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Peter Capaldi tries to shake off his nerdy Doctor Who superfan image

Peter Capaldi was a bit of a ‘Doctor Who’ fan.

But he claims he wasn’t that bad.

During the BAFTA Cymru awards, I caught up with The Twelfth Doctor himself, Peter Capaldi, who told me that his nerdy, ‘Doctor Who’ superfan image was blown out of propertion.

“I think people over-egged the whole thing where I spent my entire life walking around with plastic bags full of Doctor Who pictures while trying to become Doctor Who,” he said. “But, you know, I was getting on with my life being an actor.”

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Sorry Peter – we don’t believe you.

Peter Capaldi’s status as a ‘Doctor Who’ superfan stems from his childhood obsession with show. Back in February 1976, at the age of 15, Peter Capaldi even wrote a letter to the Radio Times, commending them on a very special ‘Doctor Who’ anniversary issue.

More importantly, he was apparently known to the BBC production team…

Not to mention, the official ‘Doctor Who’ fan club.

According to the Daily Mail, the young ‘Doctor Who’ fan applied to become President of the Official Doctor Who Fan Club in 1972, but was dismayed to learn that rival fan Keith Miller had already filled the role.

“As a youth, the Scottish actor fired off regular missives to the Doctor Who production team asking for set photos,” they explained. “He also penned lengthy letters to the Radio Times and the Doctor Who International Fan Club magazine, praising his favourite episodes and marvelling at the special effects.”

But hilariously, his letters to the production team annoyed one assistant…

“I think Capaldi’s the end and I wish the Daleks or someone would exterminate him,” said Production Secretary Sarah Newman in a letter to Keith Miller.

“I was given the fan club to take the strain of dealing with the advent of the super-fans like Peter Capaldi,” recalled Miller in an interview with Starburst Magazine. And it sounds like the young Doctor may have been a bit of a handful – even for the BBC.

Now, he’s put that all behind him…

But he was still very pleased to land the iconic sci-fi role.

“I was very lucky that this came along,” he said. “But it’s an extraordinary experience – it’s a wonderful group of people to work with. I miss a lot of people from it.”

Still, every now and then, the childhood ‘Doctor Who’ obsession leaks out.

Especially when he was on set with The First Doctor for the upcoming Christmas Special.

“I would turn around sometimes and look at [David Bradley] on set, and just be transported back to being a child, and seeing William Hartnell – who was amazing,” he told me.

‘Doctor Who’ returns to BBC One on 25 December 2017.

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