It’s not just Doctor Who fans the world over that don’t want Peter Capaldi to leave the series after only three seasons as the Time Lord – it turns out showrunner Steven Moffat wished for him to stay on, as well.
Chatting with DJ Chris Evans on BBC Radio 2, Moffat – who’s also leaving Doctor Who after this year’s Christmas special – joked that he didn’t think he could bear “the emotional trauma” of saying goodbye to another leading man.
“I was hoping he would stay on. There’s only so much emotional trauma you can bear. I have had three versions of my childhood hero hand in their resignation to me, and there is no specific therapy for that; it is really quite difficult. [It’s like] Santa Claus quitting in front of you.”
As for how Moffat and Capaldi talked it over, Moffat insists that they didn’t get all weepy. “Honestly, it was a curt exchange of nods and suppressed emotion, ” he explained. “We are Scottish and we do not discuss emotion.”
On the topic of why Moffat himself decided to vacate the exec producer’s chair, the writer spoke about how it was the total commitment to the job that became too much over time.
“It’s been a long time and it completely fills the sky when you are doing Doctor Who; there’s no time for anything else. It’s so dominant. I just thought, ‘I’m just tired I want to try something else, I want to do other things.'”
Of course, Moffat did find time to write another smash-hit TV series for the BBC while showrunning Doctor Who –Sherlock. After four seasons, the crime drama’s future is currently in limbo, but Moffat had some brief words of encouragement for fans to grasp on to. “I sort of assume we will come back,” he said.
You can see Peter Capaldi’s penultimate episode as the Time Lord in the Doctor Who season finale, airing this Saturday on BBC America.