Why Peter Capaldi doesn't want Doctor Who's new companion to be male

In Doctor Who's season nine finale "Hell Bent" - read our review here - viewers bid farewell to Jenna Coleman's Clara Oswald, leaving the Doctor without a companion. Speculation has now turned to viable replacements and the Doctor himself, Peter Capaldi has weighed in with this thoughts on the matter.

Speaking with Radio Times, Capaldi seems to be leaning towards the fairer sex when it comes to his new companion: "With the best will in the world, I don’t want a bloke, because I’m frightened that they’ll give him all the action and I’ll be standing around spouting scientific gobbledygook... ‘Oh, Peter’s not up to chasing those Zygons down the corridor, let the chap do it.’ And that would be awful. I want to chase the Zygons!"

Capaldi continued - "I just think that combo of the slightly strange and alien Time Lord with the intelligent, enthusiastic and inquisitive girl is a good combo. I don’t know why – but it just seems to work". Showrunner Steven Moffat seems to share his star's thoughts, adding that he's "beginning to have an idea of the kind of person, specific ideas but not a specific actress".

Images: BBC

Amon Warmann

Amon is a contributing editor and columnist for Empire magazine, but is also a Film and TV writer for GamesRadar+, Total Film, and others. He has also written for NME, Composer Mag, and more, along with being a film critic for TalkSport. He is also the co-host of the Fade to Black Podcast, and a video mashup creator. Can also do a pretty good Bane impersonation.