Current showrunner Steven Moffat has been chatting exclusively to SFX about Doctor Who and the outfit for Peter Capaldi’s Doctor. Read what he has to say below.
“He wanted to be quite stark,” Moffat reveals. “Stark and skinny. A
stick-insect sort of thing. Clara actually calls him a grey-haired
stick-insect at one point. We had some hilarious pictures of Peter just
dressing up. It was all coming from him because he’s really into his
clothes. I didn’t feel qualified to go and chat too much about it.
Certainly the costume didn’t go anywhere until I shut up. The thing I’ve
learned about showrunning is you need to know the bits you’re bad at!
stick-insect sort of thing. Clara actually calls him a grey-haired
stick-insect at one point. We had some hilarious pictures of Peter just
dressing up. It was all coming from him because he’s really into his
clothes. I didn’t feel qualified to go and chat too much about it.
Certainly the costume didn’t go anywhere until I shut up. The thing I’ve
learned about showrunning is you need to know the bits you’re bad at!
“I’ve got certain things that I’ll say – I don’t want anything in
that costume that I have to write into the script. I don’t want people
saying ‘But why are you dressed as a circus clown?’ I want him to walk
into a pub, a restaurant, a space conference, an army base and nobody
stares at him.
that costume that I have to write into the script. I don’t want people
saying ‘But why are you dressed as a circus clown?’ I want him to walk
into a pub, a restaurant, a space conference, an army base and nobody
stares at him.
“There was an issue simply because it’s quite dark as a costume and
it’s a show that largely takes place in a tunnel. I kept saying ‘We are
going to be able to see him, aren’t we?’ I suppose the red lining helps,
when the flaps are open.
it’s a show that largely takes place in a tunnel. I kept saying ‘We are
going to be able to see him, aren’t we?’ I suppose the red lining helps,
when the flaps are open.
“I think there’s always something a little bit formal about The
Doctor. Oddly enough in this series, for whatever reason, he seems to be
wearing different outfits far more often than The Doctor normally does.
He’s got his basic outfit but he’s in a spacesuit in one of them, and
he’s a caretaker in another one and then he’s all dressed up in a later
episode. He does vary it a bit. And he mixes up the basic costume,
hugely. We’ve tended to see the white shirt version in public but
actually the one I like best is when he wears the jumper under his coat.
I think he looks like a submarine commander, like an old sailor or
something. It makes him all rugged and handsome!”
Doctor. Oddly enough in this series, for whatever reason, he seems to be
wearing different outfits far more often than The Doctor normally does.
He’s got his basic outfit but he’s in a spacesuit in one of them, and
he’s a caretaker in another one and then he’s all dressed up in a later
episode. He does vary it a bit. And he mixes up the basic costume,
hugely. We’ve tended to see the white shirt version in public but
actually the one I like best is when he wears the jumper under his coat.
I think he looks like a submarine commander, like an old sailor or
something. It makes him all rugged and handsome!”
Read more from Steven Moffat in the new issue of SFX, on sale now with a choice of five exclusive collectable Doctor Who covers.
Rugged and handsome. Oh, yes, please.
“I’ve got certain things that I’ll say – I don’t want anything in that costume that I have to write into the script. I don’t want people saying ‘But why are you dressed as a circus clown?’"
Oh you mean like you hammered in the bowtie joke for Matt? (I still don't get why a bowtie was considered a big deal.)
Because bowties are…and always have been cool
12 could care less whats COOL Thank goodness.