'Doctor Who' Star Peter Capaldi Responds to Online Backlash to Jodie Whittaker and Ncuti Gatwa Castings: 'I Don’t Know Why People Take it So Seriously'
Apr 25, 2026 11:54am PT
‘Doctor Who’ Star Peter Capaldi Responds to Online Backlash to Jodie Whittaker and Ncuti Gatwa Castings: ‘I Don’t Know Why People Take it So Seriously’
By
Jack Dunn
Plus Icon
Jack Dunn
Latest
-
‘Wicked’ Star Marissa Bode Says She Was ‘Denied Boarding a Flight Because I’m Disabled’: ‘This Is Blatant Segregation’
38 minutes ago
-
‘Doctor Who’ Star Peter Capaldi Responds to Online Backlash to Jodie Whittaker and Ncuti Gatwa Castings: ‘I Don’t Know Why People Take it So Seriously’
2 hours ago
-
Alicia Keys Calls the Music Industry a ‘Good Old Boy Network’, Says Women Are ‘Not Given an Open Door’
4 hours ago
See All
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
©BBC America/Courtesy Everett Collection
Peter Capaldi, who starred as the Twelfth Doctor in “Doctor Who” from 2013 to 2017, recently told The Times of London that he doesn’t understand why some people take the show “so seriously” when asked about the backlash to the castings of Jodie Whittaker and Ncuti Gatwa. Whittaker was the first woman to play the Doctor, and Gatwa was the first openly queer Black actor in the role.
“It reflects its times and it’s a good thing in the world, though it’s become a bit too big, too important for the BBC or whoever,” Capaldi said. “When I was a kid and watched it, it was just a monster show in the corner of the room. I don’t know why people take it so seriously.”
Popular on Variety
Related Stories
ATX TV Festival to Present Inaugural Creative Impact Award to Warren Littlefield, Honor Bill Lawrence With Showrunner Award