Actor Peter Capaldi who will portray the Twelfth Doctor
Matt Smith, actor of the Eleventh Doctor, announced his departure from Doctor Who on 1 June 2013.[6] Prior to the revelation of Capaldi as the next Doctor, there was extensive media speculation on the subject.[7][8][9][10][11][12][13] On 3 August 2013, bookmakers William Hill suspended betting when Capaldi became the five to six favourite to be cast.[14] Capaldi's casting was revealed on 4 August during a live broadcast titled Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor on BBC One.
Doctor Who writer and producer, Steven Moffat, said that Capaldi "briefly flicked through [his] mind" while casting the Eleventh Doctor, but that he dismissed the idea, thinking he was not right for the part.[3]Ben Stephenson, the BBC's drama commissioner, said that Capaldi was suggested months before the August revelation and that a secret audition was held at Moffat's home.[5] Capaldi prepared for the audition by downloading old Doctor Who scripts from the Internet and practicing in front of a mirror. He discovered he had been given the part during filming for Adrian Hodges's The Musketeers in Prague.[3]
