A special BBC show today finally ended speculation about who would take over from Matt Smith as the iconic Doctor Who: veteran stage and screen actor, Peter Capaldi!

He will be the 12th incarnation of the time-traveller, which is apparently the last, but there is precedent that that could change. Capaldi is known for hard-hitting, darker characters which could indicate the direction in which showrunner Steven Moffat intends to take the series.

There’s bound to be some that favour the younger versions that David Tennant and (especially) Matt Smith brought to the table, but the Doctor has actually traditionally been an older eccentric bumbling through space and time, so this could actually be a bold move to reinstate that side of the character.

We’ll see the first glimpse of Capaldi in the Doctor Who Christmas Special, which also celebrates the 50th anniversary of the series, so fingers crossed that he’ll find a fitting way to suitably carry on this classic character.