Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat has paid moving tribute to outgoing Doctor Peter Capaldi.

Speaking at a Facebook Live Q and A after Saturday night’s episode he said that Capaldi has been the show’s “most emotional Doctor”.

“Peter only has to think at the screen and you know what he’s thinking,” he said. “He only has to move his face and I know the particular blend of Scottish torment he’s feeling right now. Despite trying to fight his emotions, he has given us the most emotional Doctor.”

Moffat warmed to his theme and said that Capaldi’s approach was a central aspect of the show’s appeal.

“It’s a hugely emotional show, which is odd for a science fiction show. It’s a massively emotional show. If you don’t laugh or cry when you’re writing it, you can’t expect anyone else to cry.

“Of course you go through those emotions. You look like an absolute idiot when you’re writing it. When I get to the end sequence of a Doctor Who episode when it’s all getting very exciting, I stand up for the end of the episode because it’s all so exciting that I can’t write sitting down, so I throw the chair back and I type standing up because it’s all got so frantic.”

However it appears that Moffat is happy to take a temporary break from these highs when he leaves the show.

He added: “I’ve got a few ideas I’d like to do that are as far away from Doctor Who and Sherlock as I can manage. Not that I don’t love those things more than anything because I do.”

“I have other plans [before writing new project Dracula with Mark Gatiss] mostly inviting a balcony and a gin and tonic.”

The Doctor Who series 10 finale is on BBC1 next week at 6.45pm