A bearded Peter Capaldi has today been speaking to Doctor Who fansite RadioTimes at their swanky cover party and talked a little about what’s ahead.

On preparing for Series 10:

“You have to be fit to do Doctor Who and so I’ve just been getting myself ready and I’ll be getting into training to start the show. When we start, it’ll run for nine months and the most important thing is to be there and to be fit and be on top of everything. I’m looking forward to starting.

“There wasn’t really anything else around that I particularly wanted to do [until Doctor Who filming begins]. I’m really looking forward to it. We’ve got, great writers. And some fabulous exciting stories.”

On the new companion:

“We’ve just had some brief talks about it, we haven’t actually chosen someone yet — that I know of. Perhaps someone has been chosen but I would expect that I would meet them before we finalised all that. So we’re looking for someone different.”

On Chris Chibnall taking over (No mention of the leaving rumours):

“I think Chris is a wonderful writer, so that’s the exciting thing about Doctor Who — I don’t really know what he’s going to do with it. It’s going to be different and he’ll take it in a direction that is his… and that’ll be very exciting. That’s the lovely thing about Doctor Who, it keeps changing. Steven’s been fabulous but it will be very exciting to see what Chris does.”

We are already expecting big changes with Doctor Who after the next series airs in 2017 as Steven Moffat is stepping down as show producer and handing over the reigns to Broadchurch creator Chris Chibnall.

But reports are now suggesting that Peter Capaldi will exit the show at the same time, with a source close to the BBC allegedly saying that Chibnall will be bringing in his own actor to play the Time Lord.

The source told The Mirror: ‘Bosses are already discussing a fresh start when Steven leaves. They’ve been happy with what Peter has brought to the role but some think it might make sense to give Chris his own choice of actor to play the Doctor.

‘They hope he will be able to find someone who can have the same impact as Matt Smith did when Steven Moffat kicked off his run as executive producer.’

Capaldi himself also recently suggested that he could depart the role in 2017, pondering: ‘This could be my final year it’s terrifying.I love Doctor Who but it can be an insular world and I do want to do other things. There will come a time when this is over. But I knew that when I started.

‘I was thinking about my regeneration scene from the outset. That’s my terrible melancholic nature. When you accept the job you know there’ll come a day, inevitably, when you’ll be saying goodbye.’

The Doctor Who writer and Sherlock co-creator paid tribute to the showrunner on Twitter.

It’s little wonder Mark Gatiss plays the impossibly intelligent Mycroft Holmes on Sherlock because he’s got a knack for saying very clever yet cheeky things at precisely the right time – like the moment Steven Moffat announced his Doctor Who departure.

Gatiss tweeted this rather cryptic Latin message just moments after the big news broke.

Sclavus liberatus felix est.x

— Mark Gatiss (@Markgatiss) January 22, 2016

For those of you who don’t speak the classical language, it means “the freed slave is happy”. Make of that one what you will.

Gatiss followed his tweet up with a rather less mysterious tribute to his pal this morning though, sending his best wishes to incoming showrunner Chris Chibnall too.

Farewell to the Grand Moff but huge congratulations to Chris Chibnall on his elevation to Lord President! The show is in very good hands.

— Mark Gatiss (@Markgatiss) January 23, 2016

Meanwhile, Moffat’s wife and Sherlock producer Sue Vertue popped online to thank fans for their messages on the outgoing Who head writer’s behalf.

Steven thanks you all for your lovely comments and reminds you he's got a whole season to go yet!

— sue vertue (@suevertue) January 22, 2016

And Patrick Ness is waiting in the wings to fill the Whovian void with Doctor Who spin-off Class later this year.

#Class will be the only full #DoctorWho related series this year – no pressure @Patrick_Ness https://t.co/3K3z0TZPvw pic.twitter.com/n3fHypa4tn

— Sarah Doran (@sarahisnothere) January 22, 2016

Chris Chibnall might have just been named the new showrunner of Doctor Who, but his history with BBC’s classic sci-fi show stretches back much, much further than that.

He’s already been a Who and Torchwood writer since 2006, but one of his first TV encounters with the Doctor came as far back as 1986.

Chibnall appeared on BBC feedback show Open Air, discussing the latest series with the then-writers as a representative of the Doctor Who Appreciation Society.

Yep, this is a man who knows his Who.

In fact, Chibnall admitted he was pretty disappointed with The Trial of a Time Lord, the 14-part ‘story’ that ran from September-December 1986.

