Twelfth Doctor

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

The Twelfth Doctor's companions include school teacher Clara Oswald, who also travelled with his previous incarnation, for his first two series; and for his final series, university canteen assistant Bill Potts and humanoid cyborg Nardole. He also made a guest appearance in the Doctor Who spin-off series Class, appearing in the show's first episode. Capaldi had previously appeared playing other roles in the Doctor Who franchise: Lobus Caecilius in the 2008 episode 'The Fires of Pompeii' and John Frobisher in Children of Earth, the 2009 serial of the spin-off Torchwood. In 'The Girl Who Died', it is explained that the Doctor chose Caecilius' face to remind himself that he is the Doctor, and that he can always save people. Capaldi kept his native Scottish accent for the role. On 30 January 2017, Capaldi confirmed that the tenth series would be his last.

In Their Own Story

The Twelfth Doctor's general outfit consists of a navy blue Crombie coat with a crimson lining, dark blue trousers, a long collared white shirt buttoned to the top, a black cardigan or waistcoat, and brogue boots. In 'Time Heist', the Doctor describes his costume as 'hoping for minimalism, but I think I came up with magician.' The look was created by Doctor Who costume designer Howard Burden, described as 'No frills, no scarfs, no messing, just 100% rebel Time Lord.' Capaldi said that the costume took a long time to find, settling on it because 'I think it's quite a hard look. I always wanted him to be in black – I always just saw the Doctor in dark colours. Not tweed.' Capaldi also stated that he chose the Twelfth Doctor's costume so fans who enjoy cosplay could easily emulate it without going to great expense.

Reader's Guide

The Twelfth Doctor is, according to Capaldi, 'more alien than he's been in a while.' Whilst still defining himself as someone who 'saves people,' the Twelfth Doctor cares little about being seen as a hero or even being liked by the people he is trying to save. Unlike his previous two incarnations who cared about humans and tried to understand them, Capaldi has confirmed that this incarnation is different. His costume has varied in some episodes: in 'Mummy on the Orient Express' he dons a period-appropriate tuxedo and a black cravat; in 'The Magician's Apprentice', he wears Ray-Ban sunglasses (later revealed in 'The Witch's Familiar' to be a wearable version of his sonic screwdriver), a T-shirt and plaid baggy trousers along with the hoodie and Crombie coat; in 'Face the Raven', the Twelfth Doctor sports a crimson velvet variant of his Crombie coat.

Did You Know?

• Capaldi was only a few months younger than William Hartnell (the First Doctor) was when he was cast, making Capaldi the oldest actor since Hartnell to star as the Doctor and the third oldest to portray the character.
• Capaldi had previously appeared in Doctor Who as Lobus Caecilius in the 2008 episode 'The Fires of Pompeii' and as John Frobisher in the 2009 Torchwood serial Children of Earth.
• Capaldi's casting marks the second time an actor has previously appeared in the series and then been cast as an incarnation of the Doctor, the first being Colin Baker.
• Capaldi briefly appears in the 50th anniversary special, filmed on 3 October 2013, long after principal photography for the special had ended.
• The Twelfth Doctor's costume was designed so fans who enjoy cosplay could easily emulate it without going to great expense.