Peter Capaldi to play new Doctor Who

Peter Capaldi, the brilliant Scottish actor with a blistering wit and ferocious on-screen style, has been named the 12th Doctor Who. 

In a long tease of a BBC special, just concluded, Capaldi was named as next steward of what is certainly the world's longest-running TV role, 50 years old now, and one of TV's most beloved. "Who," a glory of imagination and often humor, made a huge star of the outgoing doctor, Matt Smith. Now, Capaldi is about to get his intensive closeup too. American viewers probably best know him from "The Thick of It," though he is also in "World War Z." (Strange but true fact: His role in the movie is credited simply as "W.H.O. Doctor.")

In a statement, he said:  “Being asked to play The Doctor is an amazing privilege. Like the Doctor himself I find myself in a state of utter terror and delight. I can't wait to get started."  

Capaldi will start next year; Smith leaves at the end of this one.

Meanwhile, here's the BBC's bio of Capaldi, which  offers you a pretty good sense of his breadth and versatility; this will be a very good Who indeed...