Who had been off air for 18 months by this point. Was it worth the wait?

“It doesn’t seem to have much to it,” he said. “It hasn’t improved that much since it went off the air. It could have been a lot better; it could have been slightly better written, especially the last story.”

He added, “It was also very clichéd, it was very routine running up and down corridors and silly monsters.”

All this while the writers were there with him. Tough crowd.

Now, of course, Chibnall’s in the hot seat – and ready to take Who into a new generation.

BBC bosses have decided to delay the new series until spring next year, in a bid to ensure his final run is a major TV event.

Doctor Who fans will be hoping that time flies – because the next series is going to be held back until 2017.

The season will be the swansong for show chief Steven Moffat.

The move also means the family sci-fi show, starring Peter Capaldi as the time travelling Doctor , can return to its Saturday teatime slot following criticism about it being aired last year at 8pm.

Steven, set to bow out after his sixth series running the BBC1 drama, will be replaced by Broadchurch writer Chris Chibnall.

Describing his role as “the best job in the universe”, Steven said yesterday: “The fact is, my timey-wimey is running out.

“While Chris is doing his last run of Broadchurch, I’ll be finishing up and keeping the TARDIS warm for him.”

He joked that it had taken “a lot of gin and tonic” to talk Chris into the job, adding: “I am beyond delighted one of the true stars of British television drama will be taking the Time Lord even further into the future.

“Chris will become the new showrunner. And I will be thrown in a skip.”

The head writer and executive producer of Doctor Who, Steven Moffat, is to step down from the show, the BBC has confirmed.

His last series will go out in spring 2017 following a Christmas special, after which he will be replaced by Broadchurch writer Chris Chibnall.

Moffat took over the reins on series five of the world’s longest running sci-fi series in 2010.
BBC One’s controller, Charlotte Moore, said Moffat was an “absolute genius”.

In a statement, the BBC said he had been responsible for introducing the 11th and 12th Doctors – Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi – as well as two companions in Karen Gillan and Jenna Coleman.

Moffat said it took “a lot of gin and tonic” to talk Chibnall into taking up his new position.

“I am beyond delighted that one of the true stars of British television drama will be taking the Time Lord even further into the future,” he said.

“At the start of season 11, Chris Chibnall will become the new showrunner of Doctor Who. And I will be thrown in a skip.”

New worlds

Chibnall described Doctor Who as “the ultimate BBC programme – bold, unique, vastly entertaining, and adored all around the world”.

He added: “So it’s a privilege and a joy to be the next curator of this funny, scary and emotional family drama.

“I’ve loved Doctor Who since I was four years old, and I’m relishing the thought of working with the exceptional team at BBC Wales to create new characters, creatures and worlds for the Doctor to explore.”

Ms Moore thanked Moffat “for everything he has given Doctor Who”.

She said: “I’ve loved working with him, he is an absolute genius and has brought fans all over the world such joy.

“I will be very sad to see him leave the show but I can’t wait to see what he will deliver in his last-ever series next year with a brand new companion.”

She was a viewer favourite on Doctor Who.

But, despite leaving the long-running BBC show, British actress Jenna Coleman still managed to delight sci-fi fans, this week.

The brunette beauty made a special appearance at Magic City Comic Con in Miami, Florida, where she cut a casual figure on Saturday.

The 29 year-old was a VIP guest at the annual event, which celebrates the popular fantasy genre.

Wearing a floaty, floor-length summer dress with a leather jacket, the fresh-faced star was clearly going for a relaxed vibe.

Dressing the ensemble down with a pair of clumpy boots, she channelled a 90s grunge vibe in the spirit of My So-Called Life.

Together she was every inch the English Rose as she chatted with attendees and answered questions from the keen crowd.

The latest sighting of the star comes just weeks after she revealed her upset over the death of her on-screen Doctor Who alter-ego, Clara Oswald.

Speaking to the Sunday People, she revealed: ‘It was a surprise when I read the script. It did not go in the direction I thought it was going to.

She added: ‘I couldn’t stop crying after I filmed my final scenes – it was ridiculous to get emotional. I’d planned all these things I wanted to say but only got two words out.’

Viewers watched as Clara’s life was ended by a deadly raven known as a ‘Quantum Spirit’, which the Doctor (Peter Capaldi) grimly explained to Clara is ‘a spirit bound to a victim, you could flee across all of time and all of the universe and it would still find you.’