April as an executive producer on Doctor Who - is cited for Wizards vs Aliens, co-created by Russell T Davies and Phil Ford, in the Children's Programme (Including Animation) category, with Arwel Wyn Jones receiving two nominations for Production Design for his work on Sherlock and Wizards vs Aliens. In addition, Ray Holman is nominated for Costume Design for Wizards vs Aliens.

Doctor Who failed to make the Television Drama category this year, having been nominated last year but ultimately losing out on the title.

The 22nd annual awards will be held on Sunday 29th September at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff, with the winners announced at a ceremony hosted by Sian Lloyd and Matt Johnson. The nominations cover 26 programme, craft, and performance categories, recognising excellence in broadcasting and production within film and television in Wales between 1st January 2012 and 31st March 2013.

The exhibition marking 90 years of Radio Times opened today - with a Dalek taking pride of place at a special display dedicated to the programme that has appeared on the front cover more times than any other.

Cover Story: Radio Times At 90, which is at the Museum of London at 150 London Wall, takes visitors across the decades from the first radio transmission to today's multi-channel offerings, through landmark broadcasts, archive clips, broadcast artefacts, and original Radio Times photography and artwork.

The exclusive Doctor Who display - marking the show's 50th anniversary and its long association with the publication - features covers as well as photographs from the Radio Times archive.

People can also become a cover star for themselves by posing alongside the Dalek against a backdrop of Westminster Bridge, re-creating the 2005 "Vote Dalek!" cover, which was voted most iconic cover of all time in the Periodical Publishers Association's Great Cover Debate in 2008.

Sharon Ament, the director of the Museum of London, told Doctor Who News:The exhibition is free to go round and is open every day until Sunday 3rd November. The museum is open from 10am to 6pm, with galleries starting to close at 5.40pm.

The BBC have announced that the next star of Doctor Who is to be revealed this coming Sunday evening in a special programme to be broadcast live on BBC One at 7:00pm, and simulcast by BBC America.

Update Friday Canadian channel SPACE have confirmed they will also broadcast the live show.
Update Saturday ABC Australia have also confirmed they will broadcast the live show.

Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor is to be presented by Zoe Ball, and is expected to feature previous Doctors, companions, special guests and 'celebrity' fans, leading up to the reveal of who has won the coveted role. Charlotte Moore, the Controller of BBC One, said:
In order to keep the half-hour show and the announcement under wraps, the BBC promoted it last week as an entertainment pilot that would pay tribute to 50 years of Doctor Who. For television schedules they instead listed a repeat of Celebrity Mastermind in the timeslot - a similar tactic was employed back in 2009 with Matt Smith's announcement, when the scheduled The Ten Doctors turned out to be a smokescreen for The Eleventh Doctor. BBC America, meanwhile, have had a repeat of The Eleventh Hour scheduled for Sunday afternoon.

Smith will also feature in Sunday's broadcast, lending advice on what it takes to play the Doctor; the show will also include interviews with Jenna Coleman and executive producer Steven Moffat, who said:

The casting process itself has been a well-kept secret, with plenty of speculation as to who will take on the role. Ben Stephenson, the Controller of BBC Drama Commissioning, commented:
As reported on Wednesday, established names such Peter Capaldi, Ben Daniels, Chris Addison, Rory Kinnear and David Harewood have all been popular choices with the betting public - though it is just as likely that a previously unconsidered name will be revealed come Sunday evening, as with Smith in 2009.