Capaldi: Doctor Who May “Disappear for a While”, But It’s “Not Going Anywhere”

Peter Capaldi has suggested Doctor Who could “disappear for a while”, but reassured fans that the series is “not going anywhere”.

The former Twelfth Doctor was speaking after a run of major developments for Doctor Who, including the cancellation of the planned Christmas special, Russell T Davies’s exit, and the BBC’s decision to put the series out to competitive tender.

Capaldi struck a calm note about Davies’s departure and the show’s future, saying: “Doctor Who has been great to Russell, and it has been great to everybody who’s worked any of it and it will continue to be great. It’s not going anywhere.”

He did, however, suggest that a temporary absence would not be out of character for the series.

“Maybe it will disappear for a while in time and space,” Capaldi added. “That’s what the Doctor does.”

Capaldi was also asked whether he could ever return to the role of the Doctor.

“You can never say never,” he agreed.

He continued: “You never know what happens in the future, anything can happen in the future, [Capaldi’s Doctor] can do that, he can’t do it. You just never know in the universe, and if he’s going to do that, he can do that.”

His comments follow similar reassurances from both Russell T Davies and Steven Moffat, who have each pushed back against the idea that the news means the end of Doctor Who.