Doctor Who: Is Peter Capaldi Playing The First Doctor?

5. Peter Capaldi

Think back to when Capaldi's casting was announced and, to cheers, he emerged on-stage to talk to a very excited Zoë Ball. After a couple of coy waves, Capaldi seized his lapels in a deliberately Hartnell-esque way that (by his grin) he knew would drive fanboys wild. Maybe that wasn't just an off-hand gesture, instead hinting at how he and Steven Moffat will portray his incarnation. There's also the fact that he's almost the same age that Hartnell was when he originated the role, although Bill was given a wig and makeup so that he appeared more of a grandfather than a middle-aged man. It's been established (at least in Moffat's continuity) that Time Lords do visibly age, just over a matter of centuries rather than decades, so at some point in the First Doctor's lifetime he may have been a sprightly man of 300 who looks like Peter Capaldi. Ok, so he's got some quirks that might be a bit like the First Doctor, but that doesn't necessarily mean his incarnation will just be a Hartnell impression with a Scottish accent (more on that later). Well, let's look at what we know about the Twelfth Doctor...