‘Doctor Who’ Bids Adieu To Peter Capaldi; Special Episode Among Top UK Xmas Shows

Yesterday’s Doctor Who Christmas special was the last episode for Peter Capaldi, who had played the 12th Time Lord since 2013 and earlier this year said he felt it was “time to move on.” The episode also marked the first (brief) appearance of Jodie Whitaker as the 13th doctor. The Broadchurch actress was cast with much fanfare this past July, and will be the first woman to helm the TARDIS — although, judging by yesterday’s episode, the ship is in need of some repair.

Check out video of Capaldi’s final monologue below, and Whitaker’s first screen time.

Broadchurch creator Chris Chibnall is taking over Doctor Who showrunning duties from Steven Moffat on the BBC One and BBC America sci-fi series. It’s expected to return in the latter half of 2018. Also joining the cast are Bradley Walsh, Mandip Gill and Tosin Cole.

The first look at Whitaker in character came last month:

She’s only got one line in the Christmas episode, which was titled Twice Upon a Time, but the appearance certainly made an impact. The special aired at 5:30 PM local time in the UK and was the sixth most-watched program of the day. It drew 5.7 million viewers for a 29.1 share in the overnights, pacing slightly ahead of last year’s special.

BBC broadcasts occupied eight out of the Top 10 UK slots yesterday, including the first six. Comedy Mrs Brown’s Boys was the top show on Christmas Day with an average audience of 6.8M, followed by Strictly Come Dancing‘s Christmas special, Call the Midwife, Eastenders, The Queen’s Christmas Broadcast and Doctor Who.

Here’s the regeneration sequence:

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